The court decision striking down age restrictions for non-prescription sale of emergency contraceptives is good news for public health — and, let’s hope, the end of a long and disturbing episode in the history of US contraceptives.
The Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee called for an urgent acceleration in environmental research on cancer prevention – identifying which chemicals and physical factors cause breast cancer. We agree, and we urge one more step in breast cancer prevention research: figuring out how to wean our economy from dependence on cancer-causing chemicals.
The image of the “Kelly Girl” taking on temp jobs for “pin money” helped build temp agencies during the 20th century; today, a woman in the contingent workforce is more likely to be cleaning 30 hotel rooms a day for low pay and no benefits.
Women's Health
40 years after Roe v. Wade, what new research tells us about abortion and women’s health
For the past 40 years, first-trimester abortion has been legal in the US, but restrictions on these procedures have been mounting as the number of abortion providers has declined. Researchers examine the health implications when women can’t get legal abortions.
Two recently published papers funded by the federal agency Health Canada report on excess risk of breast cancer among auto plastics workers and the chemical compounds and processes used that are the likely culprits.
Public Health Practice
Texas family planning cuts dismantling the safety net for women’s preventive care; researchers chronicle early impacts
In the west Texas city of San Angelo, Planned Parenthood has been serving local women since 1938. It was one of the very first places in Texas to have a family planning clinic. Now, due to state policy and funding changes, the clinic’s ability to serve all those in need is on shaky ground.
Here’s an important public health fact: women with dense breast tissue are at least four times more likely to develop breast cancer. I wish I’d known about that risk factor before learning last month that I have Stage IIIB breast cancer.