Health

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Her partner of 45 years developed Alzheimer’s. She’s sharing their story to ‘take away fear’

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Janice Goldberg still remembers the first moment she laid eyes on her partner Sue. It was over 45 years ago in the small beach town of Ocean City, Maryland. Janice had gotten a job waiting tables at an upscale restaurant after spending the first part of her summer in Europe. She wasn’t quite sure what the future had in store for her – then “there she was.” Sue, who lived in Florida at the time, had travelled up the coast to spend the summer in Ocean City with her then-boyfriend. The two decided one day to treat themselves to a meal at a […]

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Economic insecurity linked to LGBTQ+ youth mental health issues: Trevor Project report

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t’s well documented that LGBTQ+ young people are at greater risk of mental health problems and suicidal ideation or attempts than their straight and cisgender peers. Now a new research brief from the Trevor Project shows how economic insecurity correlates with that. Food insecurity, being unhoused, and being unable to meet basic economic needs were all associated with increased odds of mental health issues, according to the brief, “The Impact of Houselessness and Food Insecurity on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People,” released Wednesday. It draws on data from the Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People. “Overall, economic insecurity […]

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DOJ will investigate doctors who provide trans care to minors, attorney general says

Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo this week seeking to further curtail access to transgender health care for minors. In the memo, Bondi said the Justice Department will use a variety of existing U.S. laws to investigate providers of such care, as well as drug manufacturers and distributors.  She directed U.S. attorneys to use laws against female genital mutilation to investigate doctors who “mutilate” children “under the guise of care” and to prosecute these “offenses to the fullest extent possible.”  “I am putting medical practitioners, hospitals, and clinics on notice: In the United States, it is a felony to perform, attempt […]

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Planned Parenthood resumes gender-affirming care after patient backlash

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Planned Parenthood’s Arizona branch will resume providing gender-affirming healthcare to transgender patients. The chapter had previously paused the treatments in response to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sending out a memo warning federally funded healthcare institutions against providing gender-affirming care. The Arizona branch faced public pressure after news publications began reporting on its decision to end trans-related healthcare. Patients receiving gender treatment at the branch told news outlets they had received voicemails late on Friday, April 11, informing them that their upcoming appointments were being cancelled. One of these patients, a 23-year-old trans woman from Mesa, Arizona, […]

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LGBTQ people find confidence and community in self-defense classes

Self-defense classes geared toward LGBTQ people can be found sprinkled across the United States, and instructors and students say the skills these classes provide are giving attendees a boost of confidence and a sense of community in a fraught political environment. “Pretend someone’s coming for you. How would you kick them if you were fighting for your life?” an instructor at Queer Fight Club in St. Louis asked attendees during a recent self-defense class. Tori Lohmann, who is nonbinary, was among the nine students in the class. Lohmann said they never imagined joining a self-defense group but found themselves drawn to Queer […]

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Federal government to remove gender dysphoria from protected disabilities list

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will remove gender dysphoria from disabilities protected under federal law, but it’s still unclear whether 17 Republican state attorneys general will continue a related lawsuit that could dismantle federal protections for all people with disabilities. Last fall, Texas GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the federal government over the Biden administration’s addition of a gender identity-related disorder to the disabilities protected under a portion of federal law known as Section 504. Republican attorneys general from 16 other states joined the lawsuit: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, […]

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Veterans Affairs clinicians sign letter against Trump’s ban on trans vets’ care: ‘There is resistance’

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Inside the Department of Veterans Affairs — the nation’s most extensive health care system — a quiet rebellion seems to be growing. Dozens of VA clinicians are breaking their silence, accusing the Trumpadministration of abandoning the very veterans they swore to serve. In a searing letter asking VA staff to sign on to an editorial circulating this week — and obtained by The Advocate — they describe a workplace transformed by fear, censorship, and cruelty. When The Advocate became aware of the document Friday afternoon, more than 50 clinicians whose details are being kept confidential out of fear of retaliation had signed it, according to a person […]

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Gender euphoria a ‘key component’ of trans and non-binary wellbeing, expert says

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A first-of-its-kind gender euphoria scale study has found, just in time for Trans Day of Visibility (3 March), that an overwhelming majority of trans and non-binary people feel affirmed when allowed to be themselves. The collaborative study, which helped to create the ground-breaking scale, found that, out of a survey of more than 700 trans and non-binary Australians aged between 16 and 79, 96.6 per cent felt gender euphoria in some capacity. Researchers from the Swinburne University of Technology, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), and the University of Melbourne, used the data to create the gender euphoria scale – an innovative way […]

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States with anti-LGBTQ+ laws ‘stand to lose economically’ as mental health declines: report

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As anti-LGBTQ+ laws take a toll on mental health, the queer community’s response could take a toll on local and state economies. In the face of over 1,000 anti-LGBTQ+ laws proposed by state legislatures across the U.S. in the past two years, and 126 passed into law, 44.3 percent of LGBTQ+ adults and 63.5 percent of transgender adults now report that the legislation has harmed their or their loved ones’ mental health, according to the Human Rights Campaign’s 2024 Climate Survey. Over 12 percent of LGBTQ+ adults experienced increased harassment, violence, and/or discrimination in the past year, as well as 22.9 percent of trans adults. […]

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Anti-LGBTQ+ policies harm the health of not only LGBTQ+ people, but all Americans

In 2024, state legislatures introduced an all-time record of 533 bills targeting LGBTQ+ populations. These policies create a patchwork of legal landscapes that vary widely between and within states, affecting aspects of everyday life ranging from how kids learn and play to where adults live and work.  All of these policies have implications for the health of not only LGBTQ+ people but also the general public. I am a health policy researcher who studies how state and federal legislation affect public health. Research has shown that the social determinants of health – the opportunities and resources that affect how people live, learn, play, work and age […]

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