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Even Healthy Lungs Labor At Acceptable Ozone Levels
Ozone exposure, even at levels deemed safe by current clean air standards, can have a significant and negative effect on lung function, according to researchers at the University of California Davis.
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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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Progress Toward Artificial Tissue
For modern implants and the growth of artificial tissue and organs, it is important to generate materials with characteristics that closely emulate nature. However, the tissue in our bodies has a combination of traits that are very hard to recreate in synthetic materials: It is both soft and very tough. A team of Australian and Korean researchers led by Geoffrey M. Spinks and Seon Jeong Kim has now developed a novel, highly porous, sponge-like material whose mechanical properties closely resemble those of biological soft tissues. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, it consists of a robust network of DNA strands and carbon nanotubes.
Public Health

Budget Solution Must Protect Health Care For Children

Dr. Dev GnanaDev, president of the California Medical Association, issued the following statement after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called on the state Legislature to swiftly enact his proposed budget cuts. "California"s physicians respect the grave condition of the state"s finances and the difficult decisions faced by lawmakers on how to eliminate a $24 billion deficit. The final budget solution, however, cannot include slashing health care for children, the poor and the unemployed if California is serious about resuscitating its economy and getting the most out of its spending. "The Governor has proposed eliminating the Healthy Families Program, which provides health care to 900,000 children from low-income families. By becoming the first state in the nation to end this highly successful program, California will miss out on $500 million in annual federal funding and jeopardize the growth and development of many kids who aspire to be tomorrow"s leaders. "The Governor has also recommended cutting more than $1 billion from Medi-Cal, the government health care program for those living in poverty. Medi-Cal, which primarily serves children, pregnant women and senior citizens, is already dangerously underfunded, causing serious gaps in access to care for the 6 million Californians who depend on it. No one, especially children, should suffer from the want of health care. "Without these vital services, as many as 2 million additional Californians will be forced to put off visits to a doctor at a risk to their own long-term health and a greater cost to taxpayers. Lack of standard health care translates into more visits to overcrowded and expensive emergency rooms. These cuts block many Californians from living healthy, happy and productive lives and undermine our state"s economic recovery." The California Medical Association represents more than 35,000 physicians in all modes of practice and specialties. CMA is dedicated to the health of all patients in California. California Medical Association


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