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 HensleyMar 23, 2023

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.

by Eva RodriguezMay 4, 2022

New York prepares to become an abortion safe haven

In the wake of a leaked decision by Justice Alito gutting abortion rights, New York state lawmakers have introduced measures to expand access for the expected influx of abortion seekers.

by Jessica WashingtonMay 3, 2022

Co-published with THE CITY

‘I can’t keep this baby’: Pregnant Ukrainian refugees struggle to get abortion care

Poland has become a place of refuge for millions of women fleeing war in Ukraine. It also has some of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws, posing a major challenge to refugees with unwanted pregnancies. Some have survived rape, others simply cannot imagine taking on the responsibility of a child while their futures are so uncertain.

by Hanna KozlowskaMay 3, 2022

Co-published with The Cut

Reporter’s Notebook: Indoor air in India can be just as bad as the country’s toxic smog. Was I wrong to be surprised?

India's polluted skylines regularly make international news. But it’s only now coming to light that air quality inside homes, which mainly affects women in the kitchen, can be just as bad.

by Disha ShettyApr 11, 2022

Deaths by suicide often uncounted in states’ maternal mortality reviews

The U.S. maternal mortality rate in 2020 reached a high never before seen since tracking began. But most states aren’t counting suicides and overdoses as a part of their formal pregnancy-related death review, which means the maternal mortality rate could be even higher.

by Erica HensleyApr 10, 2022

Co-published with Reckon

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