Health
Oregon, and the rest of the country, launches new 988 crisis intervention service
UPDATED at 5:15 p.m. to reflect Oregon Health Authority response. Oregonians in a mental health crisis have an easy new resource to get help: 988. On Saturday, the new 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline launches to connect those who call, text or go online to counselors trained in helping people in a crisis. Counselors will […]
Millions earmarked for cooling, heating, clean air yet to benefit Oregonians
UPDATED: July 21 at 4:38 p.m. The Legislature allocated millions of dollars this February and in 2021 toward protecting thousands of Oregonians from extreme weather and smoke-filled air. But that money has yet to help anyone. The Oregon Health Authority, which oversees a program to distribute air conditioning units to vulnerable people, awaits the delivery […]
U.S. Supreme Court out of touch with most Americans
I woke up the morning of July 4th feeling cynical about “Independence Day” after the recent slew of Supreme Court decisions that essentially eviscerated long-standing constitutional rights and protections considered core to our democracy. With Dobbs v. Jackson, the Supreme Court’s newly anointed conservative supermajority stripped women of the constitutional guarantee to decide whether to […]
Members of U.S. Senate panel fight over effects of abortion ruling on Black patients
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday began wading through the dozens of state laws that have taken effect in the two weeks since the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to an abortion, and heard from witnesses who said the effect on Black patients will be especially harsh. “People of color, specifically […]
University of Idaho researchers find correlation between pesticides and cancer
A correlation between agricultural pesticides and cancer in Western states has been found by University of Idaho and Northern Arizona University researchers. Two studies were conducted, one that examined correlating data in 11 Western states and one that took a closer look at data in Idaho specifically. The studies found a possible relationship between agricultural […]
Biden unveils executive order on abortion access, cites case of 10-year-old Ohio rape survivor
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly been criticized as slow to respond to a widely expected U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended the nationwide right to an abortion, signed an executive order Friday that could preserve some access to abortion in states where the procedure remains legal. Biden in a White House speech […]
Health officials confirm six cases of monkeypox in Oregon
The monkeypox virus has spread to at least six men in Oregon in the past three weeks. Oregon labs confirmed one case in Lane County and two cases in Washington County on Wednesday, according to the Oregon Health Authority. Two others were confirmed July 1 in Lane County, and the first man infected, confirmed in […]
Medicare prescription drug negotiation plan advanced by U.S. Senate Democrats
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats have reached a tentative agreement to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs in the Medicare program, the first step in passing a long-stalled package that’s expected to include tax and climate change provisions as well. The deal, brokered between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin […]
3-year abortion trends vary dramatically by state
A recent survey from the Guttmacher Institute documented an 8% rise in the number of abortions performed in the U.S. from 2017 to 2020, reversing what had been a nearly three-decade decline in women opting to terminate their pregnancies. But a closer look at the findings, drawn from a comprehensive survey of every known facility […]
Northeast Oregon farms, food industries to buy water filters for those with contaminated wells
In response to the groundwater nitrate emergency in Morrow County, a coalition of food processors, an industrial dairy and an energy company working out of the Port of Morrow will pay for water filters for hundreds of people with contaminated wells. The Boardman Chamber of Commerce released a statement Friday saying Beef Northwest, Boardman Foods, […]
Democratic governors call on Biden to use federal facilities for abortion access
A group of Democratic governors urged President Joe Biden on Friday to use federal facilities to provide access to abortions, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade last week. In a video conference with nine governors, including Kate Brown of Oregon, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico […]
Portland Trail Blazers donates $25,000 to abortion access fund
The Portland Trail Blazers donated $25,000 to an abortion access fund created by the Oregon Legislature, marking the first company donation to the fund. The basketball team gave the money to a Portland nonprofit, Seeding Justice, which is managing the Reproductive Health Equity Fund. It was created in February by state lawmakers, who allocated $15 […]