Twelve years ago, I traveled around the country meeting individuals and families who were scraping by without health insurance. In 2015 I returned to the […]
Blog
The Women of Can’t Catch a Break: Summer 2016 Update
The past six months have been eventful: a birth, a death (see Eulogy for Nicole), a job gain and a job loss, family ties strengthened […]
Jamie Shupe’s Victory Over Binaries Run Amok
On June 10, 2016, a little-heralded court ruling challenged one of the most powerful, pervasive, enduring and taken-for-granted practices in western culture. On that day, […]
Involuntary Hospitalization of Drug Users Is Bad Policy
Note: This essay was originally published in TruthOut, November 19, 2015. I’ve reposted it today because calls for involuntary hospitalization are again popping up around […]
Eulogy for Nicole
By Maureen Norton-Hawk, co-author Can’t Catch a Break. If you were to meet Nicole you would never imagine that she had been battling a drug […]
The Opioid Epidemic? Just the Facts, Please.
Headlines decrying the “opioid epidemic” have been in the news on a daily basis lately. Politicians, public figures and journalists here in Massachusetts as elsewhere […]
The cavity in health insurance coverage: oral health
This article was originally published by The Conversation; also see What Pennsatucky’s Teeth Tell Us About Class in America When we talk about the successes […]
Like the “Girl Who Hides a Razor Blade in Her Mouth,” Coerced Addiction Treatment Has Many Victims
This article was originally published on April 13, 2016 by The Influence. Kahtia “acted out” from a young age. At least that’s what the counselors […]
Maternal Health and Rights Deserve Their Own Day
This post is part of a blog carnival. Mothers, activists, healthcare professionals and researchers around the world have come together to ask the UN Secretary […]
A New Home for Carly
Background I first met Carly back in 2008 when, together with my colleague Maureen Norton-Hawk, I launched a long-term project following the life experiences of […]
Uninsured in Idaho: Policy Brief
This brief is offered as a contribution to current deliberations regarding Medicaid expansion and healthcare reform in the Idaho state legislature. Idaho, like many other […]
A Feminist Sociologist’s Thoughts on the Zika Virus
The emergence and spread of the Zika virus is worrisome on many levels: the impact of global warming on the spread of infectious and mosquito-borne […]