Health & Safety

Oklahoma Governor Faces Tough Decision On 'Sweeping' Anti-Abortion Bill

6:44pm May 20, 2016

by Rachel Hubbard

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has a few more days to decide what to do with a bill on her desk that would make it a felony for doctors to perform abortions. Opponents call the bill "sweeping and unprecedented."

Queue Listen Now

A typical label includes safe cooking instructions. This label on blade-tenderized beef sold at Costco recommends 160 degrees as the minimum internal temperature, which doesn't require a three-minute rest time.

New Labels Warn That A Tender Steak Could Be A Little Dangerous

4:39pm May 20, 2016

by Lydia Zuraw

Mechanically tenderized meat — which has been punctured with needles to break down the muscle fibers and make it easier to chew — has a greater chance of being contaminated and making you sick.

Puerto Rico Confronts Spread Of Zika Virus Amid Debt Crisis

4:28pm May 20, 2016

NPR's Audie Cornish talks to Hector Colon Cruz, deputy director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response in Puerto Rico, about the large number of pregnancies showing evidence of Zika.

Ravens Tackle Lobbies The NFL To Approve Medical Marijuana

3:13pm May 20, 2016

Eugene Monroe tells Mary Louise Kelly that the NFL should stop testing players for marijuana. He reasons that players should be allowed to use the drug for medical purposes to treat chronic pain.

Queue Listen Now

The FDA is is expected to decide by May 27 whether a long-acting, implantable version of this anti-addiction drug, buprinorphine, will be available in the United States. The implant is more convenient, proponents say, and less likely to be abused.

FDA Considering Pricey Implant As Treatment For Opioid Addiction

2:56pm May 20, 2016

by Martha Bebinger

The FDA could soon approve an implantable form of a drug used to treat opioid addiction. While the approach helped patients avoid relapse in tests, its price may be prohibitive for some, doctors say.

Queue Listen Now

A member of Doctors Without Borders looks out over the general hospital in the Central African Republic's capital city, Bangui, in April 2014.

Doctors Without Borders Suspends Work In Parts Of Central African Republic

2:46pm May 20, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The group says armed men killed a staff member during an attack on a convoy that lasted more than 40 minutes. It's one of many recent attacks worldwide on the group's staff.

Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., speaks with Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., on Thursday before joining a bipartisan group of senators at a Capitol Hill news conference to discuss legislation to improve the federal

Lawmakers Reach A Deal To Expand Regulation Of Toxic Chemicals

1:44pm May 20, 2016

by Geoff Brumfiel

If it passes, the compromise bill would be the first update to the Toxic Substances Control Act in more than four decades. Supporters say it gives the EPA more power to ensure chemical safety.

Cancer treatment for people infected with HIV has lagged behind the need.

Health & Safety

People With HIV Are Less Likely To Get Needed Cancer Treatment

11:17am May 20, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

A third of patients with HIV and lung cancer failed to receive treatment for the cancer, compared with 14 percent of those who were HIV-negative. It's one example among many of disparate treatment.

Kate Roberts is running a new kind of philanthropy — funded by women and devoted to women's issues.

Health & Safety

New Charity Invites Female Millionaires To Donate — And Get Involved

8:30pm May 19, 2016

by Esha Chhabra

We talk to the co-founder, Kate Roberts, to learn more about the Maverick Collective. Members' contributions are funding projects in the developing world that tackle women's health issues.

A mosquito control inspector sprinkles larvicide in a storm drain in Miami Gardens, Fla., in an effort to stop the spread of Zika virus.

Health Departments Cut Programs While Awaiting Zika Funding

7:47pm May 19, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

The extended debate in Congress over emergency funding for a response to the Zika virus is forcing public health departments to cut existing prevention and treatment programs.

Queue Listen Now