Terri Williams, who lives in northern Texas, started volunteering as a high schooler in the mid-1970s—at first for Planned Parenthood, educating people about birth control. In retirement, she hasn’t stopped. Linda McMahon’s 2024 nomination as President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education, a prelude to attempts in dismantling the department, led Williams to double down on her efforts, which now center on helping elementary schoolers excel.

In 2021, as the first wave of Covid vaccines became more available to the general population in the US, international travelers from Latin America and elsewhere came to the country to get the lifesaving shot. At the time, an array of federal subsidies and guarantees made it possible for almost anyone to immunize themselves against Covid at little or no up-front cost—a safety net that saved countless lives. Then, this year, the Trump administration—pandering to anti-vaccine activists—rolled back...

Freddie Elmore hasn’t worked for around 20 years. Now, he’s trying to figure out how, and if, he can return to the workforce—not because he thinks he can do so while managing his health, but because he is concerned that he will lose Medicaid. To retain Medicaid coverage, Elmore, who lives with disorders including central pain syndrome and Long Covid, may soon have to work at least 80 hours a month—while caring for his autistic son 49 hours a week, commitments he’s afraid he won’t be medically a...

In September, Elon Musk amplified a post from Autism Capital—a pro-Trump X account that he often reposts—that read: “Only high T alpha males and aneurotypical people (hey autists!) are actually free to parse new information with an objective ‘is this true?’ filter. This is why a Republic of high status males is best for decision making. Democratic, but a democracy only for those who are free to think.” Musk called the claim, which originated on the infamous web forum 4chan, an “interesting obser...

“In order to prevent our being swamped with incompetence,” Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote for the majority in 1927’s Buck v. Bell, the state could—and should—”prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind.” Forced sterilization, the court held, was not only legal but laudable. In 1924, 17-year-old Carrie Buck was institutionalized, having been deemed “feebleminded” on the grounds of “promiscuous” behavior. In reality, Buck was raped by her foster family’s...

Only some 40 percent of disabled people are employed. But even that low figure is buoyed by federal laws against employment discrimination—a target of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s roadmap for a right-wing transformation of government by a second Trump White House. A key institution for the just treatment of disabled workers is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces federal bans on workplace discrimination. Viewed with distaste by many on the right since its found...

When Daniel Francis enters a voting booth, ballot measures can be very anxiety-inducing: Many are above his reading level. “If it’s using words that I don’t understand, I just kind of rush on to answer, whether I know what it means or not,” says Francis, who lives with mental disabilities including autism and ADHD. Francis likes voting at the polls without assistance, as it’s a way for him to feel independent.

Eli. Underwood likes the experience of voting in person, but they now have to vote by mail. Underwood went to a Detroit church to cast a ballot in the 2022 general elections, but chronic health conditions meant the two flights of stairs to the basement taxed them badly; living with Long Covid as well, Underwood was frustrated by the unventilated space and unmasked poll workers.

New Hampshire could soon beat Florida—known for its anti-vaccine Surgeon General—when it comes to loosening vaccine requirements. A first-in-the-nation bill that’s already passed New Hampshire’s state House, sponsored only by Republican legislators, would end the requirement for parents enrolling kids in childcare to provide documentation of polio and measles vaccination. New Hampshire would be the only state in the US to have such a law, although many states allow religious exemptions to vaccin

On New Year’s Eve 2021, the federal government launched the Affordable Connectivity Program, which has helped over 20 million American households afford internet access with monthly subsidies of $30 (or up to $75 on some tribal lands). But funding for the program is set to run out in April unless Congress acts by Friday—depriving many of those homes of vital resources, especially access to online telehealth.

Last week, a special counsel report looking into President Biden’s handling of classified documents described the president’s memory as “poor,” with “significant limitations.” Speculation about Biden’s cognitive state immediately followed. In its coverage, Fox News featured a doctor—not Biden’s—who said the president had symptoms of age-related dementia. Also stopping by the network was Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who said Biden either had dementia or should be charged with a crime. Some Democr

On March 5, Californians will vote on Proposition 1. The ballot measure, if passed, will allow the state to divert funds raised for non-coercive mental health care to housing and other behavioral health programs—including involuntary confinement.

In June 2019, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the state’s annual budget into law—which that year included around $15 million (of some $215 billion total) to create and fund a statewide network of treatment centers for sickle cell disease, with training for health workers and improved diagnostic screening. Sickle cell disease, a group of rare genetic disorders characterized by abnormal hemoglobin, can be very painful, cause reduced life expectancy, and involve complications like severe anemi

After three years on prednisone, a steroid not recommended for long-term use, Amy G. saw a new specialist. She had been diagnosed with EGPA, a particularly rare type of the autoimmune disorder vasculitis, which causes blood vessels to be inflamed. When it’s not properly managed, people with EGPA—roughly five in every 200,000 adults—risk potentially fatal complications, including bleeding in the lungs. The doctor wanted to start her on Rituximab, a biologic medication that has been found to help.

A bipartisan bill to reform the national organ donor network has reached President Joe Biden’s desk, spelling the likely end of a troubled monopoly in place for close to four decades. Signed, the law will let HHS officials, who have commended the changes, award multiple federal contracts to manage the network—part of a wider plan to secure better oversight and more transplants each year.