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 […]
Carol King
Inside The Real SVU: Lisa Jackson’s “Sex Crimes Unit”
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 […]
Celebrate “Griswold” By Asking Candidates Their Stand on Contraception
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 […]
Catholic Church Takes Action to Stop Sexual Abuse–Or Do They?
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 […]
Best Mother’s Day Gift Ever: Reproductive Rights
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 […]
Catholic Death Panels Coming to a Hospital Near You
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 […]
Stop the Meddling: Incorporate Your Uterus Today!
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, […]
Click! Feminist Chutzpah on the Job
I really didn’t care if I got the job or not. This was my third interview with the same gentlemanly white man with a soft Southern drawl. He seemed no closer to offering me the position than he’d been in the first interview. The questions were essentially the same: “Why do you think you’re qualified […]
Women’s History Month: One Woman’s Story
During Women’s History Month, we are reminded of the accomplishments, disappointments, struggles and hardships endured by women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Margaret Sanger, Victoria Woodhull, Lucy Stone, Harriet Tubman–all well-known pioneers in the fight for women’s rights. We also read about the leaders of the Second Wave of the women’s […]
Social Media Powers L.A.’s Walk for Choice
As we’ve seen the impact that social media has on democracy movements across the Middle East, we’ve wondered whether it can happen here. It has. Hundreds of women and men from all over metropolitan Los Angeles showed up downtown in Pershing Square on Saturday Feb. 26, to Walk for Choice. They were brought together by […]