Good morning! ☀️

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have probably heard that Roe v. Wade may be overturned next month, which would end decades of federal protection toward abortion. Given the importance of this issue on social justice, it’s important to better understand some of the facts on abortion:

• Banning abortion doesn’t lead to significantly fewer abortions: The abortion rate is 37 per 1,000 people in countries that prohibit abortion altogether or allow it only in instances to save a woman’s life, and 34 per 1,000 people in countries that broadly allow for abortion. Instead, women will continue to have abortions, just under more unsafe conditions

• Worldwide, an estimated 1 in 4 pregnancies end in an abortion every year

• Abortion is safer than childbirth

• Over the last 25 years, more than 50 countries have changed their laws to allow for greater access to abortion

• A better way to prevent abortions would be to make them less necessary. This can be achieved through effective sex education, better insurance coverage for family planning services, greater access to emergency contraception, and creating programs aimed at reducing sexual abuse and domestic violence

News

Mental health & the Death Penalty

In 1978, Clarence Dixon approached a stranger on the street, hitting her over the head with a metal pipe and killing her. After the incident, Dixon was determined incompetent to stand trial due to “severe depression and schizophrenia”. He was eventually deemed not guilty by reason of insanity and released.

Less than 48 hours after the incident, a 21-year-old Arizona State University student was raped and murdered in her apartment. The case went cold for 20 years until DNA testing linked her death to Dixon. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to death in 2008.

Last Tuesday, Dixon was deemed competent for execution.

His lawyers have argued against the execution, bringing up arguments about how law enforcement officials are “overrepresented on Arizona’s clemency board”, that not enough information about the drugs in the execution has been shared, and that Dixon has “no rational understanding of the reason for his execution”. Yet the execution is set to proceed.

According to the Washington Post, “43 percent of inmates executed between 2000 and 2015 had received a mental illness diagnosis at some point in their lives”. These cases lead us to ask difficult questions which lie at the intersection of mental health and justice, such as:

What would have happened if, upon his first interaction with the criminal justice system, Dixon would have gotten the treatment, and follow-up, he needed? If he hadn’t been released without treatment and supervision? If there were a more robust public mental health system for people diagnosed with serious mental illness and charged with a crime?

Other social work-related news

• Mental health startup Cerebral will stop prescribing controlled substances to treat ADHD after the company was sued by an ex-executive for unethical business practices related to oversubscribing stimulants

• Health aids provide necessary assistance to people who require help with daily tasks. But a huge shortage of aids has been a great difficulty for many. Reasons for this shortage include low pay and a lack of career advancement opportunities.

• Teachers are under immense scrutiny. This, and other factors, has led to a mental health crisis that’s causing them to quit

• The billionaire behind Roblox decided to direct his philanthropy toward mental health after his son underwent severe difficulties as a result of his bipolar disorder

Research

Decrease in smoking

Some positive news: A new study has found that there were “significant declines” in cigarette smoking among people with depression, substance use, or both, between 2006 and 2019.

This is in contrast to the “long-standing” relationship between cigarette smoking and mental health disorders. In the past, research has shown that those with mental health disorders use tobacco more often than those without a mental health disorder. And research by the American Lung Association found that 35 percent of all smokers were diagnosed with a mental health condition.

The change is being attributed to “increases in available treatments, insurance coverage of these treatments, cigarette prices, smoke-free and tobacco-free policies, mass media and educational campaigns and other evidence-based strategies to help people avoid or quit using cigarettes that have been implemented in recent decades“.

Unfortunately, these rates did not budge for American Indian and Alaska Native people. The study also did not include data on people who have been institutionalized or who are experiencing homelessness, although the researchers plan to study these populations in the future.

Other reads on research

• According to a new 2022 survey, 46% of Americans have been able to maintain or improve their mental/emotional health by taking multiple 5- to 10-minute breaks throughout the day for activities that relieve stress, depression, and/or anxiety

• Research has found that mental health directly affects our hearts as well as our brains. Contrary to popular belief, a healthy heart will actually adjust its rate according to the environment and psychological challenges. Yet for people who are mentally ill, this healthy change does not take place

• In a recent study, researchers found that adolescents living in areas with relatively high levels of ozone experienced a significant uptick in depressive symptoms, such as sadness, loneliness, and feelings of self-hate

Reads on policy

• Building connective tissue for effective housing-health initiatives can help us to better tackle issues such as ending homelessness and improving health in under-resourced communities

• Representative introduces legislation addressing LGBTQ+ mental health crisis

Cool Companies 😎

• Pallet helps build small shelters for those who face housing insecurity. This allows people to have a cozy, safe, personal space while they transition to longer-term housing. Although they have job openings, they are based out of Washington State.

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