Select one (1) of the following prompts. Address these questions in your thesis
and in the body of your paper. Imagine you are writing to a reader that has never encountered this issue
before.
1) What were the major tensions and contradictions in ACT-UP’s fight for equality in the health
care system in the 1980s and 1990s? Did the outcomes of that fight successfully address those
contradictions for the “public good”? Why or why not?
2) What were the major tensions and contradictions involved in the fight to address the sterilization
practices of LA County-USC Medical Center in the early 1970s? Did the outcome of that fight
successfully address those contradictions for the “public good”? Why or why not?
3) According to the film, Unnatural Causes: Not Just a Paycheck (and course readings), what social
and economic forces have contributed to the widening wealth gap in America since the 1980s?
What are some of the health-related impacts of these policies on certain groups of workers, their
families and communities? How have these forces affected notions of the “public good” in health
care?