health care

The future of abortion remains highly uncertain in Michigan. At the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the student health center has been preparing for all possible scenarios, from a complete statewide ban on abortion to less extreme changes.

Colleges navigate confusing legal landscapes as new abortion laws take effect

6:09pm July 19, 2022

With abortion access changing in many states, college health centers are trying to understand their rights and responsibilities when counseling students who become pregnant.

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Alabama's abortion laws didn't deter one site from offering reproductive health care

12:14pm July 19, 2022

by Kyle Gassiott

After the only abortion clinic in Montgomery, Ala., shut down, a next-door organization has been threading a legal needle to give reproductive health care to those coming from hundreds of miles away.

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Health & Safety

The doctor who performed an abortion for a 10-year-old rape victim faces backlash

10:15am July 17, 2022

by Sarah McCammon

The Indiana doctor who provided an abortion for a 10-year-old girl last month is fighting back against suggestions that she made up the story and failed to file appropriate paperwork.

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Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., seen here Thursday, has delivered another blow to Democrats' prospects to pass a spending bill.

Biden urges Democrats to pass slim health care bill after Manchin nixes climate action

5:08pm July 15, 2022

by Ximena Bustillo

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin's vote is key in the evenly divided Senate, and he already rejected President Biden's larger spending package in December.

Starting July 16, people in mental health crisis will have a new three-digit number, 988, through which to reach trained counselors.

The new 988 crisis number is about to launch. Here's what to know

9:53am July 15, 2022

by Rhitu Chatterjee

Mental health advocates hope the new hotline will make it much easier to get support if you're in crisis or helping someone who is. Here's how it works and what could stand in its way.

Drugmaker HRA Pharma has asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve an over-the-counter birth control pill called Opill. The agency's review process is estimated to take about 10 months.

Over-the-counter birth control pills are available worldwide. The U.S. may be next

5:00am July 14, 2022

by Allison Aubrey

Birth control pills are available in the U.S. only with a prescription. Now a drugmaker is asking the FDA to approve a progestin-only contraceptive that would be available without one at pharmacies.

Mifepristone (Mifeprex) and Misoprostol, the two drugs used in a medication abortion, can also be prescribed for other medical uses. However some pharmacists have refused to fill prescriptions for them.

Health & Safety

Pharmacies may violate civil rights if they refuse meds linked to abortion, feds warn

4:13pm July 13, 2022

by Carrie Feibel

Pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions for medications used for abortion could be violating civil rights law. The meds are also used to treat miscarriages, arthritis and ulcers.

Supporters of abortion rights rally at the Minnesota State Capitol Building in downtown St. Paul following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Three things to know about health insurance coverage for abortion

5:00am July 13, 2022

by Julie Appleby

Even before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, whether a health plan paid for abortion varied widely. Now it's become even more complex, with conflicts and court challenges on the horizon.

Dr. Atul Gawande delivers a speech in 2015. In January 2022, he became the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development's work in global health.

Faced with COVID and monkeypox, new USAID leader draws strength from African proverb

5:40pm July 11, 2022

by Ailsa Chang

Dr Atul Gawande, the surgeon and bestselling health writer talks, to NPR about the problems he has inherited as the new head of USAID's global health office.

Fertility treatments could be in jeopardy in anti-abortion states, IVF patients fear

4:24pm July 11, 2022

by Michelle Jokisch Polo

Some who are struggling to conceive worry that the battle over abortion could put fertility treatments like IVF in jeopardy. The argument that life begins at conception could restrict such processes.