Jamie Rowen, Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, has co-authored a piece examining the medical misinformation and questionable legal reasoning about abortion behind recent anti-mifepristone court decisions, such as the decision by U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk in Texas overturning the FDA’s approval of the drug. “Judge Kacsmaryk frames the decision as one designed to protect women and girls, yet mifepristone is a drug that has more benefits than just safe abortion,” Rowen and her co-author write. “It has been shown in numerous studies to help women safely treat an incomplete miscarriage and is now used off label for this purpose. Studies have also shown mifepristone to be helpful with labor induction, increasing the safety of the delivery process for someone who does continue with a pregnancy. Ongoing research into other applications for mifepristone may be interrupted by these judges’ decisions that limit the ways the drug can be used.” (Yahoo!News, New Haven Register, SF Gate, Houston Chronicle, PennLive [all via The Conversation], 4/14/23)

UMass Poll surveyed 700 residents and found overwhelming support — 79 percent — for making universal free school meals permanent (something Mariano said the House budget would do, while Healey is only asking to extend the program for another year). The poll also found that 8 in 10 support providing free breakfast and lunch for all K-12 public school students and nearly 7 in 10 support construction of high-speed rail service between Springfield and Boston. Fifty percent strongly or somewhat support lowering the short-term capital gains tax rate to 5 percent from 12 percent, while 19 percent oppose it and 31 percent offered no opinion.UMass Amherst polling Director Tatishe Nteta expects the upcoming budget discussions will help move the needle for those in that “neither” category. (Politico, The Boston Globe,  4/10/23; WCVB-TV, 4/11/23; News Office release)

The poll finds that 53% of Republicans, 47% of independents and 60% of conservatives are ready to move out of the state. “Overall, 39% of the poll’s respondents say they have considered moving up from six months ago when 35% said this. Moreover, it is younger people and the more educated who are more likely to think of leaving the state, groups that the state cannot afford to lose for its future,” says Raymond La Raja, Professor of Political Science at UMass Amherst and Co-Director of the poll. (The Boston Globe, Boston.com, 4/11/23; News Office release)

Amel Ahmed, Political Science,  was announced as a 2023-2024 ISSR scholar. ISSR Scholars receive resources and mentoring to allow them to develop innovative new research and funding proposals that have the potential to shape social theory and policy. ISSR Scholars participate in a year-long seminar and mentorship program. In addition to attending in-depth sessions on grant writing and receiving valuable peer feedback on their proposals, ISSR Scholars are given unique opportunities to consult with nationally recognized experts about their proposals. Professor Ahmed’s project is titled “Framing Democracy: Can Democracy Frames Impact Support for Competition and Inclusion?” Recent scholarship has warned that the American public’s democratic commitments are weakening, a phenomenon that could pose serious threats of democratic backsliding in the U.S. In this project, she will address these concerns with special attention to the complexity of conceptualizing backsliding as a phenomenon and the difficulties of querying the public about potential backsliding events. Using a mixed method approach, she examines whether explicitly framing and strongly signaling that a policy is good for democracy increases support for the policy. (ISSR Website,4/6/23)