Large and diverse group of people seen from above gathered together in the shape of two intersecting circles.

An Intersectional Analysis of Proposed Fertility Leave in England and Wales

By Elizabeth Chloe Romanis and Sabrina Germain

For people in England and Wales needing access to fertility treatment, economic barriers can be a huge hurdle. There are the direct costs of the treatment (some, but not all, of which are covered by the National Health Service). But there are also the less visible indirect costs associated with accessing these treatments. These include needing time off work to attend appointments, funding travel to and from fertility clinics, and having access to spaces at work to store and administer medication and take private phone calls. Indirect costs limit access to fertility treatment for structurally disadvantaged individuals in England and Wales. It is for this reason that a Private Member’s Bill currently being debated in the House of Commons, the Fertility Treatment (Employment Rights) Bill, which seeks to introduce fertility leave in the UK, should be welcomed (see earlier posts in this symposium by Dafni Lima and Manna Mostaghim).

Introducing a formal entitlement to “allow employees to take time off from work for appointments for fertility treatment; and for connected purposes” is a step in the right direction. We offer an intersectional reading of the Fertility Treatment (Employment Rights) Bill and consider how the benefits offered are likely to be stratified along class, race, sexuality, and gender lines. The Bill is well-meaning and highlights the critical issue of indirect barriers to fertility treatment in the workplace, but it is inattentive to structural issues affecting marginalized people experiencing infertility.

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young african american woman suffering from abdominal pain while sitting on bed

‘Below the Belt’ Exposes the Silent Crisis of Endometriosis Care

By Timothy Bonis

Premiering tonight on PBS, the film Below the Belt sheds light on endometriosis by documenting four women’s experiences with the disease.

Endometriosis is a silent crisis. One in ten women have it, yet, on average, people with the condition see seven doctors before they get diagnosed. Many experience severe pain, and the disease costs the American economy $80 billion annually in lost productivity, but the standard treatments are outdated and ineffectual.

Below the Belt exposes the failures in practice and policy that have led to the poor state of endometriosis care. Medical students usually don’t learn about endometriosis in medical school, and as a result, most general practitioners can’t recognize it. The majority of gynecologists treat endometriosis with hormones — which have serious side effects and bring little relief — and an ineffective surgery called ablation. Others continue to recommend the 20th-century approach, a hysterectomy. This dismal selection of treatments reflects the state of endometriosis research; historically, the disease has received less than $10 million in research funding per year (compared to $1 billion for diabetes, an equally common condition among women).

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African American patient explaining issues to Asian doctor using tablet.

How New Anxiety Screening Guidelines Can Reduce Inequities in Mental Health Care for Black Women

By Krista Cezair

Black women are less likely to receive mental health diagnosis, treatment, and care than their white counterparts.

To begin to address these disparities, I suggest building on the recent proposal drafted by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), which calls for primary care physicians to screen all adults aged 64 years or younger, including pregnant and postpartum persons, for anxiety disorders as part of their routine care.

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Doctor working with modern computer interface.

Harms and Biases Associated with the Social Determinants of Health Technology Movement

By Artair Rogers

Many health systems have begun using new screening technologies to ask patients questions about the factors outside of the clinic and hospital that contribute to an individual or family’s health status, also known as the social determinants of health (SDOH). These technologies are framed as a tool to connect patients to needed community resources. However, they also have the potential to harm patients, depending on how patient data is used. This article addresses key harms and biases associated with the SDOH technology movement, and provides suggestions to address these issues going forward.

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Magazines on wooden table on bright background.

Citational Racism: How Leading Medical Journals Reproduce Segregation in American Medical Knowledge

By Gwendolynne Reid, Cherice Escobar Jones, and Mya Poe

Biases in scholarly citations against scholars of color promote racial inequality, stifle intellectual analysis, and can harm patients and communities.

While the lack of citations to scholars of color in medical journals may be due to carelessness, ignorance, or structural impediments, in some cases it is due to reckless neglect.

Our study demonstrates that the American Medical Association (AMA) has failed to promote greater racial inclusion in its flagship publication, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), despite an explicit pledge to do so.

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Hand holding glass ball with inverted image of surroundings reflected in ball.

Flipping the Script: Adoption and Reproductive Justice

By Kimberly McKee

Adoption is a reproductive justice issue. Pretending otherwise ignores how adoption is used as a red herring in anti-abortion arguments. A recent invocation of this faulty logic occurred in Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s questions during the November 2021 oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Coney Barrett’s statements implied that the option to relinquish infants vis-à-vis adoption rendered abortion availability unnecessary. This line of thinking is one with which I am familiar, as both a Korean international, transracial adoptee, and a critical adoption studies scholar. 

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Austin, TX, USA - Oct. 2, 2021: Two women participants at the Women's March rally at the Capitol protest SB 8, Texas' abortion law that effectively bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

Organizing and Activism of Adopted and Displaced People

By Lina Vanegas

I am a transracial and transnational displaced person. I was separated from my country, language, and culture and taken to Michigan, which has no connection to me or my ancestors. I was taken there to create a family for strangers who had the privilege and resources to buy me. I had family in Colombia and I was far from being a true orphan. I was bought in Bogota, Colombia and sold to a white couple living in the Midwest in 1976. 

I use the word “displaced” intentionally, because the word “adopted” does not define my lived experience in an accurate way. The word “adopted” is language that was created by the child welfare-industrial complex, also known as the adoption industry. I do not subscribe to any of the constraints or barriers that they attempt to put onto my life with their language choices. Using the word “displaced” defines the intentional separation from my family by the child welfare-industrial complex. 

My lived experience has informed who I am and has inspired and motivated the work that I do online and in the world. It is very rare that adopted and displaced people’s lived experiences are seen, heard, validated, centered, and believed, so my mission is to do that online, on my podcast, Rescripting The Narrative, and in the work that I do as a social worker and with the organization Adoptees for Choice.

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