14 Health

Trump slams lid on gain-of-function research– www.washingtonexaminer.com

pgnewser May 9, 2025

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President Donald Trump’s executive order strengthening restrictions on gain-of-function research is a sensible step in his administration’s crusade for sanity. Signed Monday evening, the order seeks to clamp down on the risky research that modifies pathogens or toxins to enhance their ability to cause disease or spread more easily, which most authorities believe caused the COVID-19 pandemic.

A White House fact sheet claims the new order “empowers American research agencies to identify and end federal funding of other biological research that could pose a threat to American public health, public safety, or national security.”

This is a broader clampdown on gain-of-function research than was enacted by former President Barack Obama. Late in his second term, Obama announced a funding pause for some gain-of-function experiments on certain pathogens, including influenza, SARS, and MERS viruses. But enforcement was limited, and the federal government continued to fund other gain-of-function research, including experiments at the Wuhan Institute for Virology with grants from Anthony Fauci and the National Institutes of Health.

Gay Advocate Media Laments NY Bill that would Ban Males Presenting as Females from Participating in Female Sports

pgnewser May 7, 2025

New York State Senate committee approves anti-trans sports bill – Gay City News
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The New York State Senate’s Education Committee approved an anti-trans sports bill on May 6 that would stop the state education commissioner from implementing trans-inclusive sports policies, drawing immediate criticism from LGBTQ advocates.

Senate Bill S460 would ban the education commissioner from creating any rules preventing schools from implementing bans on trans athletes if a school “determines” that a student’s participation would somehow “have an adverse effect on the physical or emotional safety of female participants or would adversely impact a female student’s ability to participate successfully in interschool athletic competition.”

The legislation drew five “aye” votes — including from Democrats — and six “nay” votes, but three others voted “aye WR,” or “aye with reservations,” which suggests that those three lawmakers had issues with the bill but voted for it to move forward nonetheless. The “aye” votes came from Republicans Stephen Chan of Brooklyn, James Tedisco of Saratoga County and Schenectady, Daniel Stec of North Country, Bill Weber of Rockland County, and Alexis Weik, whose Long Island district includes parts of the queer haven of Fire Island.

Maryland Bill to Legalize Assisted Suicide Defeated for 8th Time– www.lifenews.com

pgnewser April 22, 2025

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Grassroots efforts have again bested Maryland Democrats’ efforts to legalize assisted suicide, protecting  vulnerable groups, such as military veterans, National Right to Life announced this month.

This was the eighth time such legislation has been introduced in Maryland, and the eighth time it has been overcome.

National Right to Life declared the legislation, called the “End of Life Options Act,” officially  “dead” after the Maryland General Assembly’s session for the year concluded April 7.