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Silenced Genes As A Warning Sign Of Blood Cancer
In many types of cancer, parts of the genetic material of tumor cells are switched off by chemical labels called methyl groups. This kind of methyl labeling ranges among the epigenetic changes that do not change the sequence of DNA building blocks. Such labels are found particularly often in genes which act as important inhibitors of pathogenic cell growth.
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Sens. Continue To Press Sotomayor On Abortion Rights On Third Day Of Confirmation Hearings
In her third day of confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor deflected lawmakers" attempts to elicit specific answers on how she would rule on abortion-rights cases and other contentious issues, the Washington Post reports (Goldstein et al., Washington Post, 7/16). As she entered what likely will be the final day of testimony on Thursday, Sotomayor"s confirmation "seemed on track," and Republicans appeared to be "conceding that they had not built the momentum necessary to derail the nomination," according to the New York Times, (Stolberg/Lewis, New York Times, 7/16). Cornyn Questions Abortion-Rights ViewsSen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) asked Sotomayor whether reports that Obama administration officials had sought to elicit her views on abortion were accurate. She responded that she "was asked no question by anyone including the president about my views on any specific legal issue" (Espo/Sherman, AP/Houston Chronicle, 7/15). Cornyn cited comments from George Pavia -- the senior partner at the New York law firm where Sotomayor previously worked -- who stated that he could "guarantee" that she would "be for abortion rights." Sotomayor said, "I have no idea why he"s drawing that conclusion," adding, "If he was talking about the fact that I served on a particular board that promoted equal opportunity for people, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, then you could talk about that being a liberal instinct, in the sense that I promote equal opportunity in America and the attempts to ensure that." She continued, "But he has not read my jurisprudence for 17 years, I can assure you. He"s a corporate litigator. And my experience with corporate litigators is that they only look at the law when it affects the case before them" (Washington Post, 7/16). Sotomayor added that she "know[s] for a fact that I never spoke to [Pavia] on my views on abortion or my views on any social issue" (Bendavid, "Washington Wire," Wall Street Journal, 7/15). Sotomayor noted that she once ruled to uphold the "global gag rule," also known as the "Mexico City" policy, which barred federal funding of international family planning groups that provide abortion information or services (New York Times, 7/16).Coburn Presses on Hypothetical CasesDuring his questioning, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) asked Sotomayor about hypothetical cases related to abortion-rights issues, including if it would be legal if a woman sought an abortion at 38 weeks" gestation if the fetus had spina bifida. Sotomayor said, "I can"t answer that question in the abstract, because I would have to look at what the state of the state"s law was on that question and what the state said with respect to that issue." She continued, "The question is, is the state regulation regulating what a woman does an undue burden? And so I can"t answer your hypothetical, because I can"t look at it as an abstract without knowing what state laws exist on this issue or not. And even if I knew that, I probably couldn"t opine, because I"m sure that situation might well arise before the court" (Holman, "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," PBS, 7/15). Sotomayor also said that the Supreme Court"s 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey "reaffirmed the core holding of Roe v. Wade that a woman has a constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy in certain cases" (Hirschfeld Davis, AP/Boston Globe, 7/16). She added that the ruling said the court should consider whether any state regulation "has an undue burden on the woman"s constitutional right" (Sherman, AP/Sacramento Bee, 7/15). Coburn also asked whether medical advancements that help premature infants survive might "have any bearing on how we look at" Roe (Savage/Oliphant, Chicago Tribune, 7/16). She said, "I can"t answer that in the abstract," adding, "The question as it would come before me wouldn"t be in the way that you form it as a citizen, it would come to me as a judge" (AP/Houston Chronicle, 7/15).Specter Seeks Clarification on RoeDuring question
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Cooking Carrots Whole Preserves More Anti-Cancer Properties, Study
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Blogs Comment On Senate Resolution On Antiabortion Violence, Role Of Midwives In Health Reform, Other Topics

The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries.~ ""Anonymous" Republican Senator Obstructs Resolution To Condemn Clinic Violence," Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check: On Thursday, an unnamed Republican senator "used his power to put a "hold"" on a resolution (S.R. 187) "condemning violence against women"s health providers, thereby blocking any vote on the resolution," Jacobson writes. She adds, "So much for agreeing on at least a basic premise in the debate about choice, reproductive rights or even reproductive health." Such holds, which senators can submit anonymously and without explanation, allow Republicans to "get away with sorrowful expressions to the media on violence" without having "to be put to the test of actually voting to denounce the violence against" abortion providers like George Tiller, Jacobson writes. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who introduced the resolution, "intended [it] to be non-controversial," but the "condemnation of violence is apparently too much for some Republicans to bear," Jacobson continues. She adds that the House unanimously passed a resolution (H.R. 505) last week condemning violence in places of worship. The three senators who introduced the Senate resolution "decided to move forward with their resolution" without the House"s language because they "feel condemning violence against women"s health care providers and agreeing not to use violence as a means of resolving differences are not objectionable viewpoints," Jacobson writes. She concludes, "Apparently, there is no common ground in the Senate on not using violence where women"s health is concerned" (Jacobson, RH Reality Check, 6/19).~ "Supporting MAMAs," Amie Newman, RH Reality Check: Under President Obama, who is calling for "an exploration of common ground in the abortion debate and is spearheading the fight for health care reform, we have an opportunity to re-examine the gamut of women"s reproductive and sexual health care in order to improve access to all care," Newman writes. She continues that the Midwives and Mothers in Action campaign, a collaboration of advocacy and consumer groups, is working "to ensure that health care reform remembers midwifery." The group is lobbying for federal recognition of certified professional midwives as a means to increase women"s access to affordable, quality obstetrical care and working to ensure that "Medicaid coverage for certified professional midwives is included in any health care reform," Newman writes. According to Newman, in 25 states "it is illegal to choose the care provider or setting for your birth because certified professional midwives are outlawed as birth facilitators." She continues, "As we work towards immense health care reform, the question for all reproductive health advocates should be: How much longer will we tolerate a system in which women"s and babies" health and lives are compromised, costs to the consumer are rising, access to childbirth care remains inequitable and certified professional midwives must fight for their livelihood?" Newman concludes, "Access to abortion care, contraception and childbirth care should be seen as concentric circles -- they are all connected and all part of the continuum of [women"s] reproductive and sexual health care with which reproductive [health] and rights advocates should be concerned" (Newman, RH Reality Check, 6/22).~ "Roe Protects Pregnant Women, Too," Rachel Roth, RH Reality Check: "Roe v. Wade stands for women"s reproductive self-determination: for the right to have an abortion and the right to have a baby," Roth writes. She adds, "Both dimensions of Roe"s promise are critical to women"s lives, yet most people are far more familiar with one than the other." Roth continues that although most people know that Roe "recognized women"s constitutional right to an abortion," those rights "are not absolute." According to Roth, "Roe did not establish a contest between women"s rights and "fetal rights"; rather, it recognized a state interest in the potential life of the fetus, because fetuses are not persons with rights or interests of their own under the Constitution." She continues, "Over time, the [Supreme Court] has given greater deference to state interests in potential life, allowing more restrictions on women"s abortion rights throughout pregnancy, but the court has always been clear that the final decision rests with women, and that a woman"s health and life always come first; this is why women can have abortions after viability, when their health or life is at stake." However, some individuals and courts have misinterpreted Roe to "argue that after a woman"s pregnancy reaches the stage of viability, the state can intervene not only to stop a woman from having an abortion but to dictate how she should live as well," according to Roth. She continues that senators during Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor"s confirmation hearing should ask "whether she believes there is a point in pregnancy at which women lose their civil rights, and, if so, on what basis they lose them" (Roth, RH Reality Check, 6/23).~ "Pregnant With Potential," Kristen Day, RH Reality Check: Day, executive director of Democrats for Life of America, writes that the organization is "proud to stand with the president, groups and individuals who are truly committed to finding areas of agreement" on reducing the need for abortion. "Unfortunately, there are still some who will want to set up roadblocks before common ground proposals in order to maintain a perceived political advantage by perpetuating the stale argument over who is right and wrong on the issue of abortion," according to Day. She continues that the Pregnant Women Support Act is "the first truly bipartisan bill" to help reconcile issues on both sides of the debate. Day writes that PWSA "addresses areas of agreement," such as prohibiting health insurance companies from denying coverage to pregnant women by classifying pregnancy as a "pre-existing condition," and increasing support for pregnant women who are "forced by a boyfriend or husband to undergo an abortion because the men want to avoid the financial responsibility." PWSA also would increase support for WIC and "provide grants to colleges and universities to establish pregnant and parenting student service offices so women do not have to choose between having a baby or completing their education," according to Day. DFLA "recognize[s] that people on both sides of the abortion debate may have concerns about certain provisions of the PWSA," including the bill"s cost, provisions related to the Children"s Health Insurance Program and funding of "life support centers," Day writes. She concludes that DFLA is "ready to try to address these concerns with any and all who are willing to put progress over partisanship and work toward a common ground solution" (Day, RH Reality Check, 6/19). Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women"s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women"s Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company. © 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.


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