麻豆女优

Skip to main content

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.

Subscribe Follow Us
  • Trump 2.0

    Trump 2.0

    • Agency Watch
    • State Watch
    • Medicaid Watch
    • Rural Health Payout
  • Public Health

    Public Health

    • Vaccines
    • CDC & Disease
    • Environmental Health
  • Audio Reports

    Audio Reports

    • What the Health?
    • Health Care Helpline
    • 麻豆女优 Health News Minute
    • An Arm and a Leg
    • Health Hub
    • HealthQ
    • Silence in Sikeston
    • Epidemic
    • See All Audio
  • Special Reports

    Special Reports

    • Bill Of The Month
    • The Body Shops
    • Broken Rehab
    • Deadly Denials
    • Priced Out
    • Dead Zone
    • Diagnosis: Debt
    • Overpayment Outrage
    • Opioid Settlement Tracking
    • See All Special Reports
  • More Topics

    More Topics

    • Elections
    • Health Care Costs
    • Insurance
    • Prescription Drugs
    • Health Industry
    • Immigration
    • Reproductive Health
    • Technology
    • Rural Health
    • Race and Health
    • Aging
    • Mental Health
    • Affordable Care Act
    • Medicare
    • Medicaid
    • Children’s Health

  • Emergency Room Boarding
  • Device Coverage by Medicare
  • Planned Parenthood Funding
  • Covid/Flu Combo Shot
  • RFK Jr. vs. Congress

TRENDING TOPICS:

  • Emergency Room Boarding
  • Device Coverage by Medicare
  • Planned Parenthood Funding
  • Covid/Flu Combo Shot
  • RFK Jr. vs. Congress

Morning Briefing

Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

  • Email

Wednesday, May 8 2024

Full Issue

RFK Jr. Said He Suffered Brain Injuries From A Parasite

The New York Times reports on a 2012 deposition by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that alleges neurological symptoms he was suffering were from a dead brain parasite. In other news, RFK Jr. says he has changed his mind about gender-affirming care for young people.

In 2010, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was experiencing memory loss and mental fogginess so severe that a friend grew concerned he might have a brain tumor. Mr. Kennedy said he consulted several of the country鈥檚 top neurologists, many of whom had either treated or spoken to his uncle, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, before his death the previous year of brain cancer. Several doctors noticed a dark spot on the younger Mr. Kennedy鈥檚 brain scans and concluded that he had a tumor, he said in a 2012 deposition reviewed by The New York Times. Mr. Kennedy was immediately scheduled for a procedure at Duke University Medical Center by the same surgeon who had operated on his uncle, he said. While packing for the trip, he said, he received a call from a doctor at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital who had a different opinion: Mr. Kennedy, he believed, had a dead parasite in his head. (Craig, 5/8)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.聽appears more amenable to restricting access to gender-affirming care for transgender minors, writing in a social media post that treatments including聽puberty blockers and hormone therapy should be reserved for individuals older than 18. 鈥淭he more I learn, the more troubled I have become about giving puberty blockers to youth. Minors cannot drive, vote, join the army, get a tattoo, smoke, or drink, because we know that children do not fully understand the consequences of decisions with life-long ramifications,鈥 Kennedy wrote聽late Monday in a post on the social platform X. (Migdon, 5/7)

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is best known for his famous family name, his anti-vaccine activism, and his unexpected third-party run for president. He鈥檚 not particularly well known for his passion for criminal justice reform. And yet, next month, he鈥檚 scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the Detroit stop on the New Dawn for Justice Criminal Reform Tour. The six-city tour鈥檚 website promises it 鈥渁mplifies the collective voice calling for equitable and humane reform鈥 and encourages 鈥渋ndividuals from all walks of life to contribute to the reshaping of our justice system.鈥 The tour鈥檚 lead organizer is a Kennedy campaign staffer named Angela Stanton King. (Butler, 5/2)

In related election news 鈥

President Joe Biden鈥檚 re-election campaign on Wednesday announced $14 million in new spending across battleground states while launching an ad hitting former President Donald Trump on health care. A key component of the spending push is a new ad that lists Trump's past efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. (Korecki, 5/8)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
Newsletter icon

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Stay informed by signing up for the Morning Briefing and other emails:

Recent Morning Briefings

  • Friday, April 24
  • Thursday, April 23
  • Wednesday, April 22
  • Tuesday, April 21
  • Monday, April 20
  • Friday, April 17
More Morning Briefings
RSS Feeds
  • Podcasts
  • Special Reports
  • Morning Briefing
  • About Us
  • Republish Our Content
  • Contact Us

Follow Us

  • RSS

Sign up for emails

Join our email list for regular updates based on your personal preferences.

Sign up
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy

漏 2026 麻豆女优