Heather McCabe
@profwaltermac.bsky.social
Law Professor at SLU - JD/MSW - fueled by coffee and anxiety while working at the intersection of law, social work, & public health. My emphasis is on LGBTQ health equity. My work is intersectional. #TransRights is non-negotiable. Legal Epi.🏳️🌈
Reposted by Heather McCabe
In Alligator Alcatraz, detainees were forced into small outdoor cages for hours at a time.
In Camp East Montana, detainees report beatings from guards and denial of medical care.
In Delaney Hall, detainees report unsafe drinking water and retaliatory abuse for speaking up.
Unimaginable cruelty.
In Camp East Montana, detainees report beatings from guards and denial of medical care.
In Delaney Hall, detainees report unsafe drinking water and retaliatory abuse for speaking up.
Unimaginable cruelty.
September 16, 2026 at 9:30 PM
In Alligator Alcatraz, detainees were forced into small outdoor cages for hours at a time.
In Camp East Montana, detainees report beatings from guards and denial of medical care.
In Delaney Hall, detainees report unsafe drinking water and retaliatory abuse for speaking up.
Unimaginable cruelty.
In Camp East Montana, detainees report beatings from guards and denial of medical care.
In Delaney Hall, detainees report unsafe drinking water and retaliatory abuse for speaking up.
Unimaginable cruelty.
We all need to take responsibility for making this stop and changing the tide. All of us. It cannot be on trans and nonbinary folks to do this alone.
Cis people do not understand how much trans people's rights have regressed in just 5 years.
5 years ago, there were none of these restrictions.
19 states banned legal recognition
21 states have bathroom bans
8 states ban gender marker changes on DLs
25 ban gender affirming care for trans youth
5 years ago, there were none of these restrictions.
19 states banned legal recognition
21 states have bathroom bans
8 states ban gender marker changes on DLs
25 ban gender affirming care for trans youth
September 14, 2026 at 6:09 PM
We all need to take responsibility for making this stop and changing the tide. All of us. It cannot be on trans and nonbinary folks to do this alone.
Reposted by Heather McCabe
New in @healthaffairs.bsky.social Forefront! Kelly Gillespie & Heather McCabe, w/ Jennifer Oliva: "Professional Licensure After Chiles: Reconciling the First and Tenth Amendments."
www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...
@kellygillespie.bsky.social @profwaltermac.bsky.social @jennoliva.bsky.social
www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...
@kellygillespie.bsky.social @profwaltermac.bsky.social @jennoliva.bsky.social
August 24, 2026 at 3:35 PM
New in @healthaffairs.bsky.social Forefront! Kelly Gillespie & Heather McCabe, w/ Jennifer Oliva: "Professional Licensure After Chiles: Reconciling the First and Tenth Amendments."
www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...
@kellygillespie.bsky.social @profwaltermac.bsky.social @jennoliva.bsky.social
www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...
@kellygillespie.bsky.social @profwaltermac.bsky.social @jennoliva.bsky.social
Reposted by Heather McCabe
“A single-payer universal health care system could cover every American, save more than 100,000 lives a year, and still cost $1 trillion less than the system it would replace, according to a new preprint study led by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health.”
ysph.yale.edu/news-article...
ysph.yale.edu/news-article...
Universal Health Coverage Could Save $1 Trillion and 114,000 Lives Every Year, Yale Study Projects
A single-payer universal health care system could cover every American, save more than 100,000 lives a year, and still cost $1 trillion less than the system it
ysph.yale.edu
August 17, 2026 at 5:25 AM
“A single-payer universal health care system could cover every American, save more than 100,000 lives a year, and still cost $1 trillion less than the system it would replace, according to a new preprint study led by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health.”
ysph.yale.edu/news-article...
ysph.yale.edu/news-article...
This is a useful piece. Handwringing is not enough. Grateful to see people doing the work for “what’s next”. More of this is needed. Those of us in policy spaces should be actively participating.
As someone who's been working in both "democratic backsliding" and "state capacity" camps, I found today's @donmoyn.bsky.social piece very useful. I've been meaning to write something myself about the tension, particularly w/r/t unitary executive theory. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/what-could...
What could a post-Trump governance coalition look like?
It should be being built now
donmoynihan.substack.com
August 17, 2026 at 12:27 PM
This is a useful piece. Handwringing is not enough. Grateful to see people doing the work for “what’s next”. More of this is needed. Those of us in policy spaces should be actively participating.
Reposted by Heather McCabe
The outcome of this case is most likely, in my view, to turn on whether the federal judiciary has been so corrupted by Trump that it is willing to credit obviously fabricated, fake 'scientific evidence' cooked up by RFK Jr's HHS
The Trump regime has finalized a rule ending federal Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care for enrollees under 18 (separate CHIP funding for enrollees under 19). I explain what it does, HHS’s attempts to fabricate a fraudulent evidence base, and the legal challenges that might stop it
CMS moves to end Medicaid & CHIP gender-affirming care for youth | Shouldn't Need to Be a Lawyer by Matthew Cortland
The Trump regime's Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has finalized a rule ending federal Medicaid payment for puberty blockers, hormo
shouldntneedtobealawyer.com
August 12, 2026 at 5:03 AM
The outcome of this case is most likely, in my view, to turn on whether the federal judiciary has been so corrupted by Trump that it is willing to credit obviously fabricated, fake 'scientific evidence' cooked up by RFK Jr's HHS
Reposted by Heather McCabe
“It’s like you’re in fight mode...The stress is high. The anxiety is high. And then all of a sudden, ‘Oh, it’s magically better.’ But then you’re trying to come down off of it … and you’re like, ‘Well, what’s going to happen the next time?’” indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/08/04/p... #Medicaid
'Powerless': Indiana families describe the toll of losing Medicaid access • Indiana Capital Chronicle
Indiana families describe delayed care, confusion and financial strain as Medicaid coverage lapses ripple across the state's health system.
indianacapitalchronicle.com
August 4, 2026 at 2:05 PM
“It’s like you’re in fight mode...The stress is high. The anxiety is high. And then all of a sudden, ‘Oh, it’s magically better.’ But then you’re trying to come down off of it … and you’re like, ‘Well, what’s going to happen the next time?’” indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/08/04/p... #Medicaid
Reposted by Heather McCabe
Seeing the abuse Dr. Fauci is being subjected to is appalling.
I've said before, but worth repeating: I've had the good fortune to be in the audience for many of his talks. I listen to a lot of scientists- he is unparalleled in his ability to explain complex topics. Also kind, decent, and genuine.
I've said before, but worth repeating: I've had the good fortune to be in the audience for many of his talks. I listen to a lot of scientists- he is unparalleled in his ability to explain complex topics. Also kind, decent, and genuine.
July 29, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Seeing the abuse Dr. Fauci is being subjected to is appalling.
I've said before, but worth repeating: I've had the good fortune to be in the audience for many of his talks. I listen to a lot of scientists- he is unparalleled in his ability to explain complex topics. Also kind, decent, and genuine.
I've said before, but worth repeating: I've had the good fortune to be in the audience for many of his talks. I listen to a lot of scientists- he is unparalleled in his ability to explain complex topics. Also kind, decent, and genuine.
Actual thing i just said to a colleague “if you are looking for something from a federal court that just happened yesterday, check out @chrisgeidner.bsky.social he provides links to everything he discusses.” Thank you for your work!
July 28, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Actual thing i just said to a colleague “if you are looking for something from a federal court that just happened yesterday, check out @chrisgeidner.bsky.social he provides links to everything he discusses.” Thank you for your work!
Reposted by Heather McCabe
The ongoing investigation into the cyclospora outbreak is evidence of the dangers of gutting public health agencies. Unfortunately, we knew this was coming.
Watch this clip from 2025 when APHA’s Georges Benjamin, MD, spoke with the @lastweektonight.com team.
Watch this clip from 2025 when APHA’s Georges Benjamin, MD, spoke with the @lastweektonight.com team.
July 24, 2026 at 4:38 PM
The ongoing investigation into the cyclospora outbreak is evidence of the dangers of gutting public health agencies. Unfortunately, we knew this was coming.
Watch this clip from 2025 when APHA’s Georges Benjamin, MD, spoke with the @lastweektonight.com team.
Watch this clip from 2025 when APHA’s Georges Benjamin, MD, spoke with the @lastweektonight.com team.
A very good question apnews.com/article/hegs... questions difference between Hegseth's testosterone policy and transgender care for troops
Judge questions difference between Hegseth's testosterone policy and transgender care for troops
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s new initiative to test and treat troops for low testosterone is facing scrutiny from a federal judge.
apnews.com
July 23, 2026 at 3:10 AM
A very good question apnews.com/article/hegs... questions difference between Hegseth's testosterone policy and transgender care for troops
Reposted by Heather McCabe
Children enter foster care because adults have already failed them. LGBTQ+ kids are disproportionately represented in foster care and are also more likely to experience rejection, homelessness, depression, and suicide after family rejection.
RFK Jr. rolls back rule protecting LGBTQ+ kids in foster care from hostile parents
The Biden-era policy that would have protected queer kids in the child welfare system, advocates say.
www.advocate.com
July 20, 2026 at 12:51 AM
Children enter foster care because adults have already failed them. LGBTQ+ kids are disproportionately represented in foster care and are also more likely to experience rejection, homelessness, depression, and suicide after family rejection.
I hope people will read this article and truly take in the way anti-trans policies are impacting real people. This is not some academic debate.
I don't think we should mince words. Transphobia and hatred killed May Pollard. The Idaho legislature killed her as surely as if they'd pointed a gun at her head and pulled the trigger. Anti-trans laws were the gun.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Idaho pushed anti-trans laws for years. Then a teen died.
The life and death of May Pollard, 16, provides a window into the tragic effect that legislation and political rhetoric have had on trans people in America.
www.nbcnews.com
July 19, 2026 at 11:31 AM
I hope people will read this article and truly take in the way anti-trans policies are impacting real people. This is not some academic debate.
Good grief. I have no words that this is so predictable these days.
I'll summarize this: Mamdani asked NYers to keep air conditioning at 78 degrees. A wave criticism hit online. A MSNBC broadcast pointed out the US Department of Energy recommends that 78 degree figure.
Immediately after, the US Department of Energy deleted 6,000 web pages related to energy saving.
Immediately after, the US Department of Energy deleted 6,000 web pages related to energy saving.
July 4, 2026 at 2:02 AM
Good grief. I have no words that this is so predictable these days.
Reposted by Heather McCabe
Today's bonus issue of "One First" argues that one of the real unifying themes of #SCOTUS's October 2025 Term is the numerous opportunities the justices *missed* to appear to be above politics—and the (entirely unnecessary) wounds they inflicted on the Court's credibility along the way:
Bonus 236: A Term of Self-Inflicted Wounds
The Supreme Court had numerous opportunities during OT2025 to act (and appear to be acting) above politics. One key theme of the term is how many it squandered.
www.stevevladeck.com
July 2, 2026 at 11:19 AM
Today's bonus issue of "One First" argues that one of the real unifying themes of #SCOTUS's October 2025 Term is the numerous opportunities the justices *missed* to appear to be above politics—and the (entirely unnecessary) wounds they inflicted on the Court's credibility along the way:
Reposted by Heather McCabe
Comment on the government's proposal to regulate science grants: summary and links in the post. www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalrap... via @skepticalraptor.bsky.social
Comment on the government's proposal to regulate science grants
The article discusses the Trump administration's proposed regulations on federal grants, which could severely impact science research.
www.skepticalraptor.com
July 1, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Comment on the government's proposal to regulate science grants: summary and links in the post. www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalrap... via @skepticalraptor.bsky.social
Good post on the BOJ/Hecox case.
All right, let's get this over with, America
June 30, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Good post on the BOJ/Hecox case.
Information on birthright citizenship case including a link to the full decision.
BREAKING: The Supreme Court holds that the Fourteenth Amendment protects birthright citizenship, blocking Donald Trump's executive order to end it.
Roberts has the opinion for the court, which is 5-4 on the constitutional question and 6-3 on whether federal law protects birthright citizenship.
Roberts has the opinion for the court, which is 5-4 on the constitutional question and 6-3 on whether federal law protects birthright citizenship.
June 30, 2026 at 3:10 PM
Information on birthright citizenship case including a link to the full decision.
Important distinction re Title IX and Equal protection.
One clarification: It's 6-3 on equal protection (the big question); it's actually unanimous on Title IX, but on *very* different grounds.
June 30, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Important distinction re Title IX and Equal protection.
First decision impacts trans youth. We keep working. Will be reading full decision - and following for @chrisgeidner.bsky.social full analysis.
BREAKING: The Supreme Court upholds West Virginia and Idaho's laws banning trans girls and women from women's sports. Justice Kavanaugh has the opinion for the court, holding that states "may" make sports eligibility based on "biological sex." www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
www.supremecourt.gov
June 30, 2026 at 2:17 PM
First decision impacts trans youth. We keep working. Will be reading full decision - and following for @chrisgeidner.bsky.social full analysis.
Reposted by Heather McCabe
🚨 LAST DAY: SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT NOW! 🚨
June 29, 2026 at 2:01 PM
🚨 LAST DAY: SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT NOW! 🚨
Reposted by Heather McCabe
Just for the record, I've worked on stigma, inequalities, and pain for 20 years, & the evidence is utterly overwhelming that women are vastly less likely to have their pain adequately diagnosed and treated than men. And of course WoC are less likely than white women. Etc.
cc @maybell.bsky.social
cc @maybell.bsky.social
June 27, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Just for the record, I've worked on stigma, inequalities, and pain for 20 years, & the evidence is utterly overwhelming that women are vastly less likely to have their pain adequately diagnosed and treated than men. And of course WoC are less likely than white women. Etc.
cc @maybell.bsky.social
cc @maybell.bsky.social
Reposted by Heather McCabe
Happy Pride! Every day for Pride 2026, I will be highlighting a Black, Brown, or Indigenous queer person, because we're not whitewashing Pride this year.
Today is @angelicaross.com, an amazing actress and activist and a personal inspiration to me. Please follow her and support her work!
Today is @angelicaross.com, an amazing actress and activist and a personal inspiration to me. Please follow her and support her work!
June 16, 2026 at 12:05 AM
Happy Pride! Every day for Pride 2026, I will be highlighting a Black, Brown, or Indigenous queer person, because we're not whitewashing Pride this year.
Today is @angelicaross.com, an amazing actress and activist and a personal inspiration to me. Please follow her and support her work!
Today is @angelicaross.com, an amazing actress and activist and a personal inspiration to me. Please follow her and support her work!
Reposted by Heather McCabe
"The Court’s behavior in the Louisiana and Alabama cases over the past six weeks can’t be reconciled with or explained by any coherent understanding of what Purcell supposedly stands for. ... The overall pattern reveals justices behaving in a way that has no obvious explanation other than politics."
231. The Death of Purcell's "Principle"
There is no coherent defense of the "Purcell principle" that can be rationalized with the Supreme Court's recent behavior in the AL and LA redistricting cases.
www.stevevladeck.com
June 8, 2026 at 11:28 AM
"The Court’s behavior in the Louisiana and Alabama cases over the past six weeks can’t be reconciled with or explained by any coherent understanding of what Purcell supposedly stands for. ... The overall pattern reveals justices behaving in a way that has no obvious explanation other than politics."