Shefali Luthra

@shefali.bsky.social

5363 Followers 402 Following

Reproductive health reporter @19thnews.org‬ I wrote UNDUE BURDEN, a book about abortion post-Dobbs. Past lives: KHN, The Texas Tribune. Julien Baker/Boston Celtics/Jaguars enthusiast. She / Her. sbluthra(at)19thnews(dot)org; Signal: shefaliluthra.94

Google search for “can you see fish in the Chunnel”
Peggy and Stan pitching the bean ballet for Heinz
Don in Midge’s apartment
NYT push notification: “resources embedded on the surface could be valuable to us on Earth. See what’s behind the lunar space race.”
"borat tonite" meme but with "tatum" instead of "borat"
Sign at ACE that says “limit of 2 bags of ice melt, shovels, and sleds per customer”
When a federal agent kneeled on the neck of an intensive care nurse in August, she said she understood the danger she was in and tried to scream. “I knew that the amount of pressure being placed on the back of my neck could definitely hurt me,” said Amanda Trebach, a citizen and activist who was arrested in Los Angeles while monitoring immigration agents. “I was having a hard time breathing because my chest was on the ground.”
Metro roundup: top station is Columbia Heights; archetype is “The Headliner”
Antonia Aguilar Maldonano, a mother of two from El Salvador, was arrested by ICE on her way to work and detained at the Kandiyohi County Jail in Minnesota for almost a month. Her youngest child is 22 months old and still nursing; he has acid reflux and an allergy to other forms of milk. The jail was not equipped to house someone who was nursing, said Gloria Contreras Edin, her lawyer: It did not have a breast pump when Aguilar Maldonado arrived, forcing her to use her hands to massage milk out until the facility was able to buy a pump.
Abortion opponents have encouraged Trump to promote alternatives to IVF, including what some call “restorative reproductive medicine,” which they say treats the root causes of infertility. Many reproductive endocrinologists have voiced criticism of that alternative — which relies on tracking fertility through one’s menstrual cycle, along with emphasizing nutrition and exercise — saying it is unreliable and lacking a strong evidence base and that many patients with infertility are already taking those steps. Restorative reproductive medicine providers have met with Health and Human Services officials, encouraging the government to have insurance cover restorative reproductive medicine, said Linda Ruf, who runs the Vitae Clinic, one such health center in Texas. Overton suggested that employers could choose to emphasize this option in any fertility benefit they choose to offer. “Employers are going to be able to decide how to cover the root causes of infertility, things like obesity, metabolic health and other things that are impacting infertility,” she said. “And also, if they want to encourage their employer, their employees, to see certain types of doctors, and they can work with providers that are identifying the highest quality fertility providers.”
Jacqueline approached the last days of her pregnancy hopeful that the place she had chosen — a large university hospital that workers at her local clinic recommended — would be a safe place for her to give birth. One night at the end of September, when labor pains grew too intense, she called for an ambulance and made it to the hospital. When she got there, she asked her providers if there were any ICE agents near the building. She had heard of a man at a local hospital being detained after having surgery. They told her there were none they were aware of. She went on to deliver her baby under general anesthesia after a long, difficult labor. “I didn’t even hear him cry when they pulled him out,” she said. Her only relative left in the area was taking care of her daughter, so she recovered alone at the hospital for five days before heading home in an Uber that a social worker procured for her and her son. “If my husband was here, he would have been there with me at the hospital,” Jacqueline said while recovering at home. “He would be here taking care of me, of us. I wouldn’t be worried about the things I still want to get for the baby.”
"In recent months, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indiana-based OB-GYN, has seen a number of pregnant patients seeking emergency attention who have not received any prenatal health care. One was 31 weeks, approaching the end of her pregnancy. Another was more than 20 weeks pregnant when she came to Bernard’s office, having developed complications from a molar pregnancy — a rare condition that means a healthy birth is impossible and that without early treatment can result in vaginal bleeding, thyroid problems and even cancer. “Anytime you’re not able to access that early prenatal care, we do see complications with that,” she said. “And many of these things can absolutely be life-threatening for both the moms and the babies.” Dr. Daisy Leon-Martinez, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in San Francisco, said she now regularly cares for patients in her labor and delivery ward who have been transferred to her hospital because of newly developed pregnancy complications. These are often their first doctors’ visits since becoming pregnant. Many of those patients have told her that they did not want to seek prenatal care for fear of encountering immigration officials. During regular visits, she added, she has advised people with pregnancy complications that they would be best served by a hospital stay — only to be told that her patients no longer feel safe going to the hospital."
The preview screen at the AFI before One Battle After Another
Our Planned Parenthood committees have created an option for affiliates to stop providing abortion in the event that abortion is able to be provided in that community. That’s not an attempt to walk away from abortion. Planned Parenthood strongly stands behind our need and ability to provide abortion care wherever it is legal in this country. It is simply an opportunity for us to engage our federation to be able to provide care and preserve as much Medicaid funding for reimbursment.
ESPN column suggesting the jags will win the AFC south this year, because we have Travis and a new coach and gm, and maybe Trevor will be healthy
"In practice, the most visible impact of Trump’s federal takeover has been the immigration-enforcement effort in places including Mount Pleasant. Authorities have pulled delivery drivers off mopeds, arrested construction workers and demanded proof of legal status from vendors selling mangos and watermelons. Vehicle checkpoints have sprung up nightly, and ICE vans have parked outside daycare centers and churches that tend to employ immigrants."
front cover of paperback Undue Burden!
Email from Wirecutter with subject line “the best barbecue sauce”
text from a New Yorker profile of Lucy Dacus, with highlighted text: “Dacus is now in a committed relationship with Baker”
Screenshot of a newsletter headline (from Civil War Memory) that says “the ‘cornerstone’ of the confederate war effort was slavery”
Dale Cooper driving, saying to his recorder, “Diane, 11:30am, February 24th. Entering the town of Twin Peaks.”
Image from setlist.fm showing that Kendrick Lamar did 5 songs from GNX, 2 songs from Damn, 2 songs that were "other" and 1 cover
Simpsons meme of Ralph Wiggum chuckling “I’m in danger”
Some programs that don’t fit the category of lifesaving aid remain frozen, while others are explicitly barred because they fall outside of the administration’s ideological bounds, including any help with abortions, gender or diversity issues. The United Nations Population Fund, the U.N.’s sexual and reproductive health agency, said that because of the funding freeze, maternal and mental health services to millions of women in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Gaza, Ukraine, and other places had been disrupted or eliminated. In Afghanistan, where the Taliban has banned women from working, 1,700 Afghan women who worked for the agency would no longer be employed.
From the NYT: “But are alcoholic beverages, and wine in particular, truly unhealthful, regardless of how they are consumed or in what quantity? I’m not a scientist or a doctor, and I’ve frankly found many of the reports on both sides of the health issue confusing and in conflict.”
Email from Bon appetit with the subject “the best doro wot in Washington DC”
Graphic from the Office of Surgeon General showing a 4 percentage point increase in women at risk of breast cancer when consuming two drinks/day
Text message saying “actually I think jalebi baby is the perfect song. especially when he’s just listing all my favorite desserts.”
Screenshot of NYT writer saying he was a Wicked skeptic (he was the theater reporter at the time) because he thought it was “for teenage girls”
Post-marathon selfie
a picture of my cat!
The 19th’s Dobbs coverage was an ONA finalist for breaking news
text message from my teenage brother saying the fight for midnight was “amazing”
Julien baker singing
American Airlines “pride” movie options, including the imitation game on the left (??????) and Carol on the right (masterpiece)
code maroon air alert in dc
a blue lake surrounded by trees and sand and a clear sky