Health

Health
Study finds more people are obtaining abortions but fewer are traveling to other states for it
A new study has found that fewer people crossed state lines for abortions in 2024 than the previous year. One reason is likely the increase of availability of abortion pills. The Guttmacher Institute has found that the number of abortions in states where they’re legal increased by less than 1 percent last year and the number of people crossing state lines to get them dropped by about 9 percent.
Medicaid puzzle confronts Minnesota lawmakers. Federal cuts could hit health safety net program
Republicans in Washington are working on slashing the federal budget to help pay for a slate of tax breaks. State lawmakers know it could mean a health care funding hole, but they don’t know how much they’ll have to backfill.
Teen run over, injured while playing 'Nerf Wars' in Sauk Rapids
The teen’s injuries were not life-threatening. The Nerf Wars game, in which high school students wage public battles using foam dart guns, has raised safety concerns across Minnesota for years.
Measles exploded in Texas after stagnant vaccine funding. New cuts threaten the same across the U.S.
The measles outbreak in West Texas didn’t happen just by chance. Health officials say the easily preventable disease has ripped through communities sprawling across more than 20 Texas counties in part because health departments were starved of the funding needed to run vaccine programs.
White House orders NIH to research trans ‘regret’ and ‘detransition’
The new research will study the physical and mental health effects of gender transition. It comes on the heels of the administration cutting hundreds of research grants for LGBTQ+ health.
Minnesota Department of Health workers rally against Trump administration cuts
Members of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees rallied outside a state office building on the grounds of the State Capitol Thursday to speak out against cuts to public health programs.
Has health equity in Minnesota improved since the pandemic? We took that question to Red Wing for a North Star Journey Live discussion and asked health care workers on the front lines to assess what they’ve seen since 2020.
‘It’s devastating’: Minneapolis health officials cancel vaccine clinics after loss of federal funding
Minneapolis health officials canceled upcoming vaccine clinics after federal funding was cut. They say they’re worried about falling vaccination rates.
As measles spreads, federal budget cuts force closure of vaccine clinics
Federal funding cuts, though temporarily blocked by a judge, have upended vaccination outreach across the country, including in Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, Texas, and Washington state.