We, as historians of medicine, express our support for the federal agencies and regulations that protect and promote human health. […]
“The Relationship Between Public Morals and Public Toilets”: Christine Jorgensen and the Birth of Trans Bathroom Panic
Christine Jorgensen was used to unwelcome attention, but this was a new level of outrage. After undergoing hormone therapy and […]
Beyond IVF: Eugenics and Reproductive Biotechnology
Access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) has emerged as a crucial issue in the 2024 election. While the Republican Party […]
“Tampon Tim” and the Politics of Periods
“Tampon Tim,” Stephen Miller sneered, referring to the legislation Governor Tim Walz signed requiring schools to provide free menstrual products […]
Interview with Elizabeth Garner Masarik on her book, The Sentimental State: How Women-Led Reform Built the American Welfare State (University of Georgia Press, 2024)
I got the chance to speak with historian Elizabeth Garner Masarik about her new book The Sentimental State: How Women-Led […]
First Lady In Motion: Betty Ford and the Public Eye
As with all modern First Ladies, photographs of Betty Ford are easy to find on the Internet. One striking image, […]
Life Before Conception: Gamete Personhood in the Wake of Dobbs
In a shocking 2023 Oklahoma District Court ruling, lesbian mother Kris Williams lost custody of her son, Warren, to sperm […]
(Still Being) Sent Away: Post-Roe Anti-Abortion Maternity Homes
In the years before Roe v. Wade, and in a context of severe stigma of out-of-wedlock pregnancies, maternity homes in […]
“I Don’t Have Very Much Faith in Doctors”: Black Women, Reproductive Health, and Black Disability Politics
In January 2022, my Instagram feed was flooded with posts mourning Aubrion Rogers, a 30-year-old Black woman who died after […]
Disability (and) Politics: The Fetterman Fiasco of Fall 2022
In Fall 2022, conservative pundits condemned Senator-elect John Fetterman (D-PA), who had survived a stroke the previous spring, using discriminatory […]
