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On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that considers whether hospitals must provide abortions in emergency situations—even in states where abortion is banned. At the heart of this particular case is Idaho’s near-total abortion ban, which the Biden administration argues conflicts with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal law that requires hospitals that participate in Medicare to provide stabilizing emergency care when medically necessary.
The details of the case are nuanced, and so I asked Fatima Goss Graves, the CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, to help explain what this case means for people in Idaho and beyond. Graves observed the oral arguments in person yesterday, and she joined me in conversation for a “Forbes Newsroom” segment to share what she saw in the courtroom.
I also spoke with Karl Eastlund, the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho (PPGWNI), about exactly what is happening to patients on the ground in Idaho. Pregnant patients who go to emergency rooms in Idaho, he said, “are absolutely getting turned away.” He also said that a number of Idahoans are “coming across state lines, coming to Washington preemptively, and not even trying to go to their emergency room in Idaho first.”
The court will issue a ruling in the Idaho case sometime before its term wraps up in late June—and it will have implications far beyond the state of Idaho, so we of course will be following closely.
Cheers,
P.S.: Nominations for the 2024 50 Over 50 list are STILL open, so if you are creating your greatest professional impact after the age of 50, please head to this link here to nominate yourself today!
Exclusive Forbes Profile: How To Buy A Small Business With No Money Down
According to recent surveys, 90% percent of Americans say they dream of being their own boss. Finding the funds to kickstart or buy a business is a top challenge for half of those surveyed. Chelsea Mandel, the founder and managing director of Ascension Advisory, believes she has a novel solution to this: She preaches the virtues of “sale leasebacks,” a clever financing technique typically used by sophisticated institutional investors in billion dollar transactions. Mandel believes wannabe small business owners should be considering this creative no-money down financing to leap into business ownership.
ICYMI: News Of The Week
Two legal battles are rocking Tapestry, the Joanne Crevoiserat-led corporate owner of the Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman brands: One is a more or less routine trademark dispute against Gap and its Old Navy brand. The other is a fight for the very future of the company and its ability to compete effectively in the luxury market. (For additional background, check out this April 18th explainer on the Federal Trade Commission’s arguments against Tapestry’s proposed merger with Capri.)
Stay-at-home parents of two children in the United States do roughly 200 combined hours of cleaning, shopping, cooking, childcare and other tasks each month, a new study by Beike Biotechnology shows, labor that would cost between $4,000 and $5,200 per month to outsource in a handful of American cities.
Speaking of caring for children: Summer Health, a startup that offers 24/7 message-based nationwide access to a pediatrician within 15 minutes, announced an $11.65 million Series A round of funding this week. Summer cofounder and CEO Ellen DaSilva is a mother of two who told Forbes she wants to make it “dramatically easy to get care for your kids in a moment of need.” Many of her investors—like Chelsea Clinton, who is also joining Summer’s board—are parents who share in this mission.
Hello Alice, which connects small businesses with capital, has been sued by anti-diversity crusaders who believe that providing grants to Black entrepreneurs to promote racial equity constitutes a form of reverse racism. However, even amid this environment, Hello Alice was able to close a Series C round of funding this month and secure support from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. “Sixty-four percent of net new jobs in 2024 came from small businesses,” says Elizabeth Gore, Hello Alice’s president and cofounder. “If we limit the capability of small businesses to get funding, that is a big danger [for the economy].”
The Checklist
1. Set more realistic expectations. Unrealistic expectations can lead to burnout, emotional distress, fear of failure and low self esteem. Here’s how to level-set.
2. Build a better culture. A new study finds that 4 out of 5 people say the stress in their lives comes primarily from work. And while many employers offer some kind of “wellness” program, these programs are just window dressing if a company’s underlying culture isn’t also examined.
3. Avoid assumptions. You know what they say about what happens when you assume… I won’t finish that old adage, but I will share this article with advice on how to expand your critical thinking and remain open to ideas.
The Quiz
The questionable era of 2000s fashion may be making a comeback, but one trend—python and crocodile skin accessories, like handbags—requires documentation in order to protect endangered and threatened wildlife. Which of the following designers was recently sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling python and crocodile handbags into the U.S.?
A. Vera Bradley
B. Nancy Gonzalez
C. Betsey Johnson
D. Judith Leiber
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