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'Republicans get that pickup'

The truth is: This is just more noise

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—The emergency room visitation rate for abortion complications appears to have increased since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed guardrails on the use of the abortion pill. A U.S. federal court on July 13, 2020, temporarily stopped the FDA from requiring that mifepristone, or the abortion pill, be dispensed in person. That injunction remained in place until it was temporarily reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court in January 2021. In April 2021, the FDA again stopped requiring that abortion drugs be dispensed to mothers in person, which allowed women to receive them through telehealth appointments and by mail. The FDA has not enforced the in-person dispensing requirement ever since. There’s now evidence that the FDA’s change in the restrictions for mifepristone since 2020 have increased the hospital emergency room visitation rate. This is according to an analysis from Jonathan Abbamonte, senior research associate at the Center for Data Analysis at The Heritage Foundation, shared with The Daily Signal. The Heritage analysis compares public access data on emergency room visits due to induced abortion complications in South Carolina, New Jersey, and Arkansas both before and after the FDA stopped enforcing the in-person dispensing requirement for the abortion pill.  The discovery comes shortly before a presidential election in which the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, has blamed what she called “Trump abortion bans” for killing women who die from abortion pill complications. “Now we know that at least two women—and those are only the stories we know here in the state of Georgia—died because of a Trump abortion ban,” Harris claimed. “The reality is, for every story we hear of the suffering under Trump abortion bans, there are so many of the stories we’re not hearing, but where suffering is happening every day in our country.” But until now, no studies to date had looked at the effect that expanding abortion access has had on maternal morbidity in the U.S. Abbamonte’s study shows that perhaps the danger lies with the abortion pills, not abortion bans.  Looking at the raw data, the ER visitation rate due to abortion complications appears to have risen in South Carolina and Arkansas after the FDA’s policy change, while the trend in New Jersey is less clear.  Arkansas had seven reported abortion complications in 2019, followed by 45 in 2020, and 31 in 2021. Arkansas banned abortion in 2022 with an exception to save the life of the mother. The Abbamonte paper used a statistical model to estimate how much the ER visitation rate changed overall after the FDA stopped enforcing the in-person dispensing requirement. The model showed a statistically significant increase in the ER visitation rate after the FDA’s policy change. Additionally, Abbamonte found significant evidence that the ER visitation rate for miscarriages increased following the introduction of the FDA’s new policy, after controlling for natural miscarriage-risk factors. That may indicate a rise in abortion complications being misreported as miscarriages, the report says. The rate of ER visits reportedly due to miscarriage increased sharply in South Carolina and New Jersey after the FDA relaxed pill restrictions.  Women who go to the emergency room for abortion complications often do not disclose that they attempted to have a chemical abortion.  Dr. Cortney Draper, board-certified ER physician, said that, during her 10 years practicing in South Carolina, she has seen ER patients become increasingly hesitant to admit they took an abortion pill. “I think they’re often told not to tell us,” Draper told The Daily Signal. “We’re kind of operating blindly in the emergency department because, all of a sudden, we find evidence that this baby is dead, or has already passed, or there’s partially retained products, all those kinds of things happen.” Doctors may not be aware the complications they are seeing are from abortion drugs, as some women don’t disclose that information because they are embarrassed or because someone advised them not to, said Dr. Ingrid Skop, pro-life obstetrician-gynecologist and director of medical affairs for the Charlotte Lozier Institute. “If a researcher is looking to determine how often or what percent of visits are related to abortion-drug complications,” Skop told The Daily Signal, “they’re only going to be seeing the tip of the iceberg if they’re only specifically looking for those that fall into the specific codes related to induced abortion.” Skop said she expects the trend holds up more widely than in just South Carolina, New Jersey, and Arkansas. “I would expect the complication rates to go up everywhere, because they are so increasingly promoting abortion drugs,” she said. “So, even if you’re a state that has no restrictions, and a woman walks into an abortion clinic, it is still the case that abortion drugs are going to be promoted to her over surgical abortion.” Draper saw a patient in August who had retained fetal tissue from taking abortion pills in June. Because she was able to get the abortion pill without seeing a doctor due to the FDA’s lack of restrictions, she didn’t have a follow-up visit with a doctor after the chemical abortion and ended up in the emergency room with the early signs of an infection. “It’s terrible health care,” she said. Even in states where abortion is illegal with few or no exceptions, a woman would not be punished for taking an abortion pill regimen, so Draper is unsure why women are being advised to lie about it. “We are fully treating these patients, whether they’ve taken an abortion regimen, whether they’re having a spontaneous miscarriage,” she said. “None of these laws restrict our ability to fully treat a patient, and the misinformation that’s being spread out there, claiming that we can’t is very concerning and harmful.” “No woman is ever going to be not treated well because they already took an abortion pill regimen,” Draper continued. “We’re not going to allow them to just die in front of us, because we have an abortion law in our state. The abortion law only limits elective abortions, not emergency care.” Complications from abortion pills can include sepsis, excessive bleeding, and pain, she said. “A concern is if, if you have an ectopic pregnancy, and then we’re finding you’ve already taken an abortion pill regimen, that is not a safe way to treat it,” Draper said. An ectopic pregnancy is when the unborn baby implants in the fallopian tubes instead of the uterus and thus cannot safely grow.  Skop once saw a woman in the emergency room in Texas who bled every day for two months after taking an abortion pill she got in California. She still had tissue in her uterus, so Skop performed a removal surgery. “There are dozens of websites online where women can get access to these drugs,” Skop said. “Again, they come through the mail many times against state law, but there seems to be very little effort to try to enforce the law that prohibits mailing them, so they come into states with pro-life limitations. But also in Texas, a lot of women are driving. They’re driving to New Mexico. They’re driving to Colorado.”  The FDA should reinstate the mandatory in-person dispensing requirement for the abortion pill and reverse its decision allowing pharmacists to dispense the drug, according to Abbamonte’s report.  “We need better data about abortion,” Skop agreed. “If we’re saying that women need this [abortion pills], then we need to know what happens to women in the aftermath of abortion.” Despite the limited data on abortion pill complications and ER visits, the stakes of the abortion pill being easily accessible without a mandatory doctor’s appointment are high for maternal morbidity, according to Abbamonte.  “Public health decisions must be evidence-based, and so far, the evidence points in the direction of a negative impact on maternal health and morbidity as a result of the FDA’s removal of the in-person dispensing requirement for the abortion pill,” Abbamonte wrote.  “The FDA should follow evidence-based policy on mifepristone and, thus, should immediately reinstate the mandatory in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone and reverse its decision allowing retail pharmacies to dispense the drug,” he continued.  The post Emergency Room Visits Appear to Rise After FDA Relaxed Abortion Pill Restrictions appeared first on The Daily Signal.

To Avoid the Backlash, DEI Proponents Look to Rebrand

More Emerson: Surprises Brewing in Senate Races?

The Biden-Harris administration euthanized a 50-year-old elephant in Washington, D.C., on Friday. Its name was Kamala. While zookeepers, members of Kamala's herd, and distant animal lovers mourned the creature's death, some commentators suggested online that Kamala's demise — so soon after the New York Department of Environmental Conservation's slaying of Peanut the squirrel and on the eve of the election — might constitute some sort of omen. The National Zoo, one of the many federally owned Smithsonian Institution facilities in the D.C. area, announced Saturday that after helping manage Kamala's osteoarthritis for 10 years, the creature's keepers elected to "humanely" dispose of her. According to the zoo, Kamala — not an African elephant but rather an endangered Asian elephant from Sri Lanka that was orphaned as a calf then raised by humans — found it increasingly difficult over the past several weeks to move, suffering limited motion in her wrists, hips, and shoulders. The elephant's degenerative disease affected her joint cartilage and the underlying bone, leaving her stiff and in constant pain. 'The elephant grew up in a middle class family.' Hoping the flat terrain might help, the zoo let Kamala and her herd mates parade around the Elephant Community Center and neighboring outdoor habitat. Unfortunately, this change of scenery didn't help as the old elephant "increasingly chose to stand in one spot rather than move about." The zoo also indicated that Kamala's pain medications were no longer a match for her osteoarthritis. On account of her limited mobility and increasing discomfort, Kamala's keepers euthanized her in the Elephant Barn. "The elephant care team fondly remembers Kamala as a smart and inquisitive individual who held a dominant role within the herd," the zoo said in a release. "She built strong bonds with her keepers and enjoyed their attention. Whenever keepers approached, she would rumble and squeak, behaviors that indicated her happiness and excitement." Kamala was born in Sri Lanka in the mid-1970s, moved to Canada for a period during which she birthed two offspring, then was transferred with her daughter to the National Zoo in 2014. Owing to the late elephant's namesake in the United States Naval Observatory, superstitious commentators online suggested Kamala's death had greater meaning while others made jokes at the vice president's expense. Rob Eno, Blaze Media's director of content marketing, tweeted, "The die has been cast. The omens have been read." Social media influencer Douglass Mackey, the man sentenced to prison last year for Hillary Clinton memes, wrote, "Ominous." Since the elephant has long been a symbol for the Republican Party, it's unsure precisely what such an omen might portend regarding the election. "The elephant grew up in a middle class family," wrote one X user. "Only 50% of the country loved this elephant," quipped another user. "Her name is Kamala, she lives in DC, is of Indian descent (but is often mistaken as African), has never worked at McDonald's, is claimed to be beloved by many (but is frankly not doing well) and is saying goodbye to supporters this week after a losing battle. She is an elephant," wrote X user Jolly Brandon. The British political commentator Carl Benjamin, also known as Sargon of Akkad, noted that as news of Kamala's euthanization was spreading, there was also a trending video showing a baby hippopotamus "choos[ing] the Trump cake." The video, reshared by the New York Post Monday, shows baby pygmy hippo Moo Deng of Thailand presented with a choice of two cakes, then eating the option emblazoned with President Donald Trump's name. Jimmy von Thron, producer for BlazeTV's "Prime Time with Alex Stein," joked that his confidence was significantly shored up by the hippo's selection, writing, "Just put my mortgage on Trump." Former NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch said of the hippo's prediction, "More accurate than most." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Do Christians have a spiritual responsibility to vote? Allie Beth Stuckey of “Relatable” and the senior pastor of Lakepointe Church, Josh Howerton, believe the answer to that question is a resounding “yes.” “I’ll gently venture out on a limb,” Howerton tells Stuckey. “I think Christians have a spiritual responsibility to vote.” Howerton, who says that we live in a constitutional republic and not a democracy, explains that “the voters are at the top of the org chart,” which is something that “a lot of well-meaning” but “a little naive” Christians forget. “Romans 13 says that God has established the governments and governing leaders in our constitutional republic. If you are a voting Christian, God has placed you at this time, in this place, at the top of the constitutional republic org chart in which you find yourself,” Howerton says. “So I would gently say in the same way that if a man won’t lead his family, we messed up. If a pastor won’t lead his church, we messed up. If the Christian voters of a nation refuse to lead that nation and abdicate their spiritual responsibility to lead, I think we’re messing up,” he continues. And the biblical case for voting only gets stronger. “Whatever God creates, Satan tries to co-opt,” Howerton says. “So in Genesis 2 and 3, Adam refuses to lead his family. So I’ll just say this to any husbands listening. The first thing that happens, Adam refuses to lead, so Satan does.” “Fast forward, all the way to the end of the Bible. In Revelation 2 and 3, you’ve got the seven letters of the church,” he continues. “It literally addresses this, you had some passive pastors who instead of leading their churches to repent of sin, they led their churches to tolerate sin. So in their passivity, and Romans 2 and 3 literally says, those churches became quote ‘a Synagogue of Satan.’” “So hey, pastors, if you won’t lead your church, Satan will be happy,” he says, adding, “In the same way, if Spirit-filled, godly people will not lead their nation by voting, godless people will.” Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Key voting blocs that have voted reliably blue are underperforming compared to previous election cycles, which could send warning signs to Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign. At the same time, increased turnout from some reliably red demographics could give former President Donald Trump the edge he needs. One of the most glaring disadvantages for Democrats going into the election is the comparatively low turnout from urban voters. At this point in the race, there is a 12.8-point deficit in urban voter turnout across battlegrounds compared to 2020. Rural voter turnout is comparatively higher, with just a 3.9-point difference. This could be particularly harmful for Democrats this election cycle, given that the majority of urban voters are Democratic and a majority of rural voters are Republican. Although early voter turnout looks rosy for the Trump camp, the race is still too close to call. "Regardless of how we slice and dice the demographics, rural voters are going to be very supportive of the former president," Jon McHenry, a GOP polling analyst and vice president at North Star Opinion Research, told Blaze News. "Urban voters won't vote in lockstep, but they will be disproportionately in support of Kamala Harris, so that demographic turnout is going to matter."There is also a partisan divide between male and female voters, as men tend to lean more Republican while women lean more Democratic. Although women vote in greater numbers than men do, they are underperforming this election cycle, which could throw a wrench into Harris' chances. "It's not just a 'get out the vote rally.' It's a 'you've got to vote because of X, Y, and Z," McHenry told Blaze News. "There's definitely a bit more urgency than what we would normally see from Democrats at this stage of the race." Women voters dipped down by 7.9 points across swing states compared to 2020, while men dipped down by seven points. Even though more women have voted than men, their deficit combined with slipping male support could put Harris' campaign in jeopardy. Declines in black and Hispanic votes could also put Harris in trouble. Compared to 2020, there is a 10.1-point turnout deficit among black voters in battlegrounds and an 11.7-point decline among Latino voters. Given that both Hispanic and black voters have overwhelmingly voted for Democrats in the past, this decline could threaten Harris' campaign.Harris has certainly taken notice of this trend. Over the past month, her campaign has released a tailored "opportunity agenda" for both black and Hispanic men. "The idea that there's this sort of opportunity agenda targeted at specific demographics, and the fact that Kamala Harris has drafted Barack Obama to turn out black males and essentially extending her reach to get people to turn out, shows that they're definitely concerned about getting the traditional Democratic base out to the polls," McHenry told Blaze News. Although early voter turnout looks rosy for the Trump camp, the race is still too close to call. "Like most poker players would say, just give me one of the hands, and I'll beat you with that," McHenry told Blaze News. "Honestly, it really is so close that it's hard to say." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) torched CNN for its biased reporting during a Monday interview with the network's Kate Bolduan.Bolduan brought up former President Donald Trump's comments during a Sunday rally in Pennsylvania. The CNN host claimed that Trump used inflammatory rhetoric.'Every day, you try to create some sort of faux outrage.'"Campaigning yesterday, the former president said as part of his message when he was speaking to voters is that he did not mind if someone would shoot at news crews and reporters covering the event," Bolduan stated.During the rally, Trump remarked on the bulletproof glass that has been installed around him for all his outdoor campaign events following two assassination attempts."I don't have a piece of glass there," he said, pointing to his right. "And I have a piece of glass here," Trump continued, gesturing to the barrier directly in front of him."But all we have really over here is the fake news, right? And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don't mind that so much," he stated.Trump explained that he would rather not have the protective glass in front of him because it does not "look great on television."After playing a clip of Trump's remarks, Bolduan asked Schmitt whether he condoned Trump's messaging. "Every day, you try to create some sort of faux outrage. And I understand why because Kamala Harris has called President Trump a fascist; Joe Biden has called half of America garbage; and they have nothing to run on," Schmitt responded. He accused CNN of repeatedly trying to make Trump's statements "blow up into something" that "no one takes literally.""I can't believe you spend this much time on it on the air," Schmitt said. "President Trump has the momentum in this race. It's a change election cycle. President Trump, by 2-to-1 margins, is viewed as the change candidate. That's a hard reality for some people to accept, but that's what people are focused on, not these clips that you seem to air every day."Bolduan claimed that some Republicans are upset with Trump's rhetoric. She asked Schmitt whether he would like Trump "to continue to repeat that today as part of your final message."Schmitt replied, "President Trump, he's had two attempts on his life, and you don't really talk about that anymore. And if it were Kamala Harris, 'NBC Nightly News' would be camped out in Butler [Pennsylvania], but it's not convenient to humanize President Trump."He explained that Trump's message to voters is "very clear: Kamala Harris broke it, he's gonna fix it.""So again, you can pull up all the clips. And this has been over four years, or eight years now, the idea to try to marginalize him and his supporters has been ongoing," Schmitt continued. "Every time you try to pull up a clip like this to create outrage, people see through it now.""It's not creating outrage; it's just asking if you agree with it," Bolduan replied."Of course not!" Schmitt retorted. "This is insane.""You're going to do this for another 24 hours, and the American people are going to have a say here, which is, they want a better life for their family," he concluded. "That's what this election's about, not sort of your news of the day to try to create outrage."Bolduan argued that "people also want safety and security, which could also include journalists."Schmitt fired back again, explaining that the Biden-Harris administration is responsible for the uptick in violent crime.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!