The Oscars–the red carpet, the stars, the gowns, the hair, the speeches, the tears … and the women who have made amazing films that are up for honors. The Best Documentary Short category was particularly fertile ground for women this year, with four of the five nominees directed by women. The fifth, Killing in the […]
Carol King
MoveOn Moves Into the Abortion Battle
In 1998, as the Republican Congress was salivating over President Bill Clinton’s sex scandal, software entrepreneurs Joan Blades and Wes Boyd started a petition drive to “Censure President Clinton and Move On to Pressing Issues Facing the Nation.” That online petition drive attracted hundreds of thousands of people who wanted their national leaders to express […]
Unlicensed Abortion Doctor Brings Back Specter of Pre-Roe
Just days before the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Pennsylvania offered us a grim reminder of what happened before abortions were legal. A doctor and his unlicensed staff performing abortions and preying on ill-informed women caused severe injuries and even death to women who sought abortions at his clinic. One woman–Karnamaya Mongar–is dead, numerous […]
Women’s Health Care Ignored From the Waist Down
When it comes to health care, who would deny that prevention is preferable to treatment? I’m right there when public health recommendations include tobacco-free living, a reduction in alcohol and drug abuse and healthy eating. So I’m behind the president’s National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health Council, which he established in June. The council […]
A Look Back at “The Feminine Mystique”
If you were to pick up The Feminine Mystique today, I suspect you’d wonder what all the fuss was about. Written in 1963, it was directed at college-educated, married white women who felt strangely unsatisfied with their lives for no good reason. They had achieved the American Dream–a husband, children, a comfortable home, enough money. […]
Top 10 Ms. Blog Posts of 2010
As the year draws to a close, we at the Ms. Blog look back proudly on our first nine months of blogging (we began on March 8, International Women’s Day). We’ve put up 1,000 posts, had more than a million visitors and enjoyed nearly 10,000 comments from you, our very interactive readers. Can’t wait to be […]
Abortion and “Public Morals” in Ireland
Three women traveled to England for abortions in 2005. They did so because they couldn’t get legal abortions in their home country of Ireland. Each woman experienced complications and had to seek medical attention when she returned home. The first woman was a single, poor and unemployed former alcoholic. She already had four children who […]
Boehner’s Bathroom Equity Is a Pisser
Flush with success after his party handed Democrats a “shellacking” at the polls in November on a platform of “no” to everything, the incoming Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, the eternally tan John Boehner, has extended an olive branch of sorts. He’s decided he should do something for women. No, he’s not going […]
“Condomgate” for WikiLeaks’ Founder
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, has been under global siege for leaking sensitive government cables. What may take him down, though, is his alleged reluctance to prevent his own personal leaks by using a condom. Interpol issued a red notice, which means he is wanted by a national jurisdiction–in this case Sweden–not for his document dump but because […]
Abortion Poll: For or Against?
I’m taking a poll. If you were pregnant and weren’t sure if you wanted to continue the pregnancy, would you discuss it with your partner, a doctor, a clergyperson? Would you seek other professional advice to sort out if this is the right time–professionally, financially, psychologically, emotionally or from a health standpoint–to bring a child […]