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New research from Northwestern Medicine in Chicago compared state abortion laws to public programs meant to help families, such as paid parental leave and state-funded nutrition programs for families with children. “States with the most severe abortion restrictions have the least public infrastructure to support families,” said Dr. Nigel Madden, a maternal-fetal medicine physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, who led the study published Wednesday in the American Journal of Public Health. (Sullivan, 9/4)

When a woman starts bleeding out after labor, every second matters. But soon, under a new state law, Louisiana doctors might not be able to quickly access one of the most widely used life-saving medications for postpartum hemorrhage. The Louisiana Illuminator spoke with several doctors across the state that voiced extreme concern about how the rescheduling of misoprostol as a controlled dangerous substance will impact inpatient care at hospitals. Misoprostol is prescribed in a number of medical scenarios — it’s an essential part of reproductive health care that can be used during emergencies, as well as for miscarriage treatment, labor induction, or intrauterine device (IUD) insertion. (O'Neil, 9/3)

Two more Ohio laws restricting abortions have been blocked by the courts as the legal impacts of a 2023 constitutional amendment guaranteeing access to the procedure continue to be felt. Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Alison Hatheway issued a preliminary injunction Aug. 29 that extends an existing order temporarily halting enforcement of a law banning use of telemedicine in medication abortions. It also blocks another law prohibiting non-doctors — including midwives, advanced practice nurses and physician assistants — from prescribing the abortion pill mifepristone used in the procedure. (Smyth, 9/4)

The first shipments of some self-collection HPV tests for cervical cancer screening are currently on their way to doctors’ offices across the United States. In May, the US Food and Drug Administration gave the greenlight for patients to have the option to collect their own vaginal samples for cervical cancer screenings instead of undergoing traditional HPV tests or Pap smears, which involve a speculum to screen for the disease. Similar to how they may collect their own urine samples, patients can now collect their own vaginal samples in a health-care setting, such as a doctor’s office, urgent care or pharmacy clinic. (Howard, 9/5)

Researchers have long known that, in general, women are more susceptible to autoimmune disorders than men, who are more vulnerable to infectious disease. But why? New research drawing on people who’ve undergone gender-affirming care suggests that hormones are a key part of the answer. (Wosen, 9/4)

A new study finds that women who receive a false positive result on a screening mammogram are often lost to follow-up. If you have ever received a call about an abnormal mammogram, you know it can be terrifying, but many of these scares turn out to be false-positives, meaning that after additional imaging or a biopsy, there is no cancer found. False-positive results are common, occurring in 10 to 12% of mammograms in women in their 40s. (Marshall, 9/4)

In March, health technology startup HeHealth debuted Calmara AI, an app proclaiming to be “your intimacy bestie for safer sex.” The app was heavily marketed to women, who were told they could upload a picture of their partner’s penis for Calmara to scan for evidence of a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Users would get an emoji-laden “Clear!” or “Hold!!!” verdict — with a disclaimer saying the penis in question wasn’t necessarily free of all STIs. (Mithani, 9/4)