Awaiting the governor’s signature, Vermont is poised to become the fourth state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. While Oregon and Washington legalized physician-aid-in-dying through public referendum and Montana through a court decision, Vermont’s is occurring through the legislative process.

The first U.S. aid-in-dying law was the Oregon 1994 Death with Dignity Act. The law faced a referendum to appeal it in 1997 and a Bush administration court challenge was ruled on in 2006.

The Vermont law mirrors those of Oregon and Washington.…

On May 9, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography independently reported measurements of mean concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels of nearly 400 parts per million (it was actually 399.89 ppm).  For the last 800,000 years, the Earth has not broken 300ppm. This is significant because it shows that despite weak international efforts, atmospheric carbon levels are increasing on an exponential curve.

The number 400ppm is arbitrary but was chosen as a milestone to draw attention to the continuing scientific concern over the increase of atmospheric carbon.…

If you’re a teen in North Carolina, a new bill before the legislature may make it more difficult for you to get sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment, mental health counseling, pregnancy care or even substance abuse treatment. To receive any of those, a teen would need written, notarized parental consent. A parent could not simply give permission on the phone, via a note, or even by signing a consent form. No, the parent has to use a notary to give permission.…

As Caplan explains, an IOM report released today recommended the simplification of food labels so that consumers can with a passing glance know the nutritional value (or lack thereof) in the food we eat.…

So why is it a partisan issue? Because women’s health is so frequently reduced to reproductive health (read: abortion) and because what is easier to ignore than HIV testing and contraceptives for the conservatives who believe that neither would be necessary if we abstained from those behaviors that require them.…