Sean McCormick [he/him]
seanmccormick.bsky.social
Sean McCormick [he/him]
@seanmccormick.bsky.social
lawyer | center for hiv law and policy - hiv criminalization | hoping to create change in the systems that shape health | liberation/autonomy/harm reduction/decrim | views my own
Pinned
The convo will hopefully provide a clear framework to move forward during the current attacks on people living with HIV. I'm looking forward to learning from HIV decrim advocates who are applying abolitionist principles and building collective care.

www.hivlawandpolicy.org/events/aboli...
Abolition for our People: Cultivating Positive Justice - Ending HIV criminalization through principled coalition-based advocacy | The Center for HIV Law and Policy
Through the work of CHLP’s Positive Justice Project, advocates across the country are growing a movement to transform harmful laws and shift public narratives away from blame and punishment and toward...
www.hivlawandpolicy.org
And to be clear, drug criminalization destroys families, undermines health, and perpetuates white supremacy. www.ajpmonline.org/article/S074...
Illicit drug use during pregnancy in states with and without punitive prenatal substance use policies
: An increasing number of states have implemented punitive prenatal substance use policies. These include policies that consider prenatal substance use as grounds for substantiating abuse and neglect ...
www.ajpmonline.org
December 17, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Reposted by Sean McCormick [he/him]
Today is International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Everyone should feel safe at work.
December 17, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Reposted by Sean McCormick [he/him]
And for formerly incarcerated Black folks, the disparity is even worse, thanks to the prison penalty:
December 16, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Reposted by Sean McCormick [he/him]
Fentanyl is fentanyl. It’s a molecule. The illicit form, which is the same molecule as the medical form, comes in a different physical state (solid rather than liquid) making it even less of a threat/concern to anyone who isn’t using illicit drugs. It’s one of the most studied compounds in existence
The official white house statement specifies "illicit fentanyl" as being a WMD.

They don't clearly state what distinguishes it from licit fentanyl, which is presumably what his staffers were given.
December 16, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Really powerful testimony by Lashanda Salinas describing the pain and violence caused by HIV criminalization. And let it speak to the power of advocacy in bringing healing for people.

@interruptcrim.bsky.social

www.interruptingcriminalization.com/resources-al...
BDNH Storytelling Project: When Healing Becomes Resistance: Interrupting HIV Criminalization — Interrupting Criminalization
In this zine and audio story, an advocate and an attorney share an intimate story about the power of community and policy, and the role of health care providers in the movement to end HIV criminalizat...
www.interruptingcriminalization.com
December 16, 2025 at 4:46 PM
When these bureaucrats dismiss the health and well-being of women, they can also question and undermine care that provides for their needs. Misogyny takes many forms. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
FDA Panelists Questioned Antidepressants in Pregnancy. But Doctors Call Them a Lifeline. - KFF Health News
Participants in an FDA panel discussion warned the public about risks from using antidepressants in pregnancy. But mental health issues, including suicide and overdoses, are the leading cause of mater...
kffhealthnews.org
December 16, 2025 at 4:09 PM
And more and more individuals, especially Black and brown people, will be in danger of being criminalized based on their Hep B status. In a country that targets people for punishment based on their health status, failing to protect kids from Hep B is a disgusting and violent choice.
Today’s decision by ACIP to end the recommendation for a universal birth dose of Hepatitis B vaccine and its attempts to cast doubt on the whole childhood vaccine schedule constitute a reckless, dangerous move away from science and evidence-based policy
Vaccine Panel Attacks Children’s Health | Defend Public Health
Today’s decision by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to end the recommendation for a universal birth dose of Hepatitis B vaccine and its attempts to cast doubt on the whole child...
www.defendpublichealth.org
December 6, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Reposted by Sean McCormick [he/him]
New from me: The DOJ plans to dismantle protections for trans and intersex people in federal, state, and local prisons, jails, and youth detention facilities, according to a government memo obtained by Prism.
Trump administration plans to end prison rape protections for trans and intersex people
A Department of Justice memo says certain standards under the Prison Rape Elimination Act do not align with Trump’s executive order
prismreports.org
December 4, 2025 at 11:20 PM
The convo will hopefully provide a clear framework to move forward during the current attacks on people living with HIV. I'm looking forward to learning from HIV decrim advocates who are applying abolitionist principles and building collective care.

www.hivlawandpolicy.org/events/aboli...
Abolition for our People: Cultivating Positive Justice - Ending HIV criminalization through principled coalition-based advocacy | The Center for HIV Law and Policy
Through the work of CHLP’s Positive Justice Project, advocates across the country are growing a movement to transform harmful laws and shift public narratives away from blame and punishment and toward...
www.hivlawandpolicy.org
December 3, 2025 at 5:47 PM
By all accounts, the administration does not care about reducing new transmissions or improving the lives of PLHIV. abcnews.go.com/Politics/pre...
Presidential HIV council warns proposed cuts could reverse decades of progress
On World AIDS Day, advocates warn that new federal cuts could erase decades of progress and leave vulnerable communities at greater risk against HIV.
abcnews.go.com
December 1, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Reposted by Sean McCormick [he/him]
The U.S. just received a D+ for maternal healthcare from @marchofdimes.org – again.

With this horrific grade, it's no coincidence that the scale of maternal incarceration & its related harms is also monumental across the country.
November 25, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Join the second installment in our Abolition for Our People series, where we will introduce our new Positive Justice Project Guiding Principles and discuss the ways abolition inspires our HIV decrim practice. www.hivlawandpolicy.org/events/aboli...
Abolition for our People: Cultivating Positive Justice - Ending HIV criminalization through principled coalition-based advocacy | The Center for HIV Law and Policy
Through the work of CHLP’s Positive Justice Project, advocates across the country are growing a movement to transform harmful laws and shift public narratives away from blame and punishment and toward...
www.hivlawandpolicy.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Reposted by Sean McCormick [he/him]
Gilead Sciences is playing games with people's lives. Despite their vast communications resources, people across the world see through their nonsense and are calling for real access to lenacapavir for HIV prevention, not PR stunts. healthjusticeinitiative.org.za/2025/11/20/a...
Africa Demands Lenacapavir for All: The South African Government Should Act Decisively Against US bullying and for Equitable Access - Health Justice Initiative (HJI)
PRESS STATEMENT For Immediate Release: 20 November 2025, 09h00 SAST Africa Demands Lenacapavir for All: The South African Government Should Act Decisively Against US bullying and for Equitable Access
healthjusticeinitiative.org.za
November 20, 2025 at 11:19 AM
We can’t let the brain disease model get in the way of delivering justice for all people. Medicalization or pathologization should not be a barrier to addressing systemic barriers to autonomy and dignity for all. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The brain disease model of addiction and epistemic injustice
The brain disease model of addiction (BDMA) is a dominant, if highly contested, model of drug addiction globally. Over many decades, researchers have …
www.sciencedirect.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Reposted by Sean McCormick [he/him]
This New Orleans operation is going to closely resemble what we just went through in Chicago.
November 18, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Reposted by Sean McCormick [he/him]
‘MigraWatch’ trainings to ‘Whistlemania’ events: Chicagoans fight back against ICE raids

Residents are organizing in response to raids across the city amid Trump’s wide-ranging ‘operation midway blitz’ www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
‘MigraWatch’ trainings to ‘Whistlemania’ events: Chicagoans fight back against ICE raids
Residents are organizing in response to raids across the city amid Trump’s wide-ranging ‘operation midway blitz’
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:02 PM
We just released a new donation map and updated two of our existing ones. These changes reflect legislative developments and improved understanding of the threat of HIV criminalization. www.hivlawandpolicy.org/news/chlp-up...
CHLP Updates HIV Criminal Law Offenses and Enhancements Maps | The Center for HIV Law and Policy
CHLP has updated its set of maps in its signature Mapping HIV Criminal Laws in the U.S. resource. The updates include a new Donation Offenses map and other changes reflecting recent legislative change...
www.hivlawandpolicy.org
November 13, 2025 at 9:35 PM
When people defend the criminal legal system as a way to protect us from rapists, remember it existed and permitted the most horrific abuses, protected these men, and allowed them to ascend to the highest positions in our country.
November 13, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Reposted by Sean McCormick [he/him]
"Prohibition is unfortunately the default response to complex issues.”

Denver has decisively voted to uphold its vape flavor ban, despite harm reductionists' warnings, reports @kiransidhu41.bsky.social.

Michael Bloomberg contributed $5 million to the ban campaign:
Denver Voters Uphold Flavor Ban, in Blow to Tobacco Harm Reduction
Michael Bloomberg donated $5 million to the ban campaign. The referendum result could damage smoking cessation and local businesses.
filtermag.org
November 5, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Reposted by Sean McCormick [he/him]
🎥 #Atlanta PCC Advocacy Academy fellow DeKeitra Griffin explains how person-centred care helps deliver more effective treatment and support.

Find out more about person-centred care and the #IASPCC programme now:

www.iasociety.org/ias-programm...
November 3, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Reposted by Sean McCormick [he/him]
This feels very likely. They're just circling so much of the southwest side and constant helicopters. They definitely want to make the terror people experience into more videos online.
Probably likely there'll be DHS propaganda from their large convoy incursion in the south side of Chicago today. Besides that several people have been kidnapped today throughout the city and suburbs in other simultaneous operations.
October 28, 2025 at 10:35 PM