Health Care Civil Rights: Anna Kirkland
Join us on November 13 at noon/MST as we welcome special guest Dr. Anna Kirkland to discuss her new book Health Care Civil Rights: How Discrimination Law Fails Patients.
Click here to register for this virtual talk.
Focusing on the provision of gender-affirming care, Health Care Civil Rights analyzes the difficulties and potential of discrimination law in healthcare settings. The application of civil rights law could be a powerful response to health inequalities in the US, but conservative challenges and the complex and fragmented nature of our health care system have limited the real-world success of this strategy. Revealing deep divides and competing interests that reverberate through patient experiences, insurance claims, and courtroom arguments, Anna Kirkland explains what health care civil rights are, how they work in theory and practice, and how to strengthen them.
New Advances in Alzheimer’s Treatments: Alzheimer’s Association
Join us on June 26 at noon for a conversation with the Desert Southwest Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. They’ll present the latest advancements in Alzheimer’s treatments.
Arizona Families for Vaccines
Join us Friday, December 5, at 12p (MST) for special guest Ashley Chambers, Executive Director of Arizona Families for Vaccines.
Click here to watch this virtual presentation.
Arizona Families for Vaccines a state chapter of American Families for Vaccines. Arizona Families for Vaccines is a non-profit that works at the grassroots level to promote pro-vaccine policy that is based on science. Arizona Families for Vaccines vehemently opposes any vaccine policy that is based on misinformation or that puts Arizona’s most vulnerable at risk.
Ashley Chambers is the Executive Director and lobbyist for the Organization. Ashley went to College of Charleston for college, and George Washington University for law school. Ashley was a practicing litigator for a decade before she switched to policy. Ashley has three active kids and loves taking her dog for walks, and helping in her kids’ public school district.
National Organic Reduction in Arizona
What is human composting? Join us Friday, October 17 at 12p (PST) for a discussion with Regis Wiegand of Natural Organic Reduction of Arizona to learn more about this end-of-life option.
Click here to watch this virtual event.
Natural Organic Reduction of Arizona (NORAZ) is a manufacturer and service provider in the funeral industry, specializing in Natural Organic Reduction (NOR), also known as human composting. This eco-friendly alternative transforms remains into nutrient-rich soil through a gentle, accelerated natural process, honoring loved ones while giving back to the earth.
Our speaker today is Regis Wiegand, the Founder of NORAZ. With over 15 years in the funeral industry in Arizona, Regis has dedicated his career to innovative and compassionate solutions that make meaningful farewells more accessible and sustainable.
The State of Healthcare in Arizona
Join us Friday, October 24 at 12p (PST) for a discussion of Prop 409 and the state of healthcare in Arizona with special guests Dawn Penich, Lindsay Love, and Lia Christiansen.
Click here to watch this webinar on Secular AZ’s YouTube channel.
Calling all Maricopa County voters: Let’s talk healthcare! Proposition 409 would expand services, modernize facilities, and help train medical professionals at the county’s only public teaching hospital: Valleywise Health. This medical center provides care for some of our most-vulnerable neighbors.
Ballots are out and Election Day is right around the corner Be an informed voter! Dawn Penich and Lia Christiansen join us this Friday at noon to discuss Prop 409 and healthcare in Arizona.
Dawn Penich is CEO of Agave Strategy on behalf of Yes on 409, Lia Christiansen is Chief Administrative Officer of Valleywise Health, and Lindsay Love is a Licensed Social Care Worker at TherapyLuv.
Learn more about Yes on 409 Volunteer Opportunities here!
Today’s Speakers:
Lindsay Love, LCSW is an independently licensed therapist, EMDR Consultant, and board-approved clinical supervisor based in Arizona. She is the founder of TherapyLuv, PLLC, a private practice specializing in trauma, eating disorders, and the lived experiences of Black women. Lindsay also co-founded Girlfriend Culture, a nonprofit curating retreat and community experiences that center rest, sisterhood, and liberation for Black women. Through her clinical work, teaching, and community leadership, Lindsay bridges mental health and social justice—reminding us that healing and rest are not luxuries, but birthrights.
As Chief Administrative Officer for Valleywise Health, Lia Christiansen leads Human Resources, IT, Strategy, Marketing, Facilities, Construction, and other support departments. Christiansen serves on the Central Arizona Shelter Services board, and the Arizona Hospital Association’s APP board. She joined Valleywise Health in 2021. She is a mentor to business students and fosters with the Humane Society. In 2024 she was named Most Influential Women in Arizona of 2024 by AZ Business, 2024 Leader of the Year in Public Policy by Arizona Capitol Times and a one of 118 COO’s to know in 2024 by Becker’s Healthcare.
Dr. Elizabeth Jacobs: Defend Public Health
Join us Friday, November 14, at 12p (MST) for special guest Dr. Elizabeth Jacobs. She’ll introduce Defend Public Health and discuss falling vaccination rates and the impact of both religious and philosophical exemptions on vaccine coverage.
Click here to watch on Secular AZ’s YouTube channel
Elizabeth Jacobs is a Professor Emerita who retired in 2024 from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Arizona. Her research focus areas during her career included cancer prevention and control, vaccine refusal, and COVID19. She was the principal investigator of several NIH-funded grants, and published more than 120 peer-reviewed papers related to her work.
After retirement, she helped form the public health advocacy group, Defend Public Health, a 4000-member grassroots organization dedicated to promoting and advocating for fact-based public health strategies that will have an impact on the health of every American. She is a primary author of the report that Defend Public Health published as an evidence-based alternative to the MAHA movement.
Dr. Richard Carpiano: How to Counter Attacks on Science and Public Health
Join us Friday, August 15, at 12p (PST) for special guest Richard Carpiano, PhD, MPH, Professor of Public Policy at UCRiverside, for a discussion of how to counter attacks on science and public health including the anti-vax movement.
Click here to watch this presentation.
Richard M. Carpiano is Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Riverside, where he is also the Faculty Director of the Science to Policy (S2P) Program. Trained as a public and population health scientist and medical sociologist, Carpiano studies how social factors, such as education, income, race-ethnicity, social connections, and community conditions, contribute to the health of adults and children. A substantial focus of Carpiano’s research concerns social, behavioral, attitude, and policy factors underlying vaccination uptake and coverage (and refusal or delay). As part of this work, Carpiano served as a member of The Lancet medical journal’s Commission on Vaccine Refusal, Acceptance, and Demand in the United States.
More recently, Carpiano’s research- and policy-related activities have also centered on pandemic preparedness and response. Presently, he co-chairs the Lancet Commission on US Societal Resilience in a Global Pandemic Age: Lessons for the Present from the Future, which is focused on improving pandemic preparedness through fostering community resilience. From 2021-23, he was a member of the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST)’s COVID-19 Task Force, which aimed to link science and technology expertise to state policy-makers regarding how California can be more resilient to public health threats.
Beyond his research, policy, teaching, and mentoring activities, Carpiano engages extensively with news media on a wide range of public health and sociological topics. During the pandemic, he provided commentary on a variety of issues related to COVID-19. Carpiano is a former editor (with Brian Kelly of Indiana University) of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, an academic research journal published by the American Sociological Association.
Carpiano received his Ph.D. and M.Phil. in Sociomedical Sciences (with concentration in Sociology) from Columbia University, his M.P.H. from Case Western Reserve University, and M.A. and B.A. in Sociology from Baylor University. From 2004-2006, he was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Action Alert: 4/17/25
April 17, 2025
We wanted to share some good news: Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed multiple bills that threatened church:state separation!
The Governor used her veto pen on:
- HB2058: posed a risk to public health by extending vaccine exemptions based on personal beliefs rather than science.
- HB2062: would effectively erase trans, non-binary, and intersex people by removing gender-related terms in AZ law and replacing them with sex-related terms.
- HB2063: posed a risk to public health by forcing schools to highlight ways to avoid vaccinations.
- HB2126: would require healthcare providers to give parents access to electronic data (including records that don’t require parental consent), which could keep minors from accessing contraceptive, sexual health, and gender-affirming care.
We wanted to encourage you to send a message to Governor Hobbs thanking her for using her veto power to uphold the constitutional requirement of the separation of church and state.
We also want to thank you for voicing your opposition to these bad bills and standing up for the Establishment Clause. When public policy is based on facts, rather than religious dogma, everyone benefits.
The Importance of Sharing Stories from Underrepresented Communities
Join us November 15 at noon AZ time as we welcome Kate DeMeester-Lane, Pima County Librarian.
She’ll discuss why it’s so important to share stories that center BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals and communities, fight disinformation, and the essential task of providing and protecting access to information that people use to make important decisions. As libraries come under increasing fire from those who would censor history, disenfranchise and muffle the voices of marginalized communities, and spread mis- and dis-information, here’s one library system that’s fighting back.
Knowledge is power. Click here to watch this presentation on Secular AZ’s YouTube channel.
Kate DeMeester-Lane graduated with her Master of Arts in Library and Information Science (MLIS) from University of Arizona in 2003, and has worked in libraries for over 20 years. She is currently the head of library collections and technology for Pima County Public Library.
The Importance of Gender-Affirming Care w/ Jessica Edmonds FNP, AAHIVS
Join us on July 26th at noon for special guest Jessica Edmonds, FNP AAHIVS, the President and Clinical Director of Gamut Health, for a discussion of the importance of gender-affirming care.
click here to watch on Secular AZ’s YouTube channel.
Jessica is a licensed family practice nurse practitioner (FNP), certified as a gender care provider with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and as an HIV specialist with the American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM). She recently launched a telehealth practice focused on gender-affirming care, HIV prevention, and HIV management called Gamut Health (Click here to learn more about Gamut Health). Prior to this, she worked with the Transgender Health Program of St. John’s Well Child and Family Center, one of the largest FQHCs in California.
Jessica is originally from Indiana where she worked with Mosaic Health and Healing Arts, Indiana’s first family medicine practice to be openly accepting of LGBTQ+ patients. In 2017, she presented on gender care at the Sigma Theta Tau International Conference in Indianapolis. Jessica’s passion for this work was really ignited during graduate school; while attending Indiana University South Bend (IUSB), she was instrumental in ensuring the incorporation of transgender and gender diverse healthcare into the curriculum for nurse practitioners and into undergraduate nursing curriculum.
Fetal Heartbeat Laws Defy Science, Religion, and Law
The laws against abortion that include a “fetal heartbeat” provision defy science, religion, and the law. There is no fetal tissue, no heart, and no heartbeat at the early stages of pregnancy to which these laws apply. Women are being forced to carry pregnancies based on a scientific lie.
No religious or societal consensus exists on when life begins or whether abortion is an allowable health choice. Women are forced to carry pregnancies based on the beliefs of one religion. Basing a law solely on the beliefs of one religion violates the Establishment Clause of the Constitution, because it cements into law the belief of that one religion that is contrary to the beliefs of many other religions and nonreligious people. It also violates the Free Exercise clause of the Constitution because people of any other religion or none are prohibited from practicing their religion as they see fit.
Click here to read the rest of this article on Secular AZ’s Substack.