On July 8th, 2024, Hurricane Beryl touched down in southeast Texas. I was back home in Houston after graduating from […]
RFK’s ideas about “wellness farms” for young people are eugenic and unconstitutional
Before he became Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. touted an idea about […]
The US Department of Health and Human Services: Its Importance in the Past and Present
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 […]
