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Reproductive Rights Back Before the Court: Should Health Plans Offer Contraceptive Coverage?

By Jo Freeman

Women’s reproductive rights made a repeat appearance before the Supreme Court on March 23. This time the issue was birth control. Zubik v. Burwell was one of seven cases which asked the Court to decide whether religious non-profit employers can completely ignore the provision in the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) that requires their health plans to offer contraceptive coverage as one preventive service.

Rules written by the Department of Health and Human Services for the ACA provided a way for religious organizations, such as universities, hospitals and social service groups, to opt-out of providing coverage by notifying their insurer or the government that their religious beliefs preclude contraceptive coverage. Then the government would provide it. The plaintiffs believe that since some birth control methods can act as an abortifacient, even writing a letter saying they won’t provide coverage would make them complicit, in violation of their religious beliefs.

This was challenged in every federal circuit and all but one circuit court found that notification was not a “substantial burden” on the exercise of religious beliefs. This split led the Court to hear the appeals of seven cases. The plaintiffs are all religious non-profit institutions, plus Roman Catholic clergy. This is the fourth cases challenging various aspects of Obamacare to reach the Supreme Court.

The lead case is named for the bishop of Pittsburgh, Rev. David A. Zubik. However, most of the publicity has focused on the Little Sisters of the Poor, whose dedication to serving the elderly poor make them the most sympathetic of the plaintiffs. Founded in France in 1839, the order works in 31 countries and all over the US. They were represented in this case by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which also represented Hobby Lobby in a similar case before the Court.

While lawyers argued their case to eight Justices inside, the sidewalk in front of the Court was occupied by about 700 people, less than half of those there on March 2, when the case was Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. That case involved a Texas law which would have imposed stringent requirements for abortion clinics, which plaintiffs argued was an undue burden on women who wanted an abortion.

Once more two opposing groups formed circles facing a microphone and waving signs. However, this time both groups were less raucous. Indeed, the whole tone was lower key and friendlier than it was on March 2, when opposing camps engaged in a battle of signs and sound. As though they knew there would be no trouble, police were notable by their absence, except for the Capital Hill cops who kept demonstrators below the steps leading to the Court plaza.

On one side were about 500 people, including about 300 nuns and brothers in habits. They held violet signs saying “Women for Religious Freedom” and passed out large buttons, stickers, and even cookies whose cover said “Let Them Serve.” This was a reference to the Little Sisters. Different uniforms were worn by 70 young women bused in from a Catholic girls school in Baltimore. The rest of the crowd was heavily female, with women and men wearing their Sunday best.

On the other side, were about 200 demonstrators, mostly young women with a scattering of men and older women. They were brought together by a coalition of feminist and reproductive rights groups. The rally was primarily organized by the National Women’s Law Center. Others among the dozen or so co-sponsors were the ACLU, National Women’s Health Network, Americans United for Separation of Church & State, the National Council of Jewish Women and Catholics for Choice.

Speakers included several members of Congress. Reps. Jerry Nadler (D NY) and Diane DeGette (D CO) announced that 90 Members of the House and 33 Senators (all Democrats) had submitted an amicus brief supporting the ACA provision and the HHS rules. The brief said that 55 million women have received $1.4 billion worth of birth control devices since 2013. A 4-4 decision will leave the Circuit Court decisions intact, but set no precedent. If that appears to be the division of opinion, the Court may to set aside the case for re-argument when there is a ninth Justice.

©2016 Jo Freeman for SeniorWomen.com

March 24, 2016
Eight Presidents Who Shaped America’s Public Lands: From the Roosevelts to Barack Obama

Ever wonder how our public lands system became what it is today? Consider the legacies of US eight presidents who made a considerable difference in American conservation.

Theodore Roosevelt — It’s impossible to compile a list of presidents who impacted public lands without mentioning President Theodore Roosevelt. Often called a ‘force of nature’ due to his energetic personality, he helped lay the foundation to protect wilderness and wildlife that shaped American land and culture. As president, Roosevelt created five national parks, 18 national monuments, 51 bird sanctuaries, began the National Wildlife Refuge system and set aside more than 100 million acres for national forests.

A gorgeous natural scene from Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. Photo by Brad Starry

Abraham Lincoln — Despite being one of our greatest presidents, people do’’t often think about President Abraham Lincoln when it comes to conservation. However, he changed the course of America’s public lands when he signed a law setting aside the Mariposa Grove and Yosemite Valley as protected lands in 1864. Overshadowed by the Civil War, this news received little attention, but it set a significant precedent — places of scenic and natural importance should be protected for the enjoyment of all people.

The sun rising over Yosemite National Park in California. Photo by Ethan Killian

Ulysses S. Grant — Few historians consider Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency to be innovative or forward-thinking, but he accomplished two firsts in the area of conservation that live on today. In 1868, Grant set aside the Pribilof Islands in Alaska as a reserve for the northern fur seal. This was the earliest effort to use federally owned land to protect wildlife. In 1872, he signed a law establishing Yellowstone as our nation’s first national park. Today, there are more than 400 sites in the national park system.

The first explorers of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming described natural wonders others found difficult to believe. Photo by Kallem Phillips

Woodrow Wilson — In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act, creating the bureau responsible for protecting America’s 35 already existing national parks and monuments and those yet to be established. Our national parks are called America’s best idea, and this year, we’re celebrating 100 years of the National Park Service. Wilson’s administration also presided over the creation of several new national parks, including icons like Dinosaur National Monument and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado is a place of stunning beauty. Photo by Steven Sawusch

Franklin Delano Roosevelt — As a lifelong lover of nature and wildlife, President Franklin D. Roosevelt undertook many executive actions to protect and improve public lands. Not only did he create 11 national monuments, his New Deal program — the Civilian Conservation Corps — dramatically impacted existing park lands. Millions of people were put to work building infrastructure in national parks and forests, ultimately planting billions of trees, building roads and trails, and combating soil erosion.

Civilian Conservation Corps workers at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. Historic photo by the National Park Service

Jimmy Carter — The president from Georgia had a massive impact on public lands in Alaska. When President Jimmy Carter signed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 into law, he set aside over 104 million acres of land, creating 10 national parks and preserves, two national monuments, nine national wildlife refuges, two national conservation areas and 25 wild and scenic rivers ensuring that large portions of wilderness remain undeveloped.

The wonders of Alaska are protected at many national parks. Aerial photo of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve by Jacob Frank, National Park Service

Barack Obama — In the seven years since President Barack Obama took office, he’s shown his commitment to conservation and preserving America’s special places for future generations. Obama has established 22 national monuments and expanded others to set aside more than 265 million acres of land and water — that’s more than any other president. This includes the expansion of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument into the largest marine monument in the world and most recently designating three new national monuments in the California Desert.

Editor’s Note:
“The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument falls within the Central Pacific Ocean, ranging from Wake Atoll in the northwest to Jarvis Island in the southeast. The seven atolls and islands included within the monument are farther from human population centers than any other U.S. area. They represent one of the last frontiers and havens for wildlife in the world, and comprise the most widespread collection of coral reef, seabird, and shorebird protected areas on the planet under a single nation’s jurisdiction.”

The moon rising over the desert at the newly established Mojave Trails National Monument. Photo by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management

Thomas Jefferson — President Thomas Jefferson’s public lands legacy centers on the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Doubling the size of the country, the United States acquired territory that formed 15 new states and included the future sites of many national parks, including Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. Jefferson also sponsored the Lewis & Clark Expedition, which led to significant additions to the zoological and botanical knowledge of the continent.

Many Glacier Valley is just one of many amazing areas in Glacier National Park. Photo by Tim Rains, National Park Service

Follow @USInterior on Instagram for more great public lands photos and facts.

March 22, 2016
A Medieval Alchemical Book at the British Museum Reveals New Secrets

Bink Hallum, Arabic Scientific Manuscripts Curator, British Library; Marcel Marée, Assistant Keeper, Department of Ancient Egypt & Sudan, British Museum

A page from the 18th-century copy of al-‘Irāqī’s Book of the Seven Climes (British Library)

Among the many intriguing objects on display in the Egypt: faith after the pharaohs British Museum exhibition is an 18th-century copy of the Book of the Seven Climes (Kitāb al-aqālīm al-ṣab‘ah), on loan from the British Library. The book’s 13th-century author, Abū al-Qāsim al-‘Irāqī, believed it held ancient secrets coded in hieroglyphic texts. He was right, but not exactly as he imagined.

Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-‘Irāqī, known as al-Sīmāwī (‘the practitioner of natural or white magic’), was an author of books on alchemy and magic. He lived in Egypt during the reign of the Mamluk sultan Baybars I al-Bunduqdārī (r. 1260–1277). His books were popular and survive in many copies, but almost nothing is known about al-‘Irāqī himself.

The Book of the Seven Climes is the earliest known study focused wholly on alchemical illustrations. The ‘climes’ (from which our word ‘climate’ is derived) are the seven latitudinal zones into which the astronomer and geographer Claudius Ptolemy divided the inhabited world in the 2nd century AD. Their mention in al-‘Irāqī’s title expressed an intention for his book to be all-encompassing.

Al-‘Irāqī reproduced illustrations from earlier Arabic alchemical texts and tried to decode their mysterious symbols and allegories, annotating the illustrations with his own interpretations. But how faithful was he in copying the illustrations for his book, and what changes were made as they were copied and re-copied during the five centuries of transmission linking al-‘Irāqī’s lost original to the 18th-century copy held at the British Library?

March 19, 2016
Meet Chief Judge Merrick Garland, the President’s Nominee to the Supreme Court: What Generation Progress Is Doing

Meet Chief Judge Merrick Garland, the President’s nominee to the Supreme Court:

Senator Patty Murray ‏@PattyMurray … “Since 1875, every Supreme Court nominee has received a Senate hearing or a vote.”

From the group, Generation Progress*:

Senators, #DoYourJob

Despite decades of precedence and a constitutional responsibility, some Senators are refusing to give Chief Judge Merrick Garland, President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, so much as a hearing. Young people are already frustrated by the partisan gridlock and hyper-partisanship in our nation’s capital, and expect more from our government. We need a fully-functioning, fully-staffed Supreme Court. Urge the following members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to do their job and fulfill their constitutional obligation by using our click-to-tweets below.

Tell these Senators: #DoYourJob.

*Our Mission – Generation Progress

Generation Progress is a national organization that works with and for young people to promote progressive solutions to key political and social challenges. Formerly known as Campus Progress, we are expanding our programs in activism, journalism, policy research and advocacy to engage all Millennials, not just those on college campuses. Generation Progress engages a diverse group of young people nationwide, inspires them to embrace progressive values, provides them with essential trainings, and helps them to make their voices heard—and to push policy outcomes in a strongly progressive direction.

March 16, 2016
Ferida Wolff’s Backyard: Grackles Out for Dinner; A Flock is a Family

Grackles Out for Dinner

A couple of grackles (or is that a grackle couple?) came for dinner the other night. They usually come in groups and stay on the ground, eating the seeds tossed down by the smaller birds at the feeders. But maybe tonight was special.

When the whole group lands, they can inundate the area, taking turns splashing in the birdbath, covering the lawn like a feathery blanket, flitting back and forth from ground to tree. I like to observe their activities. But as much as I observe them, they are quite the observers themselves. When something, whether a person or the neighborhood stray cat or a visiting grandchild comes too near, they will take off and wait until the supposed danger has passed, then return to whatever they were doing. If someone, mostly me, becomes too annoying, the birds will tell me off, squawking loudly from the trees as if they are yelling at me to go away.

They are often confused with crows but there are differences in size and feathers: crows are larger but grackles have the most beautiful iridescent feathers. Crows are corvids while grackles are icterids, relatives but from different sides of the blackbird family.

Whatever their differences, however, they are both smart birds. They have exceptional memories for faces and places. They can make and use tools. They can actually think like humans, according to tests being done in determining their brain capacity.

I remember how the old term “bird brain” was used to criticize someone who didn’t understand something but perhaps it wasn’t an epithet at all. The more we learn about these birds, the more impressive they seem. And that may go for most assumptions that we make. When we look at others in a negative way, are we really only showing our own lack of understanding? Grackles or crows, us or others, life in any form is an intriguing mystery.

The Massachusetts Audubon Society helps us distinguish grackles from crows:

http://blogs.massaudubon.org/yourgreatoutdoors/raven-crow-or-grackle/

John Marzluff’s findings about crow smarts:

https://www.audubon.org/magazine/march-april-2016/meet-bird-brainiacs-american-crow

A Flock is a Family

I apologize to my all backyard friends for my not having posted for a while. Sometimes life demands our attention in one direction or another, as happened with me. My sister was battling a rare illness that took too many years to diagnose and it finally took its toll. These past several months she was in and out of the hospital, then in a Hospice facility and she recently passed away. As you can imagine, my thoughts were not focused on my blog.

Then I saw this tree. There were so many birds on it. The birds were grackles, a species that travels in flocks, sort of like traveling with a large family. It made me think about the concept of family. There are many individuals connected to each other. Sometimes the connection works, sometimes not but when it does, it is a joy. Family members can provide support and caring, a sense of belonging and sharing.

Grackles can be aggressive with each other at times, like siblings, but they can also join with other birds like red-winged blackbirds and starlings to increase their family connection. We can choose friends to be part of our family, too. It is as much a concept as a definition. I was lucky to have a great sister as both a relative and a friend.

Info about grackles:

http://www.psu.edu/dept/nkbiology/naturetrail/speciespages/grackle.html

A discussion about what “family” means:

http://family.lovetoknow.com/about-family-values/meaning-family

©2015 Ferida Wolff for SeniorWomen.com

March 16, 2016
Domino Effect: Restoring, Backing Up, Collecting All Those Scattered Data Pieces and Photos, Oh My!

Editor’s Note:

When you read this, I’ll be recovering from a full left shoulder replacement and a full list of new articles will have been prepared for the reading audience. But in the meantime, some gems from the past, like this one from Roberta McReynolds will also have been resurrected for your reading pleasure:

Kodak Instamatic 404, introduced in 1963; Camerafiend photographer, Wikimedia Commons

By Roberta McReynolds

“Actually, at the risk of sounding paranoid, what I told him was that I was already entertaining the idea of backup gizmos for the first set of gizmos. Realistically, by the time I get that far another domino will have fallen and a new-fangled, more efficient, better quality something-or-other will have been invented, so it’s probably a moot point.

“I decided my first priority will be chasing down document files: essays, genealogy information, recipes, instructions for crafts, favorite quotes, letters, labels, addresses and all those oddball projects. There are far less of these than photographs. Some are even still stored on those outdated Zip-disks, back when I was upgrading from floppy disks. (Still own some of those and have toyed with the idea of using them as drink coasters.) When I replaced my first computer, it never occurred to me that one of those proverbial dominos had toppled and the new computer wasn’t equipped with a Zip-drive. What a shock it was when I held one of those disks in my hand with no slot to insert it! I ended up purchasing an external Zip-drive on E-bay to access old files.

“I believe that after I collect all those scattered pieces of data into nice, neat little labeled folders I’ll have a real sense of accomplishment. I’m planning to reward myself with a decadent dessert.

“Next I’ll begin working on photos. I’m encouraging myself to be discretionary and avoid the compulsion to save everything I’ve ever shot since pushing the button on my first Kodak Instamatic camera during grade school. Who needs half a dozen views of the exact same flower? I know composition and quality well enough by now to select the best one (okay, maybe two). But it’s the duplicated files on all those disks that will eventually drive me insane; haven’t I seen that one before somewhere, or did I just imagine it after weeks of looking at hundreds of photographs?”

Read more at: Domino Effect: http://www.seniorwomen.com/news/index.php/domino-effect

March 15, 2016
The Cantor Arts Center: Myth, Allegory and Faith and a Preview of a Hopper

More than 180 works, selected from one of the most extensive private collections of Mannerist prints in the world, epitomize the 16th-century’s extravagant and sophisticated style. On view at Stanford University’s Cantor Arts Center, Myth, Allegory and Faith: The Kirk Edward Long Collection of Mannerist Prints reveals the scope and depth of this exemplary collection for the first time. The exhibition of engravings, etchings, woodcuts and chiaroscuro woodcuts by renowned artists and famous printmakers of the era continues through June 20, 2016.

Aegidius Sadeler II (Flanders, c. 1570–1629) after Bartolomeus Spranger (Flanders, 1546–1611); Wisdom Conquers Ignorance, c. 1600, Engraving. Lent by Kirk Edward Long

The exhibition familiarizes visitors with the development of the Mannerist style in Italy, traces its dissemination through Europe, shows its adaptation for both secular and religious purposes and follows its eventual transformation into the baroque style at the end of the century. In conjunction with the exhibition, the Cantor Arts Center is co-publishing an illustrated catalogue of Kirk Edward Long’s entire collection of 700 works with essays by 10 scholars and 146 entries discussing individual works and suites.

The exhibition begins with Mannerism’s primary sources, a fascination with classical antiquity and the overwhelming influence of Michelangelo. Curated by Bernard Barryte, the Cantor’s Curator of European Art, the exhibition is organized by region, tracing the style’s path from Florence, Rome and Central Italy to Venice and the rest of Europe. One section illuminates the way in which Mannerism was transformed in the Low Countries, where the Italianate artist Maarten van Heemskerck was an important innovator and where Hendrick Goltzius and his circle were responsible for the extraordinary flowering of the style in Haarlem during the last decades of the 16th century. Another portion of works illustrate Mannerism’s French variant. Known as the School of Fontainebleau, it was developed by Rosso Fiorentino and Francesco Primaticcio, Italian artists imported by King François I to decorate his palace at Fontainebleau in the most opulent and fashionable style.

The exhibition concludes with works that demonstrate the shift away from the artifice of the Mannerist aesthetic. Included are prints by Annibale Carracci, pioneer of a new naturalism that was influenced in part by the impetus of the Counter-Reformation and the dictates of the Council of Trent, which encouraged artists to create clearer and more emotionally engaging images to counteract the impact of Protestantism and win new converts.

Throughout the exhibition, visitors can enjoy the accomplishments of the print designers Raphael, Giulio Romano and Maarten van Heemskerck — as well as the virtuosity of printmakers Marcantonio Raimondi, Ugo da Carpi, Giorgio Ghisi, Cornelis Cort and Hendrick Goltzius. Some images may be familiar, but many rare works by artists of less renown are also on view.

Long has spent his life collecting art. He first focused on the Symbolists and Surrealists, both of whom had found inspiration in Mannerism. Following the symbolist and surrealist artists’ gaze back to 16th-century Mannerism, Long acquired several exemplary prints and in 2003 began collaborating with Barryte. The goal was to create a comprehensive collection focused on Mannerist prints that would stimulate ongoing research. Representing 15 years of attentive effort, the collection now numbers more than 700 sheets and is among the most extensive repositories of this material in private hands. The sampling of the works featured in Myth, Allegory and Faith is representative of the collection, illustrating in graphic form the sources, evolution and diffusion of what art historian John Shearman called “the stylish style.”

Jan Harmensz Muller (the Netherlands, 1571-1628) after Bartholomaeus Spranger (Netherlands, 1546-1611), Minerva and Mercury Arming Perseus 1604; ; Photo: Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University

Mannerism, the style dominant throughout Europe from about 1520 to 1590, followed the High Renaissance and then led into the Baroque. Mannerists broke with the naturalistic idealism of the High Renaissance, rejecting the imitation of nature in favor of subjective imagination and the aesthetic values of the artist. Mannerist art — painting and sculpture as well as prints — typically shares characteristics that include elongated figures in graceful, complex and stylized poses; complex compositions, often with multiple figures; a stress on contour; ornamental embellishments; and high finish. Pressure from the Catholic church at the end of the century lead to new styles of representation and the Baroque period. The Long collection represents the range of 16th-century styles, with an emphasis on Mannerism.

March 13, 2016
A Handel Scholar Discovers New Cantata by a Baroque Master

By Kathleen Maclay

Musicologist and Handel scholar John Roberts realized almost immediately that the manuscript he was examining was a new cantata by one of the Baroque masters

A visit by Dutch conductor and early music specialist Ton Koopman to practice on an organ at a San Francisco church has led to the discovery of a new Handel cantata by a University of California, Berkeley, musicologist.

During one of Koopman’s practice sessions, rector Keith Schmidt of All Saints’ Episcopal Church mentioned that Koopman might like to meet his husband, John Roberts, a Berkeley emeritus professor of music, former head of UC Berkeley’s Jean Gray Hargrove Music Library and a Handel scholar.

Schmidt didn’t mention that Roberts is something of a music detective too. In 1989, Roberts came across the only complete score of Alessandro Scarlatti’s long-lost opera, L’Aldimiro, found in excellent condition on the shelves of the music library. The piece was performed at the 1996 Berkeley Festival and Exposition at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall. Roberts also reconstructed Handel’s pasticcio, Giove in Argo (Jupiter in Argos), the only one of Handel’s Italian operas for which no score survives.

So last year, after sharing meals and getting acquainted with Koopman, the Dutchman asked Roberts to inspect a copy of music by Handel tucked away in his private library of 17th– and 18th-century music books. He didn’t hesitate to say yes. This sparked the interest of Roberts, who has been drawn to Handel’s music since his high school days.

A portrait of composer George Frideric Handel by by Balthasar Denner

Koopman’s librarian, Eline Holl, shared the some of the music with Roberts, along with a note that there was something odd about it because it didn’t match the standard catalog of Handel’s cantatas.

“It took only a few minutes,” he said of his inspection of a digital version of the document. “In fact, I realized almost immediately that I was dealing with a genuine alternative setting of an earlier text. I recognized musical ideas found in other Handel pieces while at the same time knowing that I hadn’t seen these particular arias before.” Roberts said it probably helped that he specialized in the study of Handel’s so-called “borrowing” from himself as well as from other composers.

“I wrote back (to Holl), ‘What you have here is a new cantata,’” Roberts recalled.

The piece was then brought to London, where Roberts took a closer look at it. The cantata has four arias, and Roberts found that while the first is essentially the same as in the previously known setting of the Tu fedel? tu costante? text, the remaining three arias are completely different and the scoring for the new cantata includes an oboe in addition to the two violins and basso continuo that are in the other version.

“It’s not different in quality, but very much different in character,” Roberts said. The first version has a sadder tone, while the second is happier and more frivolous.

George Frideric Handel left his native Germany in late 1705 or 1706 to travel around Italy, where he immediately adopted the Italian style. The well-known version of this cantata, HWV 171 in the thematic catalog of Handel’s music, was in existence by May 1707, not long after he moved to Rome. The newly discovered setting of the same text, to be known as HWV 171a, was composed somewhat earlier, probably in Venice or Florence.

“Handel went out of his way to rewrite an earlier work, probably either because of his growing mastery of the Italian style or in order to tailor the music to the strengths of a particular singer,” said Roberts. “His ideas were changing, along with his circumstances.”

Today, Roberts is counting the days until he flies half a world away for an April 9 performance of the 13- to 15-minute-long cantata by Koopman at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.

“Handel was an extraordinarily brilliant composer, one of the best in the history of music,” said Roberts. “So everyone of his pieces we find – and we rarely come up with a new one – is a contribution to a repertoire that is a standard part of baroque literature.”

March 11, 2016
Zika: A Chance to Expand Reproductive Rights?

Recently, medical detectives from the CDC arrived in Brazil to investigate the suspected, but as yet unproven, link between the Zika virus and serious birth defects like microcephaly Guillain-Barré syndrome.

As scientists look for definitive proof, governments in countries like Brazil and Colombia have offered this piece of advice to their citizens: Don’t get pregnant. That guidance, says Wendy Chavkin, special lecturer and professor emerita in Population and Family Health, is as about as helpful as Marie Antoinette’s infamous “Let them eat cake.”

In Latin America, the center of the Zika outbreak, access to contraception is limited and, in many countries, safe abortions are nearly impossible. In El Salvador, for example, abortion is illegal with no exceptions, even if the health of the mother is at stake. Without access to a full range of reproductive health services, telling women to avoid pregnancy in the wake of Zika is “somewhere between callous and cynical,” says Chavkin. “It’s appalling, meaningless, and not pragmatic at all.”

Zika is not a new virus — the first human case dates back to 1952 — but its latest appearance is the first time the mosquito-borne virus has been linked to microcephaly. Prior to the current outbreak, Zika symptoms were thought to be fairly mild for everyone: a fever, a rash, joint pain. But now, when a pregnant woman contracts Zika, the suspected consequences for her unborn child are believed to be serious and life-long.

Chavkin, a co-founder of an international coalition of doctors who work to advance reproductive rights called Global Doctors for Choice (GDC), was first alerted to the Zika outbreak and its possible effect on pregnancy by a former student of hers. Brazilian Mailman alumna Brena Sena, MPH ’14, now works as a researcher in Santiago, Chile, and keeps a close eye on the news in her home country. Last year, she read with increasing frequency about cases of a “weaker dengue” virus that was eventually identified as Zika. After Brazil’s government linked Zika to a microcephaly cluster in Recife, Sena knew the outbreak would have implications for reproductive health — and that she had to share the news with Chavkin and her organization. Since then, Sena has worked with the Brazilian chapter of GDC to better understand the outbreak and to advocate for clearer communications from the Brazilian Ministry of Health, in addition to doing freelance reporting about Zika.

When Zika moved from Brazilian local news to global front pages, Sena noticed a discrepancy between advice from international health agencies and reality in Brazil: “The CDC and WHO talk about the rights of women — to get an ultrasound, to understand what’s going on, to make educated decisions,” she says. “Where we are, women facing Zika, especially poor women, don’t have access to choice.”

Zika has been called a “disease of the poor” and an “epidemic that mirrors the social inequality of Brazilian society.” Like so many other mosquito-borne illnesses, it thrives in areas with poor sanitation, standing water, and inadequate infrastructure. At an increased risk of contracting the virus, women living in poverty have fewer resources to access information about preventing pregnancy, contraception methods, and abortion services. And the high costs for being poor continue after their baby is born: poor families are also less able to adequately support and raise a child with developmental problems resulting from the birth defects believed to be caused by Zika.

Many advocates, including GDC, see Zika as an opportunity to expand access to contraception, broaden abortion laws, and invest in women’s health services in Latin America. GDC has action centers in several countries where Zika is hitting the hardest, and is currently working to “ensure that women in Latin America and the Caribbean have the information, sex education, support, and services, including full access to contraception and abortion.” (Learn more about GDC’s work on Zika at GlobalDoctorsforChoice.org.)

There is reason to hope for change in the heavily Catholic region, says Chavkin — though that change may only be incremental. In the past, Brazil has shown itself open to making small health-related exceptions to its highly restrictive abortion laws. Just a few years ago, the country expanded its exceptions beyond cases of rape and endangerment of the health of the mother to include evidence of anencephaly, a fatal birth defect. And in terms of access to pregnancy prevention methods, even Pope Francis has shown himself to be amenable to loosening the Church’s absolute ban on contraception, saying during a recent trip to Mexico that “avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil.”

The World Health Organization has declared Zika an international public health emergency, and the global response should involve efforts to tackle several public health issues at once. “If people are really serious about fighting Zika,” says Chavkin, “The general approach needs to focus on improving sanitation, controlling mosquitoes, mitigating the effects of climate change, and guaranteeing the right to full and adequate reproductive healthcare for all women.”

Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia School of Public Health

March 9, 2016
The Airplane Bathroom That Cleans Itself; A Toilet Seat That Lifts Itself

Emirates Airbus A380 lavatory … but not an example of the Boeing patent at work, presently.

After watching a steady parade of people emerge from the lavatory on an extended commercial flight, many passengers are reluctant to expose themselves to the germs left behind.

But what if the lavatory could clean itself after every use?

Boeing engineers and designers have built a prototype lavatory that uses ultraviolet (UV) light to kill 99.99 percent of pathogens, thus sanitizing all the lavatory surfaces. Combined with touchless faucets, soap dispensers and more, the lavatory of the future could make for a more hygienic, less worrisome experience.

Engineers in Commercial Airplanes Product Development and Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T) are working on the lavatory and other concepts that would make the overall cabin cleaner. Principal investigator Teresa King from Product Development and her cross-functional team have shown through testing on their prototype that these innovations can minimize the growth and potential transmission of disease-causing microorganisms. Boeing has filed for a patent on this concept.

The lavatory uses far UV light, which is different from the ultraviolet A or ultraviolet B light used in tanning beds or grow lights, so it’s not harmful to humans. It is harmful to bacteria and pathogens and kills those organisms that are left on the surfaces of the lavatory.

“The UV light destroys all known microbes by literally making them explode,” said Jamie Childress, Associate Technical Fellow and a BR&T engineer. “It matches the resonant frequency of the molecular bonds on the outside of the microbes.”

“We believe that using the far UV is the key to making those surfaces cleaner,” King said. “We position the lights throughout the lavatory so that it floods the touch surfaces like the toilet seat, sink, countertops, etc. with the UV light. This sanitizing even eliminates odors from bacteria so that passengers can have a more pleasant experience.”

The UV lights could clean the lavatory during flight when the door is closed and the lavatory is unoccupied to minimize human exposure to the light as an extra precaution. The cleaning system even lifts and closes the toilet seat by itself so that all surfaces are exposed. The cleaning cycle takes less than three seconds.

The team’s design also incorporates hands-free faucets, a soap dispenser, trash flap, the toilet lid and seat, as well as a hand dryer to reduce the waste of paper towels. The team also is studying a hands-free door latch and a vacuum-vent system for the floor, all to keep the lavatory as hygienic as possible between scheduled cleanings.

“Some of the touchless features are in use on our airplanes today,” King said. “But we feel these, combined with the UV sanitizing, will make for a great clean package that passengers and airlines will love.”

Boeing’s Clean Lavatory concept is on the short list for being a Crystal Cabin Award finalist. The international Crystal Cabin Awards honor innovative cabin designs and ideas in seven categories. If Boeing’s concept is one of the top three finalists in its category, the company will be presented the award on April 5 in Hamburg, Germany.

By Bret Jensen and Jordan Longacre

March 7, 2016