COVID-19 Baby Boom or Bust? Or Both?
This spring, COVID-19 stay-at-home orders have meant that couples across the country—and the world—have spent months cooped up inside and looking for ways to pass the time. Soon enough, some were speculating that we could see a baby boom in nine months or so, similar to popular anecdotes of mini baby booms that have occurred […]
COVID-19 Exposes More Women to Gender-Based Violence, Including Reproductive Coercion
“Home sweet home” is a commonly used phrase to denote our appreciation for the familiar and comfortable. However, this sentiment towards home is not shared by all. For some women, home is the most dangerous place for them to be. Amid the various global COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing restrictions, more women are stuck inside […]
We Can’t Fight for Reproductive Rights Without Confronting Racial Injustice
Over the past two weeks, we have witnessed an incredible outpouring of highly justified protest against racial injustice following the brutal murders by police of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. These crimes are stark reminders that despite progress, the world we live in is still profoundly unjust. As a white global health student at Duke […]
COVID-19 Lockdowns Clear Skies
People hate to take the heat. We are masters of deflection and somehow always find a way to put the blame on someone, or something, else. And then, when there’s no one else to blame, we resort to sheer denial. Take climate change, for example. On an episode of “Good Morning Britain” in 2019, Trump […]
Statement in the Aftermath of the Murder of George Floyd
For Immediate Release: June 2, 2020 Population Connection and Population Connection Action Fund firmly condemn the brutality and violence perpetrated against Black Americans throughout the history of this country and in recent days. The killings by police of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other Black people are a blight on us as a country. […]
It’s 2020, and Bosses Still Shouldn’t Be Making Employee Birth Control Decisions
On Wednesday, May 6, the Supreme Court heard yet another case debating whether bosses should be able to determine employees’ insurance coverage of birth control. Sound familiar? That’s because we’ve been here before. Little Sisters of the Poor vs. Pennsylvania pits employers who hold a religious or “sincere moral opposition” to contraception against two states […]
Free the Pill: After 60 Years, It Belongs Over the Counter!
Saturday, May 9, marked the 60th anniversary of the FDA approving the birth control pill, and I bet the people who celebrated its arrival in 1960 didn’t think we would still be fighting for it to be accessible to everyone in 2020—the poor, the marginalized, the uninsured,just to name a few groups that can’t seem […]
Conference Call With Population Connection Members to Discuss Population Growth and Pandemics
Population Connection · John Seager COVID-19 Presentation Note: The audio in John’s presentation scrambles for a bit a couple minutes in (working from home has its tech challenges)—please skip ahead and continue listening! During the Q+A, there were many great questions that John wasn’t able to answer because of time constraints. He didn’t want to […]
Planet of the Humans Swings Wildly, Misses Badly
Toward the end of the recently-released, Michael Moore-produced film Planet of the Humans, the narrator blames everyone: “It’s not one thing, but everything we are doing. A human-caused apocalypse.” Does this universal condemnation apply to public health workers in besieged reproductive health clinics risking their lives to foster a safer, less-crowded world? Does it include […]
Earth Day Events Replaced With Virtual 22-Day Challenge
The coronavirus pandemic cancelled in-person events for Earth Day 2020 — the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day — so we asked supporters to participate from home by taking our Earth Day Challenge! Beginning on April 1, we asked participants to consider one challenge each day to reduce their individual consumption of resources, leading […]
