News bites: GOP candidates' health statements under scrutiny

By Julian Pecquet - 09/08/11 07:03 AM ET

PolitiFact wasn't much impressed by the accuracy of the Republican candidates' health policy statements during Wednesday night's debate.

A new study in the British Journal of Psychiatry linking abortion to mental health problems has anti-abortion rights advocates fired up. The study contradicts a 2008 report by the American Psychological Association that dismissed any such link.

The new study's author told London's Daily Telegraph that women should be informed of the risks by their doctor, giving new momentum to informed-consent legislation under consideration across the U.S.

The Food and Drug Administration launched two new pilot projects to examine the agency's — and industry's — ability to trace products responsible for foodborne illness outbreaks.

A decade of growth in healthcare costs has wiped out income gains for an average American family, says a new study in the policy journal Health Affairs. This month's issue focuses on ways to get costs under control.

One reason for the U.S.'s higher healthcare costs, says another study: U.S. physicians' record fees.

Nevertheless, primary care doctors are asking Medicare for a raise, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Emergency rooms are becoming the new destination for mentally disturbed patients, reports the Los Angeles Times.