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Initial reaction to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade has cast doctors as powerless — unable to protect their patients from an onslaught of state laws that compel people to bear children. But physicians do have power, and they can — and should — resist the threat that forced-birth laws pose to patients’ lives and well-being. (M. Gregg Bloche and Sarah K. Werner, 8/18)

This spring, I miscarried at 9½ weeks. My body didn’t recognize that the embryo no longer had a heartbeat, so my doctor prescribed a round of misoprostol, a drug also used in abortions; it expelled everything from me except the embryo. She prescribed a second round, which gave me a 24-hour fever, during which I moderated a panel at a literary festival, delirious and wearing a diaper. (Katy Simpson Smith, 8/18)

America has failed its first post-Covid test — and Covid isn’t even over. The country remains fully mired in the pandemic, with this summer’s caseloads among the worst since the novel coronavirus first surfaced. At the same time, we have been unable to apply the lessons painfully gleaned over the past two years to the next virus to come along, monkeypox. (Dr. Jalal Baig, 8/18)

Finally, we have a glimmer of good news about monkeypox: The outbreaks in some countries, including the U.K., Germany and parts of Canada, are starting to slow down. On top of that, the outbreak in New York City may also be peaking and on the decline, according to new data from the city's health department. (Michaleen Doucleff, 8/18)

As data come in from around the world, a clear picture is emerging of who is being affected by the recent outbreak of monkeypox (MPX): Outside Africa, 99 percent of the cases have been in men, and 92 to 98  percent have been in self-identified men who have sex with men. Also, many of the cases in the Europe Union, the U.S. and the U.K. have been in men who are living with HIV. (Steven W. Thrasher, 8/18)

Battered by criticism of its response to the covid-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday announced an overhaul. The director, Rochelle Walensky, correctly recognized that the agency must become more action-oriented, clear in messaging and better grounded in data and laboratory science. That is a start. (8/18)

The Secretary of Health and Human Services recently announced an important reorganization that can help the federal government prevent future pandemics and be better prepared for other health emergencies. HHS changed the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response from a “staff division” to an “operating division” and renamed it the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR). ... It is a good first step, but three additional elements are needed to ensure success: funding, staff and leadership. (W. Craig Vanderwagen and Jennifer B. Alton, 8/18)