Virginia sees nation's largest spike in abortions
Virginia had the greatest increase in clinician-provided abortions nationwide last year, according to a new analysis.
Why it matters: It's the latest data to show just how much the limited abortion access in the South has impacted the only Southern state without a post-Roe abortion ban or waiting period.
By the numbers: The number of clinician-provided abortions in Virginia jumped from about 33,400 in 2023 to nearly 39,000 last year, per data compiled by Guttmacher, a research group that supports reproductive rights.
That's the biggest spike of any state in the country.
The data shows Virginia also had the largest percentage point increase of out-of-state abortion patients: About 15% in 2023 to nearly 25% last year.
Between July and December of last year, the number was nearly 30%.
State of play: Since Roe was overturned, Virginia's abortion rate has consistently gone up due to being one of the few access points for people in nearby states with strict bans.
And Florida's six-week ban, which went into effect last May, likely resulted in Virginia absorbing patients from the Sunshine State, per Guttmacher.
Virginia's abortion providers had been bracing for more out-of-state patients ahead of that ban by beefing up staff statewide.
But many also said they don't have the capacity to meet the demand.
Between the lines: While abortion is legal in Virginia, the right to one is not enshrined in the constitution.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Merck claims study success with PCSK9 cholesterol pill
This story was originally published on BioPharma Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily BioPharma Dive newsletter. An experimental cholesterol-lowering pill from Merck & Co. succeeded in a pair of late-stage studies, the company said Monday. In one study, Merck's drug, enlicitide, was tested against a placebo in people already taking statins and who have either an inherited condition that causes high cholesterol or are at risk of atherosclerosis. The second trial evaluated enlicitide against other oral therapies, such as ezetimibe, in people on statins and with abnormally high levels of fats in the blood. Merck didn't provide specifics, but said in both cases enlicitide met all of its study objectives and demonstrated 'statistically significant and clinically meaningful reductions' in LDL-C, or 'bad' cholesterol, without any important differences in the number of adverse events. Details will be presented at a future medical meeting. Company shares climbed 2% in early trading Monday. A decade ago, the Food and Drug Administration approved a pair of injectable treatments that could dramatically lower cholesterol in people with heart disease. The drugs, known as PCSK9 inhibitors for the cholesterol-regulating protein they target, were hailed as medical breakthroughs and billed as multibillion-dollar sellers. Instead, their developers struggled to convince payers and physicians of their worth. Sales totals, until recently, have largely disappointed. Merck believes it will have better luck with enlicitide, which could be the first oral medication that blocks PCSK9. The company has bet heavily on its future, enrolling about 17,000 participants across several late-stage studies. And it's counting on enlicitide to become one of the products that can help it grow sales once the patents protecting Keytruda, its dominant cancer immunotherapy, expire later this decade. Questions about its post-Keytruda future have spurred a 40% share slide over the last year and heightened pressure on its next prospects to succeed. The company, for its part, has spoken boldly about enlicitide's promise. Research chief Dean Li has described it as likely becoming the first of its kind available, the 'most effective' cholesterol-lowering pill medicine on the market, and the foundation for future drug combinations. Enlicitide should also be able to sidestep the reimbursement issues long weighing down sales of PCSK9 blockers, CEO Robert Davis said during a presentation in January. Though the drug is a so-called macrocyclic peptide and thus more complicated to make than traditional small molecule pills, Merck has invested significantly in production and believes it can manufacture enlicitide at a low cost. That could help the company 'price it in a way that won't create the excess challenges' others have had and obtain a 'competitive advantage,' Davis said. Still, there is a large collection of branded and generic cholesterol drugs available, as well as multiple newer medicines in advanced testing. AstraZeneca, for one, has a PCSK9 pill in development that some analysts believe to be a meaningful threat to Merck's program. While there are 'early signs' Merck's drug might be more effective, AstraZeneca's could be 'more tolerable and easier to administer,' Leerink Partners analyst Daina Graybosch wrote in April. The size of enlicitide's effects in Phase 3 testing, then, will be closely scrutinized. In Phase 2 trials, a variety of enlicitide doses lowered LDL levels by up to 60% after eight weeks of treatment. One of the Phase 3 studies Merck reported on Monday tested cholesterol levels after 24 weeks, and there is typically a 'degradation in efficacy' when companies move a drug into larger, longer trials, wrote Jefferies analyst Dennis Ding. Ding also speculated that drug adherence could be lower in Merck's studies, as food intake disrupts enlicitide effectiveness. 'The magnitude of benefit will be key to watch,' he wrote.
The Hill
a day ago
- The Hill
Beyond MAHA: Defeating obesity requires a new strategy
Obesity is a major health problem facing our country. According to the CDC, more than 40 percent of the U.S. population is obese, defined as having a body-mass index above 30. As astounding at that number is, it is perhaps even more surprising that nearly 20 percent of children in the U.S. are obese. Obesity leads to significant health challenges, including diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular disease and liver disease. It is clear that as a nation we must face this crisis on multiple fronts. Diet and exercise certainly help, and it's critical to ensure that people of all socioeconomic backgrounds have access to healthy foods (free of preservatives, unnecessary dyes, high fructose corn syrups etc.) and are educated in making healthy lifestyle choices. The MAHA or 'Make America Healthy Again' movement has highlighted this as one of its key objectives, and if it is successful, we should see an impact on obesity — especially in children, where diet and exercise have a huge impact on weight-related health outcomes. Obesity in adults, however, is often more challenging. Many adults with obesity struggle to lose weight, despite considerable efforts to modify their lifestyle through diet and exercise. This is because our metabolism changes as we age, and many adults who are overweight develop metabolic dysfunction or 'metabolic syndrome,' which then further perpetuates weight gain and exacerbates the situation. It has become clear in recent years that many people struggling with obesity require medical intervention – not just lifestyle intervention – and that prescriptions can substantially improve weight loss. The explosion in use of GLP-1 agonists, such as Wegovy and Zepbound, over the last two years has underscored the need for medical intervention in obese and overweight patients. Currently, about 6 percent of the U.S. population, or 15 million people, are on GLP-1 weight loss treatments, and the numbers are only expected to increase. However, while most patients lose 10 percent to 25 percent of their body weight while on a GLP-1, they do not maintain GLP-1 treatment in the long-term, with approximately 80 percent of patients discontinuing treatment within 1 year. Gastrointestinal side effects, injectable administration, and high cost have prevented long-term use of GLP-1's for weight maintenance. And unfortunately, most patients gain back all the weight after stopping the medication. Healthcare professionals and the pharmaceutical industry now recognize that obesity — like most other medical conditions — requires an 'arsenal' of treatments, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Post-GLP-1 weight maintenance is now widely recognized as an emerging unmet need. And patients who are not candidates for or cannot tolerate GLP-1s require alternatives. Diet and lifestyle modifications are important alongside prescription medications in fighting obesity. If we are going to be successful in overcoming this major health crisis, we need to ensure that both the pharmaceutical industry and groups like MAHA work hand in hand. Both treatment and prevention are critical in order to regain control of our nation's health. Dr. Shoshana Shendelman, Ph.D. is a scientist and entrepreneur who has founded numerous biotech companies. She is a pioneer in the development of drugs and therapeutics for rare and underserved diseases. Currently she is Vice Chair of the Advisory Board of Columbia University Medical Center and Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
The Hill
2 days ago
- The Hill
Trump stokes fear, confusion with pulled emergency abortion guidance
The Trump administration sowed confusion and fear among physicians with its move this past week to rescind Biden-era guidelines to hospitals that provide life-saving abortions. While the move doesn't change the law, doctors and reproductive-rights advocates fear it will have a chilling effect on health care workers in states with abortion bans, ultimately harming pregnant women. Earlier this past week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced they would rescind guidance issued during the Biden administration, which reinforced to hospitals that under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA,) abortions qualify as stabilizing care in medical emergencies. Emergency rooms in states with abortion bans have been struggling since the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade to understand when they can legally provide emergency abortions. After President Trump pulled the Biden-era guidance seeking to clarify that question, emergency room doctors will experience 'more confusion' and 'more fear,' according to health and legal experts who spoke with The Hill. 'Clinicians are scared to provide basic medical care, and this care is clearly in line with medical ethics … medical standards of care, and they're being put in this situation where they can't win,' said Payal Shah, director of research, legal and advocacy at Physicians for Human Rights. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, at least 13 states have enacted near-total abortion bans, according to data from the Guttmacher Institute. There are exceptions in these states when continuing a pregnancy poses a threat to the health or life of the mother. However, most of the language in state laws is unclear on how that determination is made, resulting in instances of emergency rooms denying care. Doctors in states like Idaho, Texas and Tennessee have filed lawsuits requesting that lawmakers clarify when an abortion is allowed to save the life of a pregnant person. The doctors and patients involved in the lawsuits argue that state laws do not adequately protect pregnant patients in emergencies. Many of these states have severe punishments for doctors who violate abortion bans, like steep fines and prison time. 'For clinicians, there is actually no safe way to navigate this in this moment, and ultimately, that's how these laws are designed,' Shah said. 'They're designed to cause chaos and confusion. They're often written in ways that don't use medical terminology.' Without clear guidance, pregnant women suffer and sometimes die, as ProPublica has reported. One striking example of this is the 2023 case of Kyleigh Thurman, a Texas woman who was repeatedly denied care for a nonviable pregnancy after days of experiencing bleeding and pain. Health care workers discovered that she had an ectopic pregnancy, which is when a fertilized egg implants and begins to grow outside of the uterus, usually in a fallopian tube. Ectopic pregnancies are never viable and are life-threatening if not treated properly. It wasn't until her OB/GYN 'pleaded to hospital staff that she be given care,' that the hospital administered a shot ending her pregnancy, according to a complaint filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of Thurman. The shot came too late, and the ectopic pregnancy ruptured Thurman's right fallopian tube, which was then removed. 'If a patient is actively hemorrhaging or experiencing an ectopic pregnancy which is also life-threatening, doctors need that clear guidance that yes, EMTALA applied,' said Autumn Katz, associate director of U.S. litigation at the Center for Reproductive Rights. A federal investigation into Thurman's case found that the Texas hospital violated EMTALA, according to a recent letter from the CMS. 'I finally got some justice,' Thurman said in a statement. 'I hope this decision will do some good in encouraging hospitals to help women in situations like mine.' Hospitals that violate EMTALA are subject to heavy fines and, in some extreme cases, risk losing a portion of their Medicare and Medicaid hospital funding, according to the National Institutes of Health. Former President Biden leaned on the law to preserve access to emergency abortion across the country, leading to a legal fight with Idaho, which has a strict abortion ban. The Supreme Court last year dismissed the case, declining to rule on the merits of a politically charged case. The rescinding of these guidelines also means hospitals that violate the law will likely not be investigated as often as they were under previous administrations, according to Shah. That lack of punitive risk means that hospitals could be incentivized to deny life-saving care for patients. 'The standard of EMTALA is pretty high,' said Katherine Hempstead, senior policy adviser at Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 'This kind of takes that layer of reassurance away, and it will make a lot of providers feel very vulnerable.'
