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Ryan Van Velzer/WFPLA decision from the U.S. Supreme Court this summer could remove federal protections for abortion across the U.S. Most of the Midwest — and about half of all states — are certain or likely to ban or severely restrict access to abortion if given the chance. -
Ian Hutchinson/UnsplashOverturning Roe v. Wade, as a leaked draft document indicates the U.S. Supreme Court might do, would end the constitutional right to an abortion. For Michigan OB-GYN Lisa Harris, the leak confirmed she needed to double down.
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In a livestreamed conversation, Side Effects Public Media discussed how leaders in a small Indiana town worked to break language barriers and provide COVID-19 vaccines to the town’s immigrant population, including the growing number of Indigenous Mayan people from Guatemala. -
In Iowa, midwives who are specially trained in home birth are pushing for licensure, as interest in home births rises and rural labor and delivery units continue to shutter.
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Research suggests access to public health insurance can help curb recidivism. Reentry organizations in Missouri are working to enroll people in Medicaid after they leave prison to keep them from coming back.
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While cancer death rates in the U.S. have declined in recent years, racial disparities persist. Midwestern states — including Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Indiana — have some of the highest rates of cancer mortality for Black residents in the country. Public health advocates have worked for years to close the racial gap, but some worry the pandemic will delay progress.
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In Columbia, Missouri, some community members are stepping up to help unhoused individuals find solutions. They say city leaders have not done enough.
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As competition for low-wage workers heats up, residential treatment centers across the U.S. are suffering from staff shortages. When the facilities that care for the nation’s most vulnerable youth are short-staffed, the consequences can be dire.
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People who have threatened to harm themselves can be placed on what’s known as suicide watch, where they’re constantly monitored by a mental health professional. But in some prisons, suicide watch works differently.
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New research finds a strong association between a rare genetic mutation and early-onset heart failure and hospitalization among Black Americans. Patients of African descent carrying this genetic mutation developed heart failure four years earlier than those not carrying it.
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COVID has handed society the biggest natural experiment in health and economic equity – and social scientists say the scorecard is far from stellar.
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Libraries play a central role in many communities, providing books and information and helping people navigate challenges. Increasingly, those challenges are beyond the scope of what librarians are trained to handle — like housing insecurity and mental illness. To meet the need, some libraries are hiring social workers.
