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FETAL REMAINS CASE TAKES ANOTHER TURN: Police have discovered a second set of fetal remains, this time stashed in the car of Dr. Ulrich Klopfer, the late abortion doctor who hoarded more than 2,245 fetal parts in his garage.
The car, a 1990 Mercedes Benz, was parked among eight other vehicles in a lot in Dolton, Illinois. Klopfer’s family has been working with police to account for all of his property. Klopfer was a hoarder, and the initial remains found were from about 20 years ago, which explains why his family didn’t know about them until they were going through everything after his death.
The latest discovery comes about a month after the first, and there could still be more findings ahead as his family and the police continue to sort through his massive amounts of belongings.
“Our hope is to do the best we can to bring closure to the concept of additional remains,” Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill told the Washington Examiner.
Klopfer had clinics in Fort Wayne, South Bend, and Gary, and provided abortions for decades, but he lost his medical license roughly three years before his death for poor record keeping, flouting Indiana laws about waiting periods, and failing to report instances where girls sought abortions after being raped. He died Sept. 3 at age 75.
While abortion rights groups have been silent on the developments, anti-abortion groups point to the findings as evidence that more laws on abortion are necessary, and they’ve got the ear of Republicans in Congress at a time when the country is closely watching how the Supreme Court will change abortion rights.
This month, GOP senators introduced a bill that would obligate abortion clinics to arrange for the burial or cremation of fetal tissue after an abortion. It’s similar to a law in Indiana, signed by Vice President Mike Pence when he was governor of the state, that was only recently allowed by the Supreme Court to go ahead and become law.
We haven’t seen the conclusion of that law: The Supreme Court didn’t rule on its merits, and an appeals court is weighing a fetal burial law that a federal judge struck down in Texas last year. We’ll be watching states to see whether they look to pass similar laws, and a House bill is expected soon.
Good morning and welcome to the Washington Examiner’s Daily on Healthcare! This newsletter is written by senior healthcare reporter Kimberly Leonard (@LeonardKL) and healthcare reporter Cassidy Morrison (@CassMorrison94). You can reach us with tips, calendar items, or suggestions at [email protected]. If someone forwarded you this email and you’d like to receive it regularly, you can subscribe here.
SAFEGUARDS MISSING FROM ASSISTED SUICIDE, CONCLUDES TRUMP DISABILITY OFFICE: The National Council on Disability, a federal agency, said in a new study that assisted suicide laws didn’t do enough to protect people with disabilities. The researchers primarily rest their conclusion on findings that show people who seek assisted dying do so because they aren’t getting the care they need, but it also says that insurers are offering to pay for lethal drugs instead of for treatment, and that doctors are misdiagnosing terminal illnesses.
SANDERS WALKS BACK HIS PLAN TO TAKE IT EASY ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL POST-HEART ATTACK: Presidential contender Bernie Sanders said he “misspoke the other day” when he said he would ease himself back into the campaign fray after his heart attack last week. Sanders said to NBC News Wednesday: “We’re going to get back into the groove of a very vigorous campaign. I love doing rallies and I love doing town meetings.” Doctors revealed last Friday that Sanders had endured a heart attack before undergoing a relatively simple procedure to place stents in the heart’s arteries.
SANDERS CAMPAIGN WORKERS GET PAID LEAVE IN A CONTRACT THAT STRATEGISTS SAY IS ‘UNSUSTAINABLE’: The collective bargaining agreement between the Sanders campaign and its employees allows for up to 57 days paid leave, which veteran Republican strategist Alice Stewart said is “just not sustainable in a presidential campaign.” Stewart told the Washington Examiner that the union was calling the shots, hampering the campaign’s ability to make decisions “on the fly,” which is to be expected on the presidential campaign trail. Employees who took part in the collective bargaining are also entitled to a $500-a-month deposit into a reimbursement program to cover the costs of mental health services, and salaried employees making above $36,000 per year will have 85% of their healthcare premiums covered. The campaign will also cover premiums entirely for employees making $36,000 a year or less, as well as hourly employees.
ACLU STANDS BY NEW HAMPSHIRE IN A PRIVACY CASE AGAINST THE DEA: After New Hampshire lost a case with the Drug Enforcement Administration over a healthcare privacy law violation last year, the state is appealing the decision and the American Civil Liberties Union is showing its support. New Hampshire, like 48 other states, has a law mandating that any request for records of prescriptions for controlled substances in the state’s drug monitoring database must come with a warrant.
The ACLU, ACLU affiliates from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island, and the New Hampshire Medical Society, filed an amicus brief to stand by the state’s effort to appeal the lower court’s decision, hoping to protect the state’s law that protects patients’ rights to privacy. The friend-of-the-court brief says: “The prescription records at issue in this case reveal intimate, private, and potentially stigmatizing details about patients’ health, including details of those patients’ underlying medical conditions… people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in them.”
VAPING-RELATED LUNG INJURY KILLS THE YOUNGEST PERSON YET: A 17-year-old Bronx teen, who died Oct. 4, is the youngest person to die of lung injuries linked to vaping. The 22 other people who died were at least 27 years old.
Physician says the epidemic is not caused by nicotine: Dr. Melodi Pirzada, pediatric pulmonologist at New York University, told Cassidy the teen’s death will spark renewed concern for perceived causes of the injuries: Vaping and black market THC oils. While New York health officials haven’t confirmed that the teen was vaping THC, Pirzada, who has treated four patients with these injuries, all teens who had vaped THC, said he was most likely using THC. She added: “I do not think this is related to nicotine, I think there are few cases mentioning nicotine causing the lung injury and that’s it.” Nevertheless, she agreed that an e-cigarette flavor ban is long overdue. Even if nicotine isn’t causing fatal lung injuries, she said, teen nicotine vaping is so pervasive and troubling that banning flavors should be the next attempt to stop it.
HANDLE WITH CARE — PET TURTLES CAUSED A MULTISTATE SALMONELLA OUTBREAK: As of Wednesday, 21 people have been infected with salmonella, and the CDC has traced the cases to a single source: pet turtles. Owners can contract salmonella from their turtles no matter how clean their shells look. The CDC recommends owners wash their hands thoroughly after handling their turtles, keep their turtles and habitats away from the kitchen or wherever food is prepared, don’t let their turtles roam freely, and don’t kiss or snuggle their turtles.
The Rundown
The Hill Planned Parenthood charges into 2020 after year of setbacks
The Associated Press California hospital chain going to court over high prices
Baltimore Sun Last drug treatment center for Maryland youths closes, narrowing options statewide
Military Times Army confirms two soldiers being treated for severe lung injuries from vaping
KCUR Doctors stand by meds for treating kids with ADHD but many experts say that’s the wrong approach
Stat The return of Vioxx: Can a drug once deemed deadly be relaunched to treat rare disease?
Calendar
THURSDAY | Oct. 10
Congress in recess.
Noon. 214 Massachusetts Avenue NE. Heritage Foundation event on “Bioethics: What It Is and Why It Matters.” Details.
FRIDAY | Oct. 11
9:30 a.m. U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will hear Stewart v. Azar and Gresham v. Azar, cases challenging work requirements in Kentucky and Arkansas.
Noon. Dirksen G-50. National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation briefing on “How to Build Healthier Communities: From the Opioid Crisis to Social Determinants.” Details.
TUESDAY | Oct. 15
Medicare open enrollment.
