Policymaker

New York attorney general Letitia James will intervene in Texas’s bid to penalise a New York doctor accused of mailing abortion pills across state lines. The Democratic attorney general announced her intervention on Monday, escalating one of the most consequential fights in the US abortion wars since Roe v Wade was overturned three years ago. [...]

Women with polycystic ovarian syndrome face long waits for diagnosis and poor access to treatment, a parliamentary report has warned. More than a third of women with PCOS waited over four years for a diagnosis, according to findings from the all-party parliamentary group. After being diagnosed, 38 per cent said they were not offered any [...]

Artificial intelligence used by more than half of England’s councils is downplaying women’s physical and mental health issues, raising gender bias concerns in care decisions. Research found that when using Google’s AI tool “Gemma” to generate and summarise the same case notes, words such as “disabled”, “unable” and “complex” appeared significantly more often in descriptions [...]

The Trump administration is seeking to ban abortions at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals, including in cases of rape, incest or where a pregnancy endangers a veteran’s health. Documents filed on Friday propose reversing a Biden-era policy that allowed VA facilities to offer abortion counselling and procedures in limited circumstances to veterans and eligible family [...]

China is introducing annual childcare subsidies of 3,600 yuan (US$500) per child under three, as it seeks to counter a continuing drop in birth rates. The national programme, launched this week, is expected to benefit more than 20 million families with toddlers and infants. It will be funded by the central government, with partial support [...]

More than 30 MPs have urged the health secretary to act over DES, a pregnancy drug linked to cancer and fertility problems in children exposed in the womb. The letter, coordinated by Bournemouth MP Jessica Toale, calls for a formal apology and improved cancer screening, after an ITV News investigation found DES was still being [...]

UK MPs have proposed regulating digital fertility services after Apricity’s collapse left patients in limbo at a critical point in their IVF treatment. Conservative MP Caroline Dinenage introduced a ten-minute rule bill to extend the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s (HFEA) powers to include online providers and wellness clinics offering fertility-related services. The move reflects [...]

Maternal deaths rose from 209 to 254 between 2015–17 and 2021–23, despite fewer births, new data from the House of Commons library has revealed. The death rate increased from 9.16 to 12.67 per 100,000 births over the same period. A maternal death is defined as one occurring during pregnancy or within 42 days of the [...]

A woman has accused the government of “dragging its feet” over reforms for women harmed by pelvic mesh implants, five years after a landmark report. Campaigners say most of the key recommendations from the 2020 First Do No Harm review have been ignored, leaving thousands without compensation or adequate support. Only three of nine key [...]

Health secretary Wes Streeting has launched a national investigation into England’s worst-performing maternity units after a series of scandals involving baby deaths and maternal harm. The review will focus on up to 10 of the most underperforming maternity and neonatal services, including those in Leeds, Sussex, Gloucester, and Mid and South Essex. It will begin [...]