Health care providers remember Roe

Also: How the media turned up the heat on the gas stove debate [View in browser](    [❤️]( January 24, 2023 Hi CommonHealth reader, This week marks 50 years since the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade secured the right to abortion in America. Because the landmark decision was overturned last year, the anniversary has been [bittersweet]( for abortion rights supporters. But for many advocates, it's still something to celebrate. "It is in recognition of a time and many years that followed where government and policy put the health, the lives and the welfare of women first,” Dr. Alisa Goldberg, director of the family planning division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told me. "I'm hopeful that maybe we can get back to that at some point, where policies first and foremost protect the health and welfare of the people that they're designed to serve." Abortion has long been a [polarizing issue]( and in the seven months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe, [over a dozen states]( have banned or heavily restricted abortion. Massachusetts is among the states that have codified abortion rights into state law, and the medical community here generally supports access to abortion. Goldberg and other reproductive health care professionals from Massachusetts gathered at the Brigham last night to mark the anniversary of the Roe decision and mull the future of abortion rights. They watched the 2022 film “[Call Jane]( which tells the story of a group of women who provided access to safe abortions in the years before the Roe decision came down. While politics and health care issues seem to be so divisive these days, Goldberg noted that anti-abortion rhetoric — and even violence — are nothing new. "It comes in waves," she said. "There are points in time when things flare, and some people get riled up… and then the rhetoric settles down, and the people who are riled up are a little settled down." Keep an eye out soon for more of my interview with Goldberg and her colleague Dr. Deborah Bartz on [our website](. In the meantime, you can check out NPR’s recent coverage about how abortion opponents are [continuing their movement after Roe's reversal]( as well as how abortion providers are changing [the way they work](. Priyanka Dayal McCluskey Senior Health Reporter [Follow]( Support the news  This Week's Must Reads [The FDA considers a major shift in the nation's COVID vaccine strategy]( The new approach would simplify vaccination guidance so that, every fall, people would get a new shot, updated to try to match whatever variant is dominant. [Read more.]( [The FDA considers a major shift in the nation's COVID vaccine strategy]( The new approach would simplify vaccination guidance so that, every fall, people would get a new shot, updated to try to match whatever variant is dominant. [Read more.]( [As ER waits stretch for days, Mass. turns to in-home care for children's mental health]( Thirty-seven hospitals in Massachusetts have started offering intensive home-based mental health care to the families of children stuck in emergency rooms. Counseling at home instead of admission to a psychiatric hospital doesn't work for everyone. But the state says the vast majority of youth who've used this option have not returned to the hospital in a mental health crisis. [Read more.]( [As ER waits stretch for days, Mass. turns to in-home care for children's mental health]( Thirty-seven hospitals in Massachusetts have started offering intensive home-based mental health care to the families of children stuck in emergency rooms. Counseling at home instead of admission to a psychiatric hospital doesn't work for everyone. But the state says the vast majority of youth who've used this option have not returned to the hospital in a mental health crisis. [Read more.]( [50 years after Roe v. Wade, many abortion providers are changing how they do business]( The overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision just months ahead of its 50th anniversary has prompted many abortion providers to shift how they serve patients. [Read more.]( [50 years after Roe v. Wade, many abortion providers are changing how they do business]( The overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision just months ahead of its 50th anniversary has prompted many abortion providers to shift how they serve patients. [Read more.]( [Author Tracy Kidder profiles Boston's doctor to the homeless community, Jim O'Connell]( The book is called "Rough Sleepers," an old British term for people who live on the streets. O'Connell is known for bringing a listening ear and compassionate health care to people no matter where they are. [Read more.]( [Author Tracy Kidder profiles Boston's doctor to the homeless community, Jim O'Connell]( The book is called "Rough Sleepers," an old British term for people who live on the streets. O'Connell is known for bringing a listening ear and compassionate health care to people no matter where they are. [Read more.]( [Study taps pharmacies as addiction treatment option during opioid crisis]( Few patients who might benefit from medications to treat an addiction to opioids receive them. Treatment programs may be inconvenient or may not have openings. One possible remedy is having pharmacists help out. A pilot program finds pharmacy-based treatment can be effective and safe. [Read more.]( [Study taps pharmacies as addiction treatment option during opioid crisis]( Few patients who might benefit from medications to treat an addiction to opioids receive them. Treatment programs may be inconvenient or may not have openings. One possible remedy is having pharmacists help out. A pilot program finds pharmacy-based treatment can be effective and safe. [Read more.]( What We're Reading 📚 If you, like me, find yourself wondering why so many people suddenly are so passionate about gas stoves, here are a couple articles that can help. As with so many aspects of life, there's a health tie-in to this discussion. [NPR reports]( that a growing body of research shows children and others with breathing problems such as asthma can experience short and even long-term health effects from gas cooking stoves. The issue has triggered a debate between people concerned about the health and climate impacts of gas — and those who fear the government is coming for their stoves. The "culture war," according to NPR, is playing out on television and social media. "It's this really well developed reflex among hyperpartisan media outlets and influencers doing what it does best, which is isolating a situation, misrepresenting it and then stoking outrage," Jared Holt, an expert on extremism, told NPR’s Lisa Hagen and Jeff Brady. If you enjoy cooking on a gas stove, and also have concerns about your health, you might feel confused about what to do. [ProPublica’s Lisa Song talked to several experts]( and boiled down their advice to this: Homeowners who can afford it should switch to an induction or electric stove. Or, you could try an induction hot plate, which costs a lot less. The article also recommends improving ventilation, such as by opening a window, to lower health risks when cooking with gas. "We couldn't sit in our clinics and wait for people to come to us. We had to go to wherever they were." — Dr. Jim O'Connell, on [providing health care to the homeless community]( in Boston ICYMI [Mass General tries performance reports to cut greenhouse gas use in anesthesia]( “You see these numbers that are just astounding,” said Sam Smith, an anesthesiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. “There’s probably no other speciality that can make such a dramatic impact with so little change or effort.” [Read more.]( [Mass General tries performance reports to cut greenhouse gas use in anesthesia]( “You see these numbers that are just astounding,” said Sam Smith, an anesthesiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. “There’s probably no other speciality that can make such a dramatic impact with so little change or effort.” [Read more.]( 🧠💥 Did you know...💥🧠 "Dry January" may have some benefits — even if you don’t make it a whole month without drinking alcohol. Experts say [a short period of sobriety]( is good for your health. 😎 Forward to a friend. 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