Calling for a Transformation in Trans-Health

The right to health means that every individual has the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, according to the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative. This means that this accessibility should be provided to individuals despite gender, race, sex, or economic standings. 

However, this standard for health seems to falter even in this progressive day and age when it comes to individuals who have courageously chosen to confront their gender dysphoria and opt toward a more fulfilling life. Studies estimate that there are approximately 1.4 million adults who identify as transgender today in the United States, yet healthcare accessibility remains sparse. This is because of common misconceptions concerning trans-healthcare requirements, and the lack of insurance coverage on behalf of a wide number of providers. Moreover, it is estimated that only approximately 7% of medical schools incorporate LGBTQ related curriculum during their preclinical years, which explains the lack of specialists and refusal of care on the basis of expertise. 

Therefore, in order to enable transgender individuals to have the same access to care as cis individuals, there must be better health care insurance, specialized for the needs of transgender individuals and an incorporation of transgender healthcare practices into medical school curricula. The raising of awareness concerning transgender healthcare needs and medication will prove immensely beneficial to truly enable heath care access for all, without stigma, prejudice, or ignorance. What other ways can we help to improve access for everyone? Comment below!       

Meghana Pisupati
Drexel IMS 2017

Reinstated Mexico City Policy: What does it mean?

Two days after the Women’s March, Trump signed an executive order that reinstated a policy that bans federal funds going to international groups that provide or discuss abortion as an option for family planning.  (Of note, federal funds have never been used to directly provide abortions in other countries.)  This restriction of funds is devastating to groups like Marie Stropes International and Planned Parenthood International who provide women in developing counties access to family planning services, such as contraception. 

This policy has gained and loss support over the past two decades.  President Ronald Reagan first instituted the ban in 1984 at the United Nations conference in Mexico City (hence the name). Clinton than rescinded the ban during his presidency.  President George W Bush reinstated the ban and President Obama overturned it once again.  Interestingly, a study done at Stanford University in 2011 showed during the Bush administration that contraceptive use in Africa was reduced and abortion rates were increased, underscoring the importance of family planning services. 

But what does this policy really mean for the women living in these developing countries? Marie Strope International estimates that with this policy there will be 6.5 million unintentional pregnancies, 2.2 million abortions and 21, 700 women dying in pregnancy or childbirth.  After the executive order was signed, Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood tweeted  “The world’s most vulnerable women will suffer as a direct result of this policy, which undermines years of effort to improve women’s health.”

So although Trump thinks that he is re-introducing a policy that is “pro-life”, this policy increases rates of abortion and directly causes women’s deaths. 

Thank You.

To all the women of the Women’s March, thank you. 

Thank you for representing unity.  This march brought together all genders, races and religions.  It highlighted that although different, many people stand for equality and are willing to fight for it.  Almost half a million in DC alone came together for women. 

Thank you for representing strength. Young women and girls around the world saw people come together for them - showing them they have value and are important. 

Thank you for representing justice.  As many signs read: “Women’s Rights are Human Rights”.  Reminding the country that it is worth fighting for reproductive rights, equal pay and education of women around the world. 

And thank you to the men that marched.  Your support was seen and spoke volumes.  Your presence showed the respect you hold for the women in your life.

Nora Sherry 

DUCOM 2017

Legends of Today and Pioneers of our Past

February is Black History Month

This year, we welcome BHM during a time of adversity, divisiveness and for most of us confusion, driven by our political shift in power and differences of societal views.  Nonetheless, we cannot ignore the long line of historical events that continue to shape us all today, the resilience and determination of our ancestors and the affluence and richness of our culture. Not only who we are, where we came from.  In the midst of our fears, hopelessness and slight trepidation of where we are headed as a Country and as a UNITED front, let’s take a moment to reflect on the great pioneers of our time and the past.

For most millennials, the great African American stars of today would be a Beyoncé, known for her massively successful career and for being the winner of 20 Grammy Awards, to say the least. Serena Williams, often called the greatest tennis player of all time, who held the title of No. 1 for 300 weeks, and currently holds the title for most Open-era, 7 Wimbledon, to name a few. Or Ta-Nehsi Coates, recognized today as the highest profile African American Writer and Journalist, winner of the 2015 National Book Award Nonfiction.  And our esteemed former and first A.A POTUS, Mr. Barak Obama; Coretta Scott King, Mohamed Ali, MLK Jr, Malcolm X, Rep. John Lewis, and boy does the list go on…

Have you asked yourself about the legends that existed before your time and who they were? Let’s start with Dorothy Dandridge, 1^st A.A woman to be nominated for an Academy Award during a time of great segregation, the 1950’s.  Jessie Owens, a four-time Olympic gold medalist at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, during a time when Hitler was hailed for his egregious and heinous crimes and swastika symbols were freely displayed on Olympic stage. Today, the Jesse Owens Award is regarded as the USA Track and Field’s highest honor. Novelist, essayist and playwright, James Baldwin, a Harlem native who remains the best of his time, capturing with truth and unique articulation the social injustice and inequality that remains tangible today, more than a decade preceding the Civil Rights movement, publishing “Go Tell it on the Mountain” in 1953.  The history of our African American pioneers are abundant; encompassing great intellects of the 18^th century, such as Booker T. Washington, founder of Tuskegee Institute and Dr. W.E.B. Dubois, American educator and the 1^st A.A to earn a PhD from Harvard in 1909.  Adventurist, such as Bessie Coleman, the 1^st A.A woman to earn an international pilot license in 1921, recognized for her daring stunts in air shows performed around the world, while refusing to be slowed down by racism. And Civil Rights Activists who refused to accept the cruel act of inhumanity, slavery and injustice: Dred Scott (1795-1858), Nat Turner (1800-1831), Harriet Tubman (1822-1913), and Fredrick Douglass (1818-1995).

We must always keep in mind: We cannot fully understand who we are, and in its entirety where we are going, unless we understand where we have come from.

Mrs. Lidyvez Sawyer, MPH

Drexel University College of Medicine

Office of Diversity, Equity & inclusion