Healthcare
Injunction prevents Operation Save America protesters from interfering at clinic
A federal judge in Nashville has granted a preliminary injunction barring protestors affiliated with the anti-abortion group Operation Save America from the grounds of a Mt. Juliet reproductive health clinic. On July 26, about 150 members and associates of Operation Save America gathered on streets and sidewalks outside an office building that houses carafem, which […]
‘Waiting for the test case’: lawyers say prosecutions inevitable under Tennessee abortion ban
Dr. Tracy Coffey routinely provides emergency care to pregnant women. Last week, on a Saturday, she performed surgery on a patient to remove an ectopic pregnancy — a procedure doctors at her Clarksville hospital perform about once a month. But among the many questions about Tennessee’s new abortion ban for which Coffey can find no […]
Tennessee Muslim, Jewish leaders weigh abortion ban against their faith’s teachings
Backers of Tennessee’s strict abortion ban often cite their Christian faith. But some Middle Tennessee Jewish and Muslim faith leaders say the law compromises their ability to draw on their own religious traditions in guiding worshipers through difficult decisions. “I think it’s a complete imposition of one religious tradition’s understanding upon the rest of the […]
U.S. Senate Republicans shy away from proposed 15-week national abortion ban
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans are skeptical about a 15-week nationwide abortion ban that GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced Tuesday, with some saying they want to leave the issue to state lawmakers instead of taking it up in Congress. “I think most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at […]
‘A bold step for me’: local officials take stands against Tennessee’s strict abortion ban
Knoxville City Councilwoman Lynne Fugate had never before supported a resolution directed to the state legislature, much less one about abortion. It’s up to citizens, not city leaders, to advocate before those elected representatives, she said. But last week the longtime Republican took what she characterized as a “bold step for me.” Fugate backed a […]
New fight opens in Congress over VA policy that sidesteps state abortion bans
WASHINGTON — Democrats in the U.S. Senate are confident the Department of Veterans Affairs can implement a new policy that allows its doctors to provide abortions when the pregnancy threatens the patient’s life or health, or when it’s the result of rape or incest. The VA announced the new policy last week to cheers from […]
In Tennessee, monkeypox vaccine is limited and appointments booked for months
Drew, a Nashville businessman, went to bed early one Sunday night in July, assuming his busy weekend with family and friends had left him exhausted. But the next morning, he woke up with COVID-like symptoms, and — despite a negative home test — off he went to a walk-in clinic. The doctor on duty tested […]
COVID-19 vaccine may become annual, like flu shot
WASHINGTON — COVID-19 boosters shots are on track to become as frequent as the annual flu shot, though high-risk people may need more than one dose per year, Biden administration officials said Tuesday. “For a large majority of Americans, we are moving to a point where a single annual COVID shot should provide a high […]
‘Chilling effect’: Doctors face new legal quandaries under Tennessee’s abortion ban
Knoxville obstetrics and gynecology doctor Nikki Zite has treated two ectopic pregnancies since Roe v. Wade was overturned June 24. Now that the Tennessee abortion ban is in effect, the pregnancy complication, which presents life-threatening risks to mothers, prompts new worries for her. “I hope that I am brave enough to move past that worry […]
White House requests $47 billion in emergency funding for Ukraine, vaccines and more
The Biden administration is asking Congress for emergency funding to support Ukraine’s military, national COVID and monkeypox responses and to help communities affected by natural disasters. The current fiscal year ends Sept. 30 and Congress has not passed a funding measure for next year, so a short-term bill would be needed to keep the government […]
Jewish congregations mount legal challenges to state abortion bans
WASHINGTON — Thousands of years of Jewish scripture make it clear that access to abortion care is a requirement of Jewish law and practice, according to Rabbi Karen Bogard. “We preserve life at all costs,” she said in an interview with States Newsroom. “But there is a difference between that which is living, and that […]
Tennessee AG Herbert Slatery joins lawsuit defending Idaho no-exceptions abortion ban
Herbert Slatery III joined 16 other states’ attorneys general in defending Idaho’s abortion ban against a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Justice Department, which claimed the measure violates federal rules that require hospitals receiving Medicare funding to provide lifesaving care, including abortions. Idaho’s law is similar to Tennessee’s trigger ban; instead of outright exceptions for […]