Anna Kirkland
@annakirkland.bsky.social
U Mich prof. Anna like Donna. Author of Health Care Civil Rights (new and open access from University of California Press), Vaccine Court (2016), and Fat Rights (2008). www.profannakirkland.com Speaking for myself.
Pinned
Publication day for HEALTH CARE CIVIL RIGHTS: How Discrimination Law Fails Patients from @ucpress.bsky.social!
118 in depth interviews, analysis of 1500 health insurance plan documents and dozens of legal cases, 8 years of research to explain why our laws fail us when we need them most.
118 in depth interviews, analysis of 1500 health insurance plan documents and dozens of legal cases, 8 years of research to explain why our laws fail us when we need them most.
Reposted by Anna Kirkland
You’re seeing the limits of an entire political movement based around one guy. Trump won in 24 with a unique coalition of Latinos and young people in addition to the traditional R voters, and Trump just completely abandoned these new supporters as president to the detriment of the entire party 1/4
November 5, 2025 at 1:01 PM
You’re seeing the limits of an entire political movement based around one guy. Trump won in 24 with a unique coalition of Latinos and young people in addition to the traditional R voters, and Trump just completely abandoned these new supporters as president to the detriment of the entire party 1/4
Seven data-driven lessons from the 2025 elections
open.substack.com/pub/gelliott...
open.substack.com/pub/gelliott...
Seven data-driven lessons from the 2025 elections
Democrats outran their polls and swept statewide races from Georgia to New Jersey, on an agenda of affordability and a broad anti-Trump backlash
open.substack.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Seven data-driven lessons from the 2025 elections
open.substack.com/pub/gelliott...
open.substack.com/pub/gelliott...
There Is No Democratic Future Without Supreme Court Reform talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/there...
There Is No Democratic Future Without Supreme Court Reform
I’ve made versions of this argument here in the Editors’ Blog and...
talkingpointsmemo.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:37 AM
There Is No Democratic Future Without Supreme Court Reform talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/there...
Reposted by Anna Kirkland
With alt text.
Executive summary: the US killed at least 3 Colombian fishermen who’d put up a distress flag. In Colombian waters
Executive summary: the US killed at least 3 Colombian fishermen who’d put up a distress flag. In Colombian waters
October 19, 2025 at 1:49 PM
With alt text.
Executive summary: the US killed at least 3 Colombian fishermen who’d put up a distress flag. In Colombian waters
Executive summary: the US killed at least 3 Colombian fishermen who’d put up a distress flag. In Colombian waters
Fantastic article by my Michigan colleague Seda Saluk
Banning abortion is a hallmark of authoritarian regimes
Banning abortion instantly oppresses a huge swath of society. And enforcing abortion bans begets a police state − an upside for dictators from Mussolini to Ortega.
theconversation.com
October 17, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Fantastic article by my Michigan colleague Seda Saluk
Yes
I don’t want to hear anything else about what we should or shouldn’t be putting in our bodies (Tylenol, artificial sweeteners, sugar, or fat) until something is done about the BULLETS being put into bodies
September 29, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Yes
I agree that Obergefell is probably going down, too. 😔
Opinion | 5 Reasons the Supreme Court Might Change Its Mind on Same-Sex Marriage
Marriage equality is popular, but a lot has changed since Obergefell.
www.politico.com
September 22, 2025 at 2:42 PM
I agree that Obergefell is probably going down, too. 😔
Every word of this 👇
How federal officials talk about health is shifting in troubling ways • Missouri Independent
The Make America Healthy Again movement has generated a lot of discussion about public health. But the language MAHA proponents use to describe health and disease has also raised concerns among the di...
missouriindependent.com
September 1, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Every word of this 👇
Good.
Michigan civil rights law still applies and protects against gender identity discrimination in hospitals and clinics.
www.michigan.gov/ag/-/media/P...
Michigan civil rights law still applies and protects against gender identity discrimination in hospitals and clinics.
www.michigan.gov/ag/-/media/P...
www.michigan.gov
August 27, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Good.
Michigan civil rights law still applies and protects against gender identity discrimination in hospitals and clinics.
www.michigan.gov/ag/-/media/P...
Michigan civil rights law still applies and protects against gender identity discrimination in hospitals and clinics.
www.michigan.gov/ag/-/media/P...
It’s here
The precise moment when and where in recent weeks America crossed that invisible line from democracy into authoritarianism can and will be debated by future historians, but it’s clear that the line itself has been crossed. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/america-ti...
America Tips Into Fascism
Today is different than before.
www.doomsdayscenario.co
August 26, 2025 at 1:50 AM
It’s here
😔
The University of Michigan’s statewide hospital system will stop providing gender-affirming care for patients under 19 after receiving a subpoena and being threatened with investigation by Trump’s Justice Department, TPM reports exclusively.
The University of Michigan Will End Gender Affirming Care for Minors Amid Trump Admin Legal Onslaught
The Trump administration has strong-armed the University of Michigan’s statewide hospital system...
talkingpointsmemo.com
August 26, 2025 at 1:44 AM
😔
These exclusions from employee health benefits for adults would seem to be straightforwardly illegal under Bostock and equal protection.
I put nothing past this Roberts court, though.
I put nothing past this Roberts court, though.
Lambda Legal Condemns Trump Administration’s Illegal Exclusion of Gender-Affirming Care from Government Employee Health Benefits
Policy violates constitutional protections and multiple federal anti-discrimination laws Lambda Legal today condemned the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s announcement that it will exclude cover...
lambdalegal.org
August 20, 2025 at 3:06 PM
These exclusions from employee health benefits for adults would seem to be straightforwardly illegal under Bostock and equal protection.
I put nothing past this Roberts court, though.
I put nothing past this Roberts court, though.
Hi it’s me
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long been a critic of the vaccine court, calling it “biased” against compensating people, slow and unfair. He has said that he wants to “revolutionize” or “fix” this system.
talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/rfk-jr-...
talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/rfk-jr-...
RFK Jr.’s Wants to Overhaul the US ‘Vaccine Court.’ What Would That Actually Look Like?
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news...
talkingpointsmemo.com
August 18, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Hi it’s me
RFK Jr.’s Wants to Overhaul the US ‘Vaccine Court.’ What Would That Actually Look Like?
(I'm so excited to be re-published in @talkingpointsmemo.com, one of my favorite news sites that I pay for :) Also I love the new title!
(I'm so excited to be re-published in @talkingpointsmemo.com, one of my favorite news sites that I pay for :) Also I love the new title!
RFK Jr.’s Wants to Overhaul the US ‘Vaccine Court.’ What Would That Actually Look Like?
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news...
talkingpointsmemo.com
August 18, 2025 at 5:28 PM
RFK Jr.’s Wants to Overhaul the US ‘Vaccine Court.’ What Would That Actually Look Like?
(I'm so excited to be re-published in @talkingpointsmemo.com, one of my favorite news sites that I pay for :) Also I love the new title!
(I'm so excited to be re-published in @talkingpointsmemo.com, one of my favorite news sites that I pay for :) Also I love the new title!
A great resource for those of you wondering what’s this vaccine court and why is RFK Jr attacking it?
August 16, 2025 at 3:20 AM
A great resource for those of you wondering what’s this vaccine court and why is RFK Jr attacking it?
The mRNA announcement and its fallout is critical context for any plans to overhaul the vaccine compensation system.
Seems pretty chaotic over there.
Seems pretty chaotic over there.
How RFK Jr. alienated MAGA, MAHA and the White House in a single week
The botched announcement about mRNA vaccines reveals a health department full of dysfunction and infighting.
www.msnbc.com
August 15, 2025 at 2:10 PM
The mRNA announcement and its fallout is critical context for any plans to overhaul the vaccine compensation system.
Seems pretty chaotic over there.
Seems pretty chaotic over there.
My new article in @theconversation.com today explains what's going on at the vaccine court under RFK, Jr.'s HHS leadership.
Yes, it's alarming, but it's also complicated.
Yes, it's alarming, but it's also complicated.
RFK Jr.’s plans to overhaul ‘vaccine court’ system would face legal and scientific challenges
The 40-year-old ‘vaccine court’ relies on scientific evidence to determine whether a person experienced harm from a routine vaccination.
theconversation.com
August 15, 2025 at 1:33 PM
My new article in @theconversation.com today explains what's going on at the vaccine court under RFK, Jr.'s HHS leadership.
Yes, it's alarming, but it's also complicated.
Yes, it's alarming, but it's also complicated.
Nothing makes a girl feel young again like all the RFK terrible arguments coming back (gift link). The vaccine court was the subject of my 2016 book from @nyupress.bsky.social. It's still relevant today because it explains and contextualizes all Kennedy's current criticisms.
Kennedy’s Next Target: the Federal Vaccine Court
www.nytimes.com
August 11, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Nothing makes a girl feel young again like all the RFK terrible arguments coming back (gift link). The vaccine court was the subject of my 2016 book from @nyupress.bsky.social. It's still relevant today because it explains and contextualizes all Kennedy's current criticisms.
"Civil rights are usually understood to be about voting, education, and employment, not health care."
Kirkland asks, "What do civil rights look like when refracted through the lens of American healthcare, a massive and complex web of public and private relationships, laws, regulations...?"
Kirkland asks, "What do civil rights look like when refracted through the lens of American healthcare, a massive and complex web of public and private relationships, laws, regulations...?"
August 10, 2025 at 7:04 PM
My new book and I are both happy to be at #ASA2025 with @ucpress.bsky.social open access!
August 9, 2025 at 7:38 PM
My new book and I are both happy to be at #ASA2025 with @ucpress.bsky.social open access!
He’s so right
OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA blockclubchicago.org/2025/07/24/b...
Barack Obama Says Grown-Ups Shouldn’t Be Eating Ketchup
The former president’s anti-ketchup stance, which he reiterated on a recent episode of former first lady Michelle Obama’s podcast, is rooted in Chicago’s hot dog culture.
blockclubchicago.org
July 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
He’s so right
I wrote a thing with @scottlgreer.bsky.social in @bmj.com: "Research money will be wasted on investigating already debunked links between autism and vaccination, while vaccination infrastructure, such as vaccination programmes run by local governments, will be eroded."
The antivaccine movement threatens health in the US and worldwide
Robert F Kennedy Jr and others in the antivaccine movement are using the power of the US government to promote disinformation and flawed science, write Anna Kirkland and Scott Greer
With Robert F Ke...
www.bmj.com
July 19, 2025 at 4:35 PM
I wrote a thing with @scottlgreer.bsky.social in @bmj.com: "Research money will be wasted on investigating already debunked links between autism and vaccination, while vaccination infrastructure, such as vaccination programmes run by local governments, will be eroded."
My blog conversation with @aliciamwalker1.bsky.social -- how do the structural features of our political system undermine health care civil rights? What's the role of insurance companies? What do I most wish you knew?
3Q with Anna Kirkland Health Care Civil Rights: How Discrimination Law Fails Patients - Council on Contemporary Families
The Society Pages (TSP) is an open-access social science project headquartered in the Department of Sociology at the University of Minnesota
thesocietypages.org
July 17, 2025 at 9:15 PM
My blog conversation with @aliciamwalker1.bsky.social -- how do the structural features of our political system undermine health care civil rights? What's the role of insurance companies? What do I most wish you knew?
Reposted by Anna Kirkland
NEW: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to overhaul an obscure but vital program that underpins the nation’s childhood immunization system.
Depending on what he does, the results could be catastrophic.
By @sheinvestigates.bsky.social
Depending on what he does, the results could be catastrophic.
By @sheinvestigates.bsky.social
RFK Jr. Wants to Revolutionize a Program That Supports Childhood Immunizations. The Results Could Be Catastrophic.
The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program stabilizes the nation’s childhood immunization system while paying those harmed by rare side effects. If the program topples, it could threaten access to vaccin...
www.propublica.org
July 17, 2025 at 11:30 AM
NEW: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to overhaul an obscure but vital program that underpins the nation’s childhood immunization system.
Depending on what he does, the results could be catastrophic.
By @sheinvestigates.bsky.social
Depending on what he does, the results could be catastrophic.
By @sheinvestigates.bsky.social
Get ready for measles on airplanes, measles in schools, measles in theaters -- arg. The first dose for children isn't recommended until 12-15 months old.
Half way into the year, we already have 1288 cases. How bad can it get? Well, before the vaccine was introduced in 1963, 3-4 million people in the US would be infected each year; among reported cases, an estimated 400 to 500 people died and 48000 hospitalized.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/w...
Measles Cases Hit Record High, 25 Years After U.S. Eliminated the Disease
www.nytimes.com
July 9, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Get ready for measles on airplanes, measles in schools, measles in theaters -- arg. The first dose for children isn't recommended until 12-15 months old.