Latest news with #Decide
Otago Daily Times
10-05-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Calls for abortion funding
Women in Wānaka continue to face inequalities when accessing abortions and they are urging health organisations to call for more funding. A Ministry of Health review of the abortions act showed that despite law changes and the more recent telehealth service, women in rural areas struggled accessing abortions. The six-hour round trip to Dunedin for the procedure is not funded and women would need to field those costs alone. As a way of making some abortion services more accessible, nationwide abortion provider The Women's Clinic introduced "Decide" in 2022 — an over-the-phone service offering consultations and early medical abortions. Recent statistics showed abortion rates had risen from 14,164 in 2022 to 16,277 in 2023. The ministry's review found the service was used significantly by women in rural areas, but in-person consultations were still in demand, especially for those seeking abortions later in their gestation. Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa chief executive Jackie Edmond said Wānaka and Central Otago was a good example of a regional location that needed more services. The only locations in Otago offering in-person abortions were Cromwell and Dunedin. Junction Health Cromwell offered abortions for women up to 10 weeks in their pregnancy, whereas Dunedin offered everything, including surgical abortions. Women in Wānaka who were past nine weeks in their pregnancy would need to travel to Dunedin for an abortion, as 83% of abortions at later than nine weeks' gestation were performed surgically. That journey was difficult for women in the Upper Clutha and Central Otago areas, Ms Edmonds said. "There's still some smaller rural areas where access, if people want to go and see someone for their abortion, the access is still pretty difficult." In 2023, on average 21% of all early medical abortions done through the telehealth services across New Zealand were accessed by women in rural regions, 13.6% of all in-person services being accessed by the same demographic. The telehealth service offers consultations, and an abortion pill is then sent to their home address. Ms Edmonds said the lack of easily available services in the Otago region was not only more time consuming but would cost women more, as transport and potential accommodation were not covered. The report also found women in rural areas faced more fear around confidentiality when they were in living in smaller locations and had fewer options. Ms Edmond agreed that women could feel anxious about going to their local care provider because there was less anonymity. The next step to further improve accessibility would be a better funding system, she said. Junction Health Cromwell nurse practitioner Alice van Zijl said it had received overwhelming support and demand from women in the region for its early medical abortions (EMA). The service had initially been a research pilot, exploring the option of nurse-led abortion care, and was made permanent in Cromwell. "Many patients have expressed appreciation for being able to access abortion care locally without the stress of extended travel," Ms van Zijl said. She added that having an in-person option was valuable to many patients who did not want to access such sensitive care over the phone. The demand received at the Cromwell Health Junction for the EMA has prompted Ms van Zijl to call for more funding for the service. The EMA offered in Cromwell was on a patient-pays basis, which had created equity issues, she said. "We believe publicly funded abortion care would significantly improve access for rural women." Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand director of funding Debbie Holdsworth said the agency had received two reports from the Ministry of Health outlining the barriers and making recommendations to improve abortion access in rural areas. "We are continuing to work closely with the Ministry of Health to increase access to abortion services across New Zealand, and in particular, in rural communities," she said.
Gulf Weekly
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf Weekly
Musical crossroads
AMERICAN actor and musician Djo, aka Joe Keery, is set to drop his third studio album The Crux tomorrow. The synth-pop creation dives into themes of community, collaboration and character, with the concept being a hotel that houses guests who are at crossroads in their lives. The project is expected to be a follow-up to Joe's previous release Decide (2022), which earned breakthrough success last year when the song End of Beginning became the sixth most streamed track of 2024 on Spotify, after it became viral on TikTok. 'I didn't plan for that to happen, you know? The fact that people really connect with the song is amazing. Then, to be able to sing it as a massive group is beyond my wildest dreams,' Joe said in an interview. The artist is best known for playing Steve Harrington in the Netflix series Stranger Things.
Boston Globe
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Joe Keery talks ‘emotional' final day of filming ‘Stranger Things' on ‘The Tonight Show'
'It was a long year,' Keery said of filming the show's last few episodes. 'To wrap it all up and, you know, the anticipation of working on something for so long, I mean it's been one-third of my life, really. It was emotional.' Advertisement Keery went on to tell Fallon about his last day on the set of the show, and how everything hit him in that moment. 'We sort of like got to that last day and it was like, everything really hit on that last day of shooting,' Keery explained. 'And then I stuck around and watched the other cast members wrap, and it was just emotional and great.' 'Those people are family for life for me,' he added. Though there's no official release date yet, Netflix previously revealed that the fifth season will premiere later this year, which show co-creator Ross Duffer teased in an In addition to chatting about the end of 'Stranger Things,' Keery also opened up about his musical endeavors under the pseudonym Djo, with his next album, 'The Crux,' releasing in April. Meanwhile, Keery's song 'End of Beginning' from his 2022 album 'Decide' became a social media sensation last year, as Fallon noted that the track hit the top spot on Spotify's global charts, amassing over 1.5 billion streams. 'It was really cool that people connected to the message of the song, just kind of reconnecting with your past and visiting a place that really means so much to you,' Keery told Fallon. Advertisement Later in the night, Keery performed his newest single, 'Basic Being Basic,' off of his upcoming third studio album. Marianna Orozco can be reached at
