(COLUMBUS, OH) — Abortion rights supporters in Ohio took the first step Tuesday in potentially getting the issue on the ballot in November in a statewide election.
Two groups — Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom and Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights — submitted language to the state Attorney General’s Office that could have residents vote on whether or not they want a constitutional amendment to protect abortion access.
Currently, abortion is legal in Ohio up until 22 weeks’ gestation, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Gov. Mike DeWine signed a law in April 2019 prohibiting abortions after cardiac activity can be detected, which is typically around the six-week mark, before many women even know they’re pregnant.
The law was blocked but temporarily went into effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer. However, in October, a judge issued an injunction while litigation plays out.
The proposal from the two groups would amend Article I, Section 22 of Ohio’s constitution and state every individual has a right “to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions” on contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one own’s pregnancy, miscarriage care and abortion.
The amendment would also prevent state officials from interfering, prohibiting or penalizing a person for making choices related to reproductive health.
“Ohioans are perilously close to losing access to safe, legal, comprehensive reproductive medical care,” OPRR executive director Dr. Lauren Beene said in a statement. “As we saw first-hand when Ohio’s abortion ban went into effect last year, withholding that care puts people’s lives and health at risk.”
Her statement continued, “This commonsense amendment ensures that physicians will be able to provide the care our patients need and deserve free from government interference.”
The move in Ohio comes after five states put abortion on the ballot during the 2022 midterm elections. Voters enshrined abortion rights in their state constitutions in three states — California, Michigan and Vermont — and voted against further restricting access to abortion services in two states — Kentucky and Montana.
It also comes several months after Kansas became the first state to leave abortion up to voters following the Supreme Court’s decision. Residents decisively rejected a bid in August to remove abortion protections from its state constitution.
Anti-abortion groups have vowed to fight the proposed constitutional amendment, including Ohio Right to Life.
“The language of this ballot initiative is extremely vague, making it even more dangerous than we originally believed it would be,” said Elizabeth Marbach, communication director for the group, in a statement. “They believe that they can rewrite our state Constitution to eliminate all protections for the unborn, including abortions after the point at which babies feel pain — endangering the health and wellbeing of both women and children.”
(EAST PALESTINE, Ohio) — Standing around her kitchen sink, East Palestine, Ohio, resident Carolyn Brown told Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, EPA Administrator Michael Regan and other officials that it is the “uncertainty” that weighs on her, and her community, right now.
“There’s so much uncertainty about it. And that really gets to me emotionally,” Brown said. “My main concern is for the people that was closest to that accident, and a lot of them are younger than me and have children and — I just feel — it’s hard to see people going through things, you know, and the uncertainty of everything,” she said, her voice quavering slightly.
“You don’t know who to trust, that’s a big part of it, the uncertainty, you don’t know if you’re going to have to move,” she said. “We need to feel that we’re safe.”
It was 18 days ago that 50 cars on a Norfolk Southern Railroad train traveling from Illinois to Pennsylvania derailed in East Palestine. Eleven of those cars contained hazardous materials, five of which contained vinyl chloride, a highly volatile colorless gas produced for commercial uses. Officials decided, in order to avoid a major explosion, to evacuate the area around the derailment and burn off the chemicals.
In the days since they were allowed to return, residents have complained of itchy eyes and skin and respiratory problems.
“We know this is a long road, and we will be here until the end,” Regan said Tuesday.
DeWine said the community would not be forgotten, even after the cameras were gone. He said that testing would continue and the health clinic, set to open Tuesday, would be there to address people’s concerns.
Brown’s house is connected to the municipal water supply, she said, and DeWine told her the testing had come back so far showing that water was “safe.”
“We just need to continue to test. We think things are alright. We know things are all right now. And we just need to make sure that in the future they’re all right as well,” he said.
“So, it’s safe to drink the water?” Brown asked. “Because I haven’t even brushed my teeth with it.”
The officials assured her that it was safe.
“Did someone want to drink the water?” Brown asked.
In a chorus, the officials said, absolutely. Brown poured glasses of water from her tap. The group clinked glasses and took a sip.
“We believe in science,” Regan said. “We don’t feel like we’re being your guinea pig, but we don’t mind proving to you that we believe the water is safe.”
The officials next visited the home of a former chemistry teacher, Andris Baputnis. They drank his tap water too.
An EPA official demonstrated the sensitivity of the air quality monitors they’re using.
“As you can see in your home right now, it fluctuates a little bit,” the official said. “It’ll pick up like, hairspray … like when I hold it close to my body, it’ll pick up my deodorant. … So, that’s how sensitive these things are and that’s what we’ve been using to screen the homes and we assume it’s worst case until we can prove otherwise.”
“If there’s anything we can do at EPA, please let us know,” Regan told Baputnis.
(NEW YORK) — ABC News’ Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts said she is “beaming in gratitude” as she marks the 10th anniversary of her return to GMA after undergoing a lifesaving bone marrow transplant.
On Feb. 20, 2013, Roberts returned to the GMA set after spending nearly six months off the air while undergoing treatment.
“I have been waiting 174 days to say this, ‘Good morning, America,'” Roberts said in her first on-camera remarks upon her return.
Nearly one year prior, in June 2012, Roberts announced to GMA viewers that she had been diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a condition that occurs when blood cells don’t form and don’t work properly, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Roberts, who years earlier had beat breast cancer, would go on to endure months of treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
On Sept. 20, 2013, Roberts underwent a lifesaving bone marrow transplant using stem cells from her sister Sally-Ann Roberts, who was her perfect match.
“I was blessed to have the perfect match, the greatest gift from my sister Sally-Ann,” Roberts said Tuesday on GMA. “In those challenging moments to follow, focusing in on the fight and not the fright during my intensive treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering.”
Roberts shared her health journey with GMA viewers, following a lesson she said she learned from her beloved mother, Lucimarian Roberts, to “make my mess my message.”
Her hope, she said, in sharing her own story was to “help others through their own journey.”
That hope continued for Roberts when she returned to the GMA anchor desk on Feb. 20, 2013.
“Those 174 days there was a lot of challenges. There was a lot of fear,” Roberts said. “I was really grateful to be able to once again say, ‘Good morning, America,’ and also grateful and hopeful that by being back, I could somehow be a symbol to others going through something that this too shall pass.”
In the decade since her return to GMA, Roberts has continued to “make her mess her message” by raising awareness about the need for bone marrow donation.
While Roberts’ sister was luckily her perfect match, about 70% of patients on bone marrow registry lists do not have a family match and rely on anonymous donors for a cure, according to the Be The Match registry, a nonprofit organization operated by the National Marrow Donor Program, which manages the world’s largest bone marrow donor registry.
Even then, a patient’s chance of having a matched, available donor on the Be The Match registry ranges from 29% to 79%, depending on the patient’s ethnic background.
Over the past decade, Roberts and GMA have continued to report extensively about blood stem cell transplants, which can cure or treat more than 75 different diseases, such as leukemias and lymphomas, and spread awareness of the importance of the Be The Match registry.
Now more than ever the need is urgent as over 12,000 people are diagnosed each year with conditions that require a blood stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor, according to Be The Match.
Be The Match reports regional and national recruitment efforts decreased 36% during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, and that only 50% of people on the registry will go on to make a donation when they’re a match for a patient in need.
Be The Match has put a call out in particular for younger donors under the age of 40, as research has shown younger donors help improve overall outcomes for patients, according to the Mayo Clinic.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Roberts’ return to GMA, the show partnered with Be The Match to host bone marrow registry drives across the country.
The effort focused particularly on college campuses in order to reach donors under the age of 40.
“Still a decade later, our hope is to inspire others to help others be a match,” Roberts said Tuesday, adding that she is “filled with gratitude” for the “love, support and prayers” she has received over the years.
(NEW YORK) — A relative of an 11-year-old boy who died after injuring his ankle on a treadmill is speaking out to share a warning about his health condition.
Jesse Brown, a fifth grade student from Winter Park, Florida, was using a treadmill at a gym when he rolled his ankle, his cousin Megan Brown told ABC New’s Good Morning America.
The otherwise healthy 11-year-old was healing from the ankle injury when he developed a red and purple rash on his leg, according to Brown.
Jesse was rushed to the emergency room and then admitted to the intensive care unit, where tests confirmed he had invasive group A strep infection, according to Brown.
“The doctor said that he could have had a scratch on his ankle, from when he fell,” Brown told GMA in an interview that aired Feb. 19. “And maybe there was strep A at the gym and maybe that’s how he contracted it.”
Jesse died just a few days after he was hospitalized, according to Brown.
“Jesse was extremely outgoing and he was hilarious,” she said. “Everyone that was around him had the best things to say about him.”
After his death, the local school district that Jesse attended started a memorial fund to raise money for Jesse’s family.
“Jesse was kind and compassionate, looked out for others, adventurous, and truly an amazing friend and classmate,” the Foundation for Orange County Public Schools said in a statement. “He also knew how to make the most of fun times with friends outside and lived life to the fullest with his BMX and dirt bike racing.”
The statement continued, “Jesse worked hard and had a huge heart. He was one of our patrols that worked to keep the school safe, but also worked to make sure everyone started their day with a smile.”
What to know about risks of invasive group A strep
Jesse’s death due to an invasive group A strep (iGAS) comes as children’s hospitals and health agencies across the country are continuing to monitor a possible rise in cases.
After a lull in cases of invasive group A strep during the coronavirus pandemic, hospitals in states including Colorado, Texas and Arizona say they’re seeing more cases in children than are typical.
Two children in the Denver area have died from the infection, state health officials said in December.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said in December it is looking into reports of a possible increase in infections in the U.S.
“It’s possible that there may be increases in iGAS infections this year, as is being observed for other infectious diseases that spread person to person,” the CDC said in a statement.
Invasive group A strep is a dangerous but rare disease that leads to around 1,500 to 2,300 deaths in the United States annually, according to the CDC. The agency says between 14,000 and 25,000 cases usually occur each year.
The infections occur when strep A bacteria, which typically causes mild infections like a sore throat, spreads to other parts of the body like the bloodstream or spinal fluid. That can cause “flesh-eating” skin infections, pneumonia or toxic shock syndrome.
The condition is usually treated in the hospital with IV antibiotics.
Doctors tell ABC News that all cases of strep should be seen by a doctor, severe or not. Parents should be on the lookout for fever, sore throat, trouble swallowing, or kids not acting like themselves.
Parents should also keep an eye out for signs of toxic shock syndrome and “flesh-eating” skin infections, which can be a sign that a strep infection is invasive. Symptoms of toxic shock include fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea and vomiting, according to the CDC.
Early signs of a serious skin infection include a fast-spreading swollen area of skin, severe pain and fever. Later on it might look like blisters, changes in skin color or pus at the infected area.
Because strep spreads through coughs and sneezes and surfaces, practicing good hygiene — like washing hands, surfaces and plates or glasses — can keep it from spreading.
Parents should also make sure children are up-to-date on flu and COVID-19 vaccinations in order to help protect them.
(NEW YORK) — Over the weekend, former President Jimmy Carter entered home hospice care, the Carter Center announced.
The center said in a statement that the oldest living president, who is 98 years old, had elected “to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention” after several hospital stays.
“He has the full support of his family and his medical team. The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers,” the statement read.
Experts explained to ABC News what it means to enter hospice care and what it may entail:
What is hospice care?
Hospice care is a type of end-of-life care meant to maximize the comfort and quality of life of a terminal patient.
“Typically, hospice care requires a referral from a physician who agreed that hospice care is appropriate for the patient and so we certified that the patient’s life expectancy is six months or less, based on our best knowledge and data we have if the disease runs its expected course,” said Dr. Jay Bhatt, an internist and geriatrician in Chicago and an ABC News contributor.
Bhatt said a patient suffering from several conditions can enter hospice including cancer, dementia, kidney failure, recurrent infection and more.
“Entering hospice means your caregivers are focused on managing your symptoms…and it’s oriented around alleviating suffering, during that projected time of life,” he said.
Several needs are addressed when a patient is in hospice care including physical, psychological, social, and spiritual, according to the National Association of Home Care and Hospice.
Hospice care may be misconstrued as a process used to accelerate the worsening of someone’s condition so that they may pass, but that is not the case, Bhatt said.
“This is not intended to speed up the dying process or reduce their time that they may have,” he said. “It really is focused on addressing physical health, managing their symptoms that create suffering, [and] their emotional and spiritual health.”
What is included in hospice care?
Hospice care can include a broad set of services including physician care; nursing care; a home health aide; social work services; physical, occupational, and speech therapy; and bereavement services for the patient’s family, according to the NAHCH.
These services can help manage medication for pain or other conditions, supply emotional support for mental health needs and therapy for mobility that help alleviate suffering, Bhatt said.
“Hospice care at home relies primarily on the family or personally paid caregivers to provide that day-to-day care,” he said. “But you can have a nurse or physician on call 24 hours a day to help with medications for pain or trouble breathing [or] other symptoms.”
If symptoms become too difficult to manage, a person can receive inpatient hospice care at a facility.
While hospice care may be covered by employer-provided insurance or private insurance, it began being covered by Medicare in 1983.
According to the NAHCH, more than 1.6 Medicare beneficiaries received hospice services in 2019 with Medicare expense totaling about $20.9 billion.
Qualifying for hospice care
Experts told ABC News that it’s a complex process filled with hours of discussion before a patient can receive hospice care.
A hospice physician and a regular physician, if the patient has one, have to certify that a patient is terminally ill. The patient has to accept the care as opposed to care to cure their illness, and the patient has to sign a statement choosing hospice care.
“Clearly, the recognition is that Jimmy Carter lived an incredible life; we should all be so lucky to live a life that is so full, rich and rewarding,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, and an ABC News contributor. “At the end of the day, it’s about patient-centered decisions and their wishes and in this particular case, I’m sure there’s been a lot of consultation with medical teams, and family.”
He continued, “These things are are complicated, you know, long conversations that require many layers of discussion within that, you know, reaching out very quick decisions that are, they’re done without, you know, without the guidance of the whole care team and family.”
How is it different from palliative care?
While hospice care and palliative care are often used interchangeably, they’re not the same, experts said.
Both are about offering compassionate comfort care, but patients in palliative care might have their symptoms treated as well as receiving treatment with the intent of curing their illness.
Additionally, while hospice care requires physicians to sign off, palliative care can begin whenever the physician and patient decide and at any stage or illness — and the illness is not required to be terminal.
“Hospice care is really focused highly on the comfort of that patient,” Brownstein said. “So, comfort care without any sort of intention for cure, whereas palliative care is broader ’cause it’s comfort care, but it could have some component of curative intent.”
(EAST PALESTINE, Ohio) — A medical clinic is opening Tuesday in East Palestine, Ohio, more than two weeks after a train carrying hazardous materials and toxic chemicals derailed near the town.
The clinic, which will be held at the First of Christ Church in East Palestine, is being jointly run by the Ohio Department of Health and the Columbiana County Health Department and will be supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“Last week, I was in East Palestine and listened as many area residents expressed their concerns and fears,” ODH Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said in a statement. “I heard you, the state heard you, and now the Ohio Department of Health and many of our partner agencies are providing this clinic, where people can come and discuss these vital issues with medical providers.”
The train was operated by Norfolk Southern Railway. Hundreds of people were forced to flee the area and the incident has sparked intense concern over residents’ immediate health and safety as well as any long-term consequences from the release of dangerous materials near their homes.
Initially there were concerns about high levels of vinyl chloride, a colorless gas that burns easily and is associated with an increased risk of several cancers including brain, liver and lung cancers as well as lymphoma and leukemia, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Data showed last week that more toxic chemicals were aboard the derailed train — and subsequently released into the air and soil — than originally reported.
Among these materials is ethyl acrylate, a colorless liquid and probable carcinogen which can cause drowsiness, lethargy, headaches and nausea, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Also found was isobutylene, a highly flammable gas known as a simple asphyxiant, or a gas which can become so concentrated that it can displace oxygen and lead to rapid suffocation, according to the American Chemical Society.
As of Sunday, the EPA said there have been no air quality or water quality concerns identified through sampling. Heavily contaminated soil, however, continues to be removed and odors still linger in the community.
Additionally, Northern Southern continues to scrap and remove rail cars from the derailment site and removed contaminated liquids from storm drains in the area, according to the EPA.
At the clinic, residents will be able to discuss concerns and receive a health assessment to see if they are suffering from exposure symptoms. If needed, clinicians will make referrals for patients. The clinic will open at noon on Tuesday and remain open every day through Saturday.
“We encourage anyone who has medical concerns or questions to take advantage of this resource,” Vanderhoff said.
(NEW YORK) — Researchers are announcing that a 53-year-old man in Germany has been cured of HIV.
Referred to as “the Dusseldorf patient” to protect his privacy, researchers said he is the fifth confirmed case of an HIV cure. Although the details of his successful treatment were first announced at a conference in 2019, researchers could not confirm he had been officially cured at that time.
Today, researchers announced the Dusseldorf patient still has no detectable virus in his body, even after stopping his HIV medication four years ago.
“It’s really cure, and not just, you know, long term remission,” said Dr. Bjorn-Erik Ole Jensen, who presented details of the case in a new publication in “Nature Medicine.”
“This obviously positive symbol makes hope, but there’s a lot of work to do,” Jensen said
For most people, HIV is a lifelong infection, and the virus is never fully eradicated. Thanks to modern medication, people with HIV can live long and healthy lives.
The Dusseldorf patient joins a small group of people who have been cured under extreme circumstances after a stem cell transplant, typically only performed in cancer patients who don’t have any other options. A stem cell transplant is a high-risk procedure that effectively replaces a person’s immune system. The primary goal is to cure someone’s cancer, but the procedure has also led to an HIV cure in a handful of cases.
HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, enters and destroys the cells of the immune system. Without treatment, the continued damage can lead to AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, where a person cannot fight even a small infection.
With about 38.4 million people globally living with HIV, treatments have come a long way. Modern medication can keep the virus at bay, and studies looking into preventing HIV infection with a vaccine are also underway.
The first person with HIV cure was Timothy Ray Brown. Researchers published his case as the Berlin patient in 2009. That was followed by the London patient published in 2019. Most recently, The City of Hope and New York patients were published in 2022.
“I think we can get a lot of insights from this patient and from these similar cases of HIV cure,” Jensen said. “These insights give us some hints where we could go to make the strategy safer.”
All four of these patients had undergone stem cell transplants for their blood cancer treatment. Their donors also had the same HIV-resistant mutation that deletes a protein called CCR5, which HIV normally uses to enter the cell. Only 1% of the total population carries this genetic mutation that makes them resistant to HIV.
“When you hear about these HIV cure, it’s obviously, you know, incredible, given how challenging it’s been. But, it still remains the exception to the rule,” said Dr. Todd Ellerin, director of infectious disease at South Shore Health.
The stem cell transplantation is a complicated procedure that comes with many risks, and it is too risky to offer it as a cure for everyone with HIV.
However, scientists are hopeful. Each time they cure a new patient, they gain valuable research insights that help them understand what it would take to find a cure for everyone.
“It is obviously a step forward in advancing the science and having us sort of understanding, in some ways, what it takes to cure HIV,” Ellerin said.
Kaviya Sathyakumar, M.D., M.B.A., is a family medicine resident physician at Ocala Regional Medical Center in Florida and member of ABC News Medical Unit.
(NEW YORK) — Alika Jones was one of hundreds of Southeastern Louisiana University students who signed up for the Be The Match bone marrow registry during a homecoming drive in 2013.
Four years later, Jones got a call. She was someone’s match.
“There was a 14-year-old boy who was recently diagnosed with leukemia, and he needed a donor,” Jones told ABC News’ Good Morning America. “I just wanted to help someone, if I could, not have to worry about their child.”
Jones’ healthy cells soon became a lifeline for Josiah Knight, who underwent a successful bone marrow transplant in 2017.
Keesha Wilson, Knight’s mother, said she is beyond grateful for Jones’ life-saving donation and that her son, who lives with Down syndrome, is living his life to the fullest.
“It was a perfect match. His body was healed,” Wilson told GMA. “And he may not have to say his own words, but if you see his smile, you know, he’s very thankful and grateful.”
Jones said that choosing to donate to Be The Match was “one of the greatest” decisions of her life.
“Next to being a mother, I feel like it’s one of the greatest things that I’ve ever done in my life, to be able to help someone,” said Jones.
The Be The Match drive at Southeastern Louisiana University that led to Josiah’s transplant was done in honor of a familiar alum: GMA co-anchor Robin Roberts, who underwent a successful bone marrow transplant herself in 2012, after being diagnosed with bone marrow myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a rare blood disorder that affects bone marrow.
While Roberts’ sister Sally-Ann was luckily her perfect match, about 70% of patients on bone marrow registry lists do not have a family match and rely on anonymous donors for a cure, according to the Be The Match registry, a nonprofit organization operated by the National Marrow Donor Program, which manages the world’s largest bone marrow donor registry.
Even then, a patient’s chance of having a matched, available donor on the Be The Match registry ranges from 29% to 79%, depending on the patient’s ethnic background.
When Roberts returned to her GMA family on Feb. 20, 2013, she was empowered to make her message. Over the past decade, Roberts and GMA have continued to report extensively about blood stem cell transplants, which can cure or treat more than 75 different diseases, such as leukemias and lymphomas, and spread awareness of the importance of the Be The Match registry.
Now more than ever the need is urgent.
Be The Match reports regional and national recruitment efforts decreased 36% during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, and that only 50% of people on the registry will go on to make a donation when they’re a match for a patient in need.
Be The Match has put a call out in particular for younger donors under the age of 40, as research has shown younger donors help improve overall outcomes for patients, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Southeastern Louisiana University continues to support the Be The Match campaign and, just this month, hosted an on-campus drive where over 230 students signed up for the bone marrow registry in just a few hours.
One decade after the first registry drive at the university, Knight is thriving and 20 years old, thanks to Jones’ donation.
Knight’s family recently traveled from California to Louisiana to meet Jones for the first time face-to-face. Wilson said she wanted to meet Jones because, “Without her, my son wouldn’t be here.”
“Thank you so much … you’re such a blessing,” Wilson told Jones when they finally met. “I really appreciate you. I really do.”
(NEW YORK) — Abbott is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the Federal Trade Commission, in relation to their infant formula business, the company disclosed in a new SEC filing.
Abbott said in a filing Friday that they received a subpoena from the SEC’s Enforcement Division in December 2022 requesting “information about its powder infant-formula business and related public disclosures.”
In January, Abbott “received a civil investigative demand” from the FTC seeking information in connection with the agency’s investigation of companies that bid for infant formula contracts with the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program through USDA.
Abbott’s disclosure of these inquiries come after the Justice Department had already launched a criminal investigation into Abbott’s infant formula manufacturing conduct, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News, after contamination concerns triggered a massive recall and shutdown at their Sturgis, Michigan, plant last year.
An Abbott spokesperson told ABC News they are “cooperating with the government investigations.”
An FTC spokesperson declined to comment to ABC News on Saturday.
ABC News has also reached out to the SEC for comment and have not yet heard back.
The discovery of Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria inside Abbott’s Sturgis plant prompted a massive voluntary formula recall last February, after four babies who had consumed Abbott’s formula contracted a Cronobacter infection. Two of the infants subsequently died, although Abbott maintains there has not been conclusive evidence that its formula caused the infant illnesses, since none of the Cronobacter strains found at their plant matched the two samples genetically sequenced from the sickened infants.
Ultimately, it was the combined findings of Cronobacter inside Abbott’s plant — along with operational deficiencies identified by federal investigators and consumer complaints — which led to the plant’s closure.
After inspecting Abbott’s Sturgis facility last year, FDA chief Dr. Robert Califf described the “shocking” and “egregiously unsanitary conditions” investigators had found.
“Standing water; cracks in the key equipment that present the potential for bacterial contamination to persist, particularly in the presence of moisture; leaks on the roof; a previous citation for inadequate hand washing,” Califf testified before Congress in May. “Many signs of a disappointing lack of attention to the culture of safety, in this product that is so essential to the lives of our most precious people.”
Abbott’s recall ricocheted across American groceries and families’ pantries, exacerbating an already mounting supply issue, and forcing families to scramble for what their babies needed for months.
During the height of the severe shortage last May, the FTC had already launched an inquiry into the formula crisis, probing potential unfair and illicit enterprises which may be exploiting parents’ desperation amid the crisis.
The news of these latest inquiries into Abbott also follows the recent health expert analysis which called out major formula companies, Abbott included, for “exploitative” marketing and aggressive lobbying practices.
(NEW YORK) — Emily Dickt, a mom of two from Indiana, said she was “hit hard” after learning that a mother in Massachusetts had been charged with killing her three kids.
“It really got me thinking about my own mental health and things that I had struggled with since having kids,” Dickt told ABC News. “From what I’ve seen, it scared a lot of us [mothers].'”
The Massachusetts mom, Lindsay Clancy, appeared in court last week via Zoom from her hospital bed to face charges that she strangled her three young children to death. In addition to two counts of murder, Clancy is also charged with three counts of strangulation and three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, court documents show.
On the day of the incident, Jan. 24, police received a 911 call just after 6 p.m. ET from a man who said his wife had attempted suicide by jumping out of a window at their house.
First responders subsequently found three young children, a 5-year-old girl, a 3-year-old boy and a 7-month-old boy, inside the home “unconscious with obvious signs of severe trauma,” Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said last month.
Clancy has pleaded not guilty to the charges. In court on Feb. 7, a judge ordered her to remain hospitalized until medically cleared to move to a rehabilitation facility.
Clancy is scheduled to appear in court next on May 2, for a probable cause hearing.
Dickt, whose daughters are ages 4 and 2, said that while all the details of Clancy’s case are not publicly known, she felt compelled to share a video on TikTok about Clancy to let other moms know they are not alone if they are struggling postpartum.
Dickt’s video said, in part, “We live in a society that is so quick to judge. When in reality it could be any of us.”
“When I shared that post, it like came flooding in with just so many other people sharing their stories and what they struggled with,” she told ABC News. “People just feel alone, like they’re the only ones that are dealing with it, and that’s a scary feeling.”
Dickt was not alone in taking to social media to talk about Clancy’s case and share her own mental health struggles as a mom.
“I am lucky to be alive today thanks to daily medication but its an uphill battle every day,” another mom, Bex Spencer, shared on TikTok. “My heart is broken for this family.”
Erica Moreno, a mom of two, shared on TikTok that reading about Clancy brought her back to the time she was six months postpartum and struggling with postpartum depression, anxiety and rage.
“Scared. Out of my mind. Thinking my daughter would be better if I weren’t there,” she wrote, later adding, “I somehow survived.”
Putting a spotlight on different types of postpartum struggles
In Clancy’s first court appearance on Feb. 7, prosecutors alleged that she planned the killings, saying she showed no signs of “distress or trouble” earlier in the day and that she searched the time it would take to drive to and from a restaurant in an adjacent town and called the restaurant to place a pick-up order before asking her husband, Patrick, to drive to get the meal.
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague said Clancy, a 32-year-old nurse, was evaluated by a psychiatrist in late December and was told she, “did not have postpartum depression and she had no symptoms of postpartum depression.” Sprague said Clancy wrote in her journal about having suicidal thoughts and, in one instance, thoughts of harming her children prior to checking herself into a mental health facility on Jan. 1, according to ABC affiliate WCVB-TV.
“She did not write or voice those thoughts after a stay at the hospital,” Sprague said of Clancy, whom she said was discharged from the facility on Jan. 5.
Clancy’s defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, argued that the killings “were not planned by any means” and were a product of mental illness.
Reddington also said in court that Clancy had been heavily medicated as she suffered from postpartum depression “as well as a possibility of postpartum psychosis that is pretty much ignored,” according to WCVB-TV.
Prosecutors said Clancy called her husband from her hospital bed and told him she killed their children “because she heard a voice and had ‘a moment of psychosis,'” though he told prosecutors his wife had never mentioned hearing voices.
The public spotlight on Clancy’s case has highlighted an important distinction between postpartum psychosis and the more common postpartum depression.
Postpartum depression — a depression that occurs after having a baby — affects as many as 1 in 8 women who give birth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Postpartum psychosis is rare and causes delusions or hallucinations that can prompt suicidal or homicidal action, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Among the court documents submitted by Clancy’s lawyer so far are nearly 40 letters from friends and co-workers that describe Clancy as a caring and loving mom and nurse.
One former coworker of Clancy’s said in her letter that she had suffered from postpartum depression herself, writing, “I could of [sic] been Lindsay. Any one of us could have been.”
Another letter was signed by over 80 moms who identified themselves as the “mothers of Foxboro, Mansfield, North Attleboro, MA.”
“Lindsay will have to live with the aftermath of her postpartum depression and that is a sentence that we would not wish on any grieving mother. None of us can even begin to imagine what she is feeling, nor do we want to,” they wrote in the letter. “As mothers, we know Lindsay was not in a healthy space to carry out the acts she is accused of and we will stand by her in her darkest hour as we wish any other mother would do for us if we found ourselves struggling too.”
Alicia Murray, a licensed mental health therapist in Syracuse, New York, said she has no connection to Clancy or the case but felt compelled to speak about it on TikTok after hearing from her patients, many of whom are mothers.
“In the first week or so after [Clancy’s story] hit the news, women were coming to therapy saying, ‘It could have been me,'” Murray told ABC News. “I think women that have gone through their own postpartum experiences and have felt that like, intense, out-of-body, like really intense emotions and experiences, they sit down with me, and they’re like, ‘I get it. It totally could have been me.'”
Murray said that as both a mom and a mental health practitioner, she also chose to speak out in hopes of erasing the stigma that exists around postpartum struggles.
She noted that on her TikTok post, while many moms shared their own stories, other comments sought to negatively portray the mental health struggles of mothers.
“It breaks my heart that other moms are reading those comments,” Murray said. “It’s very uncomfortable to hear women talk about thoughts of hurting their baby and thoughts of something happening to their baby, and I get it, when we’re uncomfortable sometimes we act with anger or shame or try to deflect the conversation, but that’s not OK to do.”
She continued, “The moms who are sharing their stories, I think, are so incredible, and people should listen, because they’ve been through it firsthand.”
‘There’s a ton of stigma and misunderstanding’
Katayune Kaeni, a licensed psychologist board chair of Postpartum Support International, told ABC News the organization, a support network for postpartum moms, has seen a “big jump” in inquiries amid Clancy’s case.
“What ends up happening is that a lot of people who are dealing with postpartum depression get so worried that what has happened to Lindsay is going to happen to them because people don’t have adequate information to understand what is going on,” Kaeni told ABC News. “And so rightly so, it’s really upsetting and anxiety-provoking for people.”
Kaeni, who has no affiliation with Clancy or her case, said in addition to offering a helpline and support groups for new moms so they know they are not alone, much of the work Postpartum Support International does focuses on educating people about mental health, both during and after pregnancy.
“There’s a ton of stigma and misunderstanding around all perinatal mental issues,” she said. “When people don’t understand what it is, it’s much easier to make assumptions about the person who’s suffering, and that’s what happens oftentimes.”
Postpartum psychosis “is a true medical emergency,” Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News’ chief medical correspondent and a board-certified OBGYN, said earlier this month.
“This is mental illness,” she added.
Ashton noted that in her 22-year career as a practicing OB-GYN, she has not personally encountered a case of postpartum psychosis, which she said appears “more acutely” than postpartum depression, meaning symptoms can progress quickly and are more severe.
“It can present with signs and symptoms like confusion, hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, obsessive thoughts and then of course, tragically, attempts to harm one’s self or baby,” Ashton said, referring to postpartum psychosis. “This is a completely different entity than postpartum depression.”
Symptoms of postpartum depression include withdrawing from loved ones, crying more than usual, feeling worried or overly anxious, feeling anger, doubting your ability to take care of your baby and thinking about harming yourself or your baby, according to the CDC. The symptoms may last for weeks or months after giving birth, and are more intense and longer lasting than the “baby blues” that women may experience after giving birth.
Treatment options for postpartum depression will differ based on severity and type of symptoms and may include medication options, psychotherapy or support groups. In 2019, a drug, called Zulresson, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as the first-ever medication made specifically for women suffering from postpartum depression.
Ashton noted that it is important to seek professional medical help in any case of a woman experiencing mental health struggles after giving birth. If a person is experiencing postpartum psychosis, he or she should seek help at an emergency room.
“Absolutely, intervention is warranted for either,” Ashton said of both postpartum psychosis and postpartum depression. “Medication can be lifesaving.”
Postpartum Support International’s free and confidential helpline is available via call and text at 1-800-944-4PPD (4773). If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. Free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You are not on your own.
