Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Kansas Governor Vetoes Bill Banning Minors' Gender-Affirming Care
The Democratic governor of Kansas vetoed a bill Friday that would have banned gender-affirming care for minors, setting up a confrontation with the state鈥檚 Republican supermajority as it tries to join more than a dozen states restricting transgender care. The Republican-led legislature is widely expected to attempt an override of the veto. The measure that Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) quashed, Senate Bill 233, would ban hormone therapy, puberty blockers and gender reassignment surgery for people younger than 18. (Raji, 4/13)
Philadelphia on Friday became the fourth city in the United States to successfully sue Polymer80, the nation鈥檚 biggest seller of 鈥済host gun鈥 parts. The city negotiated a settlement in which the company agreed to stop selling the parts in eastern Pennsylvania, and JSD Supply, a large local distributor, agreed to stop selling the parts statewide. 鈥淕host guns鈥 are firearms assembled by individuals, without serial numbers on any of the parts, so when they are discovered after a shooting or other crime, they can鈥檛 be traced to an original purchaser or owner. They are also convenient for convicted felons and others who are legally disqualified from buying guns. Some companies also sell 鈥渒its鈥 with all the parts and directions needed to make a complete, unserialized weapon. (Jackman, 4/14)
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, according to funeral home officials. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died April 7. The cause of death was not detailed. The twins had distinct brains but were joined at the skull. George, who had spina bifida and was 4 inches shorter, was wheeled around by Lori on an adaptive wheeled stool. Despite each having to go where the other went, it was 鈥渧ery important鈥 to both 鈥渢o live as independently as possible,鈥 the obituary said. (4/13)
A costly new national certification exam for psychologists has convinced the profession鈥檚 licensing authority in Texas to consider crafting a cheaper alternative to help alleviate a persistent mental health provider shortage here. On Thursday, the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists moved to begin researching the cost of a cheaper state exam instead of requiring applicants to take a new $450 鈥渟kills鈥 test offered by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards, known also as ASPPB. (Simpson, 4/12)
Nearly three years after a series of suicides shut down the Vessel, the 150-foot-tall centerpiece of the Hudson Yards complex in Manhattan, the project鈥檚 developer said on Friday that it would reopen this year with new safety measures. The attraction will reopen once 鈥渇loor-to-ceiling steel mesh鈥 has been installed on several staircases, said Kathleen Corless, a spokeswoman for Related Companies, the developer of Hudson Yards. (Meko and Schweber, 4/14)
When Antoinette "Bonnie" Candia-Bailey, the former vice president of student affairs at Lincoln University in Missouri, died by suicide on Jan. 8, the tragedy brought attention to the difficulties and obstacles that many Black women report experiencing in higher education. Candia-Bailey, who received a termination letter from the historically Black university on Jan. 3, had previously accused the school's president, John Moseley, of bullying, harassment and discrimination. (Louallen, Kim, and Schwartz, 4/13)
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