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By Tessa Ruff “I have had transmasculine patients who have told me they would not feel comfortable seeking an abortion in a clinic—a waiting room full of female-identified people can be triggering. I have had a patient tell me that taking any more time off of work would risk them getting fired or that finding ...

In the wake of historic election gains for women last fall and opinion polls this month showing that Americans (correctly) blamed Donald Trump for the longest government shutdown in history, it’s easy to feel complacent. It might seem like we’ve overcome the information challenges that defined the 2016 election when, for example, the media’s obsession ...

By Tessa Ruff My peers and I have access to more information about our bodies and our health than ever before, encouraging us to take care of ourselves and make well-informed decisions. But informed and well-informed are not the same and sometimes Google searches can be disempowering—particularly when the top hits promote pseudoscience, debunked claims, and ...

By: Lily O’Connor Coates I don’t know about you, but I very clearly remember the first time I learned about my body in grade school. It was fifth grade and all of us girls were separated from the boys and brought into a classroom with a projector. Without a word, our teachers set up the ...

By Tessa Ruff At the National Women’s Health Network, we are deeply concerned about the state of science under the Trump-Pence administration. Respect for science and scientists at federal agencies has dangerously eroded over the last 21 months. By repeatedly hiding, mischaracterizing, and ignoring scientific data in the rule making process, the administration has threatened public ...

By: Julia Vitale Women’s suffrage has been an essential factor in the advancement of women’s rights, including abortion, contraception, health care coverage, and protections against discrimination in the workplace. It is no surprise that women’s voting rights, and voting rights in general, still take center stage among feminists and civil rights activists. Even though it ...

By: Tessa Ruff In college, getting a long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) was in vogue. It seemed like everywhere I went, women were talking about how their IUD had changed their life for the better. I was on the pill, and honestly, I wasn’t that great at taking it at the same time every day because I ...

By: Cindy Pearson and Abby Miller In late June 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned against using lasers (“energy-based” devices) for vaginal “rejuvenation” or vaginal cosmetic procedures. According to the FDA, using lasers in this way can lead to vaginal burns, scarring, pain during intercourse and chronic pain. These devices have been approved ...

By: Olivia Lyman Did you know that the Supreme Court is a lifetime appointment? This means that Brett Kavanaugh could undermine women’s health for decades to come. Beyond rolling back access to reproductive health care, including abortion and contraception, the Supreme Court will be making decisions surrounding other major health care issues. This includes possibly overturning ...

By: Olivia Lyman Trump campaigned with a promise to conservatives that he would nominate to the Supreme Court a justice willing to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that established the constitutional right to abortion in 1973. Trump is fulfilling that promise with the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh’s track ...