A major hospital network in Massachusetts has now revamped its policies regarding babies born addicted to drugs in an attempt to address "significant racial and ethnic inequities" it claims are associated with substance abuse disorder.On Tuesday‚ Mass General Brigham‚ the commonwealth's largest hospital group‚ announced that it will no longer automatically report that an infant has been born with drug addiction since the automatic reporting and other such policies "disproportionately affect Black individuals."Current commonwealth law demands mandatory reporting of all infants with "physical dependence upon an addictive drug at birth." However‚ the hospitals affiliated with Mass General Brigham — including Massachusetts General Hospital‚ Brigham and Women’s Hospital‚ Newton-Wellesley Hospital‚ and Salem Hospital — will now encourage reporting such cases to child protective services only if the babies are "suffering or at imminent risk of suffering physical or emotional injury."Another policy change at Mass General Brigham means that medical professionals will now conduct toxicology tests on newborns and/or "pregnant people" — sometimes referred to as women — only under two conditions. First‚ hospital workers must be given written consent to perform the tests. Second‚ they will perform the tests only if the results will affect the medical treatment the mother and/or child receives.These new policies are part of Mass General Brigham's larger "United Against Racism effort" to fix policies that "may unwittingly perpetuate structural racism.""Our new perinatal testing and reporting policy is the latest step in our efforts to address longstanding inequities in substance use disorder care and to provide compassionate‚ evidence-based support to families‚ while addressing substance use disorder as a treatable health condition‚" said Sarah Wakeman‚ M.D.‚ senior medical director for Substance Use Disorder at Mass General Brigham.Wakeman claimed that some women may stop seeking treatment for addiction if they believe they may lose custody of their children after birth. She also claimed that substance abuse alone does not mean that pregnant women will abuse or neglect their children after they're born.Mass General Brigham is not the only medical organization that wants fewer babies born addicted to drugs to be taken away from drug-addicted mothers. It is following in the footsteps of Boston Medical Center as well as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Society of Addiction Medicine‚ which have all taken a similar approach regarding drug-addicted babies."This policy reflects an emerging consensus‚ based on sound science‚ that is being embraced by our peer institutions and was developed in coordination with a wide range of partners‚" Wakeman asserted.Allison Bryant‚ M.D.‚ MPH‚ associate chief health equity officer at Mass General Brigham‚ claimed that this new policy will help those in the medical industry "turn our lens inward to understand our own contributions to stigma and inequity and strive to fix them."Wakeman agreed. "It takes a multi-pronged approach to eliminate racial inequities and drop barriers to treatment‚" she said.H/T: Libs of TikTokLike Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Scotland is not a promising place to live if you value free speech. The country just passed the Hate Crime and Public Order Act‚ which makes it a criminal offense to stir up hatred with threatening or abusive behavior on the basis of characteristics including age‚ disability‚ religion‚ sexual orientation‚ and transgender identity. One famous author took it upon herself to test the new act‚ daring the Scottish government to arrest her for violating its new laws against “hate speech.” “The new legislation is wide open to abuse by activists who wish to silence those of us speaking out about the dangers of eliminating women’s and girl’s single sex spaces‚ the grotesque unfairness of allowing males to compete in female sports‚ and the reality and immutability of biological sex‚” J.K. Rowling tweeted on X. She ended her tweet with a challenge. “If what I’ve written here qualifies as an offense under the terms of the new act‚ I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment‚” she wrote. Her tweets have been declared as not criminal by the Scottish police‚ so she has promised to keep a lookout for other non-famous individuals being punished for the same expression of free speech. Glenn Beck is impressed. “What J.K. Rowling is experiencing is a window into what they’re trying to do here‚ but she’s not backing down‚” Glenn says‚ before quoting a line from one of her "Harry Potter" novels that he believes should be applied here. “Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress? All of them realize that one day‚ amongst their many victims‚ there is sure to be one who rises against them and strikes back.” Want more from Glenn Beck?To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling‚ thought-provoking analysis‚ and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos‚ subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America‚ defend the Constitution‚ and live the American dream.

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii said in a statement that presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked if she would serve as his running mate‚ but she declined‚ ABC News reported."I met with Kennedy several times‚ and we have become good friends‚" Gabbard noted in a statement‚ according to the outlet. "He asked if I would be his running mate. After careful consideration‚ I respectfully declined."ABC News reported that an individual close to Kennedy indicated‚ "There were definitely meetings‚ but it didn't work out." "We talked to a bunch of people‚" the individual noted‚ according to the outlet. "Tulsi's a rock star no matter what."Last week‚ Kennedy announced Nicole Shanahan as his running mate. Kennedy launched a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination last year but later switched to an independent White House bid.Gabbard‚ who served as a Democratic House lawmaker from early 2013 until early 2021‚ ran in the Democratic presidential primary during the last election cycle but ultimately dropped out and supported Joe Biden.In 2022‚ Gabbard announced that she was leaving the Democratic Party. "I'm calling on my fellow common sense‚ independent-minded Democrats to join me in leaving the Democratic Party‚" she said in a video. She asserted that the party is controlled by "an elitist cabal of warmongers who are driven by cowardly wokeness." Her book "For Love of Country: Leave the Democrat Party Behind" is slated to be released at the end of April. — (@) Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Dozens of positions related to diversity‚ equity‚ and inclusion were shut down at the University of Texas at Austin‚ and many liberals were outraged and furious. On Tuesday‚ about 60 workers were fired over SB 17‚ legislation passed by Republicans to ban DEI at public universities. The law banning DEI went into effect January 1 and has already led to controversy among some universities‚ which are resisting. The Texas Conference of the American Association of University Professors and the Texas NAACP accused the university of racism after claiming that the workers fired had already been in compliance with SB 17. Some on the left spoke to KVUE-TV about their outrage. “Honestly‚" said Aaliyah Barlow‚ president of the Black Student Alliance‚ "I cried and I was angry." "A lot of people are upset‚" said Chrisdianna Mcafee‚ a junior at UT. "All of my group chats are raging. All of the GroupMes‚ all of the Slacks – everybody is raging." She claimed that about 1‚000 students met up to talk about the firings. "It does hurt a lot to just really sit with the fact that they were told they would keep their jobs‚ and now they no longer have them‚" Mcafee said. "This is just Texas... Texas does not want us here. Texas has never wanted us here." The official account for Texas Democrats said it was just the beginning. "Texas Republicans banned DEI on college campuses. Now 60 people at UT Austin have lost their jobs‚ and this is just the beginning. SB 17 is anti-worker‚ anti-inclusion‚ and anti-Texas‚" read a post on social media. Others referred to the firings as a "purge" akin to those from the Soviet Russia era. “I can’t help but see this as a purge of any staff who have training in DEI — literally like a McCarthy-era purge — because none of the staff who’ve been fired have any DEI in their portfolio right now‚” said Karma Chávez‚ the chair of Mexican American and Latina/o studies. “All they had is a history of being in a DEI-related position.” “The fact that they’re not doing that work now and they’re in compliance with the law doesn’t seem to be the point‚" said Lisa Moore‚ chair of the Department of Women’s‚ Gender and Sexuality studies. "It seems to be the point that they are going to be bullied and harassed until they leave UT because they once worked in DEI." Chávez went on to claim that DEI opponents want to get rid of everyone except those with a "predominantly white‚ middle class‚ heterosexual‚ Christian background.” Here's more about the DEI ban in Texas: Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A woman claimed to have been tortured and kidnapped for over a month after she escaped captivity by running into a gas station store in Florida. A worker at the Mobil gas station in Seffner told WFLA-TV that the woman staggered into the store on Monday and locked herself into the bathroom while crying. She had escaped from a van that had been parked at a nearby Walgreen's store. He noticed that a man driving a van drove away from the area recklessly after the woman ran into the store. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said that the woman told them she had been tortured and held against her will for more than two months. The woman claimed that she had been a panhandler in an area near Hillsborough Avenue and Habana Avenue when a man offered to give her drugs and food in January. He instead began torturing her with a flathead screwdriver and hitting her with a baseball bat. "Medina's actions turned violent as he subjected her to months of relentless physical abuse and captivity‚" read a statement from the HCSO. Police said the woman was left with “severe injuries including‚ but not limited to‚ broken ribs‚ deep puncture wounds‚ and extensive bruising.” She said he threatened to kill her if she tried to escape. They were able to identify her alleged torturer as 48-year-old Walter Medina of Tampa. Police said they were able to locate Medina on Tuesday and he was apprehended after a car chase that reached 100 miles per hour at one point and included the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and two other police agencies. He was charged with a slew of crimes‚ including armed kidnapping‚ harm‚ or terrorizing; armed false imprisonment; and attempted murder in the second degree with a weapon. The woman was transported to a hospital for treatment of her injuries. “I can’t imagine the torture this victim endured for months‚ but I can imagine the relief she felt when our deputies arrived‚” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “I have to commend the bravery of the victim for escaping her captor and seeking help. Our thoughts are with her as she recovers from this traumatic ordeal.” Medina had been previously arrested for kidnapping‚ aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer‚ and robbery. “This suspect’s reign of violent terror is now over‚” Chronister added. Here's more about the incident: Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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