Health

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Evidence around youth gender care ‘remarkably weak’, major English review says

Medical evidence underlying gender care for adolescents is “remarkably weak” and provides little clarity on long-term outcomes, according to an in-depth review of care commissioned by England’s state-funded National Health Service. Gender care can include anything from counselling to medications related to gender issues, including drugs that can pause puberty. The final report of the Cass Review, led by prominent pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass and which includes research from independent academics at the University of York as well as input from families and clinicians was released on Wednesday. The report concludes that young people with gender dysphoria — the distress of identifying […]

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New research helps explain why lesbians report more orgasms than straight women

Research over the last decade has found that lesbians have more orgasms than straight women, but questions remained as to why.  A new study published this month in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science found that these differences when it comes to pleasure could be in part due to sexual scripts — or what people expect to happen during sex based on what they’ve seen in movies, television or even pornography. Cisgender women’s expectations for those sexual scripts and for orgasms can vary based on the gender of their partner, the study found.  Past research has found that men have more orgasms than […]

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1 in 3 LGBTQ adults say they’ve been treated unfairly by a health care provider

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer adults are twice as likely as their non-LGBTQ counterparts to report having had negative health care experiences over the last three years, according to a new report. One-third (33%) of LGBTQ adults say they were treated unfairly or with disrespect or had at least one negative experience with a health care provider, compared to 15% of non-LGBTQ adults, according to a new report by KFF, a health care and polling nonprofit formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation.  Of the LGBTQ adults who reported negative experiences, 61% said a provider assumed something about them without […]

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A quarter of trans people have had health care disrupted in the past year

For the past several years, Republican lawmakers all over the country have been attacking transgender people’s access to gender-affirming health care, and soon half of the states in the U.S. will ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth.  However, the legislation is also having a negative effect on trans adults since many of the laws also attack their access to health care. A new study from Data for Progress found that 24% of transgender adults have had their access to gender-affirming care disrupted in the past year, and one in five said that they didn’t go to a doctor or the hospital when […]

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Older people, especially gay men, are getting more STIs than ever

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Infectious disease experts say more needs to be done to address rising STI rates in older people. The call to action will be presented next month at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease in Barcelona, Spain. In a press statement in advance of the conference, they explained what was happening… and suggested some reasons. For example, STIs in Americans aged 55 to 64 years have more than doubled over the past decade. It’s even worse for gonorrhea, rising from 15 cases per 100,000 people in 2015 to 57 per 100,000 in 2019. In England, the number of over 45s […]

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Republican anti-LGBTQ+ legislation bad for mental health and quality of life: survey

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After a record year for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation at the state level and in a year that threatens to outdo it, LGBTQ+ Americans are seeing a negative impact on their mental health and quality of life, according to a new survey from Data for Progress. Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate’s email newsletter. In 2023, more than 550 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced in state legislatures across the U.S., and more than 80 became law, by the Human Rights Campaign’s count. The number of bills introduced this year is approaching 500. Many of last year’s bills were […]

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Republicans Object To IVF Services For LGBTQ Veterans

The Independent reports: A quartet of Republicans want the Department of Veterans Affairs to explain a recent decision to offer In Vitro Fertilisation services to veterans who are unmarried or in same-sex relationships, citing “a plethora of ethical concerns and questions” raised by the announcement. In a letter to VA Secretary Denis McDonough, Representatives Matt Rosendale, Bob Good, Mary Miller and Josh Brecheen call IVF — a procedure in which human embryos are fertilised in a laboratory setting and implanted in a woman’s uterus — “morally dubious” and say it “should not be subsidised by the American taxpayer”. Read the full article.

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LGBTQ+ people are facing a mental health crisis. Sharice Davids is ready to fight for them.

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Davids is currently fighting to win her fourth term this November — a tough battle, as her district’s demographics have changed to become less Democratic-leaning, and Republican opponents are lining up to challenge her. But she has also been fighting another very important battle: the fight for increased access to mental health care. Davids has co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to fund mental health programs in local clinics, schools, and law enforcement centers, as well as a bipartisan bill to help people recovering from substance abuse reenter the workforce. She has also supported dozens of bills to bring down the costs of health care and prescription drugs and introduced the Pride […]

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For lesbian couples in Alabama, court’s embryo ruling is chilling

Elishea Jones has lived in Alabama her entire life, but since the state’s highest court ruled that embryos are legally children last week and three major fertility clinics halted in vitro fertilization procedures because of the potential legal liability, Jones is questioning everything.  “It’s not a political issue. They claim that we’re about saving the babies and what’s good for the children. This is what makes children happen for some families,” said Jones, who attended a rally outside Alabama’s State House on Wednesday to advocate for IVF protections.  Jones, 34, and her wife, Paige, 41, live in Alabaster with their 4-year-old son, […]

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The first at-home cervical screening device is under clinical trial, and it’s about time

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The first at-home cervical screening device is currently under clinical trial to become FDA-approved in the USA, and we think it’s about time for a change.  For women and those with uteruses, undergoing a regular pap smear to prevent cervical cancer can be an unpleasant experience thanks to the speculum used.  The outdated device used in pelvic appointments to separate the vaginal walls can be cold and uncomfortable. The clamp-like instrument was invented in the mid-19th century and hasn’t adapted much since its origins.  The new device called Teal Wand, designed by women-led company Teal Health, is an at-home cervical […]

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