Overturning Roe v. Wade could affect mental health, Montana flooding continues: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Abortions don’t have to be traumatic. But overturning Roe v. Wade could make it that way.

Wellness reporter Jenna Ryu explains. Plus, the Jan. 6 committee outlines how Trump pressured Pence to reject election results, patient safety reporter Karen Weintraub looks at when to expect COVID-19 vaccines for young kids, flooding continues in Montana and the College World Series begins.

Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here.

Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Friday, the 17th of June, 2022. Today abortions and trauma, plus severe flooding continues in Montana and more.

Here are some of the top headlines:

1. Two people were killed and one injured after a person opened fire at an Alabama church last night. Authorities said a lone gunman entered a small church meeting at Vestavia Hills in suburban Birmingham.

2. The host sites for the 2026 FIFA World Cup have been announced. The Cup will be hosted by the US, Mexico, and Canada, and yesterday the host cities were unveiled. They include Toronto and Vancouver in Canada, and Mexico City, Monterey, and Guadalajara in Mexico. In the US there will be 11 different hosts.

3. The Golden State Warriors are NBA champions again. They beat the Boston Celtics last night 103-90 to wrap up the series in six games. It's the team's fourth championship in the last eight years.

♦

According to several studies, the most common feeling after an abortion is not pain, it's relief. Wellness Reporter Jenna Ryu says that while abortions don't have to be traumatic, overturning Roe v. Wade could make it that way.

Jenna Ryu:

Just to go into background a little bit, there is an assumption that abortions are... or the abortion process is traumatizing, just because historically it hasn't been talked about openly in social environments due to the stigma. So there are a lot of narratives that kind of circle around the topic, one of them being that the process is traumatizing. While it can be for some women, this assumption often overshadows the research and studies that have shown that many women who do seek abortions and have safe access to it find it empowering and liberating, so not traumatic or painful.

There have been studies that supported this. For example, a lot of the experts I spoke to cited The Turnaway Study which was conducted over the course of 10 years and involved nearly 1,000 women who sought abortions, some of them who received them with access and ease and others who were just denied due to gestational age limits. The results found that having an abortion didn't increase the risk for anxiety and depression or PTSD and also that those who were denied abortions were at higher risk for those mental health issues.

So experts and providers have feared that overturning Roe v. Wade, making the abortion seeking process less accessible, would make the process more stressful, more traumatic especially with that inherent uncertainty of whether you can even get an appointment with things like mandatory waiting periods, which we're already seeing today, having to take time off for work, trying to figure out how to afford housing and travel expenses if you have to go out of state, etc. So those are some of the examples of how overturning Roe v. Wade would make the process more traumatic along with just the idea that these laws also kind of add on to this existing structural stigma that sends a message that abortion is shameful and immoral which could add even more psychological distress to those seeking abortions.

For the cost of overturning Roe v. Wade, there is a trauma of having an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy, as I've written about after speaking to experts. Those who are having to cope with an unwanted pregnancy can lead to a lot of different mental health ramifications, so lower self-esteem and higher levels of anxiety were two common examples along with the idea that women, especially, deal the brunt of misogynistic judgements and criticisms about their decision already. So adding onto that, when you make the abortion seeking process more inaccessible, it adds on to all of those mental health and structural stigma ramifications.

Taylor Wilson:

You can find a link to Jenna's full story in today's show description.

♦

House members of the committee investigating the January 6th Capitol attack detailed yesterday how former President Donald Trump relentlessly pressured former Vice President Mike Pence to execute a debunked legal theory to reject the results of the 2020 election. That's despite Pence informing him it would be unconstitutional. The committee alleged that Trump's hostility toward Pence endangered the VP's life and helped fuel January 6th violence. At one point, the mob that stormed the Capitol even chanted about hanging him.

Audio from the Capitol riot:

Hang Mike Pence. Hang Mike Pence. Hang Mike Pence.

Taylor Wilson:

The committee outlined yesterday that the mob at one point even got within just 40 feet of Pence. The AP's Eric Tucker has more.

Eric Tucker:

Today was the third hearing of the committee that's investigating the January 6th, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol. The primary focus today was on the legal battle that led up to the insurrection about what Vice President Mike Pence could or could not do to overturn the results of the election. Greg Jacob says that he and Pence went through the law, they went through the history, and it was very clear to them that there was a very limited role for the vice president to play. He was not someone who was meant to assert his will on the outcome of the election. He was there to proclaim the actual results of the electors from each state and tally them up and announce that total. That was something that, apparently we learned today, Mike Pence never wavered on it despite the pressure campaign from President Donald Trump.

Donald Trump begins to tweet about Mike Pence and what he wants Mike Pence to do. He speaks about him while at The Ellipse. One of the really harrowing moments from today's hearing was seeing rioters and insurrectionists actually chanting, "Hang Mike Pence." Forty feet is the distance between the rioters and Mike Pence. That's how close they got. The committee used that number as an example to say, "This was a very scary moment for the vice president. His life was literally in danger." We learned and we saw never before seen photographs of him in a secure space actually holding up his phone at the moment that Trump was tweeting about him. He was given the option, "Do you want to leave? Can you figure out a way to get out of here? Do you want us to get you out of here?" And he was determined to stay. He stayed and he finished out the job, finished out the work.

Taylor Wilson:

Two more hearings from the committee are scheduled for next week.

♦

Parents could soon have two vaccines to choose from when vaccinating their young children against COVID-19. Patient Safety reporter, Karen Weintraub, has the latest on when to expect them.

Karen Weintraub:

This advisory committee decided that vaccines for the littlest kids are safe and effective. These are kids... The Moderna vaccine would be available to kids ages six months through five years, and the Pfizer vaccine for ages six months through four years. It's already available for five and up. The big question here obviously has been safety. We don't want to risk little kids having a negative effect. Also, little kids definitely can get COVID, do get COVID, and can be severely affected by it, but they are less likely to be severely affected than other older age groups, so they're at the lowest risk for infection so that they have to be at the highest safety standard for the vaccine.

Shots for both of them, for the littlest kids, could start as soon as Tuesday. There's still a few more steps before then. The next step is that the FDA commissioner has to sign off on them. That's likely to happen very quickly because an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is meeting Friday and Saturday presuming the commissioner signs off before then. They'll spend all day Friday talking about Moderna's vaccine for minors, and then Saturday, both vaccines for the littlest kids under five, under six. Then the CDC commissioner has to sign off on them. Again, that's likely to happen Saturday or Sunday. That's likely to happen Saturday or Sunday. Then vaccines could be available as soon as Tuesday. Monday is a federal holiday for Juneteenth.

Because the littlest kids are least likely to have a bad case of COVID, we have to be even more confident in the safety of the vaccine. The benefit is lower, so the risk has to be lower as well. That's what these committees are considering this week is, are there risks low enough to justify the benefit? So far they think they are.

Taylor Wilson:

You can find more of Karen's great work on Twitter @kweintraub.

♦

Flooding is expected to continue in Montana today. It's expected to reach Miles City in the eastern part of the state. That comes after widespread flooding damage in Yellowstone National Park and surrounding communities. Flooding pulled homes off their foundations and even pushed a river off course potentially permanently. It's also slamming tourist towns in the busiest season of the year with some 10,000 visitors forced out of the park this week. In Red Lodge, Montana, near the park and the Wyoming state line, Sherry Weamer, from the town's Chamber of Commerce, said business is being devastated.

Sherry Weamer:

I'm getting phone calls from business people saying their reservations are canceling clear through September, and it is devastating for them. They're kind of in a state of shock right now: "What are we going to do? Where are we going to go with this?" Our downtown businesses, I'm just going to say it, they make all their money in about three months, and it gets them through the winter. Of course, we're always working to bump up our shoulder seasons and our winter, but summer is everything.

Taylor Wilson:

For more, stay with USATODAY.com.

♦

The College World Series begins today in Omaha. Eight teams will play a double elimination tournament to determine two finalists. They'll then play a best of three series to decide the NCAA Baseball Champion. The tournament includes Texas A&M, Texas, Notre Dame and Oklahoma in one bracket, and Stanford, Auburn, Arkansas and Ole Miss in the other. Of the eight teams, the most recent national champion was Texas in 2005. You can watch the action on ESPN Networks and follow along with USA TODAY Sports.

You can find 5 Things every morning right here, wherever you're listening right now. Thanks to PJ Elliott for his great work on the show, and I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Abortions and mental health, College World Series begins: 5 Things podcast