• Arizona: Earlier this month, Maricopa Superior Court Judge Gregory Como struck down three state laws that limited access to abortion, ruling that they violate the state's constitution. "Each of these laws infringe on a woman's 'autonomous decision making' by mandating medical procedures and disclosure of information regardless of the patient's needs and wishes," Como wrote in his ruling. In response to the ruling, Arizona state senate president Warren Petersen (R), who supported the restrictions on abortion, said that Como's decision would be appealed. Separately, Kimya Forouzan, principal state policy advisor for the Guttmacher Institute, said the ruling was a "major win for Arizona abortion seekers" and that it is "an example of how constitutional protections can expand access and eliminate significant barriers to abortion care — while others remain limited." (Mancini, The Hill, 2/6)
• District of Columbia: According to a new study published in Science Advances, long-term exposure to wildfire pollution is associated with almost 25,000 deaths in the United States every year. For the study, researchers examined the link between annual average exposure to particulate matter <2.5 microns (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke and deaths by county in the 48 contiguous U.S. states. Overall, the researchers found that long-term exposure to PM2.5 from wildfire smoke contributed to an average of 24,100 deaths a year between 2006 and 2020. Short-term exposure to PM2.5 can lead to coughing and itchy eyes, but long-term exposure can worsen existing health problems and lead to chronic health conditions, such as respiratory illness, cardiovascular diseases, neurological diseases, and even premature death. "Our message is: Wildfire smoke is very dangerous. It is an increasing threat to human health," said Yaguang Wei, an assistant professor of environmental medicine and one of the study's authors. The researchers also highlighted the risks of recent federal rollbacks on climate, saying that urgent, effective mitigation strategies from the Environmental Protection Agency are needed to reduce the health impacts of wildfire pollution. (Associated Press/MedPage Today, 2/4)
• Indiana: Eli Lilly announced plans to acquire genetic-medicine biotechnology company Orna Therapeutics for up to $2.4 billion in cash. Currently, Orna is developing a new class of therapeutics that use engineered circular RNA combined with novel lipid nanoparticles to help patients' bodies generate cell therapies to treat diseases. According to Lilly, the acquisition will provide the company with a platform for long-term innovation in in-vivo cell engineering and genetic medicine. "We look forward to working with Orna colleagues to potentially unlock an entirely new class of genetic medicines and cell therapies for patients who today have limited or no treatment options," said Lilly SVP Francisco Ramírez-Valle. (Kellaher, Wall Street Journal, 2/9; Herper, STAT+ [subscription required], 2/9)

Climate change isn't just a future concern — it's already affecting cardiovascular care. Record-breaking heat waves, catastrophic wildfires, and ambient air pollution are on the rise around the world. Learn how climate change is set to impact cardiovascular care and what healthcare industry stakeholders can do to maintain stable outcomes and care delivery.