Brief #161 – Health & Gender Policy
by Geoffrey Small
Last month two federal judges issued contradictory rulings on the abortion medication mifepristone, the most commonly used procedure in the United States.
Health & Gender
Governor Whitmer Repeals Michigan’s 1931 Law Banning Abortion
Brief #160 – Health & Gender Policy
by Arvind Salem
On April 5, Governor Whitmer overturned Michigan’s 1931 law banning abortion. While the law was not in effect, its repeal represents a massive victory for abortion supporters across the state.
Insulin Prices: Are They Low Enough?
Brief #159 – Health & Gender Policy
by Geoffrey Small
As the U.S. healthcare system continues to fall short, when compared to other peer countries, the battle for insulin prices highlights just one of the major issues the country is facing.
The Ethical Dilemma of A.I. and Mental Health
Brief #158 – Health and Gender
By Geoffrey Small
The United States continues to fall short in providing basic healthcare necessities that other high-income nations provide globally. The proportionally low quality healthcare system in the U.S is compounded by a growing mental health crisis in a post-pandemic society, where demand for psychological help is higher than ever.
Montana Debates Letting Doctors Refuse Care to LGBTQ Citizens
Brief #157 – Health and Gender Policy
By Caroline Howard
The Montana House of Representatives recently debated and then passed a bill which is being referred to as a medical right of conscience law. This act, as the Montana Free Press put it, would allow “medical institutions, providers and other health care employees to deny services based on their ‘ethical, moral, or religious beliefs or principles’”.
North Dakota Anti-Trans Law Will Jail Librarians For Displaying Books About Sexual and Gender Identity
Brief #156 – Health and Gender Policy
By Caroline Howard
A new law introduced in North Dakota will make it a class-b misdemeanor for librarians in public libraries to have any books on display that are deemed “sexually explicit”. Within this list of topics that meet the definition of sexually explicit, are the classifications of sexual identity, and gender identity.
China’s “Zero-COVID”: Was it worth it?
Brief #154 – Health and Gender
By Geoffrey Small
During December, 2022, citizens of China took to the streets and sparked a mass protest against the government’s “zero-COVID” policies that had been in place for over two years.
According to Human Rights Watch, prolonged lockdowns, administered unpredictably, by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) have hampered accessibility to necessities like food and proper healthcare.
Location Data Still Putting Abortion Seekers At Risk
Brief #153 – Health & Gender
By Mindy Spatt
After the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs and resultant abortion bans, online access to abortion information became increasingly important, and advocates for choice began expressing concern about the vulnerability of location data.
Damar Hamlin’s Recovery: What a U.S. Worker Deserves
Brief #152 – Health and Gender
By Geoffrey Small
On January 2nd, 2023 NFL Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered from cardiac arrest after a tackle to the chest during a Monday-night football game with the Cincinnati Bengals.
As he laid motionless on the field for approximately ten minutes, first responders applied CPR, an AED (automated external defibrillation), oxygen, and an intravenous solution in order to prevent brain damage that can occur after cardiac arrest.
Brittney Griner: A Lesson for Activists on Intersectionality
Brief #151 – Health and Gender
By Geoffrey Small
On February 17, 2022, WNBA All Star Brittney Griner was arrested in Russia on smuggling charges for containing less than a gram of hash oil, which was prescribed to her medically in the state of Arizona. The Biden Administration stated that Griner was “wrongfully detained” for political leverage in response to sanctions imposed on Russia for the Ukraine invasion. She was eventually sentenced to nine years in one of Russia’s penal colonies, which are notorious for human rights abuses.
Abortion Rights Prevent a “Red Wave”
Brief #150 – Health & Gender Policy
By Geoffrey Small
As the dust settles from the 2022 mid-term election, it’s clear that the threat to abortion rights helped galvanized activists into bringing the prospect of a “red wave” down to a small tidal shift in Republican representation. An Emerson College poll conducted in July already predicted a tightening of the races after the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade.
Abortion: How Abortion Rulings Could Affect Women in America
Brief #149 – Health & Gender
By Inijah Quadri
By basically overturning Roe v. Wade, six unelected Supreme Court judges took away the right of tens of millions of women to make their own decisions about their bodies. After their ruling, several areas in the United States were to be transformed into a dystopian nightmare of online tyranny, where even a Google search for “abortion medication” could be used as evidence against people seeking abortions.