Health and Medicine

U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood is voicing full-throated support for the massive Republican tax and spending bill, despite past opposition to Medicaid cuts and concern over the mounting federal budget deficit. LaHood represents parts of Bloomington-Normal.

Mifepristone, a drug used in medical abortion, has come under threat by the Trump administration in recent months. The widely used abortion bill is still legal. It survived a court challenge last year, but state Rep. Dagmara Avelar said she is concerned that reproductive health care remains under attack.

Canadian wildfire smoke has caused unhealthy air quality in Bloomington-Normal. The Ecology Action Center in Normal is recommending people stay indoors whenever possible.

Worker advocates said they fear the past is prologue as they discussed the history of corporate malfeasance in hiding the dangers of asbestos at a Bloomington plant.

Several service providers in Bloomington-Normal say proposed Medicaid cuts threaten health care locally. The U.S. House recently passed a measure that would slice $880 billion over the next decade.

A new flag, raising awareness about organ donation, now flies with the U.S. and Illinois state flags at the hospital in Normal.

In 10 other states, doctors are allowed to prescribe life-ending treatment for terminal patients. Illinois could become the 11th.

At Illinois Tattoo Company in Bloomington, owner and artist Chad Ramsay offers nipple reconstruction tattoos for free to women who have undergone a mastectomy.

Twin Cities native Shashi Salavath is the youngest person to ever present research at the International Conference on Computational Science. He is a rising senior at Illinois Math and Science Academy.

The state of Illinois will receive about $29 million from a nationwide settlement announced in a lawsuit over potentially cancer-causing baby powder.