Reproductive Rights Blog

News Round Up (Jan. 4)

I'm not going to blog too much right now - I'm really not feeling well.  Here are a few things to tide you over until Monday.

United States

• AGI released a report on family planning (.pdf) services in the United States.
• Missouri is really swinging anti on abortion: The governor has created a task force to study abortion, and a ballot proposal that would outlaw most abortions.
• A Montana pharmacist will stop dispensing birth control pills, meaning that women will have an 80 mile drive to the nearest pharmacy, or mail order their pills.
• North Carolina may be implementing comprehensive sex-ed.  The Boston Globe runs a strong op-ed against ab-only programs, calling them a waste of money.

Foreign

• The Chief Rabbinate of Israel has apparently come out against abortions, calling abortion a "grave sin."  According to the Torah, the fetus is not a full-fledged person. Interestingly, while the fetus isn't considered a person for the first 40 days, a boy is not a member of Jewish society until he's 8 days old, and a girl at 30 days.
• Malawi may be liberalizing abortion laws.

Gender Roles
The Beeb covers the whole Female Chauvinist Pigs thing, asking if flashing is really empowering?  The Economist talks about the value of beauty, saying the intelligence may be linked to beauty.  ScienceDaily is also running the same information, I think, but a few weeks later.

Science
Glaxo's cervical cancer vaccine, Cervarix, is on hold for the time being as the FDA has requested more information.  Speaking of cervical cancer, the NCI has said that not having a clean margin after cervical surgery raises the risk of recurrence.  Which I thought was old news.  I thought the point of cancer surgery was to remove as much cancer as possible...no?  How we screen for cervical cancer is changing, as we learn more about HPV.  Oh, by the way, the AP decided to run a story saying that the cervical cancer vaccine, a shot, hurts.  Ground breaking reporting: shots can hurt.

And your animal story: sterilizing dogs in Kathmandu

News Round Up (Oct. 31)

Happy Halloween!  As the end of the year approaches I'm filled with thoughts of what I need to do, want to do, and have to do before the calendar rolls over.  Such an arbitrary date, but it means something to me nonetheless.  And what about the feminist movement?  What have we actually accomplished this year?  What's my role in all of this?  What do we have left to do?  And what can we get done in the next 8 weeks?

In spite of all of this, here are some news stories:

United States:
In Kansas, the investigation of Dr. George Tiller was blocked. Dr. Tiller performs abortions, and has been the target of much anti-choice maneuvering.  A report by the Denver Public School system recommends that birth control be available at schools in order to reduce the teen pregnancy rate and STI rate.  AGI publication on the role of Medicaid in family planning (.pdf)  The LA Times debunks the idea that women will substitute adoption for abortion if given information and access to services.  Teen pregnancy rates in DC dropping.

George Will has a column about abortion in America, including the make-up of SCOTUS, the Presidential election, and the majority's support for abortion.   

Foreign:
Abortion illegal in Northern Ireland.  Cardinal Corman Murphy-O'Connor pens an article about abortion in England and Wales.  He writes that he supports decreasing the time limit after which abortion is banned (from 24 weeks to 22 weeks, is the current proposal.)  Access to abortion, even in Canada, is limited.  The Pope is calling on pharmacists to stop dispensing RU-486.  Latin American abortion bans don't stop women from having abortions. 

Science/Medical:
Cellcept, an immunosuppressant drug used for transplant patients, may cause miscarriage and birth defects, warns the FDA.  Skipping the stirrups?   A study was done in Georgia on about 200 women who had pap tests either using stirrups or not; the accuracy of the pap was not affected.  Pre-cancerous lesions indicate high risk for cervical cancer up to 25 years after the lesion is removed.  Twins separated at birth for experiment reunite.

Requisite animal story: birth control for pigeons on Staten Island.

News Round Up (Oct. 26)

It's Cleaning-Out-My-Inbox time, in anticipation of the weekend, and possible crab fest, and being a Cara & Karen Cloud on all things festive.  DC Feminist Happy Hour planning in the works for an end of the year bash.

In the news:

Schoolgirls in Britain will get the HPV Vaccine.  While the vaccine has great results in clinical trials, we still don't really know how long it works.

J&J settles lawsuit over Ortho-Evra (The Patch) death.  Massachusetts is looking at wider clinic buffer zones while Oakland is thinking about instituting them in the first place.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer runs an absolutely amazing column on abortion in the UK (originally in The Independent)   It covers the idea that women "deserve" going through an abortion for "irresponsible behavior", the fact that the delay in access to abortion by anti-choice, misogynistic lawmakers contributes to later-term abortions, and the need for better information and access to contraception.  Joan Smith is my crush of the week.  Month, maybe.

Some weird news out of Florida: a surrogate mother has been told by the courts that she can keep the baby.  This is unusual, because it's my understanding that the intentional parents are usually the legal parents (e.g. those who intended to be the parent, regardless of the biological materials used) although there's no national policy.  Anyway, very interesting, and each state handles the issue differently.

Condom testers wanted.  Sex lessons part of health lessons for miners in Australia.  The influence of the Catholic Church's ban on condoms is helping HIV spread in Latin America.  South Africa is recalling million s of condoms.

Take Action on Title X Family Planning and Ovarian Cancer research. 

News Round Up (Aug 24)

Politics:

RedState is debating if Reagan could have possibly been pro-choice.  George H. W. Bush (41) was pro-choice before he really made it big on the national scene, electing, instead, to embrace the party line (sound familiar?).

Maternal, Fetal and Newborn Health:

The plastic used in feeding tubes, etc., can be dangerous for a newborn, so hospitals are planning to phase out its use.  Women who are breastfeeding should watch it with the codeine.

New screening is non-invasive way to find healthy embryos for IVF.

A hospital in the UK is short on midwives, since they're all out on maternity leave.

CNN gives you 5 ways to avoid a c-section.

More on freezing ovaries to help women with cancer.

Foreign:
Russians encouraged to procreate, and given a day off to do so! 

The Anglican Church in Nigeria is encouraging couples to get an HIV test before marriage. 

Did we already cover the FGM death in Egypt? 

Also, since we know that circumcision helps prevent the spread of HIV, the U.S. government's anti-AIDS program will fund circumcisions (male). 

The Chinese are having a lot of unsafe sex, which is fueling the AIDS crisis. 

Indonesia is considering virginity tests on female high school students.  [Ed. Feministing tells us they've decided not to.]

Amnesty International is no longer abortion-neutral.  This is causing some problems with the Vatican, and, I'm sure, other groups.

Health:
RU-486 is safe.   Here's what pisses me off: some abortion clinics are not.   Seriously, not only is this a clear health and patient safety issue, but it makes me look like an asshole.

Testosterone patch increases woman's libido.  This patch, Intrinsia (made by P&G) is approved for use in Europe, and has side effects including acne and facial hair, although these are downplayed in all the US publications I've read about Intrinsia.  In the meantime, a study shows that the elderly have active sex lives.

Obesity --> truancy --> teen pregnancy.  I would think that obesity may also be related to teen pregnancies for other reasons.  One, girls who are fatter develop earlier, as estrogen is fat-soluble.   They are then physically more mature without having the accompanying mental maturity.  Two, social issues regarding being fat and being liked.  Third, behavioral issues that may have induced poor eating habits (bad decision making) or lack of impulse control I could easily see also leading to bad decision making or lack of impulse control when it comes to sex.  But I'm just speculating here.  Anyone know?

So I'm moderately obsessed with this issue, and I'm really glad that a study shows that women with lupus have higher rates of cervical cancer (that's kind of what it says).  I mean, it makes total sense that women with autoimmune diseases couldn't fight off HPV as well as others, and that they would have higher rates of abnormal paps and cervical cancer.  Right, and I've been talking about this for a few years, and saying that women with autoimmune diseases may need different screening for cervical cancer than the average woman, and maybe they should just be tested for HPV and if the test is positive then do a pap more often and I don't know exactly what my treatment protocol suggestion is, but I'm psyched regardless.

Feministe appears to be down right now, but there was this great catch they made about the mainstream press not correcting some anti's assertion that birth control doesn't work, among other falsehoods. 

Gender Stuff:
Women find that wearing the veil limits job choice. 

Some careers are male dominated, and some are female dominated, but the gender wage gap is decreasing.

Scientists have created male mice that have two X chromosomes.

Slate has in interesting article about how TV is showing rural Indian women about empowerment, inadvertently.  Slate also has a cool slideshow of the exericise of the right to vote in honor of the 19th Amendment.

The New York Times asks: Is there anything good about men?  Mostly, it goes on to say that men take risks to be chosen for reproduction, and that women don't because they need to stay home to take care of the babies and they're pretty much assured reproduction (and survival of their genetics).

Other news:
Iraqi women are taking up prostitution.

Rare identical quadruplets born in Canada. 

Only 38% of Americans think pre-marital sex is wrong, yet, 90% of Americans engage in such behavior.   

Those sneaky PP folks are opening up a clinic in Denver. 

Law Students for Choice is now Law Students for Reproductive Justice.

Apparently the singletons are getting a raw deal (seriously, Forbes?)

Sanitary pad lawsuit.  This goes back to something from the other day about skipping periods, etc, and I dug around a bit and there's apparently not a whole lot of data on historical sales of menstrual products, and even if there were I bet a lot of stuff that was used was not sold and wouldn't be captured in that data, and that as these products became more of a market item the use of the Pill was burgeoning, and women were having more menstrual cycles b/c they weren't having children as often, so I don't think there's any data on periods that I want. 

And the animal story: it's too hot and dry to get it on in Utah.

[Ed. because I am listening to the new Northern State CD and I'm digging a lot of it.  Just FYI.]

News Round Up (May 30)

So I still owe you a post about CEDAW, and that is coming.  Friday, I promise!  In the meantime, there's a whole bunch of stuff you should know about.

The LA Times has a story about how Merck really screwed up pushing so hard for the HPV Vaccine to be covered.  Speaking of, the NCI released new data on the vaccine, and it looks good (although I can't read this one, apparently maybe pregnant women shouldn't get the vaccine).  But, um, the good news is that if you have herpes, you might not get the plague!

Support staff is improperly doing the work of midwives, and putting women & babies in the UK at risk.  Some women, "freebirthers," do the whole thing on their own.

A challenge to Mexico City's new law allowing first trimester abortions will be heard by the Supreme Court.  Poland continues to protect abortion to some extent, and decides not to roll back rights.

Interesting frozen embryo case proceeding - so far there's no federal precedent, but embryos are treated as property.  And a surrogate in FL won't give up the baby.  Eric Rudolph is an ass, even from behind bars.

Brazil is handing out contraceptives; on the other hand, a woman in Montana received this note when she went to fill her prescription (from a company that took out this ad).  Also, our government here in the US has included ab-only education its 5 year strategic plan, even though 90% of parents in California support comprehensive sex-ed.  Hey, did you know there's an Abstinence Day and a National Abstinence Education Association?  Seriously though, how much do we have to beat this dead horse? 

Schools for pregnant girls in NY are being shut down, according to this article, for very good reason (hint: geometry = quilt-making)!   Speaking of shady dealings, Keroack fudged his credentials for his job with the US government overseeing the ab-only b.s.

A woman has twins at the age of 60 and is the oldest person in the US to do so.  People like to donate sperm anonymously; the inability to do so has led to a shortage of sperm.  Donor eggs are hard to gather, and can be very expensive.  The NYT points out that paying for eggs may raise some ethical issues.

The Thai "condom king" won a Gates Award.  A movie about abortion in Romania won a Palme D'Or at Cannes (is this movie the anti-"Knocked Up?").

Two articles about masculinity/the beta males as the ones who win.  American Idol Jordin Sparks is anti-choice.

On the opt-in thing, my friend sent me these two articles.  Irresponsible blogger I am, I haven't read them yet.  And on a personal note, stop being an ass to your single friends!  Speaking of single, it was not very nice of me to mention to my newest beau that older fathers have children with specific medical problems, like schizophrenia and autism.  But it's still true.

And lastly, the requisite animal contraception article: Kangaroos!

Things that Aren't News

So this isn't at all shocking (especially if you know that HPV not only causes cervical, but anal and penile cancers) but oral sex can lead to throat cancer.   Seriously, we knew this already, right?

The Pope doesn't like abortion.

A group of women - Moms Rising - is making the personal political (again).

Some people don't like comprehensive sex ed, even when disease is an issue.

People use genetic screening to make decisions, like having abortions.  These decisions could even be complicated or difficult.

There are health benefits to educating girls.

News Round Up (May 9)

Everytime I go to write about CEDAW, my inbox is filled with fascinating stories for you!

Like how everyone is going nuts that Giuliani donates to Planned Parenthood.  Some are asking if this means that the GOP is becoming more flexible on abortion.  Certainly, in recent history the Republican party has been an outspoken critic of choice (in terms of your vagina, not the market).  Nonetheless, the traditional Republican view is for a small government and self-sufficient individuals who make their own decisions.  There are many Republicans who are pro-choice, just not the ones running for President (except for Giuliani).

There's other news, especially about disabled kids.  The NYT has a story on pre-natal testing for Down's Syndrome.  The article reports that 90% of women who are told their fetus has Down's Syndrome abort.  A movement has started to de-stigmatize Down's Syndrome, and explain that children and adults with Down's can live fairly normal and productive lives. 

Another story takes us back to that young girl whose parents had her physical development halted due to her severe retardation.  The news is reporting that the surgery to sterilize and stunt Ashley was a violation of the law. (Who will be the first small-government Republican to offer "Ashely's Law" - a federal law prohibiting this type of surgery?).

It seems that the US has higher birth rates than other developed countries - even non-Hispanic white women in the US have more children than their counterparts in Canada.  This article points out the fact that we have a lack of pro-natalist laws (laws that would encourage people to have kids, like paid maternity leave), but instead attributes the high birth rate to our values. 

Kids conceived in summer months score lower on tests;  Virginia is experiencing a surge in syphilis (there is also a rise in syphilis among gay and bi men); another use for embryonic stem cells discovered; veterans are getting paid by the government for contracting STDs while in service; wealthy Chinese are having more than one child; activists want a chimp declared a 'person'; and, the Well-Timed Period writes about the possible suspension of FDA's approval of RU-486.

Fucked up story of the week: Hiring a hit man to kill a baby.

News Round Up (May 4)

I have 75 unread messages in my inbox, and they are all stories for this blog.  I am sick of them clogging my inbox (newest to oldest, mostly):

Bush has threatened to veto any bill that loosens restrictions on abortion.  Most importantly, this affects USAID funding.  One of the big problems with the global gag rule is that it needlessly separates treatment.  For example, a pregnant woman with HIV cannot go to a full-service women's clinic that does abortions for her health care (like a Planned Parenthood).

Slate goes over the no-"period" pill and comes to the conclusion that it will lower a woman's risk of endometrial cancer.  Not ovulating also reduces the risk of ovarian cancer.  The article also mentions a study that debunks the previous studies about breast feeding leading to lower rates of obesity.  Slate also reviews a book on the social problems of IVF.  On another site, a book about the cultural history of impotence.  Speaking of Slate, there's been a lot of talk regarding Saletan, one of Slate's reporters.  Also, a book review on the meaning of "virginity." 

Oh, and speaking of fertility, women can freeze tissue from their ovaries to use later - this will extend her fertility.  And the "designer babies" that are free from the breast cancer genes (via).  Someone used MySpace.com to find a baby to adopt.  Male births on the decline in the US and Japan.

The economist (and the Times) talk about duck penises this week.  The economist focuses on duck rape, the Times on the range of physical reproductive organs.

Kaiser tells us that the Missouri parental consent law was upheld and points us to a Reuters article on abortion in Brazil. 

RHRealityCheck fills us in on everything, including that abortion clinic threat in Austin (the cops arrested a suspect), second trimester abortions in the UK, and the Advocates for Youth ad campaign lambasting ab-only ed.  Similarly, I think this is old, but I saw these French HIV ads.

Women who have c-sections have future placenta problems.  Texas will not require the HPV Vaccine, Muslims have their own Dr. Ruth, there are semi-identical twins, paralyzed men can father children, the British health system is going to cover a patch that boosts women's sex drives, an article on the word "slut," the Texas Senate has approved a bill that would force a woman to see an ultrasound before having an abortion (Georgia is doing the same thing), girls are being taught about their cycles, and some people are upset.

Guttmacher has it's first quarter round-up of state legislative trends with respect to abortion.  Romney talks about Giuliani's position on abortion.  A woman keeps her dying son on life support while the doctors fight to remove it, as allowed under Texas law.  Guttmacher also has a report on post-partum contraceptive use in Mexico.

Yet another review of Get to Work (thanks, RJ).  On a similar topic, April 24 was Equal Pay Day.  Feministing also touches on Hirschman, reviewing her op-ed in the Times.

Remember that guy who contracted with his girlfriend to have sex with the girlfriend's daughter?  He was convicted.

Okay!  Later: CEDAW.

Quick News Round Up

I meant to do this over the weekend, but...didn't.

Jonathan sent me an absurd article from the Wall Street Journal.  What is wrong with them lately anyway?  This one is about how "partial-birth abortion" is horrible and what about the baby's right to life?  First, let me point out that we don't have a fetal rights approach in this country.  You know who does?  Europe.  And the Human Rights courts there.  I'm not even getting into it right now since I'm going to be late.  Anyway, apparently most Americans don't like this whole "partial-birth abortion" thing. (thanks for the link RJ)  Think it's the framing?  Or that it doesn't happen to them.  I want t-shirts that read "Abortion should be legal in cases of rape, incest, and ME!" (Erin, you can take that project if you want)

Also a big piece of crap from the WSJ, a supposedly humorous article about how fetuses are better than babies, and ladies, just go through with the pregnancy because it's not that hard anyway.  Anyway, WSJ: you suck lately.  What happened to journalistic integrity.  I wrote better essays when I was in high school.

Unsurprisingly, the Church is getting involved with the abortion debate in Mexico City, by calling on Catholic doctors to not perform abortions, even legal ones.  Speaking of the Church, one writer asks if it's really just coincidence that the 5 Justices who voted to uphold the abortion ban were Catholic?

An article about how girls are taking an awful lot of the Morning After Pill at one school in the UK.

While Mexico City is liberalizing, some places in American are further restriction abortion rights.  On the other hand, New York is talking about enshrining the right to an abortion.  Once Roe falls, we're going to have to travel to places like NY and MD for abortions, as long CIANA-like laws aren't in effect.

From the not-news department: women with HPV and HIV have higher rates of cervical cancer.  Seriously, so not news. 

Okay, that's all for now.  I will update with more stories later, and tell you all about CEDAW!

News Round Up (Apr. 24)

Domestic:

Freedom of Choice Act (S.1173 & H.R. 1964) have been introduced.  See if your members are co-sponsors.  Then, participate in the Feminist Majority Foundation's Call in Day, tomorrow, April 25.  Call the Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your members.

The G.O.P. wasn't always staunchly anti-choice.  In fact, one of the co-chairs of the party was an outspoken abortion & women's rights advocate. 

Gonorrhea is going drug-resistant.  As usual: wait to have sex, get tested, and use protection.

Work:

Gender pay gap seen from year one.  "Even after controlling for hours, occupation, parenthood, and other factors known to affect earnings, the research indicates that one-quarter of the pay gap remains unexplained and is likely due to sex discrimination."  The study apparently (on p.38, which I haven't gotten to yet) takes into account the fact that women often seek lower-paid jobs in the non-profit sector or those with increased work flexibility due to child-rearing demands.  Mainstream press coverage around.  Well done, AAUW.

Slate covers a new study that shows that maybe women don't work more than men (housework & market work, combined)?  At least not in developed countries.

Science:

Saletan covers something we already knew (but which continues to be legislated) that abortion does not cause breast cancer.  Stop making it part of informed consent.  He also talks about the continuous cycling Pill, see previous post. [Ed. if you're still confused, check out the Well-Timed Period]

Ab-only education still doesn't work (.pdf).  The Christian Science Monitor says that abstience should be a part of comprehensive sex-ed, which I think is what most people have been arguing for. 

Merck is applying for expanded use for Gardasil, arguing it protects against vaginal & vulvar cancer as well.  Still no mention of penile or anal cancers.  Glaxo's vaccine, Cervarix, works for 5.5 years.  Speaking of HPV vaccines, Roche & Transgene are partnering on developing a vaccine.

Frozen sperm + Frozen egg = baby!  This is news, especially since non-fertilized eggs don't store well.  Between that and the fact that we can create sperm cells from bone stem cells...maybe we are headed for a future without men.

International:

Mexico City's legislature is considering legalizing abortion.  Some people are protesting this proposed change.

A woman was too smart to be harassed, says a Spanish judge (thanks Brian!).

***

Fucked up story of the week: Dad impregnates daughter repeatedly, she carries to term, he has her throw the babies down the air shaft.