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Wednesday, Jun 17 2026 UPDATED 9:12 AM

Full Issue

Colorado Docs Won't Provide Youth Gender Care For Fear Of Retribution

A court order is forcing Children’s Hospital Colorado to resume gender-affirming care for trans youth, the Colorado Sun reports, but doctors at the hospital have refused to provide the care over fear of losing their licenses or facing criminal charges.

Children’s Hospital Colorado said Monday that it was resuming gender-affirming care for transgender youth after it was forced to do so by a court order but that none of its doctors are willing to actually provide the care. (Brown, 6/16)

After struggling with a history of mental illness, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, a 44-year-old woman was admitted to Albany Care psychiatric facility in Evanston in 2023 for her own health and safety. However, in October of that year, the woman was left alone and unsupervised when a man who also lived at the facility entered her room and raped her, according to a lawsuit filed last year in Cook County on the woman’s behalf, charging negligence by Albany Care. (McCoppin, 6/16)

After two weeks of damning government evidence at trial, a former Florida nursing school operator pleaded guilty on Monday to running a diploma mill for thousands of nurses rather than present a defense and let a jury decide her fate in federal court. Prosecutors linked the diploma mill to the death of a patient in a St. Louis hospital. (Weaver, 6/16)

ϳԹ News: Tennessee Pharmacies Sell Potent Ivermectin, Led By Anti-Vaccine Doctor Who’s Taken ‘Bucketloads’

Four years ago, Tennessee became the first state to allow adults to buy the antiparasitic drug ivermectin from a pharmacy without first seeing a doctor. Pharmacies can use a pre-written, blanket prescription to sell to just about anyone who walks through their doors. The drug is now marketed and sold across the state in roadside shops and small-town strip malls with little oversight from health authorities. Highway billboards advertise ivermectin as “Available Without a Prescription in Tennessee!” while dozens of pharmacies offer highly concentrated pills, sometimes at 10 or 20 times the potency of a standard tablet. (Kelman and Pradhan, 6/17)

At North Carolina schools that provide behavioral health care remotely, teachers and school staff say they’re seeing an impact on students’ behavioral challenges. (Fernandez, 6/17)

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who has repeatedly postponed executions over the past seven years, said Tuesday that Ohio should abolish the death penalty, confirming his change of heart on the policy he helped write as a state legislator 45 years ago. DeWine, 79, said during a news conference that data indicates the death penalty is not serving as a deterrent to violent crime, which he had always believed was its moral imperative. “I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made, nor do I believe that there’s any chance in the future the facts that I’ve cited to support that belief will change,” he said. “Therefore, I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty.” (Carr Smyth and Aftoora-Orsagos, 6/16)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
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