How a Supreme Court case on the abortion medication mifepristone could impact California. Also, California’s strategy to recover long declining salmon populations. Finally, the best way to view the upcoming April eclipse.
Supreme Court Abortion Pill Case
This morning, the Supreme Court heard arguments for another case challenging the right to abortion. FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine challenges the use of mifepristone, a medication typically used in a two-combination dose to terminate a pregnancy (the other medication used is misoprostol). Medication abortions account for roughly two thirds of all abortions in the country - and this ruling can affect all states, regardless of what protections are in place. But there is more at stake than abortion - this case could impact the FDA’s regulatory power to approve all drugs and evaluate their safety. Leslie Gielow Jacobs is an Anthony Kennedy Professor of Law at McGeorge School of Law and joins us with a breakdown of today’s oral arguments.
California’s Salmon Strategy
California’s salmon population has been in decline for decades, largely due to human activity and climate change. To help reverse these trends, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the “California “Salmon Strategy” earlier this year - bringing together governments, conservation groups and tribal communities to revive the salmon numbers by removing dams, restoring habitats, and modernizing hatcheries, among other strategies. Carson Jeffres is a Senior Researcher at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and discusses the current salmon population counts, as well as why there is still hope for a strong future for this iconic species.
Best Way to See Upcoming Eclipse
On April 8, Californians can view a partial solar eclipse. To get the obvious out of the way, at no point is it safe to look directly at the sun during an eclipse. However, with special glasses or telescopes fitted with the right equipment, we can experience this firsthand. Vinita Domier is a coordinator of the Davis Astronomy Club - and calls herself an eclipse chaser. Vinita joins us with more on this celestial phenomena.
