When Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced last week that birth control and other women’s preventive health care services would be covered by health insurance starting in August 2012, it set off a cacophony of right-wing hysterics. They zeroed in on the “radical” concept that contraception is prevention and displayed [...]
As the debt ceiling negotiations progress, it feels like pirates have boarded the ship of state and are holding us all hostage until their demands are met. They want us to slash and burn the financial underpinnings of the country in the name of their Holy Writ of Deficit Reduction. If we accede to their [...]
I am not especially drawn to horror films. And there’s one I know for sure I won’t be viewing: The Life Zone. Just watching the trailer was more than enough punishment. If you happened to catch Stephen Colbert’s commentary on this anti-choice propaganda piece, you know that the film is about three pregnant women who have [...]
If you’re a fan of Law & Order SVU, and there are millions of us, you’ll appreciate Lisa F. Jackson’s documentary “Sex Crimes Unit.” Premiering June 20 on HBO, Jackson’s film offers us a behind-the-scenes look at New York City’ sex crimes prosecution unit–the first of its kind in the country. In 1974, former Manhattan District [...]
On June 7, 1965, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision for which millions of women (including me) are eternally grateful. Griswold v. Connecticut [PDF] struck down an 1879 law that prohibited the use of contraceptives and made it illegal to assist, abet or counsel someone about contraceptives. Griswold established a constitutional right to marital [...]
The Catholic Church has been accused in the past of dragging their feet on predatory priests. Now, they’re taking steps to show us they’re serious. The U.S. Catholic Church has plunked down $2 million to do the largest study to date on child sexual abuse by clergy. Their primary finding, released yesterday, was that the [...]
We celebrate our mothers on the second Sunday in May, ostentatiously paying tribute with dinners, cards, flowers and gifts. The rest of the time–not so much. Anti-choice politicians are particularly guilty in this regard, portraying mothers and potential mothers as rash, uninformed, naïve and/or foolish–in need of guidance from the wise ones in Washington, state [...]
Mother’s Day is coming up. What to do? Flowers are nice. Jewelry works. A lot of Moms like brunch. The National Retail Foundation predicts that Americans will spend $16.3 billion on their mothers this year. That’s nice for Mom, but here’s something to think about while you’re picking out flowers, earrings or enjoying brunch– almost [...]
When you have a medical emergency, you want to get to the nearest hospital–fast. But if you’re a pregnant woman with a medical emergency, the nearest hospital may refuse to treat you if it’s Catholic-run. The medical personnel may have to let you die, because the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops–or as I’ve begun to [...]
Isn’t it interesting how Republican politicians are so eager to get regulators out of corporate boardrooms and into women’s bedrooms? Florida Democratic State Rep. Scott Randolph made that connection on the floor of the Florida House recently: We constantly talk about not putting more regulations out there. Yet, when it comes to my wife’s uterus, [...]
