Reeves leaves door open to outlawing birth control in Mississippi – National & International News – MON 9May2022

Reeves won’t rule out banning birth control; position on incest victims unclear. Baby formula shortage worsens. Former dictator’s son likely to win Philippines presidency.

NATIONAL NEWS

Reeves leaves door open to outlawing birth control in Mississippi

Speaking on Sunday with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves confirmed that Mississippi would ban abortion if the Supreme Court does indeed overturn Roe v. Wade. Like many other states, Mississippi has a “trigger law” in place that will ban all abortions in the event Roe v. Wade is struck down.

Tapper mentioned a bill now in committee in Louisiana that would classify abortion as homicide and prosecute it accordingly. As it stands, the Louisiana bill defines “conception” as being the moment of fertilization. Theoretically, that would outlaw use of  types of contraception that prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterine wall such as inter-uterine devices (or IUDs) or Plan-B. Thus, women who use either type of contraception could be prosecuted for homicide in Louisiana if the bill becomes law.

Tapper first asked Reeves whether he considered fertilization or implantation to be the moment of conception. Reeves seemed confused and eventually reiterated his belief that life begins at conception, without clarifying whether this meant fertilization or implantation (click here for video).

Tapper also pressed Reeves on whether he was considering legislation that was as restrictive and invasive as Louisiana’s. Reeves said “That is not what we’re focused on at this time”. He instead reverted to talking points about supporting women with unintended pregnancies and the children resulting from them.

Reeves also provided no meaningful answer on whether he thought women who were victims of incest ought to be forced to carry those pregnancies to term (click here for video).

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Baby formula shortage worsens after recall

For the last several weeks, US retail chains have had trouble keeping baby formula on their shelves. According to Ben Reich of Datasembly, which tracks market and pricing data on a variety of commodities, supply chain issues have had a greater effect on infant formula than other categories of products. “Inflation, supply chain shortages and product recalls have brought an unprecedented amount of volatility to the category,” Reich said. “We expect to continue to see baby formula as one of the most affected categories in the market”.

The shortage was exacerbated after Abbott Nutrition voluntarily recalled products from its Similac, Alimentum and EleCare brands. Abbott announced the recall after the deaths of two babies who were using their formula. These and two other babies were found to have been exposed to Cronobacter sakazakii. According to the FDA, exposure to this bacteria “can cause severe, life-threatening infections (sepsis) or meningitis (an inflammation of the membranes that protect the brain and spine)”. 

During the week that began on April 24, 40% of baby formula was out-of-stock in more than 11,000 sites nationwide. It was even worse in Texas, Tennessee, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Missouri where more than half of formula was out-of-stock. The shortage has forced parents to drive across state lines in hope of buying formula. Major retail chains, including Walgreens, have restricted how much formula customers can buy to discourage stockpiling.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Son of Philippines dictator likely to win presidency

Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son of infamous dictator Ferdinand Marcos who led the country from 1965-1986, is on track to be the next president of the Philippines. With over 2-3rds of votes counted, Marcos Jr. seemed to have a prohibitive lead over his opponent, Leni Robredo.

Robredo was vice president under the outgoing president Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte led a brutal crackdown on drug users that killed tens of thousands of people while also violently suppressing his opposition. However, Robredo did not run on the same ticket as Duterte and has campaigned on leading the country in a new direction.

Marcos Jr. has walked away with 21.7 million votes so far, more than double Robredo’s 10.3 million. Marcos Jr. himself did very little campaigning but his supporters led an online misinformation effort to whitewash his father’s brutal and corrupt legacy. During his more than 20-year reign, Marcos Sr. stole billions of dollars in state wealth, which he used to fund a lavish lifestyle. By the time he was deposed forced to seek exile in the US, Marcos Sr.’s wife Imelda Marcos had over 3,000 pairs of shoes.

But supporters of Marcos Jr. have seemingly swallowed the online narrative that these reports were lies invented by his family’s detractors. They also support Marcos Jr.’s stance in favor of continuing Duterte’s brutal “law and order” policies.

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