Stuff You May Want to Know

By Ann Nye —

Pregnancy is a medical condition – Judge Kacsmaryk’s  withdrawal of the FDA’s authorization of Mifepristone, one of two medication abortion drugs, used the religious talking point that “Pregnancy is not an illness” and the FDA cannot approve a drug to terminate pregnancy.  That’s like saying the FDA can’t approve a drug to treat a broken limb.  Both are a medical conditions that affect the structure or function of the human body, and the FDA has authority to approve drugs to treat them.  On Friday, 4/21/23, in a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court granted emergency requests from the Biden administration and Danco Labs, the maker of the drug, to stop the lower courts restrictions of  Mifepristone at least until the Fifth Circuit and Supreme Court consider Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling on the merits.
 
Transgender students have a champion – Democratic Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, chairperson of the Assembly Education Committee, prevented a hearing for a bill that would have required teachers to notify parents if their child is transgender, essentially killing the legislation that Republican Assemblymembers Bill Essayli from Riverside and James Gallagher from Chico coauthored.  Muratsuchi called the bill “bad policy” and said that a hearing would “potentially provide a forum for increasingly hateful rhetoric targeting LGBTQ youth.”
 
Former Democratic Rep. Harley Rouda announced he’s withdrawing from his bid to replace Katie Porter.  Rouda said he suffered a serious fall last month, which caused moderate traumatic brain injury, and is ending his campaign to focus on recovery.  He reported that he had raised more than $1.25 million in the first quarter of 2023 for the race.  Porter’s district is one of the most contested in California.  A good percentage of the district’s voters have no party affiliation, and Porter won reelection in 2022 only by a slim margin over Republican Scott Baugh.  Baugh is running again in 2024, along with Democratic state Senator Dave Min and Republican Newport Beach businessman Max Ukropina, among others.