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When Missourians head to the polls in November, they may get to vote on whether to overturn their state’s near-total abortion ban and legalize abortions up to the point of fetal viability. But one lawmaker says the results of that vote may not matter if his colleagues approve his bill declaring that fetuses are people. Missouri state Rep. Brian Seitz, a Republican, plans to reintroduce a bill in January that would grant “unborn children” the same rights as newborns, building on a similar Missouri law that has been on the books since the 1980s. (Claire Vollers, 7/31)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Montana Designs New Hurdles For Abortion Clinics Ahead Of Vote To Protect Access

Montana is proposing wide-ranging rules for licensing abortion clinics under a disputed state law, raising a new potential obstacle for patients even as a constitutional amendment to protect access appears headed for the November ballot. The proposed rules, released July 26 by the state Department of Public Health and Human Services, would set requirements for facilities that perform abortions for or provide medication abortion to at least five patients a year, excluding hospitals and outpatient surgical centers. (Volz, 8/1)

Last year, Ashley St. Clair, a Fox News commentator, described childless Americans this way: “They just want to pursue pleasure and drinking all night and going to Beyoncé concerts. It’s this pursuit of self-pleasure in replace of fulfillment and having a family.” Researchers who study trends in reproductive health see a more nuanced picture. The decision to forgo having children is most likely not a sign that Americans are becoming more hedonistic, they say. For one thing, fertility rates are declining throughout the developed world. (Rosenbluth, 7/31)

Led by Morgan State University and supported by a $50 million federal grant designed to be paid out over five years, a coalition of colleges across the nation is researching maternal health disparities. (Munro, 7/31)

Babies who have a peanut allergy are now being offered potentially life-changing treatment at hospitals across Australia in a world-first program aimed at building tolerance to them. (Kolirin, 7/31)