Despite enormous pressure from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Obama Administration recently decided not to broaden the religious exemption for contraceptive coverage under the Preventive Care package of the Affordable Care Act. The Bishops are now leading a backlash against this decision, and women are speaking out.
Month: January 2012
“Girl in a Coma” Rocks to Its Own Beat (and Causes)
The impact of homegrown, San Antonio-based, all-woman band Girl in a Coma stretches far beyond the borders of Texas. Their fourth album Exits and All the Rest, recently named to NPR’s 50 best of 2011, shows the band’s range of talents.
VAWA Is a Queer Issue
This year VAWA is up for re-authorization. It is time for VAWA to explicitly include LGBTQ people. We must support a bill that reaches and supports all victims of violence.
White Women’s Rage: Five Reasons Jan Brewer Should Keep Her Fingers to Herself
When we do think of white rage, usually we think of it in masculine terms. Gender stereotypes condition us not to see white women as being capable of this kind of dangerous emotional output. But unchecked white rage has always been dangerous for Brown and Black folk in America.
It’s Time to Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act
This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider legislation that would reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the largest policy effort aimed at responding to and preventing domestic violence. First passed in 1994, VAWA supports comprehensive, cost-saving responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.
The Sound of Silence: Where Is the Anti-Choice Outcry Over North Carolina’s Forced Sterilization of Women of Color?
A task force in North Carolina recently ruled that survivors of the state’s eugenics program should be paid $50,000 each in financial compensation. The practice of eugenics was not limited to Nazi Germany, nor is it a well kept secret that’s been waiting to be discovered by organizations opposed to reproductive justice.
Do Restrictive Abortion Laws Actually Reduce Abortion Rates?
The Lancet has just study on global trends in abortion, focusing on overall rates, access to safe vs. unsafe abortions, and how the legal status of abortion impacts abortion rates. The results shed some interesting light on the effects of efforts to reduce abortion by outlawing or restricting access to it.
Ask an Abortion Provider: Roe v. Wade Edition
Nearly 40 years ago, abortion was legalized in the United States. To mark the occasion, Lola McClure, a registered nurse, interviewed Dr. Nancy Stanwood, an obstetrician/gynecologist, abortion provider, mother, and board member with the Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health.
The Invisible War of Military Women
The Invisible War, a new documentary from Kirby Dick, is pulling back the curtain on sexual assault in the military — a rampant problem with devastating consequences.
Percentage of Unsafe Abortions On The Rise Worldwide
Almost half of all abortions performed globally are done so without trained clinical assistance, according to a new study. Unsafe abortion is one of the main contributors to maternal death and includes procedures outside hospitals, clinics and surgeries, or without qualified medical supervision.