While women's healthcare extends far beyond reproductive healthcare, its politicization is harming women's overall health and well-being.
Leana S. WenRead
When I was 10 years old, my neighbor died in front of me of an asthma attack, because he and his family were undocumented immigrants and his grandmother was afraid of what would happen if they called an ambulance for help.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the significance of fear and the consequences it can have on life and death situations.
Leana S. Wen reflects on a tragic experience from her childhood, emphasizing the profound impact that fear of authority and lack of access to medical help can have on vulnerable communities. Her neighbor's death underscores how immigration status can lead to devastating outcomes when families are unwilling to seek assistance due to fear of deportation or other repercussions.
Themes
FearImmigrationHealthcareAsthmaHelp
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion about healthcare access and immigrant rights.
More from Leana S. Wen
All quotes →We really need to be talking about the COVID vaccine the same way that we talk about other vaccinations - which is that it's safe, effective, life-saving and essential for the public's health.
Leana S. WenRead
Improvements in global public health must begin locally, and must be driven by leaders who will learn the hard lessons from COVID-19.
Leana S. WenRead
Public health is a powerful tool to level that playing field, to bend the arc of our country away from distrust and disparities and back towards equity and justice.
Leana S. WenRead
Mental health is just as important as physical health, but why is it that we can't find the same access to mental health treatment as we do for physical health ailments?
Leana S. WenRead
My parents and I entered the U.S. legally, but when it was time for our visa extension, we were turned down. Returning to China meant imprisonment for my father and persecution for my family. We were days from being forced to live here illegally when we were granted political asylum. Other families are not so lucky.
Leana S. WenRead
Similar quotes
The trouble is that nonviolence is so often defined as refusal to fight, and that is the American definition of cowardice. In fact, marching unarmed against the guns and dogs of the police requires more courage than does aggression. The perverted idea of manhood coming from the barrel of a gun is what keeps people from understanding nonviolence.
Jesse JacksonRead
Courage is a moral quality; it is not a chance gift of nature like an aptitude for games. It is a cold choice between two alternatives, the fixed resolve not to quit; an act of renunciation which must be made not once but many times by the power of the will.
Charles Wilson, 1St Baron MoranRead
Fear is never a reason for quitting; it is only an excuse.
Norman Vincent PealeRead
I never question God. Sometimes I say, 'Why me? Why do I have such a hard life? Why do I have this disease? Why do I have siblings who died?' But then I think and say, 'Why not me?'
Mattie StepanekRead
Most people would have given up when faced with all the criticism I've received over the years.
Albert EllisRead
I allow myself to fail. I allow myself to break. I'm not afraid of my flaws.
Lady GagaRead