By Danielle Hanna Rached and Denise Vitale Donald Trump’s second term in office promises to bring turmoil to the global climate agenda. Against the scientific consensus that fossil fuel is leading the world to a climate breakdown, Trump has managed to impose his opportunistic views on the rest of the world. For the amount of $1…
By Rossella De Falco Climate change is one of the most pressing threats to health in the U.K. While climate change impacts everyone, marginalized groups and those with pre-existing health conditions are suffering the most, leading to greater health inequalities. This article explains how climate change impacts the health of the most marginalized populations in…
By Jessica Samuels You’ve likely seen BPA-free plastic water bottles and Tupperware in stores and opted to grab those over similar, non-labeled products. You probably didn’t know, however, that those products likely just contain other bisphenols, like BPS or BPAF, instead. Regulating bisphenols, a class of endocrine disrupting chemicals, has been challenging due to “regrettable…
By Katherine Drabiak The Outcome of Recreational Marijuana Ballot Measures Recreational marijuana was on the ballot in three states — Florida, North Dakota, and South Dakota. None of these three measures passed. Currently, 38 states and Washington D.C. allow medical marijuana, and 24 states and D.C. allow recreational marijuana. Marijuana is still classified as a…
By Stephen Wood In an era where health care inequities already burden marginalized populations, the bankruptcy of Steward Health Care culminating in the closure of several hospitals in Massachusetts, represents an unconscionable ethical failure. As these hospitals prepare to shut their doors, the communities they serve — comprising many uninsured, underinsured, and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals —…
By Cecile de Villiers South Africa is considered the most unequal country in the world, with stagnant economic growth and staggeringly high unemployment. More than five million or 31.2% of workers in South Africa find economic opportunities in the “informal economy,” often because there are fewer barriers (training, skills, regulation) to entering the sector. Informal…
This post launches a new Digital Symposium, Climate Change and Health: Mobilizing Public International Law into Action by Guest Editors Thalia Viveros Uehara and Alicia Ely Yamin. Check back for more posts twice a week! The election of Donald J. Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax” and in his prior administration pulled the…
By Zain Khalid On May 22 this year, Zoraya Ter Beek, a 29-year-old woman from Netherlands, died by euthanasia on grounds of mental suffering. Zoraya had been diagnosed with chronic depression, borderline personality disorder, and autism and had struggled with self-harm and suicidal thinking for several year. She had tried numerous treatments, including 30 sessions…
By Rebekah Ninan A recent lawsuit in the Southern District of New York has alleged that the health insurance company Anthem Blue and Cross Blue Shield violated state laws and committed fraud by maintaining “ghost networks” of mental health providers. Ghost networks are directories for insurance companies that contain outdated or inaccurate information about providers…
Photo credit: Melisa Slep By Rishita Nandagiri and Lucía Berro Pizzarossa Discussions about abortion tend to be dominated by considerations pertaining to medicine (e.g., “safety”) and law (e.g., “legality”). Medication abortion — misoprostol alone or in combination with mifepristone — has dramatically shifted these discussions. Brazilian women used misoprostol to self-manage their abortions in the…
