According to data released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 21 people died in ICE custody in the fiscal year 2020, which ended on Wednesday. This is the highest death toll since 2005, and is more than double the amount of deaths that occurred in the fiscal year 2019. More than a third of these people […]
Mexican Women Protest for Legalized Abortion
Yesterday, on International Safe Abortion Day, hundreds of women in Mexico City clashed with the police during protests demanding nationwide legalized abortion in Mexico. The protestors donned green bandanas, the symbol of the Latin American pro-choice movement, and threw Molotov cocktails and bottles at police lines. Much of the police force was comprised of female […]
Trump Nominates Conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett to Fill RBG’s Seat
President Trump announced that he will nominate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Barrett is a staunch conservative with opposite views of Justice Ginsburg’s. Judge Barrett is a member of the religious group People of Praise, which “preaches women’s subordination to men and […]
Whistleblower Reveals ICE Facility Practiced Forced Hysterectomies
On Monday, Dawn Wooton, a whistleblower who formerly worked as a nurse at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Georgia filed a complaint to the Department of Homeland Security inspector general, detailing medical neglect and a high rate of hysterectomies in the facility. The facility is Irwin Detention Center, run by private corporation […]
New Billboard Campaign in Illinois Informs Public that Abortion is Covered by Medicaid in the State
This week in Chicago’s suburbs and across Illinois, the Chicago Abortion Fund launched a new billboard campaign to inform the public that abortion care is covered by Medicaid in Illinois. The billboard reads: “Abortion Is Healthcare. It’s Covered By Illinois Medicaid”. Under the Hyde Amendment, the 1976 law still in effect today that prohibits federal […]
New Report Finds Prison Inmates Twice As Likely To Die from COVID-19
According to a new report released on Wednesday, incarcerated people are twice as likely to die from coronavirus in prison than those on the outside. Kevin T. Schnepel, assistant professor of economics at Simon Fraser University, found that the mortality rate in state and federal prisons is twice as high as in the general population. […]
U.S. Coronavirus Cases Rising Rapidly Among Children
Amid school re-openings and 6 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S., new data from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that instances of COVID-19 related hospitalizations and deaths among children and teens are increasing at a more rapid pace than the general public. According to an article from the New York Times, while […]
Michigan Women Sue To Repeal Period Tax
Three Michigan women are suing the state’s Treasury Department over taxes on menstrual products, claiming the taxes violates the equal protections clause in both the state and U.S. constitutions. The plaintiffs, represented by menstrual equity group Period Equity, is suing to end the tax and to issue a refund to people who have paid the […]
ICE Expels Immigrant Children Even After Negative COVID-19 Tests
The Trump Administration is expelling immigrant children citing COVID-19 concerns, despite the children testing negative for the coronavirus before they are put on planes to their home countries. An article published Monday by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica reveals that the Trump administration had implemented a testing program in which every child is tested for […]
Georgia Teen Who Posted Pictures of School Reopening Has Suspension Revoked
A teenager who was suspended after posting pictures on social media criticizing her high school’s reopening has had her suspension lifted. Hannah Watters posted pictures of her high school’s reopening which depicted scenes of crowded hallways with little social distancing and few students wearing masks. The pictures quickly went viral. Soon after posting them, Watters […]
Safety Zones to Protect Patients from COVID-19 and Protestors Up For Debate in Louisville
In Kentucky, the Louisville Metro Council is set to debate legislation that would allow healthcare facilities to create “buffer zones” outside their entrances. This would provide protection from COVID-19 and preserve access to services. This access is especially important for medical centers that provide abortion services. The EMW Women’s Surgical Center is the only licensed […]
Study Measuring the Attractiveness of Women with Endometriosis Finally Removed
A peer-reviewed study rating the attractiveness of women with rectovaginal endometriosis, released seven years ago, has finally been finally retracted from the medical journal Fertility and Sterility. The study, titled “Attractiveness of women with rectovaginal endometriosis: a case-control study”, concluded that “Women with rectovaginal endometriosis were judged to be more attractive than those in […]
Trump Signs Order Aimed at Strengthening Telehealth and Rural Healthcare
On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at empowering rural healthcare providers and expanding access to telehealth services. Medicare has greatly expanded its coverage of telehealth services as part of its coronavirus emergency response, but that expansion is set to expire once the public health emergency is over. The executive order calls […]
Claire Rezba Documents Deaths of Healthcare Workers as U.S. Government Ignores Them
Claire Rezba, an anesthesiologist, has been working at a hospital in Richmond, Virginia for years. As the pandemic hit the United States, elective surgeries have been canceled and rescheduled, giving her time to worry about her peers. Her sister is a nurse practitioner, her husband a physician, many of her friends work alongside her. As […]
Louisville Moves Toward Declaring Racism a Public Health Crisis
Government officials in Louisville are working to declare racism a public health crisis. The city has been the site of continued demonstrations protesting the murder of Breonna Taylor by police officers, and a growing number COVID-19 outbreaks – which will disproportionately impact Black people. The Mayor of Louisville, Greg Fischer, along with three Metro Council […]
Women Experiencing COVID Symptoms Are Disbelieved & Disregarded by Medical System
The story of one woman, Ailsa Court of Portland, Oregon, illuminates an issue that has existed far before the COVID-19 pandemic – disbelieving women’s pain. Court’s symptoms began in early March, and she is still experiencing “shortness of breath, achiness in her lungs, and a strange tingling in her calves”. Throughout her struggle, numerous doctors […]
Parents in ICE Detention Must Keep Their Children in Detention or Release Them to Sponsors
Hundreds of parents in ICE custody are being forced to decide whether to release their children to sponsors or waive their children’s right to be released. Two court orders from separate human rights lawsuits have forced this choice. In the first decision, Federal Judge Dolly Gee in California demanded that ICE release all of the […]
U.N. Women Calls Attention to Shadow Pandemic of Domestic Violence, Economic Insecurity
As gender-based violence and job loss become growing concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the executive director of U.N. Women highlights the struggles faced by women during this time. In a statement released earlier this year, U.N. Women reported rising numbers of calls to domestic violence helplines and shelters worldwide during the pandemic. Alongside this, government […]
Elderly Cancer Patient Patricia Wright Released from Prison Amidst COVID-19
Patricia Wright, a 69-year-old cancer patient and inmate, was released from prison Tuesday morning. Wright was granted an emergency release by California Governor Gavin Newsom amidst the pandemic. “I’ve been waiting for this day for 23 years, it is really indescribable,” said Wright. “Oh my God! I’m walking on cloud nine … I just want […]
Federal Judge Rejects Release of Detained Immigrant Families
On Wednesday, a federal judge rejected a plea to release immigrant families from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in response to growing concern over the spread of COVID-19. Judge James Boasberg, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Columbia, denied the blanket release of all families, believing that other options need to be […]