Don’t freak out …
The recent poll showing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist, garnering 14% of 2020 Biden voters certainly seems pretty bad. Does the Democratic electorate now include a sizable anti-science contingent?
Not necessarily.
Yes, there have been effective challenges to incumbent presidents in the past. And yes, numerous challengers have defeated early presidential front-runners. Those movements shouldn’t be underestimated. But Kennedy’s early numbers probably have a lot more to do with name recognition than policy. His family is still beloved by many in the Democratic electorate, even though most people would never recognize him on the street.
Digging a little deeper, this doesn’t feel like a movement for Robert Kennedy Jr. It feels like an ask for something else. That sentiment, of course, is far from ideal for President Joe Biden. But it also means America’s vaccines are probably still safe.
A story you should be following: States illegally denying emergency abortions
This week, the federal government released the findings of an investigation centering on two hospitals that may have violated the law by denying one patient’s emergency abortion. According to documents reviewed by the Associated Press, Missouri resident Mylissa Farmer was only 17 weeks pregnant when her water broke. Even though doctors told Farmer that her fetus would not survive, and that her own health was at serious risk, she was forced to travel to a third hospital in Illinois to terminate her pregnancy.
Unfortunately, we have seen similar scenarios play out across the country. In Texas, five women who say they were denied abortions when their lives were at risk are suing the state. One of those women, Amanda Zurawski, says she was not provided an abortion until she developed serious symptoms of sepsis.
Stories like these are becoming all too familiar. Medical providers are having to weigh state laws that ban or restrict access to abortion against…
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