♪ geoff: tonight, the fda approves the first pill to treat postpartum depression. 12 years after a tsunami sent the nuclear plant into loco wn, japan plans to release millions of tons of wastewater from the facility. >> i think we will not be able to sell fish again. what happens then? sen. grassley: than a look at the privacy issues around reproductive health in america. >> major funding for "pbs news

weekend" has been provided by -- >> the goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. our u.s.-based customer service team can find a plan that fits you. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the "newshour." ♪ >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

john: good evening. i'm john yang. in a major victory, a texas judge has ruled the state all banning abortions is too restrictive and violates the state constitution. the judge says there must be a clearly stated exemption for women whose health or lives are in danger or whose fetuses have a likelihood of survival. the texas attorney general's office said the ruling is on hold while the texas up in court considers on appeal. the case is believed to be the first brought by women denied abortions. past legal challenges have been brought by abortion rights groups or doctors or clinics who provide the procedure. all abortion clinics in texas closed last year after state law banned virtually all procedures after six weeks of pregnancy the justice department wants a federal judge to bar former president trump from publicly discussing the evidence against him or the witness is expected to testify against him.

prosecutors are required to give the information to the defense to allow them to prepare their case. today, the judge signaled she wanted to rule on the request week but defense lawyers quickly asked for a delay. check smith says he wants the restrictions because of trump's history of using social media to criticize those in previous cases. he specifically pointed to a friday post where mr. trump said if you go after me, i'm coming after you. a trump spokesman said it was collected -- protected political speech. he was arrested after sentenced to three years of corruption charges. his party says he has done nothing wrong and vowed to appeal. the conviction likely disqualifies him from running in this year's election. it is the latest in the conflict. the pac-12, one of college football's 11 division i conferences is facing extinction

as more member schools leave for other conferences. the big ten will expand to 18 teams next year. the big 12 will add utah, arizona, arizona state, and colorado. that leaves only oregon state, washington state, stanford, and barclay in the pac-12 for now. the driving factor is money. the pac-12 does not have a big tv contract and the other conferences do. still to come, rising fears over japan's upcoming release of wastewater. and growing concerns about private data being used in abortion related criminal cases. >> this is "pbs news weekend" from weta studios in washington. john: postpartum depression is among the most common complications of childbirth. every year, it afflicts about

500,000 american women and is among the leading causes of pregnancy-related death. and yet, the centers for disease control and prevention estimates more than half of the women who experience it or never treated for it. now the fda has approved the first pill for postpartum depression. she is the codirector of pair of nadal -- perinatal health research. how significant is this development? >> as a clinician and researcher, i constantly work with pregnant and postpartum people who share feelings of stigma and shame around depression and anxiety symptoms. i think the most significant aspect is it may normalize the concept of postpartum depression. it will make family members, friends, even health care providers that much more aware of the significancef depression and anxiety symptoms, and they might help support that new mom in seeking help when

there are symptoms. that is what is most exciting to meet in addition to the groundbreaking work of the research. but that the field of maternal mental health is receiving the attention it has needed. as you mentioned, mental health conditions during and after pregnancy are among the leading causes of preventive, preventable maternal deaths in the united states. at any given time, close to 4 million american women are in the perinatal period, whether pregnant or postpartum up to one year after delivery. at least one in five experience depression symptoms. we saw these rates rise during the pandemic. notably, many of them have unrecognizedr untreated symptoms that with this increased recognition of the need for treatment, we are hoping those women can receive

the treatment they need. john: what distinguishes postpartum depression from other conditions a new mother may be feeling? when is it time for them to seek help? >> this medication is one piece of a larger program of tending to maternal mental health. because we know the symptoms are so common, and with depression there are the typical symptoms we might hear about in terms of sadness, feeling extremely blue, suicidality, difficulty sleeping, difficulty eating. but also in the maternal phase, we see the symptoms overlapping with extreme anxiety, concerns about the inability to take care of the child, the inability to take care of themselves. we have to create a standard of care whereby all people pregnant and in the postpartum period are screened for symptoms and

screened in a way that there is responsive care provided when they do receive screening. some patients tell us even though they are screened, they might not feel heard or the resources might not be made available to them. secondly, providers often do not feel they have the time or resources or experience to help provide the support to women who are having those symptoms. we encourage that while this education development is so important, an important piece of the puzzle is thinking ahead, looking at emotional wellness during pregnancy before the symptoms overwhelm. a lot of the moms we talk with, when they start experiencing symptoms, it is hard to recognize and act on them at first because they are so busy with everything else. they are busy taking care of a new by, other people in the family. sometimes, the symptoms remain

untreated for a while until they become debilitating. that is almost getting to be too late. we want people to have symptoms recognized early and resources provided early. john: i understand there has been an injectable form of treatment that has been around for a couple of years. what is the difference between the pill and injection? does it make it easier to use? >> iv medication while effective requires a postpartum person to be away from their new baby or family to receive that injected medication. a pill form can be taken at home in the safety of one's home. it definitely makes it more accessible and less stigmatizing. certainly, we need to caution this medication has not been tested in people who intend to breast-feed, which could still limit accessibility right now as

many postpartum individuals are choosingo breast-feed. that is an area for future research. john: are there side effects common enough to discourage disuse? >> with any kind of medication used for mental health, we also see a slight increased risk of suicidality. family members need to be aware to keep and i for increased suicidality. we also should point out the medication may not be ideal for people to have pre-existing or recurrent depression symptoms because the medication has only been tested for use for 14 days. someone with recurrent depression likely needs to be on medication continuously and not stop after 14 days. this is a great start,

especially for people for whom depression might be a new experience or it might be a bridge to other long-term medications. john: thank you very much. >> you are welcome. ♪ john: later this month, japan could start releasing treated wastewater from the fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. they are running out of space to store the tainted water at the plant which was damaged by the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami. as a special correspondent reports, locals and they bring countries are worried about the effect on their health and livelihoods. >> as daybreak's over the land of the rising sun, the fishermen have been working hard for hours. it has been a way of life for

generations. the once thriving industry has struggled since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami which destroyed the fukushima nuclear power plant nearly 40 miles south of where he lives and works. the release of radioactive substances triggered national b -- international bans on the sale of fish from fukushima. now, fukushima fishermen are facing a fresh threat as japan plans to release more than one million tons of wastewater into the ocean. >> when they release the wastewater, i think we will not be able to selour fish at the main market again. what happens to us then? >> he wears the water could contaminate the ocean and fish. even if it does not, people may avoid eyeing the fish from fukushima. the japanese government insists the water is safe.

it will be heavily diluted and treated and samples will beat tested on a daily basis. tepco says the only radioactive element that will remain cannot be removed. it says these will be at such minute levels it will not harm people or the environment. they argue the water has to be released because the tanks used to store it are almost full. the 1.3 million metric tons of liquid would be pumped out over decades. tepco says it looked into alternative options including burying the water underground before deciding on the plan to discharge the water into the ocean. some experts say there might not be a better option. the problem is public trust is lacking. >> among a group of bad options, maybe the best bad option is to put it into e ocean. the problem is they do not have a lot of trust and credibility

on their messaging which is that the levels of radiation are going to be quite small and will not have an appreciable impact on public health. >> some analysts highlight that such a move to release treated wastewater is unprecedented and the long-term risks are unknown. for the residents of fukushima, the decision has stirred up bad memories of the earthquake and tsunami that has had a lasting impact on so many people's lives. official figures show 18,005 her people were killed or are still unaccounted for. in this local district, people are still scarred by the event. is memorial displays the 458 people killed here alone. more than 1000 homes were destroyed. the area has never fully recovered from theisaster.

the entire village was swept away by the tsunami. he says the plan to discharge the water leaves him worried for the farming and fishing industries but he accepts the decision. >> i understand other countries may blame us. but i do not see any her solutions. i wish it would not have to happen. but i think we have no other options. >> some countries, including china and south korea, have voiced opposition to the plan. beijing still has bands in place from fukushima and is conducting radiation testing as it tries to pressure the country to reconsider the decision. china is the biggest buyer of seafood exports from japan. in south korea, people have been panic buying sea salt because of fears the product could be contaminated. an independent safety review gave a green light for the plan. the biggest vindication for the

plan may have come from the international agency's final report. it says it would have a negligible impact on the environment. many remain unconvinced. these activists have been staging protests against the use of nuclear power since the disaster. now, they are holding regular demonstrations against the release, raising concern about the effects of exposure to radiation on people's health and the environment. >> the government is saying they will release the water because the tanks are full and this holds back the decommissioning process of the plant. there is a lot of land and places where more tanks can be built for the water. >> officials argue continuing to store the water is also a risk. if another earthquake were to cause leakage. he is setting up his beach

restaurant for the peak summer season. his business has struggled since the 2011 disaster driving away tourists. when it did pick up, the pandemic came along. he had been hopeful this year might be better as japan's restrictions have been eased and people are traveling again. >> after the pandemic crisis has settled down and the beaches opened, customers will come back. contaminated water will be released. i'm worried about the perception issue. families bring children. i'm worried about that. >> many in japan's fishing industry still live with nightmares of the disaster and its aftermath. his younger brother was out at sea when the tsunami struck and lost his life. he has worked hard to rebuild his livelihood but he fears fukushima will be paying the price for years to come. >> it is a lifelong problem. this is our children's problem. this is our grandchildren's

problem. it will affect everyone. who can say with certainty this will be fine? ♪ john: earlier this summer, a nebraska teenager and her mother were convicted after the team used abortion pill's. among the prosecution's key evidence was exchanges on facebook messenger. privacy and abortion rights advocates warned about this very thing. authorities prosecuting cases relying on personal digital data, web searches, text messages, and the like. their director of campaigns and

operations at fight for the future advocacy group. in addition to the case in nebraska and texas, a man is suing his ex-girlfriend's friends for helping the ex-girlfriend get an abortion. he is using text messages as evidence. what is the significance of these cases? >> these are critical cases that highlight a lot of the concerns privacy advocates have in the wake of the reversal of roe. there is so much information and data out there these days about people that is not being protected and is accessible law enforcement and companies. we absolutely believed it would be used to target people for excess -- exercising their reproductive rights. these cases show is happening. john: should health informati be treated differently? >> we think lots of information

should be treated differently. one of the problems is there are so many sources or place of people might be sharing health information that is not being protected. a lot of people think hipaa protects any health-related information but that is not true. people use online apps to share information about therapy or period tracking. in most cases, that is not protected. john: the tech companies are not fighting subpoenas as much. >> a lot of tech companies in the wake of the roe reversal said they would do what they can to protect people's right to abortion. when it comes down to it, in the facebook case, they were given a subpoena that did not have information about the case being investigated. meta could not argue the case or argue the subpoena based on the fact it was related to abortion. most of the company privacy

policies say they will comply with law enforcement went requested to give up information. we cannot trust companies right now will work to defend our rights. john: is there anything the ftc or other regulatory agencies can do about this? >> yes. the ftc has been investigating cases where companies are collecting information and sharing it in ways that were not clear to users when they shared that information. there have been a handful of cases recently where the ftc has been able to show companies used or shared or collected data in ways that went against their policies, and they are able to penalize those companies. in a lot of cases for big companies like google or facebook, those are slaps on the wrist. weeed broader legislation to stop this from happening in the first place to protect people's rights. john: described the legislation

at the federal level. i understand some states have already acted. >> that is right. we think we need comprehensive federal data privacy legislation that will address the collection, retention, and sharing of our personal information. a number of states have passed their own laws which is great and we support that, but that does not necessarily help people in other states. a lot of states that do not have good data privacy legislation are also the states criminalizing abortions. john: your group wants to see other data information protected from leak -- protected differently. >> one good example is something people may not realize, how much location data is being tracked. since we all walk around with phones, basically everywhere we

go is being tracked i the phone itself o the cell phone companies, or the companies that run apps like google. that is something we think is highly problematic. people should be able to walk through society without their every move being tracked. when we think about sensitive locations like health care facilities, religious institutions, and people attending protest exercising their first amendment right, we think all of that location data should be protected and should not be collected by companies that could share that information with law enforcement. john: what more could the tech companies be doing to protect the information? >> we think these companies need to take user safety and security more seriously. in the nebraska case, the reason meta was able to hand over messages between the teenager and her mom to law enforcement was because they can access them. if the complaint -- company

implemented default encryption, that would not have been possible because only the sender and intended recipient can access those. that is something we think all platforms that have messaging tools need to do to ensure people have say places to communicate online. john: are there places that do it now? >> yes. the one we suggest peopl download is signal. it is default end to end decrypted. they collect as little information on users as possible. meta is planning to roll out default and to end encryption for messenger sometime this year. with his case in nebraska, we see every day is not in place, people are in danger. john: thank you very much. ♪

john: more on former president trump's growing legal challenges including the civil rights law the justice department is using in the 2020 election case. all of that and more is on our website. that is "pbs news weekend" for this saturday. sunday, i look at new york city's growing migrant crisis as thousands of asylum-seekers have no place to sleep. for all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. see you tomorrow. >> major funding has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has been offering wireless plans designed to help people do more of what they like. our customer service team can find a plan that fits you. ♪ >> and was the ongoing support

of these individuals and institutions. ♪ >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and bought contributions to your pbs station by viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] >>

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