The Conversation

A growing number of women give birth at Catholic hospitals, where they do not receive the same reproductive health options – including birth control – provided at other hospitals

Written by Maria Gallo, Professor of Epidemiology, The Ohio State University

Research shows that short spacing between childbirth and another pregnancy comes with heightened health risks.Aleksandr Kirillov/EyeEm via Getty Images

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion, access to birth control has taken on new urgency. By moving the decision about abortion access to states, the f...

Many drugs can't withstand stomach acid – a new delivery method could lead to more convenient medications

Written by Khatcher O. Margossian, MD/PhD Candidate in Polymer Science and Engineering, UMass Amherst

A new polymer could help the medicine go down easier.Hiroshi Watanabe/DigitalVision via Getty Images

For patients and physicians, taking medications orally is often the most desirable way to administer drugs. Among other advantages, swallowing a pill is safer, more convenient and less invasive compared to injections or other ways to take a drug.

But...

Why Roe v. Wade's demise – unlike gay rights or Ukraine – isn't getting corporate America to speak up

Written by Alessandro Piazza, Assistant Professor of Strategic Management, Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University

Many Americans reacted with outrage to the Supreme Court's decision to dismantle the constitutional right to abortion.AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

Corporate America – once known for carefully avoiding public stances on hot button issues – has, in recent years, become increasingly outspoken on a host of thorny topics, from gay rights to the war...

Jan. 6 hearings are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to important congressional oversight hearings

Written by Claire Leavitt, Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science and Policy Studies, Grinnell College

Members of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack listen during the fourth hearing on June 21, 2022, in Washington, D.C. Mandel Ngan/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

In a series of hearings that have received prime-time coverage and much public attention, Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony on the afternoon of June 28 contained perhaps the...

Donating to help women get abortions is a First Amendment right – protected by Supreme Court precedents

Written by Lucinda M. Finley, Professor of Law and Director of Appellate Advocacy, University at Buffalo

An abortion provider in San Antonio had to turn patients away after the June 24, 2022, Supreme Court ruling. Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Several Texas abortion funds – which are charities that help people who can’t afford to get an abortion pay for their travel, lodging and medical bills – paused disbursements...

Intensifying heat waves threaten South Asia’s struggling farmers – increasingly, it's women who are at risk

Written by Emily M L Southard, Ph.D. Candidate in Rural Sociology and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Penn State

Increasingly, it's women who are harvesting crops as heat waves worsen.Narinder Nanu/AFP via Getty Images

Sitting in a semi-circle in the yard outside of a village school in Nepal, a group of farmers share their concerns about the future. They discuss how the rain is unreliable – droughts and floods are both becoming more common. The heat is...

Anti-abortion pregnancy centers will likely outlast the age of Roe – here's how they're funded and the services they provide

Written by Laura Antkowiak, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

A dozen states now provide a total of $89 million in funding to pregnancy centers.Yuji Ozeki/Digital Vision via Getty Images

Experts predict increased economic hardship now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade in its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.

Three-quarters of abortion patients in the United...

The Episcopal saint whose journey for social justice took many forms, from sit-ins to priesthood

Written by Sarah Azaransky, Associate Professor of Social Ethics, Union Theological Seminary

Pauli Murray: priest, activist, lawyer and more.Carolina Digital Library and Archives/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

July 1 is the annual feast day for Episcopal saint Pauli Murray, the first Black woman to be ordained by the denomination: an affirmation of her many contributions not only to the church, but to social justice in the United States.

Saint...

Feeding insects to cattle could make meat and milk production more sustainable

Written by Merritt Drewery, Assistant Professor of Animal Science, Texas State University

Cows eating hay and soy-based feed.United Soybean Board/Flickr, CC BY

The world’s population is growing, and so is the challenge of feeding everyone. Current projections indicate that by 2050, global food demand could increase by 59%-98% above current levels. In particular, there will be increased demand for high-quality protein foods, such...

Male judges are more likely to hire women as clerks after working with female judges

Written by Jorgen Harris, Assistant Professor of Economics, Occidental College

Although the legal landscape is changing, bias still slows career advancements for women and people of color.gorodenkoff/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Despite substantial gains over the past half-century in the numbers of women working in law, medicine and business in the U.S., the elite ranks of these professions remain male dominated, a phenomenon...