The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports a 700% rise in congenital syphilis, passed from mother to child in the womb, since 2015. Experts cite declining safe sex practices among heterosexual women, lack of prenatal care, and failure to screen for syphilis during pregnancy, something that used to be mandated in many states. […]
Continued Attacks on LGBTQ+ Healthcare
As of April 2026, 11 U.S. states have enacted conscientious objection laws, allowing health care providers to refuse to treat LGBTQ+ patients based on personal or religious beliefs. LGBQ+ adults in affected states were 71% more likely to report being in fair or poor health after the laws passed, compared to those in states without the laws. […]
Encouraging Developments in HIV Medicine
After finding an investigational drug to be safe and well-tolerated by human subjects in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials, Merck Sharp & Dohme, a subsidiary of Merck & Co, is beginning two Phase 3 clinical trials to study the drug’s efficacy in preventing HIV-1 infections in both African women and an international sample […]
Condoms Go Up Due to Iran War
Karex, which produces about five billion condoms a year, has warned they will be raising prices by up to 30% because of supply chain disruptions caused by the chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. The company blamed the war for the rising cost of the raw materials needed to produce condoms, including nitrile and synthetic […]
The Pink Pill
You’ve heard of the little blue pill, but have you heard of the little pink pill? Although there are currently 26 drugs approved to address sexual dysfunction in men, only one drug has been approved to address the issue in women. A new documentary, The Pink Pill, looks at the struggle to get the female […]
WPATH Guidelines Found Deficient
An international team of clinicians and methodologists chosen for their impartiality on the politics of transgender medicine examined the most recent Standards of Care (SOC-8) published by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, which is referenced as the authoritative framework governing best practices in this field and is often cited in court cases, insurance […]
Reproductive Coercion Worldwide
A report from the Guttmacher Institute discusses how anti-rights groups in the US, who claim to be protecting women, are claiming that abortion pills are a form of reproductive coercion in order to support proposed bans on abortion pills. Speaking of reproductive coercion, in the wake of the dissolution of USAID, a paper traces the […]
HIV Policy from Fiji to Florida
Fiji is in the grips of an HIV outbreak that’s largely fueled by a drug epidemic. It is now the fastest-growing HIV outbreak in the world. Fiji is responding through evidence based harm reduction. To support national action to stop the spread of HIV, a two-day national workshop was held to apply the new WHO […]
Circumcision and FGM
At least 41 young men have died as a result of circumcision procedures performed as part of traditional initiation activities in South Africa. Traditional initiation is a rite of passage into manhood for young men. Every year some of the initiates die of complications of circumcision. This has forced the government to intervene through legislation to […]
America’s Latest Homophobic Antics
The Trump administration continues to target LGBTQ+ folks through a variety of public policy moves, such as its recent demotion of World Aids Day. The state department has directed its employees and funding recipients to “refrain from publicly promoting World Aids Day [December 1] through any communication channels, including social media, media engagements, speeches or […]