Three Cheers for Sen. Stabenow...

Via Matt Hampel @ Flickr.When her colleagues in the Senate propose treating women’s bodies as aberrant and penalizing us for getting pregnant, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) says, “hell no.” Health care has always been at the top of Sen. Stabenow’s agenda, and she’s been...

SARAHMC SMASH!...

Yesterday the Senate Finance Committee voted against a government-run public insurance option.  Fuckers. Democrats Kent Conrad (ND) and Blanche Lincoln (AR) refused to support a public option, but they did vote to restore federal funding to a program that has been proven to not only be ineffective,...

Asian-American Women and Suicide...

Asian-Americans as a group have lower rates of contemplating and attempting suicide than the national average. But according to University of Washington research, American born Asian-American women are more likely to think about and attempt suicide than the general population. Almost 16 percent of...

New Depths of Inhumanity...

Just when you thought health insurance companies couldn’t get any scummier, it appears that in nine states and the District of Columbia, insurance companies have categorized domestic violence as a “preexisting condition.” Domestic violence is a strong predictor of increased use of health...

What? Why????...

Thinking of talking to your kids about sex but too scared to say “penis” or “vagina?” Nervous as you may be, fret not. You don’t have to talk about the parts. That’s what Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services wants you to know. Check out this ridiculous,...

Scenes from a town hall...

Last night I attended a town hall hosted by Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia. Former Vermont Governor and Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean, M.D. made an appearance, so I knew I had to go. I didn’t bring a sign or intend to loudly advocate for reform. I just wanted to see what...

From the Divide and Conquer files...

In my obsessive quest to read anything and everything “health care reform” (health insurance reform?) over the weekend, I came across a powerful post from Maxwell Reddick at soulbrother v.2. He tells the story of black farmers and white farmers in the late nineteenth century, who were both...

STD Tests–Now a High School Near Y...

Yesterday’s Washington Post reported some good news. The District of Columbia’s school system will now offer free STD testing in all high schools. A pilot program last year at eight high schools in D.C. found that 13 percent of about 3,000 students tested positive for an STD, mostly gonorrhea...

Black Woman Appointed Surgeon General...

In all the hubbub surrounding Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings, I nearly forgot that Obama would be appointing a new Surgeon General today. The announcement has just been made that Dr. Regina Benjamin, a family practice physician and the president of the Alabama Medical Association, will be the...

Pain-Free is a Privilege...

Via LipglossJunkie @ Flickr.A couple times a month the pain breaks through; I imagine it stabbing past the wall of medicine in my blood, as a reminder: “I’m still here.” Once the torturous spasms stop – usually the following day – what a gift it is to be free from pain....