Health Consequences of Laws and Public Policies That Target,or Protect,Marginalized Populations

Laws and public policies that are seemingly unrelated to health, nevertheless, can have health consequences in populations that are targeted, or protected, by that legislation. In this paper, I first review research showing that systems of oppression, such as racism and sexism, can cause negative health outcomes. I next discuss mechanisms underlying the relationship between such systems of oppression and negative health effects. Last, I review research showing that laws and public policies can be seen as components of systems of oppression and, as such, are linked to health outcomes. Some policies and laws I include in my review are anti‐same‐sex marriage bills, punitive immigration laws, stop and frisk policies, and state‐level voter disenfranchisement policies. The link between health outcomes and laws and public policies has implications for the current political climate.