NEWSFLASH: Tennessee May Publish Names of Abortion Providers
March 19, 2012 by Ms. · 5 Comments
A proposed Tennessee law would require the state Department of Health to publish on its website the names of doctors who perform abortions, as well as extensive demographic information about each woman to undergo the procedure. The Defense of Life Act is scheduled to be introduced in the Tennessee House Health and Human Resources Committee [...]
Women To Storm the 2012 Ballot Boxes in Defense of Health and Economic Rights
March 2, 2012 by Beth Baker · 4 Comments
“We’re here to express the outrage of literally millions of American women,” announced Feminist Majority president, Ms. publisher and long-time activist Eleanor Smeal at the National Press Club in Washington yesterday. That outrage is being channeled into a massive get-out-the-vote (GOTV) mobilization of women. Organized by a coalition of more than 50 women’s groups under [...]
Where Are Men’s Voices in the Fight for Women’s Health?
March 2, 2012 by Rob Okun · 14 Comments
Now that the public outcry has died down over the Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s ill-advised and short-lived decision to defund Planned Parenthood, there’s time to consider men’s role in this and other recent women’s health controversies. In the heated debates that have boiled up recently over birth control and abortion, the loudest male [...]
Why the Reactionary Right Fears the Girl Scouts
February 29, 2012 by Marcia Chatelain · 2 Comments
In 1924, James E. West, then the leader of the Boy Scouts of America, threatened to file suit against the Girl Scouts of America for patent violations over the word “scout.” For years, West had mounted an aggressive public relations campaign against the Girl Scouts, fearful that their ambitious program of outdoor education and community [...]
Texas’s War on Women
February 24, 2012 by Kristen Schuetz · 9 Comments
Texas Director of Health and Human Services Tom Suehs signed into law yesterday a state ban on giving Medicaid funds to any doctor or clinic affiliated with organizations that provide abortion (government funds are already barred from directly funding abortion). The law may shut down the state Women’s Health Program, which funds basic health services [...]
The Long History of the War on Contraception
February 14, 2012 by Ellen Chesler · 5 Comments
For those surprised about the recent fervor over Obama’s contraception coverage decision, a look at its deep roots. Republicans for Planned Parenthood last week issued a call for nominations for the 2012 Barry Goldwater award, an annual prize awarded to a Republican legislator who has acted to protect women’s health and rights. Past recipients include [...]
Obama’s Plan B
February 10, 2012 by Annie Shields · 1 Comment
The White House today announced an update to its widely supported and yet hotly contested decision not to expand the religious exemption for no-cost contraceptive coverage. At stake was whether religiously affiliated organizations such as Catholic hospitals and universities should also be excluded from the health-insurance requirement, even though many of their employees aren’t Catholic. [...]
Advice for Komen: Try Pink and Purple Ribbons
February 7, 2012 by Ben Atherton-Zeman · 7 Comments
The Susan G. Komen Foundation lost support from donors last week after the organization announced that it would cut funding to Planned Parenthood. Its apology on Friday was lauded by some, but viewed with skepticism by many others, who pointed out that Komen hadn’t actually promised to refund Planned Parenthood. The damage has been done [...]
Abortion Is 14 Times Safer Than Childbirth (No Surprise)
February 3, 2012 by Carol King · 5 Comments
This week the world was stunned by the announcement that the much-lauded, seemingly apolitical and altruistic Susan G. Komen for the Cure cut off funding for breast cancer screenings for poor women at Planned Parenthood health centers. Even though Komen is now backing off the decision, the curtain has been pulled back to reveal the [...]
Just Another Business Decision for Komen
February 1, 2012 by Lori Baralt · 11 Comments
In the midst of the many attacks against Planned Parenthood and abortion rights over the past year, the news that Komen for the Cure was halting future funding of breast cancer screening and breast health education to Planned Parenthood affiliates has still managed to create shock waves in women’s health advocacy circles. Many feel hurt [...]
