Black voices, Black bodies: Life in the age of Ozempic

It's not easy being Black and living in a larger body in a world that worships whiteness and thinness. So, we wanted to hear voices from the Black community about living in the age of Ozempic. People spoke with brutal honesty as they shared their journey with weight loss, and their encounters with family and a medical system rooted in anti-Blackness. Read more.

By Anissa Durham, photo direction by Crystal Milner

Michael Stargill for STAT

The doctor would treat her sickle cell pain crisis — if she promised not to get an abortion

Part 2 of STAT's investigative series "Coercive Care" looks at how a sickle cell patient's pregnancy was affected by living in a state with an abortion ban. Read more.

By Eric Boodman

Eros Dervishi for STAT

Gene therapies for deafness dredge up an old question: Do deaf people want a 'cure'?

The new frontier in gene therapy brings into sharp focus an age-old question about individual choices and unintended consequences. If hearing parents choose to "cure" their children's deafness, are they setting in motion a chain reaction that's bound to decimate a vibrant community and its cultural identity? Read more.

By Timmy Broderick

More great reads from STAT this week

Exclusive: NIH documents show how $1.6 billion long Covid initiative has failed so far to meet its goals
What the rescheduling of marijuana might — and might not — mean for scientific research
Drug treatment that insists on abstinence? Federal agencies are just saying no
What to watch for in the crucial FDA meeting on MDMA therapy for PTSD
Opinion: Mothers in treatment for opioid use disorder shouldn't also have to fight child protective services