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If our goal as a society is to reduce the number of abortions, or to end the practice entirely, cutting off federal funding for Planned Parenthood is one of the last things we should do. If Republicans in Congress take down Planned Parenthood by cutting off the more than $500 million in annual funding it receives — more than one-third of the health organization’s revenue — the number of abortions is likely to increase, not decrease. And worse, there will be an increase in unsafe abortions if women denied Planned Parenthood services have nowhere else to turn. (8/4)

A video investigation has caught several of Planned Parenthood’s top officials eagerly promoting the harvesting of the lungs, livers, heads and hearts of aborted babies, purportedly for research but likely for profit. Over lunch and red wine, these so-called doctors talk about a daily “huddle” to determine what body parts are in demand and how to obtain them by strategically “crushing” the children’s bodies. It is also illegal to alter the abortion procedure to better harvest organs — not to mention medically and ethically dubious. Yet, in another video, an official at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast said: “If we alter our process and we are able to obtain intact fetal cadavers, then we can make it part of the budget. … It’s all just a matter of line items.” (Randy Hultgren, 8/4)

An effort by Senate Republicans to defund Planned Parenthood failed Monday evening when a procedural measure fell short of the 60 votes needed to proceed. Good. The bill, introduced in the wake of several undercover videos showing Planned Parenthood officials discussing what the organization does with the tissue from aborted fetuses, was uncalled for, wrongheaded and a transparent case of partisan grandstanding. (8/4)

Why does the pro-choice movement so often find itself in a defensive crouch? I cringed as I watched Planned Parenthood’s president, Cecile Richards, apologize in a YouTube video last month for the lack of “compassion” in two doctors’ language at supposed business lunches arranged and secretly recorded by the anti-abortion Center for Medical Progress. Not because she wasn’t eloquent, but because of what her words said about the impossibly narrow path abortion providers now are forced to walk. After all, have you ever heard an apology from a crisis pregnancy center for masquerading as an abortion clinic? What about the women in Texas who lost access to gynecological care when the state defunded Planned Parenthood and did not, as promised, adequately replace its services? Has anyone said sorry about that? (Katha Pollitt, 8/5)

The GOP-controlled Congress is taking up the cause, once again, of defunding Planned Parenthood. This latest effort comes in response to macabre hidden-camera videos shot by the Center for Medical Progress of staff at Planned Parenthood talking about the grisly practice of chopping up fetuses for parts. There's a debate over whether the videos prove the center's claim that Planned Parenthood is ghoulishly trying to make a profit selling baby lungs, livers and hearts. There's less of a debate that the videos speak directly to the ugly nature of second trimester abortions. (Jonah Goldberg, 8/4)

Let’s be clear about what it means to “defund” Planned Parenthood. While the organization gets some Title X funding for family planning programs, the bulk of the federal funds it receives comes in the form of Medicaid reimbursements for medical services. Those services do not include abortion. By law, federal funds are barred from paying for abortions. So what Republicans want to shut down is things like a poor woman on Medicaid going to a Planned Parenthood clinic to get a gynecological checkup or a mammogram. (Paul Waldman, 8/4)

“The next president should defund Planned Parenthood,” Jeb Bush said. “The argument against this is, well, women’s health issues, you’re attacking, it’s a war on women, and you’re attacking women’s health issues. You could take dollar for dollar, although I’m not sure we need a half a billion dollars for women’s health issues, but if you took dollar for dollar there are many extraordinary fine organizations, community health organizations, that exist to provide quality care for women on wide variety of health issues. ..." How many dollars is too many dollars for women’s health issues? (Alexandra Petri, 8/4)

Center stage will be the man who needs no further introduction. And the big topic will be — are you ready for it? — the Affordable Care Act. Can you hardly wait? I know I can’t. Any fresh opportunity to talk about repealing and replacing Obamacare is like dipping into a warm bath. Toss in a breathtaking view and the smell of fresh-cut grass and — pinch me. (Kathleen Parker, 8/4)

Richard Mayhew, the pseudonymous health insurance expert blogging at balloon-juice.com (and a must-read on insurance issues), points us to a subtle benefit provided to unionized workers by the Affordable Care Act: It gives them more leverage in contract negotiations with employers. That's because it gives employees a backstop against the employers' withdrawal of health insurance during a strike. (Michael Hiltzik, 8/4)

Yet, what the ACA could use most is some honest discussion rather than political posturing. While working pretty well, the law needs some improvements such as increasing the hours worked threshold from 30 to 32 or more, making compliance easier for small employers and reconsidering the veracity of various fees charged employers. With the exception of the mandate to buy coverage, the law’s component parts are well-received. But when the nickname of Obamacare is used, the entire law is viewed less favorably. When ACA is used, the entire law favorability improves but is beneath 50 percent. Yet in Kentucky, when the ACA name of KyNect is used, it polls more favorably than either its national name or nickname. (Keith Wilson, 8/3)

The U.S. Department of Justice and Los Angeles County officials are negotiating the details of a consent decree to govern the treatment of mentally ill inmates in the troubled county jails, following more than a decade of reported abuse and excessive force by sheriff's deputies. ... Of course it will be costly. No proposal for properly dealing with people suffering from mental illness — from the time they are reported for petty crimes, to their arrest, to transport to properly staffed urgent care centers, to treatment by qualified community-based providers and support after discharge — can be implemented without substantial funding. But such an investment would be wiser, more effective and more humane — and, by the way, less outrageously immoral — than waiting to spend that same money, and more, on lawsuits over the neglect or abuse of people whose crimes are a result of their illnesses. (8/4)

On Nov. 23, I received the call no parent wants to get – my only son was dead. My beautiful, 24-year-old boy was gone. It is a nightmare I have yet to wake up from; one I will never wake up from. I could barely hear the words from the other end of the line; my cries were drowning them out. I was driving when I received the call, and had to pull over to call my son’s father. Then I had to drive home to deliver the news to my daughter, Paris. How I made it home without getting in a wreck is a mystery to me. (Mia St. John, 8/5)

Physician counseling concerning gun safety has been identified as a key component of the prevention of firearm injury and deaths. However, recently proposed or enacted state laws that are perceived as restricting physicians’ conversations with patients about firearms have spurred debates about the role of physicians in preventing firearm injury and death. ... Yet maintaining this right is not enough to protect patients. Physicians and other health professionals also need to consider how to speak with patients. This means identifying what kinds of information, and what approaches to the discussion, are most effective in changing patient behavior concerning firearm storage and misuse. (Marian E. Betz and Garen J. Wintemute, 8/4)

Since the creation of the [Children's Health Insurance Program], states have implemented a diverse array of policy options under CHIP to serve children and have dramatically improved access to and continuity of insurance coverage for children in low-income families. In the short term, funding for CHIP is likely to be temporarily extended by Congress. In the long term, the future of CHIP should be part of a serious and bipartisan discussion among policy makers about how to best ensure access to health insurance for children in low-income families and develop a comprehensive health policy approach for children and families. (Marian Jarlenski, 8/4)

Although sexual assaults are underreported in all settings, college students are particularly less likely to report; up to 80% of sexual assaults in college settings are unreported. ... How could university administrators help prevent sexual assaults and, if necessary, fairly adjudicate claims? The critical points of intervention include nurturing a respectful environment; encouraging reporting; ensuring fair and rigorous investigations; implementing appropriate sanctions for inappropriate behavior; and reintegrating survivors back into the academic community. Importantly, coordination and cooperation between the university and criminal justice systems will improve experiences for survivors of sexual assault. (Rebecca B. Reingold and Lawrence O. Gostin, 8/4)