
Sens. Booker and Smith Seek to Protect Access to Medication Abortions

U.S. Sens. Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., are working to affirm the Food and Drug Administration’s authority over state law for all FDA-approved reproductive health products, such as drugs used for medication abortions.
The senators introduced the Protecting National Access to Reproductive Care Act on Aug. 2.
Under the Constitution’s supremacy clause, states are prohibited from interfering with the federal government’s power to regulate drugs. The bill from Booker and Smith seeks to codify that power and ensure the Department of Justice has the authority to enforce federal laws and regulations.
The bill would also give private individuals or health care providers a way to sue states with laws that ban or restrict access to reproductive health products.
Alexa can be reached at [email protected]
In The News
Health
Voting
Health
WASHINGTON — A hit in the early 1970s featured children in its final refrain singing, “no more pencils, no more... Read More
WASHINGTON — A hit in the early 1970s featured children in its final refrain singing, “no more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks.” If the song were updated this year, Alice Cooper might be tempted to have them throw in “no more remote... Read More
NEW YORK (AP) — The polio virus has been found in New York City’s wastewater in another sign that the... Read More
NEW YORK (AP) — The polio virus has been found in New York City’s wastewater in another sign that the disease, which hadn’t been seen in the U.S. in a decade, is quietly spreading among unvaccinated people, health officials said Friday. The presence of the poliovirus... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats pushed their flagship climate change and health care bill toward House passage Friday, placing President Joe Biden on... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats pushed their flagship climate change and health care bill toward House passage Friday, placing President Joe Biden on the brink of a back-from-the-dead triumph on his leading domestic goals that could energize his party going into November’s elections. Democrats were poised to muscle the measure through the... Read More
ATLANTA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines Thursday, dropping its recommendation that Americans quarantine... Read More
ATLANTA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines Thursday, dropping its recommendation that Americans quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with an infected person. Instead it is urging those who know they’ve been exposed to COVID-19 but not sick... Read More
WASHINGTON — The White House is rearranging its monkeypox response with a strategy for stretching the supply of vaccines and... Read More
WASHINGTON — The White House is rearranging its monkeypox response with a strategy for stretching the supply of vaccines and with new leadership on its task force. The new strategy announced Tuesday calls for two injections of the vaccine but at only one-fifth the normal potency... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed the roughly $740 billion tax, climate and health care package known as the Inflation Reduction... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed the roughly $740 billion tax, climate and health care package known as the Inflation Reduction Act on Aug. 7, by a vote of 51-50. The massive package includes provisions to reduce drug costs for patients and providers by letting Medicare negotiate... Read More