“Someone will say, ‘Oh, I saw your website,’” Imershein said in a recent interview. At first she would think her interlocutor was referring to the site that advertises her services titled “Certified by the National Organization of American Mohelim.” It’s not the case: They are referring to her other practice, providing abortions, and advocating for…
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Health
Health
70 is 70, not ‘the new 50,’ says S.F. doctor
Almost midway through Dr. Louise Aronson’s new book, “Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life,” the S.F.-based…
Culture
SNL alum Vanessa Bayer on her new children’s book about illness
Though she made America laugh for seven years as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” Vanessa Bayer has a serious side, including a not-so-secret soft…
First Person
Not wanting kids doesn’t make me a bad Jew
When most people ask me if I’ll ever have children, I’m usually pretty blunt. Nope, kids are absolutely not happening. Ever. The only thing occupying my…
Talking With ...
Q&A: How anthropology complements traditional medicine
In her career as a medical anthropologist, Sharon Kaufman, 71, has done extensive research into why individuals, their families and physicians often…
Health
Keep your brain sharp at JCCSF cognitive fitness fair
A comedian and a neurologist walk into a JCC — not for a joke, but for a day of brain fitness events at the JCC of San Francisco on June 23. The third…
Pride
Q&A: A gender expert who stands up for nonbinary youth
Developmental and clinical psychologist Diane Ehrensaft is an associate professor of pediatrics at UC San Francisco and director of mental health at the…
Seniors
Does diet soda cause cancer? It’s complicated.
Recently, I heard about someone with cancer of the pancreas. When he asked his doctor about the possible cause of his malignancy, his doctor told him,…
Health
There’s a science to empathy, and an art to explaining it
In the middle of an explanation about a band of nerve fibers in our brains, Josh Kornbluth has a question. He grabs his phone. “Siri, do animals have a…