In Jamaica, as in many parts of the world, HIV and AIDS create a specter of fear and persecution leading to stigma, discrimination and, for many, the concealment of the disease.
Some in the anti-choice establishment have cautiously stuck a toe onto the common ground that Obama has suggested is findable. The Old Guard, by contrast, is inspired in another way.
As surgeon general, Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be an effective public advocate for public health goals, but will he be a good administrator and an effective leader of America's public health professionals?
Our country's new vision for reproductive health needs to go beyond undoing the policies of the previous administration. Obama must work toward a world in which all women can participate with full dignity as equal members of society.
Removing the stigma accorded to live-in relationships takes into account the plight of women who have been tricked into marriage into socially ambiguous, sexually exploitative relationships.
President Obama has a unique opportunity to establish one important fact: abortion is as legal and legitimate of a medical operation as any, and the government needs to do what it can to help women have safe access to it.
From surrogacy and egg donation to inducing labor, the economic crisis is driving women to do things with their bodies that they otherwise would not do.
Roman Catholic bishops throughout the United States are planning a postcard campaign days after the inauguration as part of an attempt to block the Freedom of Choice Act. One Minnesota priest is breaking rank, and getting flack.
Just as all women benefit from legal affirmation of their right to choose abortion, so do all terminally ill Americans benefit when they are free to make affirmative choices about how their lives will end.
In most Muslim-majority countries, abortion is generally prohibited with exceptions made where the health of the mother is at risk, but doctors often aren't aware of the legal exceptions.
Pakistani specialists say fistula can be prevented by stopping early marriages, delaying the age of first pregnancy and by timely access to good emergency obstetric care -- but education is also key.
While acknowledging the "cultural context" in which many students live, Jamaican Minister of Education Andrew Holness has refused to supply students with condoms in the schools.
Steven Mosher attacks UNFPA and Cristina Page, again. The facts speak for themselves and demonstrate just how desperate the fringe of the far-right is getting.
The distance between Pastor Rick Warren and the sentencing of nine gay HIV activists in Senegal can be measured in inches, not miles. This is a real humanitarian issue Pastor Warren, not a fight to protect the privilege of heterosexual marriage.
The nomination of Dawn Johnsen to head the Office of Legal Counsel, along with Eric Holder and other Obama picks, signals an end to the Bush Administration reigns of terror on prisoners of war and on women's rights.
Family planning services for low-income women on the chopping block in Washington state; Republicans should continue to support Human Life Amendment, says Bush; Arizona to allow anti-choice license plates; Christian Defense Coalition to protest at inauguration; some Asian immigrants use medical technology to ensure sons; Wonkette on teen birth rate.
