Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
A new lung function test ditches the medical racism of the old version, but with serious consequences to how results are applied. (Freyer, 9/18)
Kendric Cromer, 12, is among the first patients to be treated with gene therapy just approved by the F.D.A. that many other patients face obstacles to receiving. (Kolata, 9/16)
Robert Roberson, who faces execution in Texas on Oct. 17, is the latest death row prisoner to see a glossy campaign to save his life. He was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter Nikki Curtis in 2002 on a theory of shaken baby syndrome. A growing chorus, from the lead detective in his case to novelist John Grisham, is arguing that he is innocent and Curtis death, while a tragedy, was not a crime. Hed be the first person ever executed based on shaken baby syndrome, even as the diagnosis faces growing scrutiny in the courts. But another fact about Roberson deserves more attention to make sense of his story his diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. (Chammah, 9/18)
Ballistic armor companies are marketing protective products designed for the military to parents and schools. Some people see the items as unsettling but prudent; others find them infuriating. (Baumgaertner and Kalman, 9/18)
As extreme heat worsens, schools nationwide are increasingly replacing asphalt playgrounds with green, cooler spaces. (Phillips, 9/14)
On Sept. 5, Chinas Foreign Ministry suddenly, and with little explanation, announced an end to the countrys three-decade-old foreign adoption program, which has sent more than 82,000 children to the United States, more than any other country. Chinese civil affairs officials will not continue to process cases at any stage, the State Department said. That will stop hundreds of families who have been matched with children by Chinese authorities from completing their adoptions, even those in the final stage of what can be a years-long process, adoption advocates said. (Laris, 9/17)
Around 80% of women in camps for the displaced have been raped in brutal attacks, as international attention wanes. If the war ends, I wont have to be raped anymore. (Steinhauser, 9/15)
