Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid last night unveiled a health care bill which includes pro-abortion language. The bill's language mirrors the Capps Amendment from the House debate -- it allows the public option to include abortion coverage and provides federal subsidies for private plans which cover abortion. [More]

Last night, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and the Senate Democrats introduced a new Senate version of health care reform that includes government funding for elective abortion. The "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" authorizes the Secretary to include elective abortion in the public option and subsidize health plans in the government run exchange that cover elective abortion. [More]

Obese patients are no more likely to have post-operative complications than those of average weight when undergoing robotic surgery to remove uterine fibroids, according to a study at Henry Ford Hospital. [More]

Results from a new media study among 600 physicians revealed that the majority (78%) reported that they do not agree with the new guidelines released by the Preventive Services Task Force of the Department of Health and Human Services recommending against regular mammography tests for women under 50 years old. [More]

Many women don't quit smoking because they are afraid of gaining weight. That's because nicotine suppresses the appetite and boosts a smoker's metabolism. [More]

The American College of Surgeons (ACoS) today released comments strongly supporting current American Cancer Society (ACS) screening mammography guidelines that recommend women get a mammogram every year, starting at age 40. [More]

The controversy around mammography emphasizes that the best decision on screening is made by a woman and her health care provider. Balancing a woman's individual medical history, risks, and concern level about breast cancer is a decision at the individual level using guidelines as a guide and not as something fixed in concrete," said Dr. Jane L. Delgado, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, the nation's leading Hispanic health advocacy group. [More]

'Prevention is the best cure' is a common expression, but what happens if preventative measures are not used? A large proportion of pregnant Ugandan women are going out of their way not to be HIV tested, increasing the risk of mother-to-child transmission. [More]

Did you know that in 2007-08, there were 62,000 Canadian women living in shelters to escape domestic violence and abusive situations, according to Statistics Canada? While violence appears in different forms and locations, the results are always the same: physical and psychological damage to the victims. How can we break the vicious circle of violence and improve the lives and health of our populations? [More]

The Hill reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "prefers abortion language in the Senate healthcare legislation to the House approach." Pelosi said she was pleased with the Senate bill's treatment of abortion, saying "'I think it's pretty clear no federal funds would be used to pay for abortion.'" Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid left out Rep. Bart Stupak's abortion amendment from his merged Senate health care reform bill, opting instead to "maintain current law where that is applicable and extend it to new programs created by the legislation." [More]

Agence France-Presse examines a new U.S.-backed "12 million dollar family planning drive launched" Wednesday during a three-day conference on family planning in Kampala, Uganda. The project aims to "improve access to contraceptives for women in six African nations [including Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania and Kenya] as well as Indonesia and Pakistan," the news service writes (Simon, 11/18). [More]

AcroMetrix, a leading manufacturer of quality control material for clinical diagnostic and blood testing laboratories, announced today the launch of its OptiQual HPV Genotype Panel. Designed to help clinical laboratories comply with CLIA guidelines for qualitative molecular assays that detect Human Papillomavirus (HPV), this addition to AcroMetrix’s line of women’s health products can assist laboratorians with the validation and verification of their molecular HPV tests. [More]

Insurance companies say mammogram coverage is unlikely to change despite the debate over the effectiveness of breast cancer screenings for women in their forties. [More]

Today's headlines are overwhelmingly focused on yesterday's major health policy development: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid finally unveiled the much-anticipated Senate health bill. [More]

Experts at Virgen del Rocío Hospital (Seville, Spain) have begun a study on pregnancy preeclampsia on a sample of 30 pregnant women with a view to demonstrating whether or not consumption of olive oil by this population group results in lower levels of cytotoxicity (for example, cholesterol) in endothelial cells (arterial wall cells). [More]