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Wednesday, December 25, 2024

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Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of the federal death row; Mississippi group working in 71 counties to end homelessness in Mississippi; Farmers no longer feeling Farm Bill anguish, but relief might be fleeting; Addressing Montana's expanding 'news deserts.'

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President-elect Donald Trump considers reclaiming Panama Canal. Lawmakers are uncertain Trump's cabinet will help everyday Americans and, advocates feel Biden must reconsider clemency actions.

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Rural folks could soon be shut out of loans for natural disasters if Project 2025 has its way, Taos, New Mexico weighs options for its housing shortage, and the top states providing America's Christmas trees revealed.

ME Medical Community Reaffirms Support for Abortion Medication

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Monday, April 24, 2023   

Maine's medical community is applauding the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to preserve access to the abortion medication mifepristone.

The justices granted emergency requests from the Biden administration and rejected a lower court's restrictions on the drug while a lawsuit continues.

Erik Steele, family physician and president of the Maine Medical Association, said the majority of physicians believe the complex decision to end a pregnancy is best made in the privacy of a doctor's office and not the courts.

"If they simply outlaw the medication, women will find another way around it to make their own decisions about their pregnancies," Steele pointed out.

Mifepristone is used in more than half of abortions in the U.S. and has been approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration since 2000. Gov. Janet Mills has suggested the state stockpile the drug in case of future restrictions.

Abortion is currently legal in Maine until "viability," which usually occurs between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy, and exceptions are allowed to save a mother's life.

Steele noted increasing legislative efforts nationwide to restrict abortion access are helping fuel a shortage of reproductive care providers, and preventing women from getting the help they need.

"We think it's impossible to legislate this kind of thing," Steele contended. "It's so complex, it really has to be left to the patient and the physician to make this decision."

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, 24 states have banned abortion or placed limits on access to abortion care. Nearly 90% of U.S. counties currently have no abortion provider.


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Environment

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Nearly a dozen changes could be made to the Kentucky Community and Technical College system, under Senate Joint Resolution 179, passed by lawmakers …

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