I like the sentiment of the call to "Make Birth Free!" but at the Institute for Family Studies, Patrick Brown and I are the wet blankets pointing out this proposal wouldn't help the most vulnerable mothers. For the poorest moms, birth is already free, at least in theory, but there are other gaps to close.… Read More
Tag: Institute for Family Studies
How Reversible are LARCs?
For a long time, I've wondered how easy it is for poor women to get IUDs removed. Long active reversible contraception (LARCs) are strongly recommended for poor women, but they can face the greatest barriers to seeing a doctor, and can be stuck, unable to have the children they want. I was glad to get… Read More
Rethinking Sex with Christine Emba
I got to interview Christine Emba about her new book Rethinking Sex: A Provocation. The full interview is embedded below, and the Institute for Family Studies ran an excerpt as part of their "Five Questions for..." series. We also had a lively conversation in the comments of Other Feminisms. Here's an excerpt: Sargeant: It feels like… Read More
Paid Family Leave Should Cover Miscarriage
New Zealand unanimously passed a law requiring three days of bereavement leave for parents who lose a child through miscarriage. I wrote a piece for the Institute for Family Studies on why I think this kind of leave is sorely needed. Parents who lose a child through miscarriage can have their grief dismissed. When my… Read More
Children Are a Rebuke to Our Schedules
After our baby, Beatrice, was born, I wrote a piece for the Institute for Family Studies on children as natural born interruptors, including of some of our culture's mistaken expectations about time. We can deceive ourselves (at least for a little while) about our limits and our control—by staying up too late to finish something… Read More