tagged w/ Reproductive Rights
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HB 358 would exempt any hospital that opposes abortion from performing emergency procedures, and would also abolish the requirement of arranging transport to another hospital, leaving women completely helpless and without care....In other words, left to die.
http://veracitystew.com/2011/10/13/gops-let-women-die-act-is-debated-in-congress/HB 358 would exempt any hospital that opposes abortion from performing emergency... more
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After failing to de-fund Planned Parenthood in February, now the GOP is leading a House probe to see if the organization has used public funds for abortion services.
The investigation is an abuse of government resources. Planned Parenthood is regularly audited by the Department of Health and Human Services, and has consistently been found to be in compliance with federal law. 97% of the health care provider's services are non-abortion related, and include things like screening for cancer and STD tests. House Democrats wrote a letter to the Republican leading the investigation calling it "unwarranted" and "designed to harass and shut down an organization simply because Republicans disagree with the work that it does."
The probe is part of a broader right-wing assault on health care and reproductive rights. Please sign the petition below to remind our Reps that Planned Parenthood makes health care more accessible, and that this probe is unnecessary and wasteful, especially when so many Americans need jobs.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/oppose-republican-attack-on-planned-parenthood/After failing to de-fund Planned Parenthood in February, now the GOP is leading a... more
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Enter whack-job of the day, Janet Porter, who is hard at work making sure Ohio’s Heartbeat Bill passes the state legislature and becomes the most restrictive law against women’s rights on the books. The law would prohibit a woman from having an abortion once the heartbeat of a fetus can be detected, which can be as soon as 18 days after conception.
http://veracitystew.com/2011/09/28/janet-porters-heartbeat-bill-god-can-bless-us-now-video/Enter whack-job of the day, Janet Porter, who is hard at work making sure Ohio’s... more
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The GOP’s concerted campaign against women’s health has resulted in about 1,000 anti-abortion bills in state legislatures across the country and numerous federal attempts to eradicate a woman’s right to choose. The extremity of the efforts include attempts to redefine “personhood,” put warning labels on contraception, and criminalize birth control altogether. But while they smother women’s rights with one hand, Republicans insist “we are not attacking women” on the other. “This is not a war against women,” said Republican founder of WomanTrend Kellyanne Conway.
Texas Rep. Wayne Christian (R), however, begs to differ. With Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) at the helm, Texas Republicans have passed an “emergency” law forcing women to view a sonogram before an abortion, threatened a poor women’s health care program over Planned Parenthood funding, are seeking to restrict hospitals and physicians over abortion procedures, and has cut funding for family planning clinics by two-thirds.
When asked whether Texas’s anti-family planning efforts were “a war on birth control,” Christian replied, “Well of course this is a war on birth control and abortions and everything”:
The goal is to get government money out of the abortion process and if contraceptive services have to suffer a bit of collateral damage in the process, so be it. When The Texas Tribune asked state Rep. Wayne Christian (R-Nacogdoches), a supporter of the family planning cuts, if this was a war on birth control, he said “yes.”
“Well of course this is a war on birth control and abortions and everything, that’s what family planning is supposed to be about,” Christian said.
Family planning clinics are routinely referred to by many Texas Republican legislators as “abortion clinics” even though none of the 71 family planning clinics in the state that receive government funding provide abortions. Texas and federal law prohibits that, but most women’s health clinics will refer women or teens who want an abortion to a provider.
“They’re sitting here, referring women out to receive abortions,” Christian said in an interview with NPR. “Those are the clinics, including Planned Parenthood, we were targeting.”
While disturbing, Christian’s honesty is a refreshing change from Republicans’ more common defense that cuts to women’s health care will save money. As NPR notes, the state estimates that 300,000 women will lose access to family planning services because of these cuts, resulting in roughly 20,000 additional unplanned births. “Texas already spends $1.3 billion on teen pregnancies — more than any other state.”
There is no doubt that Republicans across the country are waging a comprehensive war against women’s health. At least Christian is willing to admit it.The GOP’s concerted campaign against women’s health has resulted in about... more
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Reported that he had been having sever chest pains so friend figures massive heart attack.
Personally, I think it unlikely. He did not show any indication of having a heart IMHO.Reported that he had been having sever chest pains so friend figures massive heart... more
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Rachel Remarks on the Right Wing Rebranding of the Republican Party,
The Rich may have Rallied the Rabble-Rouser's 'grassroots' Rage in the beginning,
to assure the Redistribution of wealth went TO the Ruling Class.
But in the end, the biggest blip on the Religious Right's Radar Remains Reproductive Rights.
video and story at link
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/so-much-tea-party-being-all-about-fiscal-iRachel Remarks on the Right Wing Rebranding of the Republican Party,
The Rich may... more
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Many pro-choice women feel that abortion is a personal decision that a woman makes regarding her body. Some even feel that a man has no say in the decision to abort since it is the women’s body that is affected by the pregnancy. Some women are less inclined to cut the man entirely out of the decision. Similarly, men have different views on it that run the gamut. One New Mexico man took news of his ex-girlfriend’s abortion to an extreme, and attempted to publicly humiliate her.
Keep reading here:
http://www.politicalfailblog.com/2011/06/boyfriend-takes-out-billboard-to.htmlMany pro-choice women feel that abortion is a personal decision that a woman makes... more
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Abortion. If you want to spark a heated debate with angry words and hurt feelings, I know of no better topic. Once again, it is making news because of Indiana’s recent decision to de-fund Planned Parenthood. People tend to fall into three camps about this decision. Camp 1 is for it and thinks it’s a great idea. Camp 2 is against it and thinks it’s a horrible idea. Camp 3 sees some of the good Planned Parenthood does, but they disagree with abortion so they really don’t know how to feel about it. But there is something your Republican representatives aren’t telling you: This isn’t about Planned Parenthood. And you know what? It isn’t even about abortion. (gasp) It’s about removing the tools needed for women to be in charge of their own reproduction.
I’m going to say that bit again because it is so vitally important for people to open their eyes and realize this. It is about removing the tools needed for women to be in charge of their own reproduction. Why this matters: Indiana is leading the nation in funding cuts for Planned Parenthood. If they are successful, this would set a precedence for other states to follow suit. Here is a link to the latest news on the Hoosier front.
Keep Reading and watch videos here:
http://www.politicalfailblog.com/2011/06/abortion-womens-heath-politics-oh-my.htmlAbortion. If you want to spark a heated debate with angry words and hurt feelings, I... more
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Many U.S. women have already lost their constitutional right to abortion.
That's the premise of an April 19 column by Dahlia Lithwick in Slate.
She writes that many of the 916 state measures seeking to regulate reproductive health introduced in 49 states since the start of the year infringe on Roe v. Wade. That 1973 Supreme Court decision concluded that women's right to privacy extends to their decision to end a pregnancy.
But pro-choice legal activists--wary of court battles that could go to an unfriendly High Court--are turning a blind eye, Lithwick writes.
A Louisiana lawmaker this week made it clear that anti-abortion activists are itching for a Supreme Court battle.
Rep. John LaBruzzo, R-Metairie, has filed legislation for the regular lawmaking session opening April 25 that would ban all abortions in the state and subject the doctor who performs one to prosecution on charges of feticide, Ed Anderson reported in The Times-Picayune on April 20.
When asked how the bill fits with Roe, LaBruzzo was blunt: "I believe it would be in direct conflict with them...and immediately go to court. That is the goal of the individuals who asked me to put this bill in.
Among the laws that have passed so far this year is South Dakota's expanded waiting period for abortion from 24 to 72 hours and a requirement that counseling from "crisis pregnancy centers" include scientifically-flawed data on risk factors.
This week Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, a Republican serving her first term, signed into law a prohibition on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, making it the fourth state to ban abortions after that date, Steve Olafson reported for Reuters on April 20. Fallin also signed a law preventing health insurers from covering elective abortions.
Full blog at http://www.womensenews.org/story/abortion/110422/new-anti-choice-laws-are-strangling-roe-v-wade-0Many U.S. women have already lost their constitutional right to abortion.... more
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Under a GOP-backed bill expected to sail through the House of Representatives, the Internal Revenue Service would be forced to police how Americans have paid for their abortions. To ensure that taxpayers complied with the law, IRS agents would have to investigate whether certain terminated pregnancies were the result of rape or incest. And one tax expert says that the measure could even lead to questions on tax forms: Have you had an abortion? Did you keep your receipt?
In testimony to a House taxation subcommittee on Wednesday, Thomas Barthold, the chief of staff of the nonpartisan Joint Tax Committee, confirmed that one consequence of the Republicans' "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" would be to turn IRS agents into abortion cops—that is, during an audit, they'd have to detemine, from evidence provided by the taxpayer, whether any tax benefit had been inappropriately used to pay for an abortion.
The proposed law, also known as H.R. 3, extends the reach of the Hyde Amendment—which bans federal funding for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is at stake—into many parts of the federal tax code. In some cases, the law would forbid using tax benefits—like credits or deductions—to pay for abortions or health insurance that covers abortion. If an American who used such a benefit were to be audited, Barthold said, the burden of proof would lie with the taxpayer to provide documentation, for example, that her abortion fell under the rape/incest/life-of-the-mother exception, or that the health insurance she had purchased did not cover abortions.
"Were this to become law, people could end up in an audit, the subject of which could be abortion, rape, and incest," says Christopher Bergin, the head of Tax Analysts, a nonpartisan, not-for-profit tax policy group. "If you pass the law like this, the IRS would be required to enforce it."
(...)
"The Internal Revenue Service has no business interfering with a woman's right to a safe, legal, constitutionally-protected medical procedure," Thompson tells Mother Jones. "Private health care decisions belong to a woman, her family, and her doctor—not a government auditor."
Most IRS agents would likely agree, Owens says: "I don't think [IRS agents] enjoy prying around into those sorts of private matters." Another IRS veteran tells Mother Jones he doesn't believe his ex-colleagues would want to enforce such a law. "You can't ask people to go out and ask some woman about what the circumstances are surrounding her abortion. They just won't do it."
UPDATE: NARAL Pro-Choice America, one of the major groups supporting abortion rights, has issued a statement responding to this story:
"This bill gets more outrageous and insulting by the day. Not only would a woman have to describe her sexual assault to the police, but she could then be forced to relive that horrifying experience with an agent from the IRS," said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. "The 221 members of Congress who signed their names to this egregious bill must explain to their constituents why they want to give the IRS authority to audit rape survivors."Under a GOP-backed bill expected to sail through the House of Representatives, the... more
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The US House of Representatives is expected to pass an amendment to the Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011 by this weekend that would cut millions of dollars in funding to Planned Parenthood for contraceptives, reproductive health counseling and cancer screenings.
The amendment eliminates all $327 million in funding for Title X, a family planning program that began 40 years ago under President Richard Nixon. And while Planned Parenthood receives millions of dollars from the program, Title X funds cannot be used for abortion services.
The money is to be used for noncontroversial family planning services, mostly for low-income families.
"I am aware that Title X family planning funds are eliminated in this bill, but eliminating Title X funding has never been my goal," Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), who offered the amendment, said on the House floor Thursday.
"I support the important work of Title X clinics across the country that provide breast cancer screenings, HIV testing, counseling, and other valuable family planning services."
"My focus has and will remain on denying taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood or any organization that provides or promotes abortion as a means of birth control," he added.
The amendment is attached to a bill that is needed to fund the government for the rest of the current fiscal year and considered "must pass" legislation.
"Congress should use the continuing resolution to create jobs, not to further the extreme assault on women’s reproductive rights by eliminating the cost-effective family planning program," Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) said.
The abortion rights group NARAL said the legislation would lead to more unwanted pregnancies by cutting funding for contraceptives.
"The new anti-choice House leadership now wants to take away birth control and cancer screenings from millions of American women and men," Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL, said. "While these politicians attack abortion coverage from every angle, they now want to deny funding for birth control, even though that’s the best way to prevent unintended pregnancy. Americans will not stand for this blatant hypocrisy."
more at link...The US House of Representatives is expected to pass an amendment to the Full Year... more
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On a conference call with reporters and bloggers this afternoon, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) characterized the GOP’s recent legislative effort to restrict access to abortion and contraception as “the most comprehensive and radical assault on women’s health in our life time,” promising to wage a campaign against the effort. Pelosi was referring to the Republican-backed H.R. 3 “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” and H.R. 358, “Protect Life Act,” as well separate measures to eliminate federal funding for family planning.
“They’re proposing raising taxes on small business,” Pelosi said of the two bills. “Under current law, women can buy insurance that covers a full range of reproductive health care. Under the Republican plan, women in private plans can’t use their private money to purchase a full range of reproductive health care, effectively taking away the right of women to spend their own money on the health care they choose.” “Small businesses that received tax credits for their employees will lose their tax credit if they choose a full range of plans that cover women’s health,” Pelosi added.
H.R. 3 would eliminate any tax breaks for health care plans that include abortion coverage, denying tax credits to employers or other entities that pay for health plans that cover abortion, while H.R. 358 would also prohibit federal funding for abortions under the Affordable Care Act and “prevent funding from being withheld from institutions that refuse to provide abortions.”
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), who joined Pelosi on the call, warned that the GOP proposals went beyond restricting abortion, and would also limit access to family planning services. Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) has said that he plans to offer a proposal to strip funding from Planned Parenthood, which provides contraceptives and family planning services, and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) yesterday released a plan that would eliminate Title X funding. “This is a very, very, real threat,” DeGette warned. “The first vote could come as early as next week and we’re expecting a vote within the next few weeks or months.”
“Heck, out of all the things you can say about their approach, that they don’t even have funding for family planning and contraception is something that we’ve never been able to convince the public of but it is true and it has always been their agenda,” Pelosi added, before saying that Democrats will work to pressure moderate pro-life Republicans on the spot to push them to vote against cutting off funds to family planning services.
While some would expect abortion opponents to support family planning programs that reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, Pelosi argued that conservative Republicans are “in a different philosophical place on…all engagements that result in a child. So that’s why homosexuality, that’s why birth control, all these things that are not consistent with their beliefs that are all about procreation.”On a conference call with reporters and bloggers this afternoon, Rep. Nancy Pelosi... more
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by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
It’s a Christmas-week miracle! The Senate, in a vote that astonished everyone, brought the Food Safety and Modernization Act back from the dead on Monday, as Siddhartha Mahanta reports in Mother Jones. The bill, which will enact tougher consumer protections against E. coli and other deadly contaminants in staples like eggs and peanut butter, died in the Senate last week when the omnibus spending bill it had been folded into kicked the bucket.
At Grist, Tom Philpott explains the initial demise, and the basis for the ultimate resurrection of the bill. The House passed the bill on Tuesday, having already passed it twice before.
President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law, which will usher in the first major overhaul of the country’s food safety system in more than 70 years. Food poisoning strikes 48 million Americans (1 in 6), lands 128,000 in the hospital, and kills 3,000 ever year, according to CDC figures released last week. Now that’s something to talk about with your relatives around the holiday dinner table.
Wisconsin clinic backs off 2nd trimester abortion care
A clinic in Wisconsin has reneged on its commitment to provide second trimester abortion care, as Judy Shackelford reports in The Progressive. Shackelford is outraged that the Madison Surgery Center walked back on its promise to patients. She knows first hand how important later term abortion access can be.
Shackelford found herself in need of a second trimester abortion when she developed a blood clot in her arm during her second, much-wanted pregnancy. She decided to terminate rather than risk leaving her 7-year-old son motherless. It was hard enough to find an abortion provider when she needed one, but if she needed the procedure today, she would have nowhere to turn.
Teen birth rate at record low
The birth rate for women ages 15-19 fell to 39.1 per 1000 between 2008 and 2009, the National Center for Health Statistics announced Tuesday. Many commentators, including Goddessjaz of feministing attribute the drop to the recession. The economy seems to be an important factor because birth rates dropped in all age groups, not just among teens.
Predictably, proponents of abstinence-only-until-hetero-marriage are trying to take credit for the falling birth rate. It’s not clear why they think ab-only is finally starting to work after years of unrelenting failure. Perhaps it was Bristol Palin’s electrifying performance on “Dancing With the Stars”?
Get the government out of my Medicare
We’ve become accustomed to the ironic spectacle of senior citizens on Medicare-funded scooters decrying the “government takeover of health care.” Medicare is wildly popular, even among those who decry “socialized medicine.” When the Affordable Care Act is finally implemented, it won’t feel like a government program, either. Paul Waldman of The American Prospect wonders if this “private sector” feel will undermine support for the program:
The Republican officials challenging the ACA in court have characterized its individual insurance mandate as an act of tyranny ranking somewhere between the Stalinist purges and Mao’s Cultural Revolution. But in the “government takeover” of health care (recently declared the 2010 “Lie of the Year” by the fact-checking site PolitiFact), Americans will continue to visit their private doctors to receive care paid for by their private insurance companies. The irony is that if the ACA actually were a “government takeover,” people would end up feeling much better about government’s involvement in health care. But since it maintains the private system, conservatives can continue to decry government health care safe in the knowledge that most people under 65 won’t know what they’re missing, or in another sense, what they’re getting.
If people don’t realize that they’re benefiting from government programs, they are less likely to support those programs. In an attempt to deflect Republican criticism, the Democrats assiduously scrubbed as much of the aura of government off of health reform as they could. This could prove to be a disastrously short-sighted strategy. If health reform works, the government won’t get the credit, but rest assured that if it fails, it will take the full measure of blame.
Funding for community health centers at risk
One of the lesser-known provisions of the Affordable Care Act was to expand the capacity of community health centers (CHCs) from 20 million to 40 million patients by 2015. This extra capacity will be key for absorbing the millions of previously uninsured Americans who are slated to get health insurance under the ACA.
CHCs have been praised by Democrats and Republicans as an affordable way to provide quality health care. However, state budget crises are threatening to derail the plan, as Dan Peterson reports for Change.org. States must contribute to the program in order to qualify for federal funding. However, state funding for CHCs has plummeted by 42% since 2007. So far this year, 23 states have cut funding for CHCs and eight have slashed their budgets by 20% or more.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about health care by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Pulse for a complete list of articles on health care reform, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Mulch, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
It’s a Christmas-week... more
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It was 6:40 p.m. and for more than five hours the women's issues committee of the New York City Council had listened to testimony about a proposed local law--similar to the one passed in Baltimore last year--regulating crisis pregnancy centers.
Crisis pregnancy centers--or CPCs, as everyone was calling them--are sites run by Christian organizations in the United States and around the world.
Depending on your point of view, the centers either browbeat and trick teens and women into maintaining unwanted pregnancies or they offer vulnerable and frightened teens and women kindness, support and loving care.
Those were the two starkly different versions presented at the hearing about the sites, which can be called "pregnancy resource centers," "pregnancy decision health centers," "pregnancy care centers," "women's choice network" and sometimes just "pregnancy centers."
If passed, the city law would require the centers to prominently display--in their facilities, on their Web sites and in ads--disclaimers saying they do not provide abortions, provide contraception or have licensed medical personnel available. It would also require centers to keep confidential the information they gather about their clients.
Supporters say the law is needed for several reasons.
City officials have said that the centers can cause a delay in pre-natal care if pregnant women seeking clinical attention go to the centers looking for that.
Pro-choice advocates want the centers to be more clearly marked so they don't detour women seeking their services. In at least one case, a center had set up shop in the same building and on the same floor as a Planned Parenthood clinic.
At the hearing a social worker for Planned Parenthood said prospective patients were often confused and went to the wrong place--only to be indoctrinated with anti-abortion propaganda.
Read the full account at Women's eNews http://www.womensenews.org/story/abortion/101126/nyc-tests-brakes-crisis-pregnancy-centersIt was 6:40 p.m. and for more than five hours the women's issues committee of the... more
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http://sangerpapers.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/feminists-for-choice-explore-issues-of-sanger-and-race/
On the Feminists for Choice blog, Serena Freewomyn posted “Was Margaret Sanger a Racist?” The post offers a quick look at a topic much in the blogosphere, and while we don’t entirely agree with the author’s analysis, it at least adds some context to the debate . The comments posted on the article are just as interesting as the blog itself.
In the interest of adding to the conversation, we’d like to provide a bit more information about Sanger and the Negro Project...http://sangerpapers.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/feminists-for-choice-explore-issues-of-san... more
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Planned Parenthood, the country's leading provider of reproductive health services, is targeting the 10th District of Illinois as one of the most important congressional races in the country for reproductive rights.
The district, in President Barack Obama's political stomping ground, is considered strategically important for Democrats, the party with stronger support for reproductive rights.
The contest between Democrat Dan Seals and Republican Robert Dold is one of the few where the besieged majority party in Congress could break longtime Republican control. The GOP incumbent Mark Kirk is vying for the Senate seat once held by Obama. The last time a Democrat represented the district was in 1975 when Abner Mikva, a friend and advisor to Obama, held the seat.
Read the rest: http://www.womensenews.org/story/campaign-trail/101014/red-blue-campaign-colors-illinois-house-racePlanned Parenthood, the country's leading provider of reproductive health... more
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The Obama administration's stringent ban on abortion coverage in the new high-risk pools for people with pre-existing conditions who have been denied coverage in the individual market has spurred criticism among pro-choice organizations.
They say the ban harms the vulnerable women that the historic health care reform legislation was supposed to protect.
Read more: http://www.womensenews.org/story/abortion/100818/critics-petition-obama-hhs-abortion-banThe Obama administration's stringent ban on abortion coverage in the new... more
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The Obama administration has issued a new interim rule excluding abortion coverage from the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plans, or high-risk insurance pools, created by the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Even using their own private funds, individuals will not be able to buy policies that cover abortion in these pools. The only exemptions will be for women who have been raped, who are the victims of incest or who will likely die if they carry a pregnancy to term. Under this new rule, women with serious health conditions such as heart disease may be forced to carry pregnancies to term despite serious harm to their health.The Obama administration has issued a new interim rule excluding abortion coverage... more
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by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
Fifty years ago, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first birth control pill. Needless to say, the repercussions of this medical and public policy breakthrough are still being felt today.
Catherine Epstein of the Women’s Media Center thinks it’s significant that we celebrate the date a U.S. government agency approved the Pill, as opposed to the anniversary of its invention. The Pill has been at the center of a power struggle from the very beginning:
The pill has been under ideological fire since the first tiny tablet hit a woman’s palm. And the impact it’s had on women’s autonomy and freedom has been – as decades have passed – nearly equal to the fear (and subsequent restriction) it’s instilled in those who believe in curtailing reproductive rights.
Which came first?
Michelle Goldberg of the American Prospect takes up a longstanding debate: Did the Pill liberate women, or did it take a feminist revolution to make the Pill relevant? Call it a chicken and ovum problem: American women were able to use the Pill to wrest control of their reproductive destinies because they had a certain level of autonomy to begin with.
Women didn’t immediately embrace the pill when it came on the market because the stigma of divorcing sex and reproduction was still too great. Arguably, society’s attitudes about sex and reproduction had to evolve before the Pill could catch on. As Goldberg notes, oral contraceptives are widely available in Saudi Arabia, yet they pose no apparent threat to the patriarchy. I would argue that reproductive freedom is a positive feedback loop. Women who control their fertility are in a better position to push for even more autonomy through education, paid work, and social activism.
Reproductive rights and the Supreme Court
The battle over reproductive rights is far from over. With the impending retirement of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, all eyes are on President Barack Obama as he mulls the shortlist to replace the Court’s leading liberal. Interestingly, the reputed front-runners are all white women: Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Judge Diane Wood of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Merrick Garland of the D.C. Circuit, and Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm.
Paul Waldman of the American Prospect casts a jaded eye on the upcoming confirmation battle. He predicts a good, old fashioned culture war brawl. He notes that the Republicans are already preparing to paint Wood as an “abortion rights extremist,” if she gets the nod, according to early opposition research obtained New York Times.
Everything is not OK
Speaking of abortion rights, Rachel Larris of RH Reality Check reports that the Center for Reproductive Rights has filed a lawsuit challenging Oklahoma’s new law, which forces women to undergo ultrasounds prior to obtaining abortions. The Center argues that the law is unconstitutional because it violates a woman’s right to privacy by forcing unwanted information on her and impinging upon doctor/patient confidentiality.
Monica Potts of TAPPED floats the idea that, because these mandatory ultrasounds typically involve a vaginal probe, the Oklahoma law might violate the state’s rape laws.
WellPoint caves to House Dems
Finally, some good news on the women’s health front. Evan McMorris-Santoro of Talking Points Memo reports that health insurance giant WellPoint caved to political pressure from House Democrats and agreed to stop dropping sick customers.
WellPoint achieved nationwide notoriety in recent weeks when it was revealed that automatically reviewed the records of women diagnosed with breast cancer (and other ailments) to see if they had any unreported preexisting conditions that might justify terminating their coverage. This practice will become illegal when the health care reform legislation takes effect, but WellPoint has agreed to stop ahead of schedule.
Action Urged on Neglected Diseases
In the Progressive, Dr. Unni Karunakara and Dr. Bernard Pecoul urge the Obama administration tackle more neglected tropical diseases. Obama has already pledged unprecedented aid to fight five neglected ailments afflicting the developing world. Krunakara and Pecoul argue that this isn’t enough. The administration is fighting the good fight on malaria, but sleeping sickness, visceral leishmaniasis, Chagas disease and Buruli ulcer, which affect a billion of the world’s poorest people.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about health care by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Pulse for a complete list of articles on health care reform, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Mulch, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
Fifty years ago, the Food and Drug... more
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