Abortion

AIDS

Coronavirus / Covid-19

Gender

Gender Dysphoria (GD)

Gender Transition

HIV

LGBT (LGBT)

Measles (Rubeola)

Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine (MMR)

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Abortion

Abortion is the deliberate termination of a pregnancy, usually before the embryo or fetus is capable of independent life.

Abortions are performed either surgically or medically. A medical abortion - in which the woman takes two drugs 48 hours apart - is approved only during the first nine weeks of pregnancy.

AIDS

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

Coronavirus / Covid-19

Coronavirus is a virus. Its official name is severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is the disease caused by the Coronavirus.

For more, read the World Health Organization (WHO) explanation.

Gender

It is common in our culture to identify a person's gender by their body features. When someone is born, those features are used to assign that person a gender on their birth certificate. That is not always correct, however.

Research shows that the gender a person feels they are can differ from the gender their body makes them appear. A person's gender identity is which gender a person identifies themselves as, regardless of their physical attributes.

Those who identify themselves as a gender different than their assumed gender at birth are labeled transgender. They may appear to be the gender on their birth certificate, or they may appear to be the gender they identify as.

Several studies estimate there are approximately 700,000 transgender people in the United States, though neither the U.S. Census Bureau or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) obtains this information.

For more, read the FiveThirtyEight.com story.

For a perspective of this complex subject by people who are transgender, read this article written by Lobby99 Director Barry Shatzman in 2005 after the killing of a transgender teen.

Gender Dysphoria (GD)

Medical condition in which there is a conflict between a person's biological gender and the gender with which they psychologically identify.

For more, including the relationship of gender dysphoria to the term transgender, read the American Psychiatric Association article.

Gender Transition

The process of relieving gender dysphoria by taking actions to align a person's body and/or social behavior with the gender they identify as.

Forms of gender transition include...

HIV

Human Immunodeficiency Virus - the virus the causes AIDS.

It can be transmitted through sexual contact, blood (transfusions, needle sharing), or from a mother to child - either in the uterus or through breast milk.

A person infected with the virus will have it for the rest of their life, though they might not develop AIDS.

LGBT (LGBT)

Acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender. Other initials often are added for various alternative labels of sexuality.

A term generally used when referring to those seeking civil rights on the same level as those who are heterosexual.

Measles (Rubeola)

A very infectious disease cased by a virus. It spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

Symptoms generally occur 1-2 weeks after a person is infected. They can resemble a cold or a flu, such as a cough, runny nose, watery eyes, high fever, and a rash.

Measles, however, can turn much more serious...

Measles can be prevented by the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine.

For more, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine (MMR)

A vaccine that protects against three diseases: measles, mumps, and rubella.

The measles vaccination program began in 1963.... Before then, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 3 million people got measles each year in the United States.

Since then, there has been a 99 percent reduction in measles cases.

Is the reduction due to the vaccinations? Measles still is common in countries that do not have vaccination programs.

Despite their effectiveness, there have been organized efforts to discredit vaccines with misinformation, whether about personal freedoms or perceived harm from the vaccines.

Myths about potential dangers, however, have been completely debunked.

For a simple way to understand the effectiveness of vaccines, watch this video by magicians Penn and Teller...

For more on vaccine, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

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