medicine

An Open Letter to Parents Who Owe Child Support

Jennifer Wheeler 4-12-2010

The legal definition of Child Support is "periodic monetary payments by the non-custodial parent for the care of his or her minor child." In our country, non-custodial parents are usually obligat

Excitement and Depression in the Potential for Change in Health Care

Ernesto Tinajero 3-03-2010

I have been reluctant to write about health care recently.

My Hometown Makes the Front Page of The Washington Post

Heidi L. Thompson 12-17-2009

At a recent holiday party, I tried to describe my hometown of Warren, Ohio.

"Warren?" I said. "Well, it's a lot like Detroit. With none of the perks."

Three Ways to Remind Hospitals Why They Exist

Ernesto Tinajero 12-02-2009

What to do as a Christian when presented with an injustice? I missed.

World AIDS Day and Rosa Parks' Civil Disobedience

Ruth Hawley-Lowry 12-01-2009

December 1 is World AIDS Day. December 1 is also the day that Rosa Parks refused to yield her seat on a bus in Montgomery.

Why Celebrate Columbus Day?

Randy Woodley 10-12-2009

Photo via Gurgen Bakhshetsyan / Shutterstock.com

As an explorer, Columbus was not the first to reach the Western Hemisphere. Native Americans had been here for 10,000-20,000 years, and Vikings and Chinese are among those others who hold prior claims. Even after four attempts, Columbus never realized his goal of finding a western ocean route to Asia. As a “founding father type figure” he never set foot in what is now considered America but landed in the present day Bahamas, Cuba, and Haiti.

As a Christian example he enacted terrible cruelties to friendly natives: assuming unlawful rights of authority; robbing and subjugating whole nations of their freedom and entire capital; allowing his men to rape, murder and pillage at will; and deliberately leading the way for the genocide of millions, considered by many to be the worst demographic catastrophe in recorded history.

So why do Americans celebrate Columbus Day?

Health Care: Human Right, Civil Right, Privilege, or Market Commodity

Valerie Elverton Dixon 10-06-2009

What is health care?

How Our Health-Care System Wrecks People Who Play by the Rules

Steve Taylor 10-05-2009

Recently, I learned that my parents' home is being foreclosed on.

Why the U.S. Ranks 37 Among World Health Systems, Plus Four Alternative Models

Valerie Elverton Dixon 9-09-2009

The United States is the richest nation on earth. It has some of the best-trained physicians and best medical facilities on earth. It is a leader in medical innovation and medical education.

A Doctor Makes Sense of the Health-Care Debate

Arthur Jones 9-01-2009

As the debate over health-care reform heats up, conflicting claims from both sides make it increasingly difficult to sort out the issues and choose a position for which to advocate.

I'm Awake at 3 a.m. because My Ribs are Hurting

Arthur Waskow 8-28-2009

For 25 years I have been a member of a private health insurance plan that seemed to be meeting my needs. My problems were routine, and so were their responses.

As a Pediatrician, a Muslim, and a Mother: Speaking Out for Health-Care Reform

Asma Mobin-Uddin 8-25-2009

As representatives from many different faiths, we stand together today, united in our support for health-care reform so that affordable, quality health care can be made available to all.

An Essential Point in the Health-Care Debate

Cesar Baldelomar 8-19-2009

As debates rage over the proposed health-care reform (which I strongly support), I believe many politicians, activists, religious leaders, and ideologues are missing an essential point.

Interfaith Health-Care Reform

Katherine Marshall 8-17-2009

Hospital waiting rooms are glum places pretty much everywhere. People, sick or injured, wait and wait and wait. Nowhere are the huge gaps between rich and poor so graphically in evidence.

Health-Care Reform is a Life and Death Issue

Mary Nelson 7-27-2009

We need health-care reform to ensure that others aren't caught in the web of inconsistent mental health care and the inability to get needed medicine.

Is National Health Care Hazardous to Your Health? Check the Facts

LaVonne Neff 7-22-2009

Various Web sites and e-mails are reporting that cancer survival rates are much higher in the U.S. than in various European countries.