(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 symptoms are “almost completely resolved,” his physician said on Monday.
Kevin O’Connor wrote in a letter released by the White House that Biden is now only noting “some residual nasal congestion and minimal hoarseness.”
“His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain absolutely normal. His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent in room air. His lungs remain clear,” O’Connor added.
Biden on Sunday night also completed his fourth full day of Paxlovid, the COVID-19 treatment he’s been taking since he tested positive for the virus on Thursday. The president is believed to have contracted the BA.5 subvariant, which has shown increased resistance to vaccines than previous COVID strains.
Prior to Monday, Biden’s symptoms had included a runny nose, cough, sore throat, a slight fever and body aches. He had also been using an albuterol inhaler for a cough, though O’Connor’s Monday letter did not mention that.
Biden is fully vaccinated and double-boosted, though at 79 years old, he’s considered to be in a high-risk age group for severe infection.
The White House has said that 17 people are considered close contacts of the president, though no other positive tests from the administration have been reported as of Monday morning.
Biden will continue working from the White House residence until he tests negative. He had to cancel trips to Pennsylvania and Florida after contracting the virus.
(PHOENIX) — Ahead of Arizona’s Aug. 2 primary, Republican voters in the battleground state say they remain torn over former President Donald Trump’s place in the party — as he and his estranged former Vice President Mike Pence support dueling candidates in the GOP governor’s primary.
At a banquet-style event in Peoria on Friday with roughly 350 guests, Pence joined a term-limited Gov. Doug Ducey and GOP secretary of state candidate Beau Lane to support gubernatorial hopeful Karrin Taylor Robson, a wealthy donor and former member of the Arizona Board of Regents widely seen as the establishment candidate.
On the heels of another prime-time Jan. 6 hearing, Pence only mentioned Trump once in his 21-minute speech to tout their accomplishments — careful not to break fully from the former president in public but taking a quick swipe at Trump’s chosen candidate, Kari Lake, saying, “There are those who want to make this election about the past.”
That day, at a rally across the state, Trump and Lake, a former TV journalist-turned-“Ultra MAGA mom,” called President Joe Biden’s victory “illegitimate” and likened the former president to “Superman” before an energized crowd of thousands.
In interviews with ABC News, voters at a Lake town hall on Saturday expressed frustration with Pence for supporting Robson and for fulfilling his constitutional duty to certify the 2020 presidential election.
“To me, it just reiterated my disappointment in Pence,” said LeAnna Perez, a teacher for deaf and hard-of-hearing students from Louisiana who moved to Arizona in February and will be voting in her first election in the state next week. “I’m done with Mike Pence. He’s proving who he truly is.”
A half-dozen Republicans in Arizona told ABC News that while they support Trump’s “America First” policies, they are split on whether he is the right person to deliver them in an already polarized political climate.
“Whoever he is sponsoring is going to have a hard time in the primary and in the general election,” said Anastasia Keller, a lifelong Republican, Arizonan and small business owner who supported Trump in 2020.
Keller added that she had relatives break off from him: “They really liked Trump and what he stood for, some of the things that he accomplished, but the mean tweets and the overall attitude — I just don’t think that he can bring the country together.”
Pence, formerly Trump’s loyal No. 2, has become one of the most prominent GOP politicians with a contrasting style — endorsing a range of local candidates even against the Trump-endorsed picks, as he did when he stumped for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp over primary challenger David Perdue.
Lake is the odds-on favorite for the gubernatorial nod, but Robson has seen a surge in polling in recent weeks with former Arizona Rep. Matt Salmon dropping out of the race to back her and blast Lake. But Lake would face an uphill battle in the general election in a state that has shifted blue, with the likely Democratic nominee, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, singling out Lake over Robson in most of her attack ads.
John Mendibles, the executive director of Arizona’s League of Veterans who is supporting Robson, told ABC News that Republicans “want level heads. We don’t want no more craziness.”
“We’ve got enough of that. That’s behind us,” Mendibles said, holding a Robson sign for the camera. “This is 2022; 2024 is coming.”
One outside strategist in the Arizona governor’s race argued that Trump’s brand in the state was tarnished given Democrats’ victories in the state in 2018 and 2020.
“Kari Lake embodies the Trump experience. … She has taken the Trump playbook and [tried] to replicate what Trump did nationally in Arizona,” said GOP strategist and lifelong Arizonan Barrett Marson. “But Trump lost in 2020 in Arizona.”
According to a recent New York Times/Siena College poll, nearly half (49%) of Republicans said they wanted Trump to seek a second term. But the other half of those surveyed told the Times that they wanted someone else to get the Republican nomination in 2024 and 16% of GOP voters said they would never vote for Trump.
Voters at Lake’s event over the weekend said they would back Trump in 2024 — but also praised Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is at 25% among GOP primary voters, according to the Times poll.
Jason J. Baker, who works for DoorDash and a Christian film company, said Trump has his vote “unless there’s a candidate that just blows him away.”
“It would be kind of close for me, because I’m a huge supporter of Gov. DeSantis, and if [South Dakota] Gov. Kristi Noem was to ever run, she’d pretty much have my vote from the announcement,” Sanchez said.
(ST. LOUIS) — Nearly 2,500 Boeing workers are set to go on strike next month after voting down a union contract on Sunday.
Workers at three St. Louis-area plants will begin the strike on Aug. 1 after rejecting an offer that insufficiently compensated workers through its retirement plan, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, or IAMAW, told ABC News.
The contract included a $2 per hour increase in the base wage for all employees, which equates to an average 7.2% wage hike, Boeing said. Workers at the three St. Louis-area facilities make an average of $29.42 per hour, the union said.
The contract would also have improved the pace at which workers move up the wage scale and a deal would’ve included a $3,000 cash bonus for each worker if it had been ratified by Sunday, the company said.
In 2014, Boeing stopped offering a traditional pension plan for new hires, replacing it with a 401(k) that fails to adequately compensate workers, Jody Bennett, chief of staff of the IAMAW Aerospace Department, told ABC News.
“We cannot accept a contract that is not fair and equitable, as this company continues to make billions of dollars each year off the backs of our hardworking members,” IAMAW said in a statement.
“Boeing previously took away a pension from our members, and now the company is unwilling to adequately compensate our members’ 401(k) plan. We will not allow this company to put our members’ hard-earned retirements in jeopardy,” the union added.
The 401(k) plan offered in the contract features a dollar-for-dollar company match on 10% of a worker’s pay, Bennett said.
Plus, for the remainder of this year, the company will automatically put an amount equivalent to 4% of a worker’s pay into the 401(k), Bennett said. That automatic 401(k) investment from the company drops to 2% in 2023 and 2024 and is eliminated after 2024, he added.
“This is about that takeaway,” Bennett said. “We can’t recommend a takeaway.”
In a statement, Boeing lamented the union’s rejection of the contract.
“We are disappointed with Sunday’s vote to reject a strong, highly competitive offer,” the company said. “We are activating our contingency plan to support continuity of operations in the event of a strike.”
Boeing reported a loss of $1.2 billion in the first quarter of this year. The company brought in $62.2 billion revenue in 2021 after a resurgence in sales of its 737 MAX, which was grounded in 2019 after two crashes left 346 people dead. The Federal Aviation Agency lifted the grounding order in November 2020.
On Wednesday, the company will release earnings results for the second quarter.
“While it may be Boeing’s name that goes on those airplanes, it’s these people that do the work to make those airplanes,” IAMAW’s Bennett said.
(LONDON) — Prince Harry has scored an early victory in his legal battle to ensure he and his family are protected by security when they are in the U.K.
A judge in London ruled Friday that the uke of Sussex’s case can go to the High Court in London, meaning Harry, sixth in line to the British throne, will face off with the Home Office, which oversees immigration and security, in court.
Harry is fighting back against a 2020 decision by the government that denied his family police protection while in Britain after he and his wife Meghan, the duchess of Sussex, stepped down from roles as senior working roles.
At the time, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures made a decision that security would be granted on a case-by-case basis.
Harry, who now lives in California with Meghan and their children Archie and Lilibet, has said he wants police protection for his family while on British soil and is willing to pay for the cost himself.
“He says that since birth, he’s been born into a world that requires a level security,” said Omid Scobie, ABC News royal contributor and the author of Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Royal Family. “Not just to keep himself safe, but also his extended family, the people he marries, the children he has.”
Harry has only returned to the U.K. a handful of times since moving in 2020.
He and Meghan made their first joint return to the U.K. in April, where they met briefly with Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, on their way to the Invictus Games.
The couple then returned with their children in June to celebrate the queen’s Platinum Jubilee, their first known trip to the U.K. as a family of four.
Archie, 3, was born in the U.K. but had not traveled back publicly with his parents since they moved to California in 2020.
Lilibet was born last June in Santa Barbara, California, making her the first senior royal baby born in the U.S., and the first great-grandchild of the queen to be born outside of the U.K.
Since moving to California, the Sussexes have relied on a privately-funded security team, but Harry’s legal team has said they hope to expand that soon.
The family’s current security situation is similar to that of Harry’s late mother Princess Diana who had to rely on private security protection after her divorce from Harry’s father Prince Charles in 1996.
One year later, in 1997, Diana died in a car crash in Paris after the car she was riding in was pursued by paparazzi.
“When Diana died, she didn’t have police protection. She had a private security team at that point,” said Victoria Murphy, ABC News royal contributor. “And I think it’s very clear that Prince Harry feels that the police protection is superior and that that is what he wants for his family.”
(NEW YORK) — Ghislaine Maxwell has been moved to a low-security federal prison in Florida to serve her 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
Maxwell, who has filed notice that she intends to appeal her conviction and sentence, is currently listed as an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee.
The facility is different than what Maxwell’s attorneys had requested. They asked that she serve her time in Danbury, Connecticut.
Maxwell, 60, was found guilty of conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to recruit, groom and abuse minors.
The outgoing director of the BOP, Michael Carvajal, was subpoenaed to testify this week before a Senate panel and could face questions about Epstein’s suicide while in jail.
Maxwell’s defense attorneys had frequently complained about the conditions of her confinement at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where she was previously held, arguing she was subjected to harsh treatment because of her association with Epstein.
At the facility in Tallahassee, Maxwell will be expected to wake up at 6 a.m., make her bed, dress in khaki pants and khaki shirt and maintain a regular job assignment.
(NEW YORK) — As abortion laws across the South and Midwest block nearly all abortions in over a dozen states, some city politicians are seeking new ways to protect abortion access.
While city leaders can’t directly overturn state legislature, some are seeking city-wide bills to mitigate the effects of state bans.
Austin unites against Texas state law
On Thursday, Austin’s city council voted to enact the GRACE Act, which effectively decriminalizes abortion in the city. One council member, Mackenzie Kelly, was absent from the vote.
City policy will be updated to deprioritize the investigation or enforcement of any charges related to pregnancy and abortion.
While Austin is still under Texas’ abortion law that bans nearly all abortions in the state, the GRACE act aims to minimize criminal accountability for those who seek or provide abortions.
“Criminalizing abortions won’t make them go away. It only puts people of lower economic means and communities of color at risk by making seeking essential health care unsafe,” Council member Vanessa Fuentes told ABC News.
The legislation also blocks the use of city funding or other resources for information sharing, data collection and surveillance related to abortion services and other reproductive health decisions, according to District 4’s office.
The act, however, will not apply when “coercion or force” is used against a pregnant person or in cases of criminal negligence related to a pregnant person’s health, the office added.
Jenna Hanes, communications director for the District 4 office, said that council member Jose Vela believes abortion is just like any health care, and shouldn’t be limited by politics.
“Abortion being punishable by up to 99 years in the state of Texas is ridiculous, it’s a violation of human rights,” Hanes told ABC News.
The city unanimously passed another three measures on Thursday, all aimed to protect access to abortion.
One was a nondiscrimination ordinance, which does not allow a resident to be discriminated against in housing or employment based upon their previous reproductive choices.
Two other measures were introduced by the city’s mayor, Steve Adler, and passed by the council.
One is an awareness campaign regarding birth control options, including male-targeted options such as vasectomies. The second directs the city manager to explore options to assist city employees in traveling for any procedure they cannot obtain within Texas — including abortions.
“In Austin we stand together and fight for what is right. Reproductive rights and choice are fundamental rights,” Adler told ABC News.
New Orleans resistance meets state backlash
Some New Orleans officials have adopted similar measures, and are facing backlash from the state government for doing so, the New Orleans mayor’s office said.
Louisiana’s abortion laws are currently not in action, as a temporary order blocking enforcement was issued June 27 and has since been extended several times, with a state judge expected to hear arguments Tuesday, officials said.
If the laws are cleared by the judge, several New Orleans officials have pledged to resist enforcing the bans.
In June, the New Orleans City Council passed a resolution similar to the GRACE Act that prohibits public funds or resources from being used by local law enforcement to enforce the trigger ban, according to the mayor’s office.
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said his office will not prosecute abortion providers, and New Orleans Police Department and the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office said they will not arrest nor investigate providers.
In opposition, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry called upon the state treasurer and his fellow members of the Bond Commission, a state agency that determines who can incur debt or levy taxes, to delay any applications and funding for New Orleans and Orleans Parish until officials agree to enforce the ban, according to a statement from Landry.
New Orleans mayor Latoya Cantrell said she will continue to fight to make New Orleans a safe haven for abortion access.
“As a Black woman, I understand the devastating impact these laws will have on our health and safety. We experience a higher maternal mortality rate than any other group and we cannot risk our reproductive health care decisions being forced out of our hands,” Cantrell told ABC News.
St. Louis leaders defy the state of Missouri
A similar circumstance exists in St. Louis, where Mayor Tishaura Jones signed a bill to direct $1 million in federal relief funds to support access to abortions on Thursday, according to the mayor’s press conference.
Hours later, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed suit to block the new law, issuing a statement that the law was “blatantly illegal.”
“I believe that abortion is healthcare and that healthcare is a human right. He does not,” Jones said. “I believe, and a majority of Missourians believe, reproductive health care decisions should stay between St. Louisans, their God, and their doctor. The attorney general does not.”
Earlier this week, the St. Louis County Council voted not to adopt a similar bill to use federal funding towards abortion resources following a nearly three-hour debate on Tuesday.
The effort, sponsored by Council members Lisa Clancy, D-5th District, and Kelli Dunaway, D-2nd District, faced a 4-3 vote at the end of the meeting, blocking it from enactment.
Clancy told ABC News that she sponsored this bill because “removing the ability to access this procedure is a fundamental violation of the freedom of women and other pregnant people to self-determine their health care decisions.”
Clancy said that two abortion clinics in neighboring Illinois are the most accessible for the St. Louis region. But, for those who don’t have transportation, lodging and child care, getting to those clinics remains nearly impossible.
“My bill will help to level the playing field among those who need abortions to actually get them by providing funding for the logistics required to get an abortion across state lines,” Clancy told ABC News.
District 6 Council member Ernie Trakas told ABC News that he does not believe it is legitimate to use such funds for abortion travel, and that passing such a bill would “most definitely result in suit being file by the Missouri Attorney General.”
(NEW YORK) — The sixth teenager in the 1989 Central Park jogger case, who pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, will be exonerated on Monday.
While the famous “Central Park 5” juveniles went to trial, a sixth teen, Steven Lopez, pleaded guilty to avoid the rape charge.
On Monday afternoon, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. is moving to vacate Lopez’s guilty plea and dismiss the indictment.
On the night of April 19, 1989, Trisha Meili was jogging in Central Park when she was raped, brutally beaten and left for dead. She survived and testified, but did not remember her assault.
Five teenagers — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — had high-profile trials after they were taken into custody, hounded in police interrogations and ultimately gave false confessions.
Salaam, Santana and McCray were convicted of rape, assault and robbery. Wise was found guilty of sexual abuse, assault and riot, and Richardson was convicted of attempted murder, rape, sodomy, robbery, assault and riot.
In 2002, convicted rapist Matias Reyes confessed to being Meili’s sole attacker, and Reyes’ DNA was matched to the crime scene. The five men’s convictions were overturned and they later received a settlement from the city.
Lopez’s case is not as well known. Lopez, who was 15 when arrested and interrogated, took a deal with prosecutors to avoid the rape charge and pleaded guilty to robbing a male jogger the same night as the rape, according to The New York Times.
Lopez served over three years and didn’t receive settlement money, the Times reported.
ABC News’ Susan Welsh, Keren Schiffman and Enjoli Francis contributed to this report.
(HOUSTON) — A Houston-area police officer was shot in the face by a suspect armed with two automatic pistols with extended magazines, authorities said.
Crystal Sepulveda was injured early Saturday and hospitalized in stable condition, authorities said.
“She’s a strong officer, she will make it through this,” Missouri City Assistant Police Chief Lance Bothell said at a news conference.
Sepulveda, who has been with the Missouri City Police Department for three years, suffered one gunshot to the face and another to the foot, he said.
The shooting took place early Saturday when Missouri City officers spotted a car that was suspected of being linked to an aggravated robbery on Friday, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner told reporters. Officers pursued the car, Finner said, and the suspect stopped in front of a house. The suspect then headed to the side or back of the house where he shot Sepulveda, Finner said.
The suspect fled on foot, and when he was found in a backyard, he opened fire on officers, Finner said. The suspect was shot and pronounced dead at a hospital, he said.
“We never celebrate the loss of life, but what could you do when a suspect is so violent?” Finner told reporters. “I ask for prayers for everybody involved, but certainly our men and women on the front line.”
Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — In the 30 days since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the abortion landscape in the United States has dramatically changed.
The 5-4 decision was related to a Mississippi law that banned abortions after 15 weeks. Chief Justice John Roberts voted with the majority to uphold the Mississippi law but joined the liberal justices in voting to not overturn Roe.
Because of the ruling, states can essentially establish their own laws. This means depending on where Americans live, people either have unfettered access, limited access or no access at all to abortion.
Many states had so-called trigger laws that immediately banned abortion once Roe was struck down. Others had laws written prior to the court’s decision that they were able to enact after abortion rights were overturned.
A handful of other states have gone the other way and signed executive orders and directives strengthening access to abortion and protecting those who seek or perform the procedure.
Patient care has changed, too. Abortion providers in states where access is still available are seeing more out-of-state patients than ever before, while OBGYNs told ABC News more women are requesting sterilization over concerns their current methods of birth control will fail and they won’t be able to get an abortion.
More states with abortion bans
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, at least 13 states have ended nearly all abortion services.
Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas have completely banned abortion with few restrictions, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Georgia, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee have enforced six-week bans, and Florida has enforced 15-week bans.
This has led to the U.S. being made up of a patchwork of abortion laws.
At least three other states — Kentucky, Louisiana and Utah — have also passed abortion bans, but they have been blocked in court and are awaiting hearings.
Meanwhile, Michigan and West Virginia had pre-Roe bans on the books that were never repealed and went unenforced for years. Judges have issued preliminary injunctions in court against both bans, while Michigan’s governor has vowed to protect rights.
Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis, who specializes in the legal history of reproduction, told ABC News that “this is just the beginning” and she believes more states will pass laws banning abortion in the coming months and years.
She said lawmakers wrote several of these abortion laws under the assumption they would not be legally allowed to actually go into effect. Now that Roe is overturned, some states want to make them even more stringent.
For example, in Indiana, the Republican-led Senate has proposed eliminating its current 22-week ban and replacing it with a total ban on abortion with limited exceptions. Additionally, in Missouri, where a total ban already exists, lawmakers want to go a step further and make it illegal to “aid or abet” out-of-state abortions.
“So, since Roe has been overturned, there’s been literally like a cottage industry of abortion opponents producing new model laws and proposals for how to actually enforce an abortion ban, or eliminate exceptions to abortion bans, or enhance punishments for abortion,” Ziegler said.
Some states strengthen abortion protection
While some states have been restricting the right to an abortion since Roe’s reversal, others have been strengthening it.
The governors of Colorado, Maine and North Carolina signed executive orders certifying the right to obtain or perform an abortion.
“A woman’s right to choose is just that — a woman’s, not a politician’s,” Maine Gov. Janet Mills said in a statement at the time of signing.
In Delaware, Gov. John Carney signed legislation allowing licensed physician assistants, certified nurse practitioners and certified nurse-midwives with training to “terminate pregnancy before viability.”
Governors in all four of the above states as well as Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Washington signed executive orders protecting people who seek or provide abortions from criminal or civil investigations or charges.
In North Carolina and Delaware, neither patients nor providers will be penalized for inquiring about abortions as well as providing or receiving abortion care.
The governors of Colorado, Maine, New Mexico and Rhode Island said they will not cooperate with investigations in other states of people who received or performed abortions in their own states.
Additionally, Govs. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts and Tim Walz of Minnesota said they will not cooperate with extradition attempts for those who obtained or provided abortions in their respective states.
Baker’s order also protects providers from losing their licenses due to out-of-state charges relating to abortion.
In Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee signed a directive forbidding the Washington State Patrol from cooperating with investigations related to abortion in states with restricted access.
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to take steps to safeguard abortion access including protecting patient privacy, promoting the safety of providers and clinics and strengthening the mandate set by Obamacare that birth control continue to be covered by insurance. Biden has said his power to protect abortion is limited but fellow Democrats and abortions rights advocates have been pressuring the White House to codify abortion rights.
Doctors are seeing more out-of-state patients
Abortion providers in states where the procedure is legal say the makeup of their patients has somewhat changed.
Pro-Choice Washington, a non-profit organization focused on advocacy for reproductive freedom in Washington state, expects a 400% increase in patients seeking care from out of state following Roe’s reversal. One New Mexico clinic said 75% of their patients come from Texas, which has a total abortion ban.
Dr. Lisa Harris, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Michigan, said she has seen more out-of-state patients for abortions than ever before in her almost 30-year career.
Before Roe was overturned, Harris said, typically about three-quarters of her patients seeking abortions were in-state and one-quarter were out-of-state.
“The last day I saw patients, it was 80% out of state and 20% in state,” Harris told ABC News. “It was just like a flip-flop.”
“Most of the patients I took care of last week seeking abortion care came from three different states where they had appointments scheduled on the day the decision was released or shortly after and were unable to get abortion care,” she added.
She continued, “And it took a couple of weeks for them to find and set up care somewhere else, which happened to be Michigan.”
Michigan is one of several states that had an abortion law predating Roe that was never repealed. In Michigan’s case, the 1931 law makes providing an abortion a felony, including in cases of rape and incest. The only exception is if the mother’s life is in danger.
A judge issued a temporary injunction in May blocking the ban as a lawsuit Planned Parenthood filed against the state plays out. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also filed a lawsuit in April to stop the ban and ask the state’s Supreme Court to recognize abortion as a constitutional right.
Last month, Whitmer filed a motion asking for the court to immediately consider her lawsuit. It’s unclear when a hearing will be held.
The lawsuit has been criticized by groups that oppose abortion rights. Barbara Listing, president of Right to Life of Michigan, referred to the lawsuit as “frivolous” and called on the court to dismiss it.
Harris also said this is the first time she has ever had to tell patients who schedule appointments that she can’t guarantee they will be seen if the injunction is lifted.
“When we meet a patient, we’ve had to say, ‘We will schedule you, but there is a chance that when next week rolls around, abortion will no longer be legal in Michigan and we won’t be able to care for you,’ which causes a great deal of stress, as you can imagine, and people try to make contingency plans,” she said.
Harris is also worried about what qualifies as a life-saving abortion under the save the mother’s life exception if the Michigan ban is upheld.
“In Michigan, our ban permits abortions to preserve the life of the patient, but it’s unclear what the means and does that mean they have to be imminently dying?” she said. “What if the risk was later if they continue in their pregnancy? Does it need to be a 100% chance that they would die? What if it’s 50%?”
She said she thinks it will start to be clear about what qualifies as a life-saving abortion “as doctors begin to be prosecuted.”
Some women are turning to sterilization
Dr. Charisse Loder, a clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Michigan Medicine who specializes in sterilization, told ABC News she has seen an increase in the number of patients coming in requesting sterilization procedures since Roe was overturned.
Before the Supreme Court decision, Loder said she saw one to two patients a week to discuss sterilization. In the weeks since, she has seen anywhere from four to six patients a week.
“Many of them scheduled their appointments after the decision and are actually telling me without prompting that they were prompted to make their appointments based on the news,” she said.
Loder said many of her patients were on other types of birth control, including condoms, pills and IUDs, but wanted to switch to a method with a lower failure rate following the reversal of Roe.
“I’ve had patients say things like, ‘I just can’t take any chances now,’ or, ‘I don’t know what the future holds,'” she said.
She added some patients were also fearful that access to birth control would be lost after reading a concurring opinion written solely by Justice Clarence Thomas in which he called for the reconsideration of Griswold v. Connecticut, which established the right of married couples to use contraception.
On Thursday, the House passed a bill that would protect access to birth control nationwide. The bill passed 228-195 with eight Republicans joining the Democrats.
“So, patients [asking for sterilization] have said, “I don’t know if in the future I’ll need my partner’s permission to use birth control,'” Loder said. “One patient told me, ‘I can’t trust the government to protect me.'”
(NEW YORK) — Family Dollar shoppers should check their medicine cabinets and bathrooms for any recently recalled products.
The variety dollar store chain issued a voluntary recall of hundreds of products from toothpaste and lip balm to deodorant and lotions due to them being stored incorrectly.
The products were “stored and inadvertently shipped” to some stores from around May 1 through June 10, and were “stored outside of labeled temperature requirements,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stated.
Family Dollar said it has not received any consumer complaints or reports of illness related to this recall.
“Family Dollar has notified its affected stores asking them to check their stock immediately and to quarantine and discontinue the sale of any affected product,” the FDA said in the recall. “Customers that may have bought affected product may return such product to the Family Dollar store where they were purchased without receipt. This recall does not apply to Delaware, Alaska, Hawaii as no Family Dollar stores in Delaware received any products subject to this recall and Family Dollar does not have any stores in Alaska or Hawaii.”
Any questions can be directed to Family Dollar Customer Service at 844-636-7687 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET.
The FDA urged customers to contact a health care provider if they experience any problems that may be related to using these products.
“Adverse reactions or quality problems experienced with the use of this product may be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax,” the agency said.
