abortion

Reform measure benefits Indian health care

Dec. 21, 2009

Op-ed by Mark Trahant

Early Monday morning the Senate moved health care insurance reform one step closer to becoming law. But the steps ahead, in political terms, must be perfect.

But I don’t want to bury the lede: The Indian Health Care Improvement Act is now in both the Senate and House version of health care reform. That means it’s off the table when the Senate and House iron out differences in Conference Committee (probably in early January). If health care reform becomes law, so does the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. That should open up new revenue stream for the Indian Health system with new money for long-term care, more cancer screening and better mental health treatment options.

Abortion battle meets health care reform: Do you see red? Does someone want you to see red?

Sep. 14, 2009

Just when talk of "death panels" was umm, dying down, now comes talk that funding for health care reform would pay for abortions. Not just abortions, but the fully loaded 'abortion on demand.'

Do you see red? Does someone want you to see red?

"It represents the greatest advancement of abortion promotion in the history of the nation," Carrie Gordon Earll, spokeswoman for Focus on the Family Action in Colorado Springs, told the Denver Post.

Not to miss a chance to hit the rhetorical red zone at the first opportunity.

Speaking of red, the National Right to Life Committee has gone "Condition Red" on its Web site.

Meanwhile, NARAL Pro-Choice America wants people to calm down and "Help us Stop the Lies!" Supporters note that none of the bills reference abortion, and accuse the opposition of "entangling" the issues to gain a nationwide abortion ban in the private health insurance market.

Abortion opponents say creation of a "public option," or government-run insurance plan, allows the plan's designers to cover all abortions, reports Michael Booth of the Post. Abortion-rights advocates say the bill , and especially an amendment added by Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., makes it clear that health reformers are not seeking to expand abortion funding.

Public Health | January 2012

The Prescription Epidemic

As Washington enacts the strongest prescription drug law in the country, InvestigateWest presents a six-month investigation into the origins of the prescription epidemic, the challenge it poses for communities, and what lessons other states might learn.

Check out the full list of news outlets publishing the story, and on Monday, Jan. 30 at 9 p.m., tune into Prescription for Abuse, a KCTS 9/InvestigateWest documentary and roundtable with prescription drug experts.

Environment | December 2011

Where There's Smoke, Sickness:
Wood smoke now a major polluter

The health risks of wood smoke pollution -- heart attacks, asthma, cancer -- vex poor and rural communities where wood is a cheap or even free source of heat. Our own Robert McClure teamed up with KCTS 9/Earthfix and Northwest News Network to find out what can be done.

Public Health

Lifesaving Drugs, Deadly Consequences

An InvestigateWest investigation has found that the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration does not regulate exposure to chemotherapy in the workplace, despite multiple studies documenting ongoing contamination and exposures and their potentially deadly consequences for human health.

Public Health

Fresh Out of Foster Care and Homeless

InvestigateWest reporter Carol Smith looks at homelessness through the lens of young adults in Washington and the impact on schools around the state.