Health Archives

How abortion restrictions compare, state-by-state

Access to abortion in the U.S. depends on where you live. Increasingly, the South and Midwest are becoming complete abortion deserts. Our interactive map highlights six major restrictions in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Related: How a network of college students is preparing for post-Roe campuses

by Jessica Washington, Erica HensleySep 19, 2023

The women workers who are subsidizing global public health

Millions of community health workers, like the famous ASHA workers of India, form the cost-effective backbone of rural health programs around the world but are often unpaid — meaning millions of unpaid or underpaid women…

by Shreya Raman, Maher SattarSep 14, 2023

Co-published with Foreign Policy

Afghan women take their own lives as despair grows under Taliban rule

An investigation into rising female suicides in Afghanistan as the Taliban erodes women’s rights.

by Zahra Nader, Zan Times reporters in AfghanistanAug 28, 2023

Co-published with The Guardian

The Carolina Abortion Fund: A lifeline for Southern women, struggles to meet demand amid state bans

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, pregnant people from Southern states that have banned abortion have flooded North Carolina clinics, overwhelming a nonprofit that helps pay for abortion and related expenses.

by Erica HensleyMay 4, 2023

Co-published with Reckon

“Cornered on all sides”

25 years after El Salvador fully outlawed abortion, resulting in more than 50 women being imprisoned, a Latin American human rights court might finally overturn the ban.

by Anna-Catherine BrigidaApr 24, 2023

Co-published with Foreign Policy

Reporter’s Notebook: War in Ukraine is driving up domestic violence. Experts say the worst is yet to come.

As the war in Ukraine drags on, experts are warning that action is needed to address rising domestic violence.

by Jessie WilliamsMar 20, 2023

‘This War Made Him a Monster.’ Ukrainian Women Fear the Return of Their Partners

As the war in Ukraine enters its second year, experts are warning that immediate action is needed to address rising domestic violence.

by Jessie WilliamsMar 13, 2023

Co-published with TIME

Women left out of 9/11 benefits finally eligible for health care, compensation

After a decade of lobbying and waiting, 9/11 first responders and survivors with uterine cancer can finally get the federal health coverage they’ve long been promised.

by Erica HensleyJan 23, 2023

This story was republished from a Fuller Project newsletter on January 23, 2022. Subscribe here.

The only cancer that won’t get covered for women of 9/11

The women of 9/11 suffering from uterine cancer thought they were finally going to get health coverage - instead, they remain stuck in limbo.

by Erica HensleyJan 9, 2023

Co-published with Reckon and NJ.com

From abortion to wellness: an “indie” clinic pivots to survive in the post-Roe landscape

After the U.S. Supreme Court ended the federal protection of abortion, clinics across the Southeast and Midwest closed this summer. But Feminist Women’s Health Center, an independent abortion clinic with a long history in Atlanta,…

by Erica HensleyNov 7, 2022

Co-published with Reckon

India is trying to reduce maternal mortality without engaging with a key contributor: suicide

India has made enormous strides in reducing maternal mortality. But that success has exposed a largely unaddressed phenomenon: high rates of suicides around the time of childbirth.

by Disha ShettyAug 3, 2022

Co-published with Scroll and Health Policy Watch

The hidden toll of heat waves on women in South Asia

South Asia has endured an unprecedented heat wave, with March seeing the hottest temperatures on record in India. Evidence suggests the heat is landing a cruel double blow on women’s income and health.

Related: Reporter’s Notebook: Women’s invisibility in climate stories erase their narratives. The result is bad policy

by Disha ShettyJun 27, 2022

Co-published with Scroll

How a network of college students is preparing for post-Roe campuses

One drop-off at a time, college students are arming themselves with preventive emergency contraception — which could soon be one of the last legal chances to stop a pregnancy.

by Erica HensleyJun 24, 2022

Co-published with Reckon

Baby formula marketing practices are still too aggressive, WHO report finds

The baby milk formula shortage in the United States has overshadowed fresh scrutiny over the industry’s dubious marketing. Globally, experts warn that these companies have long employed predatory marketing in order to maximize the purchase of formula at the expense of breastfeeding.

Related: The loneliest lactation consultant in the world

by Melissa ChanJun 23, 2022

Co-published with Foreign Policy

The mental health crisis facing Black mothers in the South

Research on maternal and infant deaths disparities is now catching up to what many Black women already know: The difference in outcomes is not because of race, but racism. Black mental health advocates and providers in the South are using their own pregnancy-related tragedies to help a community heal.

Related: Why deaths by suicide often go uncounted in states’ maternal mortality studies

by Erica HensleyJun 16, 2022

Co-published with Reckon

From the Archives: Group that helps FGM survivors wins prestigious UK award. Meet the founder.

Stigma can stop survivors of female genital mutilation from seeking help, but Hawa Bah, who was cut at eight, reaches those suffering in silence to get them the care they need.

by Louise DonovanJun 3, 2022

Co-published with The Guardian

‘The smoke enters your body’: A toxic trash site in Kenya is making women sick

As rubbish piles up on a vast dumpsite, the women who sift through it for their livelihood are suffering reproductive health problems that scientists say have been overlooked.

Related: Air pollution’s impact on women’s health is not getting the attention it needs, scientists warn

by Louise Donovan, Moraa ObiriaJun 2, 2022

Published in partnership with VICE World News and the Nation

The draft abortion ruling that shook the states

While the Supreme Court justices before now contorted themselves to find common legal ground on this most controversial of issues, the leaked draft opinion that would overturn the landmark abortion decision in Roe V. Wade was anything but mealy-mouthed. But what should we make of all of this? Does this unofficial, unauthorized document even matter? Here are five ideas to keep in mind as we continue to make sense of what has happened and of what may lie ahead.

May 4, 2022

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