My mother killed herself. I wish assisted suicide had been an option Sometimes, mental illness is terminal

https://www.statnews.com/2026/10/19/medical-aid-in-dying-mental-illness-canada/ By Torie BoschOct. 19, 2026 Editor, First Opinion

Top immunology association divided over $8.4-billion California ballot measure to fund the field, emails show

Top immunology association divided over $8.4-billion California ballot measure to fund the field, emails show Half the money seems earmarked for a research center co-founded by Prop 38’s billionaire backer https://www.statnews.com/2026/10/19/california-prop-38-immunology-research-bond-oddly-specific-earmark/ By Jonathan WosenOct. 19, 2026 West Coast Biotech & Life Sciences Reporter

Measles is back — and becoming a midterm liability for Republicans Silence on vaccines is becoming a dealbreaker for voters who would otherwise vote Republican

https://www.statnews.com/2026/10/19/measles-2026-midterms-vaccine-hesitancy-liability-republicans/ By Larry Bucshon and Michael C. BurgessOct. 19, 2026 Bucshon and Burgess served in Congress after decades practicing as a cardiothoracic surgeon and a doctor of obstetrics and gynecology, respectively.

How the No Surprises Act’s nonprofit arbitrators are operating like ‘mini gods’ and getting rich doing it The law is protecting patients, but it’s also enriching a slew of middlemen and health care providers By Tara BannowOct. 19, 2026

https://www.statnews.com/2026/10/19/no-surprises-act-billing-arbitration-profits-stat-investigation/

Viewpoint: Selective pronatalism: The radical “ethical” case challenging parents’ right to end a pregnancy when a fetus has a severe genetic disorder Nature | October 19, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/10/19/viewpoint-selective-pronatalism-the-radical-ethical-case-challenging-parents-right-to-end-a-pregnancy-when-a-fetus-has-a-severe-genetic-disorder/ Even if polygenic embryo screening worked exactly as advertised, it could still do real social damage. That’s the argument from Gaia Ghirardi of the WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Arno Van Hootegem of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and K. Paige Harden of the University of Texas at Austin in a correspondence published in Nature Human Behaviour.

‘Blatant slap in the face’: MAHA activists turn on RFK Jr. and Trump administration NBC News | October 19, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/10/19/blatant-slap-in-the-face-maha-activists-turn-on-rfk-jr-and-trump-administration/ A group of “Make America Healthy Again” activists, including former members of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 2024 presidential campaign, says the Trump administration has broken more than 85% of its promises on food, agriculture and environmental health, as NBC News’ Julie Tsirkin and Aria Bendix report. The MAHA scorecard accuses the administration of doing favors for the chemical industry by approving new pesticides and hiring industry lobbyists and executives.

Viewpoint: ‘Statistical murder’: Kennedy’s expanding record of “duplicity and mendacity” Henry Miller | October 19, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/10/19/viewpoint-statistical-murder-kennedys-expanding-record-of-duplicity-and-mendacity/ Public health disasters do not always begin with a new pathogen.Sometimes they begin with a government official who teaches people to distrust proven means of protecting themselves. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has elevated that practice into a governing philosophy. His falsehoods, conspiratorial thinking, and institutional sabotage make him an enemy of the American people. The consequences extend beyond degraded public discourse. They include untold numbers of preventable illness and the foreseeable loss of human life.