health
This International Women’s Day, U.S. anti-abortion laws violate human rights, groups say
Ahead of International Women’s Day, hundreds of U.S. and global human rights groups, doctors, and attorneys asked the United Nations to intervene on behalf of the millions of women in the U.S. who have been left without access to legal abortion and vital forms of reproductive health care in the wake of last summer’s U.S. […]
Wastewater bill exempts some Arkansas POAs/HOAs from wastewater trust fund
The Arkansas House approved a bill that would exempt communities with 5,000 or more residents from annual contributions to a nonmunicipal sewage treatment fund. HB1015 amends the Arkansas Water and Air Pollution Control Act to create an exemption for property owners’ associations and homeowners’ associations that operate nonmunicipal domestic sewage treatment systems that service a […]
Arkansas’ would-be religious tyrants gather steam with ‘culture-war’ bills
I grew up Catholic in a deeply Catholic region of Louisiana. I don’t think I met any non-Catholics until after second grade. Imagine my surprise when I realized that not only were there Christians who worshiped differently from me but believed in a totally different Jesus. Imagine my consternation when I learned that some Christians […]
Fifty years later, our lives still at risk
Fifty years ago, a very different U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade. Radical right-wing extremists control the Supreme Court and serve in elective office. We have fewer freedoms than we did a generation ago. We suffer, and women die because of it. When the Supreme Court ruled last June to strip away our rights […]
Days after Indiana attack, White House vows to fight hate against Asian Americans
WASHINGTON— The White House on Tuesday announced a multi-agency strategy to help combat anti-Asian American hate, promote language access and improve governmental data collection for the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community. “This unprecedented plan builds on the administration’s broader equity agenda,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during Tuesday’s press briefing. […]
Rural seniors benefit from pandemic-driven remote fitness boom
MALMO, Minn. — Eight women, all 73 or older, paced the fellowship hall at Malmo Evangelical Free Church to a rendition of Daniel O’Donnell’s “Rivers of Babylon” as they warmed up for an hourlong fitness class. The women, who live near or on the eastern shore of Mille Lacs Lake, had a variety of reasons […]
More states are doing what they can to cap insulin cost
In her early 20s, Karisa Hunt learned the hard lesson of what happens when someone rations life-preserving medication. Hunt was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a 4 year old and has been on insulin since then to help control her blood sugar levels. But while in college and feeling guilty for saddling her parents […]
1.7 trillion spending package passes in U.S. Senate, backed by both parties
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate passed a massive $1.7 trillion funding package Thursday that carries emergency aid for natural disaster recovery and the Ukrainian war effort, pushing past disputes over immigration policy and barely meeting a Friday deadline when current funding runs out. The bill, supported by both Democrats and Republicans, now goes to the […]
Federal judge strikes down part of Montana’s far-reaching anti-vax law
In a victory for public health advocates, a federal judge in Montana has blocked the state from implementing a law that would make it illegal for hospitals to ask employees if they are vaccinated. The measure, which passed last year, was the country’s most extreme anti-vaccination law. Health care providers in Montana had sued the […]
Senate same-sex marriage vote still a step on long road toward full justice | John L. Micek
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of this week’s U.S. Senate vote codifying protections for same-sex and interracial marriage as both a triumph of bipartisanship and fundamental decency. It’s also difficult to overstate, sadly, how much further we have to go to ensure full equality for LGBTQ Americans. First, the good news. On Tuesday, 61 […]
Two Midwest communities find a cure for medical debt: pandemic stimulus funds
Local governments in Ohio and Illinois are using American Rescue Plan Act money to relieve residents struggling with medical debt by partnering with an organization that buys debt and wipes the slate clean for debtors. It’s a strategy advocates say could be duplicated across the country to help erase a multibillion-dollar problem. On Nov. 9, […]
Health effects of mass shootings ripple outward beyond immediate community
A grim and familiar pattern has followed the parade of mass shootings across America. In their aftermath, the nation’s attention focuses on the direct victims of the attacks, the dead and injured, their families and friends, and the witnesses. But a growing body of research reveals that the negative effects of mass shootings spread much […]