Latest news with #PhysiciansForHumanRights
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump stokes fear, confusion with pulled emergency abortion guidance
The Trump administration sowed confusion and fear among physicians with its move this past week to rescind Biden-era guidelines to hospitals that provide life-saving abortions. While the move doesn't change the law, doctors and reproductive-rights advocates fear it will have a chilling effect on health care workers in states with abortion bans, ultimately harming pregnant women. Earlier this past week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced they would rescind guidance issued during the Biden administration, which reinforced to hospitals that under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA,) abortions qualify as stabilizing care in medical emergencies. Emergency rooms in states with abortion bans have been struggling since the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade to understand when they can legally provide emergency abortions. After President Trump pulled the Biden-era guidance seeking to clarify that question, emergency room doctors will experience 'more confusion' and 'more fear,' according to health and legal experts who spoke with The Hill. 'Clinicians are scared to provide basic medical care, and this care is clearly in line with medical ethics … medical standards of care, and they're being put in this situation where they can't win,' said Payal Shah, director of research, legal and advocacy at Physicians for Human Rights. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, at least 13 states have enacted near-total abortion bans, according to data from the Guttmacher Institute. There are exceptions in these states when continuing a pregnancy poses a threat to the health or life of the mother. However, most of the language in state laws is unclear on how that determination is made, resulting in instances of emergency rooms denying care. Doctors in states like Idaho, Texas and Tennessee have filed lawsuits requesting that lawmakers clarify when an abortion is allowed to save the life of a pregnant person. The doctors and patients involved in the lawsuits argue that state laws do not adequately protect pregnant patients in emergencies. Many of these states have severe punishments for doctors who violate abortion bans, like steep fines and prison time. 'For clinicians, there is actually no safe way to navigate this in this moment, and ultimately, that's how these laws are designed,' Shah said. 'They're designed to cause chaos and confusion. They're often written in ways that don't use medical terminology.' Without clear guidance, pregnant women suffer and sometimes die, as ProPublica has reported. One striking example of this is the 2023 case of Kyleigh Thurman, a Texas woman who was repeatedly denied care for a nonviable pregnancy after days of experiencing bleeding and pain. Health care workers discovered that she had an ectopic pregnancy, which is when a fertilized egg implants and begins to grow outside of the uterus, usually in a fallopian tube. Ectopic pregnancies are never viable and are life-threatening if not treated properly. It wasn't until her OB/GYN 'pleaded to hospital staff that she be given care,' that the hospital administered a shot ending her pregnancy, according to a complaint filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of Thurman. The shot came too late, and the ectopic pregnancy ruptured Thurman's right fallopian tube, which was then removed. 'If a patient is actively hemorrhaging or experiencing an ectopic pregnancy which is also life-threatening, doctors need that clear guidance that yes, EMTALA applied,' said Autumn Katz, associate director of U.S. litigation at the Center for Reproductive Rights. A federal investigation into Thurman's case found that the Texas hospital violated EMTALA, according to a recent letter from the CMS. 'I finally got some justice,' Thurman said in a statement. 'I hope this decision will do some good in encouraging hospitals to help women in situations like mine.' Hospitals that violate EMTALA are subject to heavy fines and, in some extreme cases, risk losing a portion of their Medicare and Medicaid hospital funding, according to the National Institutes of Health. Former President Biden leaned on the law to preserve access to emergency abortion across the country, leading to a legal fight with Idaho, which has a strict abortion ban. The Supreme Court last year dismissed the case, declining to rule on the merits of a politically charged case. The rescinding of these guidelines also means hospitals that violate the law will likely not be investigated as often as they were under previous administrations, according to Shah. That lack of punitive risk means that hospitals could be incentivized to deny life-saving care for patients. 'The standard of EMTALA is pretty high,' said Katherine Hempstead, senior policy adviser at Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 'This kind of takes that layer of reassurance away, and it will make a lot of providers feel very vulnerable.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Japan Times
08-05-2025
- Health
- Japan Times
Health care crisis follows Myanmar quake as junta drives medics underground
Burmese academic Sophia Htwe spent hours desperately trying to call home from Australia after the magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck her hometown in Myanmar in late March, before learning that a childhood friend had been trapped in the rubble. Friends from the central-northwestern region of Sagaing told her that the friend had been freed but died from her injuries after receiving no medical treatment. "That just really broke me. ... This is actually the failure of the military junta and the military coup," she said, referring to the junta's attacks on health care since they seized power in February 2021. The earthquake, which killed more than 3,700 people and injured 5,000, quickly overwhelmed a severely depleted health system in which the number of doctors and nurses has fallen dramatically under military rule, World Health Organization (WHO) figures show. Many blame the situation on attacks on health care facilities as the military administration sought to root out opponents to its rule, after medics took a prominent role in the anti-junta movement that emerged after the coup. That meant many victims of the earthquake went without immediate medical attention or had to wait a long time to receive the care they needed, according to two doctors who worked in the quake zone, two opposition activists and two human rights groups monitoring the response to the disaster. Rights groups Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights said doctors had described medicine and staff shortages, and patients whose wounds had rotted in the absence of medical care. In a joint statement on April 29 they said the military's "years of unlawful attacks on healthcare facilities and workers" had severely hindered the emergency response. Medical workers protest against the coup that ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, at Yangon General Hospital, in Yangon, Myanmar, in February 2021. | REUTERS The situation was compounded, they said, because some medical workers were too afraid of arrest to operate in junta-controlled areas or scared of passing through checkpoints to reach areas where they were needed. Some areas affected by the earthquake are contested by both rebel and junta forces and their affiliated militias, creating an environment of tension and suspicion. Despite declaring a ceasefire on April 2, the junta has continued daily aerial attacks that have killed civilians, according to an analysis of data. More than 172 attacks have occurred since the ceasefire, 73 of them in areas devastated by the earthquake. A spokesman for the junta did not respond to several requests for comment. Workforce shortages Before the coup, which toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and ignited a civil war, the number of health care workers was growing. It surged 13.3% between 2016 and 2020 to about six doctors and nine nurses per 10,000 people, the WHO said. But that figure fell to 1.01 doctors and 1.96 nurses in 2022 — far short of the recommended WHO minimum standard of 22.8 health care workers per 10,000 — as medical workers joined the anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement, refusing to work for government-run clinics. According to Insecurity Insight, a Swiss nongovernmental organization, that tracks attacks on health care across the world. Soldiers have attacked at least 263 health facilities, killed at least 74 health workers, and arrested and prosecuted more than 800 since the coup. Medical workers rally against the military coup and demand the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in Yangon, Myanmar, in February 2021. | REUTERS While some who left have since returned to work, the shortage of health workers remains "very serious," said Dr. Thushara Fernando, the WHO's Myanmar representative. In January this year, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing acknowledged to state media that some hospitals did not have a single doctor. Nongovernment medical facilities were "severely restricted," the WHO said, by a lack of skilled health workers and difficulties imposed by the junta in importing medical supplies — restrictions that have created a shortage of life-saving medicines. Before the quake, the military shut at least eight private hospitals in Mandalay, one of the cities devastated by the disaster, according to the National Unity Government, a parallel civilian administration, while the quake destroyed at least five health facilities and partially damaged 61, according to the WHO. Health care workers aligned with the opposition are providing lifesaving care through underground networks, but "they are operating with extremely limited resources, and their safety remains a serious concern," said an NUG official who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation. The junta has detained doctors aligned with the opposition, which it characterizes as "terrorists." The two doctors who traveled to the earthquake zone and asked not to be named for fear of retribution also described manpower problems. A woman sits inside a shelter in a makeshift tent camp following a strong earthquake in Amarapura township, Myanmar, on April 3. | REUTERS One said medics treating quake victims lacked triage expertise because the senior doctors who once led training had been imprisoned or feared arrest if they traveled to the disaster zone. The other said people with chronic illnesses had been unable to access vital medications, and quake survivors were suffering from diarrhoea, skin-related diseases and heat-stroke as temperatures climbed to about 40 degrees Celsius. "During the earthquake, people didn't receive the immediate aid they desperately needed," he said, adding that authorities frequently questioned people helping survivors. Underground response The military, which controls most but not all of the areas worst hit by the quake, has not eased its communications bans or stringent customs rules since the disaster happened, said James Rodehaver, Myanmar head for the United Nations Office on Human Rights. He said a requirement by the junta that all organizations working on earthquake relief register with authorities had driven some Burmese humanitarian responders underground, while there was no evidence the military — fighting across multiple front lines — was deploying troops to help deliver aid. In 2022, state media reported that the junta diverted funds from the natural disaster management budget to provide loans in a bid to boost the sluggish economy — a move Win Myat Aye, the top official for disaster management under the former civilian government, says left a shortage of emergency supplies, logistical support, and recovery programs. In Sagaing, Nyi Nyi Tin, whose home was damaged by the quake, said there was no official support beyond an offer of about $61 to the families of the dead and some compensation for the injured. As the monsoon rains loom, tens of thousands are still living in makeshift tents and the WHO says it fears the spread of communicable diseases. In comparison with massive community responses to past disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic, there were only small teams of people helping and little cooperation between civil society and authorities, Nyi Nyi Tin said. "That sense of unity is gone. I think it's because people are afraid," he added.
Malay Mail
07-05-2025
- Health
- Malay Mail
‘Failure of the military junta': Myanmar's crippled healthcare fails quake victims
NAYPYITAW, May 8 — Burmese academic Sophia Htwe spent hours desperately trying to call home from Australia after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck her hometown in Myanmar in late March, learning that a childhood friend had been trapped in the rubble. Friends from the central-northwestern region of Sagaing told her that she had been freed but died from her injuries after receiving no medical treatment. 'That just really broke me... This is actually the failure of the military junta and the military coup,' she said, referring to the junta's attacks on healthcare since seizing power in February 2021. The earthquake, which killed more than 3,700 people and injured 5,000, quickly overwhelmed a severely depleted health system in which the number of doctors and nurses had fallen dramatically under military rule, according to World Health Organisation figures. Many blame the situation on attacks on healthcare facilities as the military administration sought to root out opponents to its rule, after medics took a prominent role in the anti-junta movement that emerged after the coup. That meant many victims of the earthquake went without immediate medical attention or had to wait a long time to receive the care they needed, according to two doctors who worked in the quake zone, two opposition activists and two human rights groups monitoring the response to the disaster. Rights groups Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights said doctors had described medicine and staff shortages and patients whose wounds had rotted in the absence of medical care. In a joint statement on April 29 they said the military's 'years of unlawful attacks on healthcare facilities and workers' had severely hindered the emergency response. The situation was compounded, they said, because some medical workers were too afraid of arrest to operate in junta-controlled areas or scared of passing through checkpoints to reach areas where they were needed. Some areas affected by the earthquake are contested by both rebel and junta forces and their affiliated militias, creating an environment of tension and suspicion. Despite declaring a ceasefire on April 2, the junta has continued daily aerial attacks that have killed civilians, according to a Reuters analysis of data. More than 172 attacks have occurred since the ceasefire, 73 of them in areas devastated by the earthquake. A spokesman for the junta did not respond to several requests for comment. Workforce shortages Before the coup, which toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and ignited a civil war, the number of healthcare workers was growing. It surged 13.3 per cent between 2016 and 2020 to about six doctors and nine nurses per 10,000 people, the WHO said. That figure fell to 1.01 doctors and 1.96 nurses in 2022 — far short of the recommended WHO minimum standard of 22.8 healthcare workers per 10,000 — as medical workers joined the anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement, refusing to work for government-run clinics. According to Insecurity Insight, a Swiss non-governmental organisation, that tracks attacks on healthcare across the world. Soldiers have killed at least 74 health workers, attacked at least 263 health facilities, and arrested and prosecuted more than 800 since the coup. While some who left have since returned to work, the shortage of health workers remains 'very serious', said Dr Thushara Fernando, the WHO's Myanmar representative. In January this year, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing acknowledged in state media that some hospitals did not have a single doctor. Non-government medical facilities were 'severely restricted', the WHO said, by a lack of skilled health workers and difficulties imposed by the junta in importing medical supplies - restrictions that have created a shortage of life-saving medicines. Before the quake, the military shut at least eight private hospitals in Mandalay, one of the cities devastated by the disaster, according to the National Unity Government, a parallel civilian administration, while the quake destroyed at least five health facilities and partially damaged 61, according to the WHO. Healthcare workers aligned with the opposition are providing lifesaving care through underground networks, but 'they are operating with extremely limited resources, and their safety remains a serious concern,' said an NUG official who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation. The junta has detained doctors aligned with the opposition, which it characterises as 'terrorists'. The two doctors who travelled to the earthquake zone and asked not to be named for fear of retribution also described manpower problems. One said medics treating quake victims lacked triage expertise because the senior doctors who once led training had been imprisoned or feared arrest if they travelled to the disaster zone. The other said people with chronic illnesses had been unable to access vital medications, and quake survivors were suffering from diarrhoea, skin-related diseases and heat-stroke as temperatures climb to about 40 degrees Celsius. 'During the earthquake, people didn't receive the immediate aid they desperately needed,' he said, adding that authorities frequently questioned people helping survivors. Underground response The military, which controls most but not all of the areas worst hit by the quake, has not eased its communications bans or stringent customs rules since the disaster happened, said James Rodehaver, Myanmar head for the United Nations Office on Human Rights. He said a requirement by the junta that all organisations working on earthquake relief register with authorities had driven some Burmese humanitarian responders underground, while there was no evidence the military — fighting across multiple frontlines — was deploying troops to help deliver aid. In 2022, state media reported the junta diverted funds from the natural disaster management budget to provide loans in a bid to boost the sluggish economy, a move Win Myat Aye, the top official for disaster management under the former civilian government, says left a shortage of emergency supplies, logistical support, and recovery programmes. In Sagaing, Nyi Nyi Tin, whose home was damaged by the quake, said there was no official support beyond an offer of about US$61 (RM258) to the families of the dead and some compensation for the injured. As the monsoon rains loom, tens of thousands are still living in makeshift tents and the WHO says it fears the spread of communicable diseases. In comparison with massive community responses to past disasters, including the Covid-19 pandemic, there were only small teams of people helping and little cooperation between civil society and authorities, Nyi Nyi Tin said. 'That sense of unity is gone. I think it's because people are afraid,' he said. — Reuters
Reuters
07-05-2025
- Health
- Reuters
Few doctors, throttled aid: How Myanmar's junta worsened earthquake toll
May 7 (Reuters) - Burmese academic Sophia Htwe spent hours desperately trying to call home from Australia after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck her hometown in Myanmar in late March, learning that a childhood friend had been trapped in the rubble. Friends from the central-northwestern region of Sagaing told her that she had been freed but died from her injuries after receiving no medical treatment. "That just really broke me... This is actually the failure of the military junta and the military coup," she said, referring to the junta's attacks on healthcare since seizing power in February 2021. The earthquake, which killed more than 3,700 people and injured 5,000, quickly overwhelmed a severely depleted health system in which the number of doctors and nurses had fallen dramatically under military rule, according to World Health Organization figures. Many blame the situation on attacks on healthcare facilities as the military administration sought to root out opponents to its rule, after medics took a prominent role in the anti-junta movement that emerged after the coup. That meant many victims of the earthquake went without immediate medical attention or had to wait a long time to receive the care they needed, according to two doctors who worked in the quake zone, two opposition activists and two human rights groups monitoring the response to the disaster. Rights groups Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights said doctors had described medicine and staff shortages and patients whose wounds had rotted in the absence of medical care. In a joint statement on April 29 they said the military's "years of unlawful attacks on healthcare facilities and workers" had severely hindered the emergency response. The situation was compounded, they said, because some medical workers were too afraid of arrest to operate in junta-controlled areas or scared of passing through checkpoints to reach areas where they were needed. Some areas affected by the earthquake are contested by both rebel and junta forces and their affiliated militias, creating an environment of tension and suspicion. Despite declaring a ceasefire on April 2, the junta has continued daily aerial attacks that have killed civilians, according to a Reuters analysis of data. More than 172 attacks have occurred since the ceasefire, 73 of them in areas devastated by the earthquake. A spokesman for the junta did not respond to several requests for comment. WORKFORCE SHORTAGES Before the coup, which toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and ignited a civil war, the number of healthcare workers was growing. It surged 13.3% between 2016 and 2020 to about six doctors and nine nurses per 10,000 people, the WHO said. That figure fell to 1.01 doctors and 1.96 nurses in 2022 – far short of the recommended WHO minimum standard of 22.8 healthcare workers per 10,000 – as medical workers joined the anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement, refusing to work for government-run clinics. According to Insecurity Insight, a Swiss non-governmental organisation, that tracks attacks on healthcare across the world. Soldiers have killed at least 74 health workers, attacked at least 263 health facilities, and arrested and prosecuted more than 800 since the coup. While some who left have since returned to work, the shortage of health workers remains "very serious", said Dr Thushara Fernando, the WHO's Myanmar representative. In January this year, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing acknowledged in state media that some hospitals did not have a single doctor. Non-government medical facilities were "severely restricted", the WHO said, by a lack of skilled health workers and difficulties imposed by the junta in importing medical supplies - restrictions that have created a shortage of life-saving medicines. Before the quake, the military shut at least eight private hospitals in Mandalay, one of the cities devastated by the disaster, according to the National Unity Government, a parallel civilian administration, while the quake destroyed at least five health facilities and partially damaged 61, according to the WHO. Healthcare workers aligned with the opposition are providing lifesaving care through underground networks, but "they are operating with extremely limited resources, and their safety remains a serious concern," said an NUG official who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation. The junta has detained doctors aligned with the opposition, which it characterises as "terrorists". The two doctors who travelled to the earthquake zone and asked not to be named for fear of retribution also described manpower problems. One said medics treating quake victims lacked triage expertise because the senior doctors who once led training had been imprisoned or feared arrest if they travelled to the disaster zone. The other said people with chronic illnesses had been unable to access vital medications, and quake survivors were suffering from diarrhoea, skin-related diseases and heat-stroke as temperatures climb to about 40 degrees Celsius (104°F). "During the earthquake, people didn't receive the immediate aid they desperately needed," he said, adding that authorities frequently questioned people helping survivors. UNDERGROUND RESPONSE The military, which controls most but not all of the areas worst hit by the quake, has not eased its communications bans or stringent customs rules since the disaster happened, said James Rodehaver, Myanmar head for the United Nations Office on Human Rights. He said a requirement by the junta that all organisations working on earthquake relief register with authorities had driven some Burmese humanitarian responders underground, while there was no evidence the military – fighting across multiple frontlines – was deploying troops to help deliver aid. In 2022, state media reported the junta diverted funds from the natural disaster management budget to provide loans in a bid to boost the sluggish economy, a move Win Myat Aye, the top official for disaster management under the former civilian government, says left a shortage of emergency supplies, logistical support, and recovery programmes. In Sagaing, Nyi Nyi Tin, whose home was damaged by the quake, said there was no official support beyond an offer of about $61 to the families of the dead and some compensation for the injured. As the monsoon rains loom, tens of thousands are still living in makeshift tents and the WHO says it fears the spread of communicable diseases. In comparison with massive community responses to past disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic, there were only small teams of people helping and little cooperation between civil society and authorities, Nyi Nyi Tin said. "That sense of unity is gone. I think it's because people are afraid," he said.
