Sarah Varney

The U.S. Supreme Court says it will hear a case about the abortion pill mifepristone next year and review a lower court decision that would make it harder to get that medicine.

Wrenching testimony from women denied abortion care turned the focus toward the suffering and health risks faced by mothers.

The rates of premature birth in the U.S. are high, especially in certain states. Experts worry that states restricting abortion have fewer maternal care providers than those with abortion access.

Trump-appointed federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled that free birth control for teens from a federal program violates Texas law and parental rights. For now, it's still available in other states.

Laws banning abortion in many conservative U.S. states are expected to boost birth rates among adolescents, whose bodies often aren't built for safe childbirth, or for carrying a pregnancy to term.

For decades, the U.S. medical system has adhered to a legally recognized standard for death, one embraced by most states. Why is a uniform standard for the start of human life proving so elusive?

Public health workers are going church to church and house to house in the state's secluded valleys to dispel COVID myths, ease isolation, bring aid, and convince wary residents to get vaccinated.

Allie Henderson's friends, extended family, church and the community prayed for the popular young athlete and then celebrated her recovery. So why won't they follow her plea and get vaccinated?

Restrictive abortion laws across the South mean more women are traveling across state lines to find safe services.

Experts fear steep declines in testing and diagnoses mean more people will contract HIV and die of AIDS. The problem is particularly acute in the South, the epicenter of the nation's HIV crisis.

In the U.S. South — home to nine of the nation's 12 heaviest states — obesity is playing a role not only in COVID-19 outcomes but in the calculus of the vaccination rollout.

President-elect Joe Biden inherits a global health landscape changed by the Trump administration more than under any Republican president since Ronald Reagan.

Carmen Quintero couldn't get a coronavirus test but ended up with a huge bill for trying to. She also was told to self-isolate and had no choice but to use vacation time to stay home from work.

The Adelanto ICE Processing Center houses nearly 2,000 people in California. Federal, state and watchdog reviews say the Florida-based firm that runs Adelanto fails to provide adequate health care.

State Medicaid programs already get much more money from the federal government than Puerto Rico Medicaid gets — and the storm-ravaged U.S. territory's safety net for the poor is barely hanging on.

The electricity is back on across much of the island, but the disruption to community spirit continues. Isolation, anxiety and depression are up, as are suicides, especially among older adults.

Six months after Hurricane Maria pounded Puerto Rico, patience in the remote mountain village of Castañer is wearing thin. Mental anguish persists among people still waiting for reliable electricity.

Ausberto Maldonado picked corn and asparagus for years on the U.S. mainland before retiring in Puerto Rico. He has diabetes, and as the island's safety net wears thin, he's struggling to survive.

The Martinez family has been waiting more than a year for a neurologist to diagnose the son's condition. He needs a diagnosis to be eligible for the health care he needs, but can't get an appointment.

Adults in a growing number of states can now legally use marijuana without a doctor's prescription. But obstetricians worry pregnant women don't realize the drug could hurt their kids.