Category: Health care

The International Food Crisis and Proposals To Overcome It

By ERIC TOUSSAINT and OMAR AZIKI [Editor’s note: We reprint this article by the Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt (CADTM). In 1989, the Bastille Appeal was launched, inviting popular movements throughout the world to unite in demanding the immediate and unconditional cancellation of the debt of the so-called developing countries. This crushing debt, along with neo-liberal macro-economic reforms imposed on the global South, has led to an explosion of worldwide inequality, mass poverty, flagrant injustice and the destruction of the environment.

No, Justice Alito, Reproductive Justice Is in the Constitution

By MICHELE GOODWIN Justice Samuel Alito’s claim, that there is no enumeration and original meaning in the Constitution related to involuntary sexual subordination and reproduction, misreads and misunderstands American slavery, the social conditions of that enterprise and legal history.

Covid and Capitalism: Mass Vaccination or Mandate for Mass Death

On July 4th President Biden announced that “independence from a deadly virus” was on the horizon. Pointing to the possibilities of mass vaccinations, he proclaimed, “America is coming back together!” While vaccines have proven to be effective at preventing mass death by Covid-19, capitalist created divisions have been compounded by the pandemic and are now … Continue reading Covid and Capitalism: Mass Vaccination or Mandate for Mass Death →

In Bessemer Shadow, Maine Nurses Organize

By James Fortin With the defeat of the unionizing effort at Amazon in Bessemer, Alabama, it is encouraging to witness the ongoing and undaunted efforts of nurses in Maine to join a union.  Voting is now underway for the 1900 nurses who work at Maine Medical Center (Maine Med), in Portland, Maine, to decide whether … Continue reading In Bessemer Shadow, Maine Nurses Organize →

Big Pharma’s Greedy Palm, Outstretched Again

By James Fortin U.S. Big Pharma is doing a victory lap.  Never to miss an accolade or two from their friends at the Wall Street Journal, pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson is taking the bow under the recent article entitled, “Capitalism Is What Will Defeat Covid.”  Oh, really? In the piece CEO Alex Gorsky half-truthfully … Continue reading Big Pharma’s Greedy Palm, Outstretched Again →

COVID-19 Is the Real Insurrection

By James Fortin January 10, 2021 Over the past days the major media has talked incessantly about the Trump-directed mob violence in the Capitol Building, labeling the event instigated by the sociopathic narcissist of a President a coup or insurrection. While thousands of Trump supporters attended his rally in Washington, it should be noted that … Continue reading COVID-19 Is the Real Insurrection →

ACT UP’s struggle against power

By ANN MONTAGUE The AIDS Holocaust took place from 1985-1995, and it saw the loss of many gay men who had spearheaded Stonewall and launched the gay liberation movement. But many continued with a new fight. Remembering that history will remind us of a time when gay men, together with lesbians and straight supporters, organized … Continue reading ACT UP’s struggle against power →

What’s behind the anti-vaccine movement?

By ROBBIE MAHOOD Routine childhood vaccination is one of the cornerstones of modern public health. Evidence points to its major role in improving health by a dramatic reduction in the incidence of infectious diseases that formerly caused significant illness and death. Yet, as any nurse or physician delivering primary care can tell you, there is … Continue reading What’s behind the anti-vaccine movement? →

Aging poorly – The class divide and nursing home care

By SARAH MILLER — LANCASTER, Pa. — Another missed call, another voice mail. I look at my phone and recognize the number. The call was from the daughter of an elderly hospitalized patient. The social workers have been pushing to get her mother out of the hospital and to a nursing home, but the daughter wanted … Continue reading Aging poorly – The class divide and nursing home care →

60,000 in London demand funding for National Health

 By ANN MONTAGUE  On Feb. 3, doctors, health-care workers, unions and anti-austerity activists hit the streets in the pouring rain to demand an end to the decades-long budget cuts to the National Health Service (NHS). They also demanded money to raise salaries for workers and to completely reverse the privatization schemes planned by the Tories, … Continue reading 60,000 in London demand funding for National Health →

March on Washington for Medicare for all!

By JOHN LESLIE I read with great interest Dustin Guastella’s article in Jacobin, We Need a Medicare for All March on Washington (MoW). I agree with Dustin, a member of Democratic Socialists of America, on the main points. Building a national mass mobilization would afford the left and broader social sectors an opportunity to turn … Continue reading March on Washington for Medicare for all! →

Senate fails in another effort to repeal Obamacare

By MARK SILVERMAN Senate Republicans failed in yet another effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” having abandoned efforts to repeal and replace the ACA with a so-called “skinny” repeal-only effort. Despite engaging in the bullying tactics for which he is noted, President Donald J. Trump failed to galvanize Republicans as … Continue reading Senate fails in another effort to repeal Obamacare →

GOP health-care revamp threatens Medicaid 

By JOHN LESLIE As Socialist Action goes to press, the health-care debate in Washington is on hold. The GOP plan, which was hatched in secret in a Senate back room, is wildly unpopular. Yet the Republicans seem intent on passing something that will give the appearance that Trump kept his campaign promise to “repeal and … Continue reading GOP health-care revamp threatens Medicaid  →

Republican health care: Dead on arrival

By JOE AUCIELLO In an early test for the Trump administration, the pledge to “repeal and replace Obamacare” was developed into a legislative proposal that was withdrawn before its anticipated defeat in Congress. The full support of the president and a major push by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan came to nothing. The failure … Continue reading Republican health care: Dead on arrival →

Republican snake oil: Bad medicine in the making

By JOE AUCIELLO With the election of Donald Trump as president, the Republican initiative to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or “Obamacare,” begins in earnest and with real traction, following several years of consistent but failed attempts that were merely symbolic. Now, the right-wing rhetoric is shaping into reality. In February, President Trump met … Continue reading Republican snake oil: Bad medicine in the making →

Mumia wins court victory for prison medical care

By JEFF MACKLER  “It’s a Knock Out Punch,” says Mumia. “We did something that’s never been done before,” says Pam Africa, chair of International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal. On Jan. 3, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Mariani granted the motion filed by innocent political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal for a preliminary injunction ordering the … Continue reading Mumia wins court victory for prison medical care →

Mumia Abu-Jamal in hospital ICU

By MICHAEL SCHREIBER — UPDATED APRIL 6 — Supporters of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal are on emergency alert concerning his deteriorated health. Protests have been held around the world demanding that prison authorities grant Mumia his right to proper medical treatment. On March 30, Mumia fainted in prison and was taken to the Schuylkill Medical … Continue reading Mumia Abu-Jamal in hospital ICU →

Cuba expands women’s reproductive rights

By ANN MONTAGUE Abortion has been legal in Cuba since the victory of the Cuban revolution in 1959 and was codified into law as a women’s “sovereign right” in 1968. Vilma Espin, a feminist and revolutionary fighter, was made the head of the new Federation of Cuban Women and later created the National Center For … Continue reading Cuba expands women’s reproductive rights →