What we're reading, May 23, 2016: Oklahoma governor vetoes bill banning abortion; the FDA approved a new nutrition label highlighting sugar added; and 7 years after death panels, conversations on end-of-life planning are becoming more common.
Oklahoma lawmakers may have passed a controversial bill that would make performing an abortion a felony, but it won’t become law. Governor Mary Fallin vetoed the bill, which was the first of its kind and would effectively ban abortion from the state, according to NPR. Fallin, who has signed 18 bills supporting pro-life values, said the bill was vague and would not withstand a legal challenge. Oklahoma has already made it illegal for anyone who is not a physician to perform an abortion.
The FDA has approved a new nutrition label that breaks out added sugar from the total sugar count. According to The Wall Street Journal, the new panel will list how many grams of sugar was added and what percentage that is of the recommended daily maximum. Food and beverage companies have opposed the new rule because, they claim, there is no difference between added sugars and those that are naturally present. The new rules are aimed at curbing obesity, diabetes, and other health ailments.
Death panels may only be 7 years ago, but conversations on end-of-life planning have changed drastically since then. In the first 6 weeks from the start of Medicare paying for end-of-life planning conversations, 14% of physicians said they had already billed for the new counseling, reported AP.
Government agencies have created an online portal for the public to report potential anticompetitive practices in health care; there are changes coming to the “boxed warning” section for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies (CAR T) to highlight T-cell blood cancer risk; questions about the safety of obesity medications during pregnancy have arisen in women on them who previously struggled with fertility issues.
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