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Health

Discover the Health section of The Advocate, where readers can find the latest news on medicine, fitness, mental and physical wellbeing, scientific developments, and diseases that affect the LGBT community. Read the most recent on gay health, AIDS and HIV news, pregnancy and sex from experts like doctors and researchers. Learn about news related to health insurance, statistics, changing laws and government policy, and tools that can be used in preventing and curing illnesses in the United States and beyond.

queer transgender couple on a therapy couch with doctor taking notes
Politics

Trump orders NIH to study gender transition ‘regret.’ Here's what we already know about it

Trump wants to study transgender people's "regret," but people are more likely to regret having children than gender-affirming surgery.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Health

RFK Jr. to shut down HHS Office of Infectious Diseases & HIV Policy

These closures are part of a plan to cut 20,000 positions at HHS.

Four bottles of poppers
Health

Trump is coming for your poppers: Major producer closes amid FDA crackdown

Several other companies seem to have followed suit.

Southern University Agricultural and Mechanical College menstruation products gynecological health sanitary pads tampon menstrual cup against blue background
News

Trump officials kill federal research on safer period products over mention of transgender men

The study is meant to improve health during menstruation.

Baptist pastor LGBTQIA pride parade washington DC 2019
News

Most religious Americans support nondiscrimination laws protecting LGBTQ+ people: survey

Regardless of faith, the vast majority of U.S. adults support LGBTQ+ protections.

Cowboy at Oklahoma Pride (L); Oklahoma Pride float with young people (M); Pulse Nightclub memorial mourners (R)
News

What states are the most dangerous for LGBTQ+ people? Here are the worst 15

A lot of states are passing laws that target the LGBTQ+ community — but these 15 are the absolute worst.

donlad trump talking in a maga hat alongside RFK jr during a hearing
News

Trump quietly purges presidential HIV advisory council, sparking public health fears (exclusive)

“We have all the tools to end HIV. It just makes me sad to see a lot of this infrastructure being systematically dismantled across the country," one advisor told The Advocate.

happy transgender man smiling at work
Health

Hormones and surgery improve transgender men's quality of life: study

A new study proves gender-affirming care directly improves quality of life among transgender men.

Jess King: From dancer to Peloton instructor to life coach
Health

Jess King: From dancer to Peloton instructor to life coach

The queer Latina fitness expert is helping others achieve mental, physical, and spiritual wellness through healing.

Doctor Pricking finger Blood Test for donation alongside man with HIV express test mouth swab
News

Trump admin moves to end federal HIV prevention programs. ‘Catastrophic’ consequences, experts say

“This is a dangerous move,” Jirair Ratevosian, an associate research scientist at Yale University, told The Advocate.

queer teen doing homework with sibling playing video games in background
News

LGBTQ+ youth are 'discriminated against' in all 50 states — but some regions are worse

The Trevor Project's recent survey of LGBTQ+ mental health has "grim" findings.

​Rainbow crosswalk in Hoboken (L); Women on motorcycles at Denver Pride (M); Empire State Building in rainbow colors (R)
News

What states are the best for LGBTQ+ people? These are the top 15

Based on laws surrounding marriage, family rights, health care, and education, here are the 15 best states for LGBTQ+ people.

Photo of the outside facad of the Dr. Cyrus and Myrtle Katzen Cancer Research Center
Health

This cancer researcher was studying LGBTQ+ people. Her work is now in limbo

A researcher at the George Washington Cancer Center says Trump could erase years of scientific work.

Pittsburgh hospital protest speakers and supporters of transgender rights rainbow umbrella and flags in background
News

Hundreds protest Pittsburgh hospital for caving to Trump and denying trans youth gender-affirming care

Almost 200 people alone showed up at UPMC’s hospital in Pittsburgh, home to the largest gender clinic in Southwest Pennsylvania, and continued to make their voices heard even as rain poured on the rally last week.

africa Medical Doctor giving treatment to child in mothers lap in Rural clinic Abuja Nigeria
News

500,000 kids could die without PEPFAR as Trump & Elon Musk undermine HIV aid, study warns

It doesn't have to be this way.

Charlee Doom Conflict Specialist with the State Department holding baby speaking to CNN Jake Tapper USA Navy USAID mission sailors signal MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter after rescuing victims of a private airplane crash
News

A USAID worker's pregnant wife was denied an emergency medical evacuation after DOGE fired her

Charlee Doom's wife was 31 weeks pregnant when she suffered "life-threatening" complications. The State Department denied her medical evacuation request — twice.

youth haircut sports design barber clippers
Politics

GOP proposes bill that would punish supporting trans youth through new names and haircuts

A bill in Arkansas would allow lawsuits against people who use trans kids' preferred names or give them gender nonconforming haircuts.

LGBTQIA support group sharing
Health

Study: Gender-affirming hormone therapy improves mental health

The report indicates this continues over the long term.

Transgender people protest signs Parliament Square London England Dr Hilary Cass holding a digital version of the Cass Review
Health

New German, Swiss, and Austrian guidelines recommend gender-affirming care, slam Cass Review

The recommendations, released by the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany, come at a time when U.S. politicians erroneously claim that Europe is "pulling back" on transgender care.

Hat shaped building overlooks Maseru, Lesotho
Politics

Lesotho's main LGBTQ+ group says it's 'not receiving grants' after Donald Trump lies

Lesotho's largest LGBTQ+ group says it has not received the millions Donald Trump claimed they have.