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Abortion: After the US Supreme Court's Latest Decision

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A majority of the US Supreme Court has changed its standards when it comes to abortion. The minority finds that "alarming." Can doctors still use what they believe are the safest procedures? What's left of a woman's right to choose? Also, the death of former Russian president, Boris Yeltsin and, on Reporter's Notebook, the FDA knew in advance that spinach might be contaminated, but failed to stop it from getting into the food supply.

Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Getty Images

Making News

Boris Yeltsin, Russia's First Elected President, Dies at 76 ()

He presided over the dissolution of the Soviet Union and became Russia's first elected president.  Today, Boris Yeltsin has died at the age of 76, as the US grapples with his successor, Valdimir Putin.  Konstantin von Eggert reports from Moscow for the BBC.

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Main Topic

Abortion: After the US Supreme Court's Latest Decision ()

Women still have the right to choose an abortion in the United States, but not by "intact dilation and extraction," also called "partial birth abortion."  Last week's US Supreme Court decision upheld a ban based not on the physical health of the mother but the fear that a gruesome procedure might cause women emotional harm, including "regret," "severe depression" and "loss of esteem." Dissenting justices find that "alarming."  Other critics call it "legal paternalism" and "19th Century thinking about women's rights." What do women and their doctors do now?  Did abortion-rights drop the ball when Alito and Roberts were named to the court?

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Reporter's Notebook

Is the FDA Capable of Policing the Food Supply? ()

Three people were killed by contaminated spinach from California this year, and hundreds more were sickened before the FDA ordered a recall.  Not only did the Food and Drug Administration know about problems with spinach, it was also aware of problems with contaminated peanut butter. In both cases—before high profile recalls.  A report in today's Washington Post raises questions about the FDA and its ability to protect America's food supply.  Mark McClellan, senior fellow at the AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies, is a former commissioner of the FDA.

Guests:
  • Mark McClellan: Former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration

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