Health

VANCOUVER — The union that represents E-Comm 911 emergency service dispatchers in British Columbia is calling for the agency to extend temporary compensation and psychological supports amid a "dire" staffing shortage.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Months after making abortions cheaper for women, California lawmakers have now voted to make vasectomies cheaper for men. The bill passed Wednesday and now goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan elections board on Wednesday rejected an abortion rights initiative after its two Republican board members voted against putting the proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot.

EDMONTON — Alberta Health Services says an Edmonton-area hospital is to temporarily close its obstetrics unit for the second time in less than a month due to a lack of specialists.

OTTAWA — The CRTC says it will launch a new emergency crisis number for people in need of immediate mental health or suicide prevention support.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A nurse practitioner from northern Virginia sued CVS Health on Wednesday, saying she was fired for refusing to provide abortion-inducing drugs at its MinuteClinic medical facilities.

MARKHAM, Ont. — York Region public health said Wednesday that lab results are expected at the end of this week to confirm the presence of a plant-based toxin in a spice that is suspected of sickening 12 diners at a Markham, Ont.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma prosecutors should pursue charges against those who perform elective abortions but should give “substantial leeway" to doctors treating pregnant women for emergency conditions, the state's attorney general wrote Wednesda

FREDERICTON — New Brunswick's education minister said Wednesday he is hoping for a "reasonably normal" school year as students get ready for another academic term with COVID-19 still posing a threat.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s governor on Wednesday signed a new executive order that pledges $10 million to build a clinic that would provide abortions and other pregnancy care.