Our Latest Updates – Archive

Since 1998, doctors have written over 4,000 prescriptions for physician-assisted suicide (PAS) drugs, and 66.3% of patients have used the drugs to end their lives. Explore additional statistics in this new resource.

The most recently available data show that about half of undocumented immigrants in the United States are from Mexico and 20.6% reside in California. The most popular occupations are maids/cleaners and construction laborers. Explore more about the countries of origin, states of residence, jobs, gender, and ages of undocumented immigrants.

Researchers found that 73% of Americans think global warming is occurring, an increase of ten percentage points from Mar. 2015; six in ten people surveyed say climate change is caused by humans.

Examine both sides of the debate on medical cannabis with new quotes from dispensary owner Chanda Macias (pro) and the Cleveland Clinic (con), along with insights from doctors, pharmacists, politicians, and more, including Dr. Sanjay Gupta (pro) and the FDA (con).

Delve into the pros and cons with new quotes from Sen. Kamala Harris (pro), who emphasizes the racial disparities in marijuana possession arrests, and former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson (con), who expresses concerns about the impact of legalization on teen use of cannabis, along with statements from many others in this debate.

Newly added research to the top arguments in this debate includes a study from RAND that found a decrease in marijuana use among 8th graders in Washington state, as well as a finding from the National Academies of Sciences that legal marijuana states showed an increased risk of unintentional cannabis overdose injuries for children.

Explore the debate over enshrining players suspected of doping into Cooperstown with quotes from baseball columnist David Lennon (pro), current MLB pitcher Chris Archer (con), former New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez (pro), former Red Sox GM Lou Gorman (con), and more.

ProCon.org, a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity,
seeks an in-house Researcher (full-time with benefits or part-time
without benefits) to develop content for websites devoted to a
nonpartisan in-depth presentation of 70+ controversial issues. Three
items are required for application, as specified in the job notice.

On Dec. 20, 2018, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (aka Farm Bill) removed hemp containing less than 0.3% THC from the Controlled Substances Act.

Did you know? Before tenure was introduced in 1886, female teachers could be fired for getting married, wearing pants, or being out too late in the evenings. Currently, 33% of Americans support teacher tenure, compared to 61% of educators. Read our updated pro and con arguments on this topic to learn more.

The 4th National Climate Assessment concluded, in part, that “rising temperatures, extreme heat, drought, wildfire on rangelands, and heavy downpours” are expected to increase. The Trump administration criticized the report’s findings.

Textbook publishing in the United States is an $11 billion industry, with five companies – Cengage Learning, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill, Pearson Education, and Scholastic – capturing about 80% of this market. Tablets are an $18 billion industry with 53% of US adults, 81% of US children aged eight to 17, and 42% of US children aged under eight, owning a tablet. Explore the tablets vs. textbooks debate with sourced pro and con arguments about student achievement, health, the environment, costs, and the digital divide.

Did you know that 81% of US children aged eight to 17 own a tablet? Or that 45% of children aged six to 17 say they prefer print books to e-books while 16% preferred e-books? Or that 75% of K-12 teachers think that printed textbooks will be completely replaced by digital content by 2026? Read the updated background for more facts and history.

On Nov. 1, 2018, the US National Toxicology Program released a peer-reviewed report concluding that there is “clear evidence of carcinogenic activity” in male rats exposed to RF radiation. The FDA disagreed with the findings.

From 1990 to 2017, the average percentage of obese adults increased from 11.1% (for the 44 states and DC for which 1990 data are available) to 30.6%. Find obesity levels for all 50 states and DC.