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Mifepristone, an abortion pill, also known as RU 486. (Photo by James Leynse/Corbis via Getty ... [+] Images)

Since last months leak of Justice Alitos draft majority opinion, which says that the Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, the abortion wars have dominated the U.S. domestic news cycle.

Removing abortion as a constitutional right would, in Alitos words, return the issue of abortion to the peoples elected representatives. While this could mean Congress, its clear from a recent attempt to codify Roe v. Wade, the Democrats lack the votes to succeed. And so, it will be up to states to determine who has access to abortion services, and under which conditions.

Most of the discussion has focused on in-hospital or in-clinic abortion procedures. But, some Republican-led states may ban the abortion pill, even though the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved it.

In 2000, the FDA approved Mifeprex (mifepristone) for medication abortion. Mifepristone is a drug that blocks progesterone, which is needed for a pregnancy to continue. When used in conjunction with misoprostol, mifepristone ends early pregnancies (up to 10 weeks following conception).

Mifepristone has been in use in Europe for nearly three decades with a minimal number of adverse events. And, the drug has had a similar safety record in the U.S since its approval in 2000. Between September 2000 and December 2018, just 24 of the 3.7 million women who had undergone medicated abortions have died.

Medication abortion accounts for about 42% of all abortions in the U.S. Notably, since 2000 a steady decline in abortions of all kinds has coincided with the availability of mifepristone.

While until now no state has banned medication abortions, Oklahomas Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, will soon sign legislation outlawing all abortions from the moment of fertilization. Presumably, this would include a prohibition of the use of mifepristone and misoprostol. Other states may follow suit.

But, its unclear whether states can prohibit the use of a medication the FDA has approved. The FDAs mandate is to review the safety and efficacy of therapeutics, diagnostics, and devices, based on clinical evidence. As such, the FDA is the federal authority on all pharmaceuticals distributed throughout the U.S., including mifepristone and misoprostol. On this basis, FDA approval of a drug would appear to preempt state action.

Furthermore, in December 2021 the FDA lifted a major restriction on access to abortion pills. It now allows patients to receive such pills by mail, rather than requiring women to obtain the medications in person from specially certified healthcare providers.

Some Republican-led states may, however, argue that they can ban abortion drugs because they have the authority to regulate the practice of medicine. Indeed, 19 states have already prohibited telemedicine visits for abortifacients. By claiming there are medical risks with abortion drugs governors and legislators who are opposed to abortion pills maintain the state as having a compelling interest in regulating them. Its uncertain how this will impact women being able to obtain out-of-state medications by mail.

The most obvious retort to this is, why dont states bother to regulate most other pharmaceuticals, as they all carry risk, including many with a far greater likelihood of adverse events than mifepristone?

And, the current line of reasoning echoes previous disingenuous appeals made in the autumn of 2020 by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and 20 other Republican senators. They sent a letter to the FDA formally requesting that the agency remove Mifeprex from the market. The 21 senators claimed Mifeprex is deadly and an imminent hazard to the public health. Cruz tweeted Make no mistake, Mifeprex is a dangerous pill.

Once again, this begs the question, what is the relative safety risk for women associated with the use of mifepristone? As referenced above, the safety risk appears to be minimal. Here, Cruz and others resort to a red herring to deflect attention from their main concern; abortions of any kind and at any time during a pregnancy.

Rhetoric notwithstanding, the Senators letter wasnt in fact an appeal to the FDA based on clinical evidence regarding Mifeprexs safety. Rather, the letter objects to the use of Mifeprex because of what the senators view as an opportunistic ploy to expand access to abortion.

In the wake of the leaked draft decision by the Supreme Court on Roe v. Wade, the battle lines on abortion have hardened. As a result - and is invariably the case in a polarized U.S. - politics gets in the way of there ever being a shared common ground on which people with different perspectives on abortion could have factual discussions about Mifeprexs good relative risk profile and whether Mifeprexs availability is associated with more abortions. Regarding the latter, evidently this is not the case, as abortions of all kinds have been steadily decreasing for decades.

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Next Up In The Abortion Wars: Some Republican-Led States May Restrict Or Even Ban Access To Mifeprex, Used To End Early Pregnancy - Forbes

The NRAs national convention began in Houston only days after a mass shooting at a Texas school, creating an uncomfortable juxtaposition that led some speakers to withdraw. Others, including former President Donald Trump, went ahead with their plans to speak.

McCrory blamed institutional breakdown from the federal to local level for not preventing horrific events such as the Tuesday shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and said gun violence was a cultural problem.

McCrory, who lost a GOP primary for one of North Carolinas Senate seats earlier this month to Rep. Ted Budd, said the culture of gun ownership and the symbolism of guns was a manifestation of Americans distrust with the criminal justice system and the sentiment that Im going to take this into my own hands.

I was the mayor [of Charlotte] for 14 years and I had reduced the murder rate by over 50 percent due to some tough law enforcement, and some mentoring, and other programs, he said. I lost the primary two weeks ago to a congressman who had a gun in his front trousers in a commercial.

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North Carolina Republican: NRA has been pushed to the right - POLITICO

WATERLOO, Iowa (KWWL)- In the wake of mass shootings at a hospital in Tulsa, a supermarket in Buffalo, and an elementary school in Uvalde, lawmakers are under growing pressure to take action.

House Democrats are pushing legislation that, among other things, would raise the legal age to buy an assault weapon from 18 to 21 and make it a federal offense to sell or possess high-capacity magazines. A bipartisan group of Senators is working on a bill that includes boosting school security measures and expanding background checks.

There is also growing criticism of some of the Republican members of Congress over the amount of campaign contributions they have accepted from the National Rifle Association.

According to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Senator Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, ranks sixth among all current senators in NRA contributions. As of 2019, the center said Ernst received $3,129,723 in her political career from the NRA. Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has accepted more than $225,000 in his career. Neither Grassley nor Ernst responded to a request for comment from KWWL on Thursday.

KWWL also searched for NRA contributions on the Federal Election Commissions website.

"Congresswoman Hinson supports the Second Amendment," Hinson Campaign Manager Sophie Crowell said in a written statement. "In Congress, she's focused on bolstering school safety, equipping law enforcement with resources and training, and delivering critical mental health resources to our communities to prevent gun violence."

None of the other members of Iowa's Republican Congressional delegation responded to KWWL's request for comment and questions about how much money they received from the NRA.

lth resources to our communities to prevent gun violence."

Megan Goldberg, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Cornell College, said there is not much research to support the idea that special interest groups can buy votes in Congress. Instead, the significant donations can buy meeting time with lawmakers.

"Interest groups donate to candidates who already support their policies, which buys them access later," she said. "It buys them energy and effort on the part of that member of Congress, but it doesn't always change that vote at the end."

Dr. Chris Larimer, a Professor of Political Science at theUniversity of Northern Iowa, Coordinator of UNI'sMaster in Public PolicyProgram and KWWL Political Analyst said the NRA does not spend as much on contributions to candidates as compared to other groups. However, the organization is still a powerful force in politics.

"It's not just isolated to one region of the country.," Larimer said. "They do have a lot of political force because they have large numbers, they are well financed and geographically dispersed across the country."

Goldberg said the reak power of the NRA is its ability to mobilize its base, for or against a candidate, particularly in a primary.

"The NRA is good at getting their members to turn out to vote," she said. "Primaries are low turnout elections, and they're low information, so the NRA can be powerful, especially in state primary elections when you're talking about state legislators."

The NRA does report cards for politicians, grading their past votes and willingness to adopt gun control measures. Goldberg said even without spending any money, the NRA still exerts pressure on Republican lawmakers. Many are fearful of what could happen if they go against the NRA.

"There's probably some fear of backlash among especially Republican candidates that a bad grade by the NRA could be used by an opponent later, even if the NRA isn't directly sort of spending any money there," Goldberg said.

Larimer said an A or A-Plus grade from the NRA can influence a Republican primary. It can mean more for specific candidates depending on the districts they are running for.

"That's viewed as more credibility on what is considered Republican issues," he said.

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Tracking the NRA's Contributions to Iowa's Republican members of Congress - kwwl.com

You may never have heard of Yubo before. It's certainly not as big as Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram. The social networking app isn't even usually listed alongside fairly new social platforms that have become extremely popular with Gen Z, such as TikTok, Twitch, or Discord.

But now, Yubo has been thrust into the mainstream. Why? The Uvalde school shooter was reportedly a user on the platform. And, according to those who interacted with him on Yubo, the gunman showed warning signs.

But, what is Yubo?

Yubo's website telling users where to access the mobile platform's apps.Credit: Yubo

Formerly known as Yellow, Yubo is a social media platform that mixes livestreaming with social networking. Based out of Paris, France and founded in 2015, it's a mobile-only platform, meaning that it requires an iOS or Android device in order to join the network.

Yubo's user base is made up mostly of teens and young adults. According to TechCrunch, the company says 99 percent of its users are part of Gen Z and range from 13 to 25 in age. Mobile analytics firm Sensor Tower estimates that the Yubo app has been downloaded more than 18 million times in the U.S.

For a while, Yubo earned the tagline of "Tinder for Teens." Yubo's developers first developed the app to connect Snapchat users after realizing young people were looking to make new connections on the platform. Snapchat is generally meant as a social platform for users and people they already know. Users and their posts are not publicly searchable like they would be on platforms like Twitter or Facebook.

Noticing an opening in the marketplace, the Yubo team created an app where Snapchat users could connect with strangers by swiping left or right, like on Tinder. The idea soon evolved into a platform of its own now known as Yubo.

While news that the Uvalde school shooter used the app is bringing Yubo unwanted attention, it's not the first time Yubo has been put in the spotlight. As Protocol pointed out in 2021, Yubo has generated lots of concern among parents of its target audience. CBS's local news affiliate in Tampa Bay is among media outlets that aired a segment warning parents about the new app kids might be using in 2020. Business Insider reports that a 26-year-old adult man was arrested in 2019 after trying to meet a 12-year-old girl that he met on the app.

According to Yubo, the platform attempts to keep its underage users and adult userbase separate on the platform. The company announced new age verification techniques just one day after the shooting, before the Uvalde gunman's presence on the platform was publicly known.

Earlier this week, Yubo told Business Insider that it's consistently working on features and protocols to ensure the safety of its users, such as AI-powered moderation of livestreams and chats. The platform also doesn't display advertisements or show users algorithmically-promoted content, two features usually found on social apps that can have a negative impact on teenagers.

However, The New York Times, Washington Post, and VICE all spoke to Yubo users who had interacted with the Uvalde shooter, Salvador Ramos, on the app. One young girl said Ramos asked her to be his girlfriend on Yubo, which she described as "Tinder for kids." According to the girl, Ramos became aggressive after she turned him down.

The New York Times spoke to a 15-year-old girl in Germany whom Ramos met on Yubo. The teen girl said Ramos sent her pictures of his guns and told her about his plans on the day of the shooting. However, she did not believe him.

According to one 16-year-old boy who spoke to the Washington Post, Ramos frequently made hostile remarks on the Yubo platform. He said that the shooter frequently posted photos of dead cats and threatened girls on the app with sexual assault and rape on Yubo's text message and live group chat features. He said that Ramos' account was often reported to Yubo for his comments, but the platform failed to ever act, allowing Ramos to continue to send threats to other Yubo users.

In addition to Yubo's failure to respond to Ramos' actions on the platform, the shooter's Yubo account remained live on the platform until just Saturday, nearly 4 days after the shooting that left 21 people, including 19 students, dead.

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What's Yubo, the social networking app used by the Uvalde school shooter? - Mashable

As we come to the end of graduation season, UABs director of Student Counseling Services shares several ways for recent college graduates to improve and maintain their mental health.

As we come to the end of graduation season, UABs director of Student Counseling Services shares several ways for recent college graduates to improve and maintain their mental health. Graduating from college is one of the biggest milestones in a young adults life. While a time for celebration, the postgraduation buzz is sometimes short-lived for many due to the realities of what comes next: finding employment, getting into graduate school, relocating to a new city, fighting imposter syndrome in a new career, comparison to others or simply trying to figure out what the best next move may be.

As graduation season closes, many recent graduates battle with the mental health challenges that arise from entering adulthood and dealing with the first period of their life that does not have a blueprint.

How can a recent graduate maintain their mental health in an already uncertain season? Angela Stowe, Ph.D., director of the University of Alabama at BirminghamsStudent Counseling Services, offers several useful tips for recent college graduates to keep in mind as they work to maintain their mental health and the next round of lifes transitions.

Not having a strict schedule or people to answer to can make figuring out a new day-to-day routine challenging for new graduates. Set a daily schedule and routine of simple tasks to complete to help transcend the major changes a graduate experiences and ground them to a sense of normalcy.

Build a daily schedule where you maintain a succinct routine of simple tasks, such as making your bed, getting dressed, walking your dog. Find the things that ground you, Stowe said.

She also recommends setting out time out to do things that one loves to do, such as a hobby, exercise or activity. Doing something that brings joy is a great form of mental health support.

Whether graduating with a specific plan or without, relying on family, friends, and undergraduate connections and mentors for guidance, emotional support and financial advice is often a major tool in maintaining good mental health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, connecting with family and friends can help decrease stress and support a persons overall mental health. Stowe suggests reaching out to people who are supportive and good advocates for that graduate and their future.

Having a support system and a network of connections can help combat those feelings of being alone and lost, she said. You are not the first nor the last person to experience the things you are dealing with.

Establishing healthy boundaries with family, friends and most importantly on social media outlets is essential to taking care of ones mental health, Stowe adds.

Every college graduate feels the pressure of the question So what are you doing now or Whats next after graduation? While many postgraduation questions come from a place of genuine curiosity and hold a positive intent, these questions can have a negative impact on a recent graduate who is still figuring things out. Setting conversational boundaries with family and friends in a respectful manner can offer a form of protection to ones mental health.

For example, you can say something along the lines of Thank you for asking; however, I am currently keeping my next steps to myself at this moment in time until I am ready to disclose, Stowe said.

Setting boundaries with social media usage and expectations is also important. Social platforms like LinkedIn, a prominent professional networking and social communication website, can be a useful tool to build a professional brand, network and discover career opportunities. However, considering many posts on LinkedIn showcase the extravagance of the various career opportunities people are receiving, some students and recent graduates have found that LinkedIn can have a negative impact on their mental health.

As on every other social media platform, negative thoughts associated with the postgraduation journey can form from watching others post about their successes.

Remind yourself that no one is posting their failures, Stowe said. Monitor your feelings and limit your usage if it becomes too much. Managing that relationship between yourself and social media is crucial to taking control of your mental health.

Graduates must set realistic goals and expectations while giving themselves grace when faced with adversity. Realistic expectations can look like understanding that applying for a job does not guarantee employment, or that rejection may very well happen. Accepting that not every opportunity will favor a specific person can be hard to acknowledge but is critical to protecting ones mental health.

Dont be afraid to reach out to your mentors for advice and even coaching. Know that they can be a resource on resume tips, interview skills and even job opportunities as you navigate finding the job or opportunity that best fits you, Stowe said.

For those who enter their first role postgraduation, many young professionals find themselves battling imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is linked to internal feelings of self-doubt in ones knowledge and abilities regarding being in a position or a team environment. Stowe encourages graduates to remember that they are not going to have all the answers expect that, even with a degree, there is still a learning curve to any job, and trust in your skills.

Do not shortchange accomplishments. Stowe believes that celebrating how much has been accomplished thus far is warranted.

Remember to be kind to yourself, she said. We are often our own biggest critic. Trust the process, and be proud of how far you have come.

Excerpt from:
Maintaining mental health as a recent college graduate - University of Alabama at Birmingham