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Combined oral contraceptives increase risk of blood clots in women with PCOS

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who are taking combined oral contraceptives have a 2-fold risk of blood clots compared with women without the disorder who take contraceptives, states a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

4 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: Disputing Obama's and GOP's commitment to cutting spending and avoiding fiscal cliff

President Obama has said he wants to reform entitlements eventually, someday, after Republicans raise taxes. Republicans want the President to sign on to serious reform now as part of any deal, since AARP and the left will kill anything that isn't passed immediately. Given the political difficulty of reforming entitlements, Republicans are right to try to get Mr. Obama's fingerprints on such a deal this year.

4 Dec 2012

University of Washington team develops electrically spun cloth to prevent pregnancy, HIV

The only way to protect against HIV and unintended pregnancy today is the condom. It's an effective technology, but not appropriate or popular in all situations.

1 Dec 2012

Appeals court temporarily blocks contraception mandate for Missouri business owner

A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a preliminary injunction from the rule for Frank O'Brien and his company -- which is the fourth private business to secure such a temporary order.

1 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: GOP attack on Medicare, Medicaid could hurt critical programs; Will says Obama is repeating his overreach on health care

Congressional Republicans are insisting that big cuts to Medicare and Medicaid be on the table in the negotiations over the so-called fiscal cliff and deficit reduction. That stance is largely a political move against two programs, which have been critical to the public welfare for the past half-century.

30 Nov 2012

Health law implementation proceeds -- with fits and starts

Even as the election has altered the landscape for lawmakers who hoped to repeal the 2010 health law, some opponents are pressing on with legal challenges. Specific elements of the law, such as its health exchanges, also present logistical and financial issues for the Obama administration.

27 Nov 2012

Women need access to family planning methods that work for them

"I spent most of my time this year advocating for better access to family planning around the world," Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a Foreign Policy 2012 Global Thinker, writes in this Foreign Policy opinion piece.

27 Nov 2012

Pediatricians called to prescribe 'morning-after' pills in advance

Wading into the incendiary subject of birth control for young teenagers, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on Monday called on the nation's pediatricians to counsel all of their adolescent patients about emergency contraception and make advance prescriptions for it available to girls under 17.

26 Nov 2012

OB-GYN group calls for over-the-counter birth control pills

In an attempt to reduce unintended pregnancies that cost the nation an estimated $11.1 billion a year, the nation's largest group of obstetricians and gynecologists said Tuesday that oral contraceptives should be available without a prescription.

22 Nov 2012

Federal judge grants temporary injunction in Bible publisher's contraception rule challenge

In separate action, another judge ruled against Hobby Lobby's effort to be exempted from the contraception mandate.

21 Nov 2012

Roundup: Wyo. conservatives ponder election; Ill. Insurer to buy Montana Blues; Calif. nurses plan new strike

But since the election, a blanket of baffled worry has descended on conservatives here like early snow across the plains, deepening a sense that traditional, rural and overwhelmingly white states in the center of the country are losing touch with an increasingly diverse and urban American electorate.

19 Nov 2012

Positive results from Genentech Avastin plus temozolomide Phase III study on glioblastoma

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, today announced results from the positive Phase III AVAglio study. The study showed Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with radiation and temozolomide chemotherapy reduced the risk of cancer worsening or death (progression-free survival; PFS) by 36 percent compared to radiation and temozolomide chemotherapy plus placebo>th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuro-Oncology in Washington, D.C.

19 Nov 2012

U.S. bishops promise to continue fight against health law's birth control mandate

Cardinal Dolan, the nation's top bishop, made clear that the Roman Catholic church will not comply with the Obama administration requirement regarding contraception coverage and will continue to fight it.

15 Nov 2012

Longer looks: People with mental disabilities have a vote; Genome sequencing raises hope - also anxiety

I may get Alzheimer's disease, I was told after getting my DNA analyzed. I could suffer the consequences of an abnormal blood clot in my heart or my brain. Or perhaps I'll suffer from a disease called primary myelofibrosis that's caused by an overactive bone marrow. All of these were possible outcomes, based on my genetic profile. In each case, the test only gives an increased risk for disease, not a definitive diagnosis.

9 Nov 2012

Viewpoints: Newspapers opine on Obama's health care, fiscal challenges

President Obama's dramatic re-election victory was not a sign that a fractured nation had finally come together on Election Day. But it was a strong endorsement of economic policies that stress job growth, health care reform, tax increases and balanced deficit reduction - and of moderate policies on immigration, abortion and same-sex marriage. ... Republicans had to be disappointed in the results of their unrelenting assault on Mr. Obama's health care reform law.

8 Nov 2012

Dems retain control of the Senate; Rape, abortion comments dash GOP chances in Indiana, Missouri

Victories in high-profile races -- including those in Virginia, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and New Mexico -- helped Democrats keep control of the upper chamber. At the same time, the GOP maintained its majority in the House.

8 Nov 2012

Federal appeals court begins hearing arguments on Ariz. abortion restrictions

A federal appeals court began hearing arguments Monday challenging Arizona's ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy -- sharply questioning lawyers arguing the case.

7 Nov 2012

Companies, college challenging health law's contraception coverage mandate

One Michigan company won an injunction from a district court judge, as another company and a Texas college file lawsuits.

3 Nov 2012

Longer looks: Searching for a dementia gene; The trouble with medical device patents; Blue dog Matheson's re-election quest

When it comes to preparing for a natural disaster like superstorm Sandy, hospitals drill for such evacuations and activate emergency command centers to manage any increase in patients. Still, events like superstorm Sandy are hard to prepare for. "It's been an unprecedented situation that has required an unprecedented response from the whole tri-state health care system," says Jim Mandler, assistant vice president for public affairs for Continnum Health Partners hospitals.

2 Nov 2012

Viewpoints: George Will: Dems' 'reservoir of condenscension' focused on women; One disabled voter questions assisted suicide referendum

Much of the Democratic Party's vast reservoir of condescension is currently focused on women, who are urged not to trouble their pretty little heads about actual problems but instead to worry that, 52 years after birth control pills went on the market and 47 years after access to contraception became a constitutional right, reproductive freedom is at risk. This insult may explain the shift of women toward Romney.

1 Nov 2012