OpEds

A pandemic, like any other life-threatening event, prompts us to reflect on our mortality, but our error-prone response to the pandemic should force us to ponder a larger question: Are we a fatally flawed species? Read More »

The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg is a terrible loss for her family, her friends, and her country. Her likely replacement threatens to compound the loss by reversing her judicial legacy, especially her ardent defense of sexual and reproductive rights. Read More »

The U.S. Supreme Court just upheld two Trump administration rules that allow any “non-governmental employer”— even publicly traded for-profit companies — to deny their employees the contraceptive coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) based on “moral” or “religious” objections. Last month, when the Court narrowly struck down a Louisiana law that would have limited access to abortion services, pro-choice advocates celebrated, but this new ruling is a blow to reproductive rights and health. Read More »

In a narrow victory for abortion rights, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana anti-abortion law in June Medical Services v. Russo on Monday. The Louisiana law would have required abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the clinic, which would have effectively eliminated all clinics in the state but one. In striking it down, the Court uphold the precedent it set back in 2016, when it declared a nearly identical Texas law unconstitutional. The ruling will prevent two of Louisiana’s three remaining abortion clinics from being shuttered, protecting abortion access for the nearly 1 million women of reproductive age. Read More »

The U.S. Supreme Court decision on Monday to strike down a restrictive Louisiana abortion law in June Medical Services v. Russo is a major win for reproductive rights in the United States. If the law had been upheld, it would have severely diminished access to abortion services in Louisiana and potentially other states. It’s a welcome victory for reproductive health and equitable access to reproductive services, but the battle is far from over, and many other threats remain, especially for women of color. Read More »

As COVID-19 grips developing countries, the number of new cases per day is higher than ever, and the total caseload is approaching 5 million. If the virus is to be defeated, U.S. global leadership is indispensable. But the U.S. is retreating from it, threatening to reconsider its funding and participation in the World Health Organization (WHO), and skipping a high-level meeting of the European Union and other U.S. allies to secure funding for the global fight against the pandemic. Read More »

The Trump administration and its political allies may be letting up on COVID-19 restrictions, but it’s still full speed ahead when it comes to their attacks on sexual and reproductive health and rights. They’re using every means at their disposal — legislative, regulatory, budgetary — to curb access to reproductive health services.  Read More »

The Trump administration and its political allies may be letting up on COVID-19 restrictions, but it’s still full speed ahead when it comes to their attacks on sexual and reproductive health and rights. They’re using every means at their disposal — legislative, regulatory, budgetary — to curb access to reproductive health services.  Read More »

President Trump’s decision to halt aid to the World Health Organization (WHO), if it is not overturned soon, will live in infamy. In late April, while the president was floating the absurd notion that injecting disinfectant might help fight the coronavirus, over 1,000 organizations and individuals signed a letter asking the White House to restore aid to the WHO, calling it “the only organization with the technical capacity and global mandate to support the public health response of all countries during this critical time.” That is particularly true in Africa. Read More »

There is nothing like a pandemic to illustrate what the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. once described as the “fierce urgency of now.” The battle against COVID-19 is far from over—more missteps may come, and resurgences might occur. But at least for now, stay-at-home orders, social distancing requirements and other emergency measures appear to be “flattening the curve” in the U.S. and other hard-hit countries. It proves that collective, effective action in the face of a common enemy is possible, so long as the threat is imminent, evident and lethal. That raises a question about other global challenges, including climate change, that may be less immediate, but no less important. What will it take to spur effective action on them? Read More »