Surgeon General nominated slippers on birth control

Washington, DC

During her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, said surgeon general nominee Casey Means alleged that a “vast amount” of hormonal contraceptives were prescribed without patients giving “informed consent.” Her statement contradicts federal medical guidelines. Means, who has a medical degree but no medical license, previously called birth control a “disrespect for life” and overestimated the risks of hormonal birth control. When pressed, she said oral contraception should remain available to patients.

Nashville

Vanderbilt University Medical Center announced this week that it will no longer offer gender confirmation surgery to trans adults. In one statement to the Vanderbilt HustlersVUMC blamed the change on “operational limitations” and said it will still provide non-surgical gender-affirming care to adults. NYU Langone Health and Mount Sinai Health System in New York City recently stopped offering gender-affirming care to minors. Vanderbilt’s refusal to help trans adults comes amid a growing federal fight against transgender health care.

Menlo Park, California

Meta’s AI chatbots are trained to avoid discussing abortion and sexual health with users under the age of 18, Mother Jones reported this week. Leaked documents show that Meta bans Facebook and WhatsApp AI from providing information “that helps a user obtain or perform an abortion.” This AI also cannot advise teens on “reproductive tract physiology,” puberty, menstruation, STD prevention, or contraception. Critics said the policy promotes “censorship.” Meta said an “age-appropriate” conversation is the goal.