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Daily Women's Health Policy Report
Senate Might Delay Vote on Stem Cell Bill Until 2006
Naturally Produced Hormone Can Cause Preeclampsia, High Blood Pressure, Study Says
USA Today, Fortune Magazine Examine Debate Over Experimental HPV Vaccines
Kansas AG Says Child Sexual Assault Inquiry Not Limited to Abortion Clinics, Investigating Records of Live Births
National Politics & Policy
Senators Ask Miers To Resubmit Questionnaire, Including Information About Bush Administration Communications on Abortion
[Oct 20, 2005]
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and ranking member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Wednesday sent a letter to Supreme Court justice nominee Harriet Miers asking her to resubmit parts of a judicial questionnaire, including a question about whether the Bush administration and "its allies" had offered private assurances to anyone about how she might rule on abortion-rights cases, the New York Times reports. Miers in a questionnaire that she submitted to the judiciary committee on Tuesday was asked if she had made any statements as to how she would rule on cases coming before the Supreme Court. In a second part of the same question, the committee requested information about "all communications by the Bush administration or individuals acting on behalf of the administration to any individuals or interest groups with respect to how you would rule." Miers' answer to each part of the inquiry was, "No," according to the Times. Specter and Leahy on Wednesday repeated the question in their letter, adding, "This would include any and all communications, including those about which there have been recent press reports, in which friends and supporters of yours, among others, were said to have been asked by the White House to assure certain individuals about your views." The senators also wrote that if Miers "does not have firsthand knowledge of these communications," they request that she "please endeavor to determine what sorts of communications, if any, took place" (Kirkpatrick, New York Times, 10/20). Background, Timeline
Focus on the Family founder James Dobson -- who opposes abortion rights -- earlier this month on his syndicated radio show said he was persuaded to support Miers' nomination after speaking with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove. However, Dobson on his show last week said Rove did not tell him how Miers would rule on abortion-related cases (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/12). Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund in a Journal opinion piece on Monday wrote that during a conference call earlier this month, Ed Kinkeade, a federal judge based in Dallas, said Miers "[a]bsolutely" would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that effectively barred state abortion bans, and Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht added, "I agree with that." According to Fund, the call occurred on Oct. 3 -- the day President Bush nominated Miers to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor -- among 13 members of the Arlington Group, which he described as "an umbrella alliance of 60 religious conservative groups" (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/18). Miers in a letter on Wednesday said she "will work to provide additional materials" to the senators (McAuliff, New York Daily News, 10/20). The senators asked Miers to respond to the request by Oct. 26 (Specter/Leahy letter, 10/19). Specter on Wednesday also announced plans to begin committee hearings on Miers' nomination on Nov. 7 (Babington/Fletcher, Washington Post, 10/20). Media Coverage
Several broadcast programs reported on the senators' request for more information from Miers:
- NPR's "All Things Considered": The segment includes comments from Leahy and Specter (Welna, "All Things Considered," NPR, 10/19). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
- NPR's "Day to Day": The segment includes comments from Weekly Standard publisher Terry Eastland about conservatives' reactions to Miers' views on issues including Roe (Chadwick, "Day to Day," NPR, 10/19). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
- NPR's "Morning Edition": The segment includes comments from Leahy and Specter (Welna, "Morning Edition," NPR, 10/20). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
- PBS' "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer": The segment includes comments from Leahy and Specter (Warner, "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," PBS, 10/19). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
Senate Might Delay Vote on Stem Cell Bill Until 2006
[Oct 20, 2005]
A proposal by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) would postpone voting until 2006 on a bill (HR 810/S 471) to expand federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research, a Senate Republican official said, the AP/Washington Times reports (AP/Washington Times, 10/19). The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 -- which has been approved by the House but has stalled in the Senate -- would expand federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research. It also would allow funding for research using stem cells derived from embryos originally created for fertility treatments and willingly donated by patients (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 8/3). Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who sponsored the stem cell bill, had warned he would attach the bill to a spending measure for federal education, labor, health and welfare programs if Frist, a supporter of the stem cell bill, did not set a separate date to vote on it. Under Frist's deal, Specter would abandon his threat in exchange for a vote on a "date certain" in 2006, according to a Senate Republican official who spoke anonymously because negotiations are ongoing. Proponents of the embryonic stem cell bill would like a vote before the end of 2005, as Frist had pledged; however, they concede they might be short on time because the calendar is booked with disaster relief and budget discussions and confirmation hearings for the nomination of Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court (AP/Washington Times, 10/19). When asked on Tuesday about the measure's prospects for 2005, Frist responded, "I just don't know" (CongressDaily, 10/19). President Bush has said he would veto the measure if it were passed (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 8/3).
Bioethics & Science
Naturally Produced Hormone Can Cause Preeclampsia, High Blood Pressure, Study Says
[Oct 20, 2005]
An undetermined hormone is responsible for certain types of high blood pressure and could cause preeclampsia, the second leading cause of maternal death in the U.S., according to a study published in the Oct. 17 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Cincinnati Business Courier reports (Cincinnati Business Courier, 10/17). Jerry Lingrel, chair of the University of Cincinnati's Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry and Microbiology, and colleagues during the three-year study examined genetically modified mice to conclude that a hormone produced naturally in the body affects a human cell's "sodium pump," a function known to regulate blood pressure. The researchers said that in cases of preeclampsia, the body produces too much of the hormone, causing blood pressure to increase. Lingrel said that once the hormone is identified, it could be possible to develop an antibody to control its levels (Bonfield, Cincinnati Enquirer, 10/19). "The new [hormone], when we identify it, is highly likely to be overproduced in preeclampsia," Iva Dostanic-Larson, a postdoctoral fellow at UC and an author of the study, said, adding, "The next step is to chase down the hormone" (UC release, 10/17).
USA Today, Fortune Magazine Examine Debate Over Experimental HPV Vaccines
[Oct 20, 2005]
A "much anticipated" vaccine for human papillomavirus, the primary cause of cervical cancer, could reach the market by 2006, but a "number of questions remain" about whether males and females should be immunized and if all age groups would benefit from the vaccination, USA Today reports (Rubin, USA Today, 10/20). Merck and GlaxoSmithKline are developing HPV vaccines that could receive FDA approval next year. About 20 million people in the U.S. have a form of HPV, and cervical cancer causes the deaths of about 300,000 women annually worldwide, including about 3,700 in the U.S. (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/7). Several public health organizations support vaccinating females at age 11 or 12, most of whom are not yet sexually active. They say that vaccinating younger children might not be cost-effective because the immunity conferred by the vaccine might not remain by the time youth become sexually active. In addition, some research suggests that inoculating young men, who cannot get cervical cancer but who can spread HPV to their female sexual partners, might not be cost-effective. Several groups that support abstinence-only education, including the Family Research Council, have concerns that an HPV vaccination might promote premarital sex, but some such groups "appear to be warming to the idea of a cancer vaccine," according to USA Today. Meanwhile, a study of 320 parents and their adolescents ages 12 to 17 published last month in the Journal of Adolescent Health suggests that they likely would welcome an HPV vaccine (USA Today, 10/20). Fortune Magazine Examines Debate
Fortune magazine in its Oct. 31 issue reported how the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will serve as "the stage on which a modern drama of health and morality will ultimately play out" as it debates at what age young women should receive an HPV vaccine. The vaccines already are "at the center of a brewing storm over cost, social class, family values and women's health," according to Fortune. ACIP, which compiles a national list of vaccinations for physicians to administer and for insurers and federal funding to cover, will make recommendations about the most appropriate age for girls to receive the vaccine. Researchers say that if girls received the vaccine before they become sexually active, cervical cancer could become a "minor threat," Fortune reports. Although ACIP approval is nonbinding, most states rely on its recommendations to authorize which vaccines children must receive before entering school, and if the panel "doesn't give its blessing, a vaccine can fail" on the market, according to Fortune (Guyon, Fortune, 10/31).
State Politics & Policy
Kansas AG Says Child Sexual Assault Inquiry Not Limited to Abortion Clinics, Investigating Records of Live Births
[Oct 20, 2005]
Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline (R) on Tuesday announced that he has looked at the records of live births in Kansas and found 62 that possibly were the result of child sexual assault, the Kansas City Star reports (Klepper, Kansas City Star, 10/19). Kline last year subpoenaed the unedited medical records of 90 women and girls who underwent late-term abortions in 2003 at two clinics -- Comprehensive Health, which is operated by Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri in Overland Park, Kan., and Women's Health Care Services in Wichita, Kan. -- because he believes there is probable cause that each record contains evidence of felony crimes (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/19). Under Kansas law, any girl under 16 years old who is impregnated by an adult is considered to have been raped, and physicians are required to report any suspicion that a patient has been abused physically, emotionally or sexually (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/9). During oral arguments in September, Deputy Attorney General Eric Rucker said Kline only had subpoenaed the records as part of an investigation of failure to report child abuse from clinics that provide abortions. However, Kline said the abortion clinic subpoenas are just one part of a comprehensive investigation. Before Tuesday, Kline was unwilling to say if he was going to subpoena records from other providers that are required to report abuse. Of the 62 births he suspects are a result of child sexual assault, Kline said 30 of the girls were between the ages of 10 and 13. Of those 30 cases, no abuse reports were filed by their physicians, and Kline said he is not filing any charges against the doctors for failing to report, according to the Star. Records of live births do not need to be subpoenaed (Kansas City Star, 10/19).
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