Reproductive Rights Blog

Slate: The Cost of The Pill

Last week, Slate ran an article explaining how Ortho-MacNeill, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, increased the price of the Pill to family planning clinics.  Of course, this meant that the clinics either had to pass on the price increase to their patients, or that they couldn't afford to buy that Pill.  Today, Slate gives an update, reporting that Ortho is back to its old pricing system.  Contraception can cost as much as $40 a month (for hormonal contraceptives), which can be prohibitive to many women.  Title X is supposed to help alleviate the financial burden of family planning for millions of Americans.  For many women with health insurance, their particular brand or method of contraception is not covered - I had many patients whose insurance would not subsidize the cost of the Patch or the Ring.  Even Title X clinics may not be able to get the birth control of choice for their patients.  With the help of private industry, it appears that more women will be able to get the birth control they desire.

Reproductive Technologies

The law is trying hard to keep up with science when it comes to fertility.  And I'm not just talking about the abortion debate (SD, mainstage), but with laws regarding IVF, selective abortions, and the like.  The U.K. has a pretty developed policy, recently augmented by its ban on selling fresh sperm online.  At the same time, the price of IVF is prohibitive to many, leading to new pricing plans.  I hear an ad for this one a few times a day.  Overall, though, the industry is growing, rising to a $3billion a year segment.  Ethical issues abound, see: Italy, which has limited the number of embryos implanted in a woman per round of IVF, in order to avoid abortion; or, cases of questions of parenthood when surrogates and biological donors clash, or single or homosexual would-be parents.  Science and economics far outstrip policy in this realm, and we seem to be figuring it out as we go along. 

Today in History

The Beeb covers a story I never heard about, but should have: Sherri Finkbine, an Arizona resident (and host of romper room), went to Sweden to get an abortion in 1962.  She had been taking a tranquilizer that contained thalidomide; we now know that thalidomide causes severe birth defects.  Sherri had the proper state approvals, (near the middle) but once her story became public, the hospital refused to perform the abortion.  She went to Sweden, and got her abortion, which most Americans supported at the time.  The case is seen as a changing point in reproductive rights in the U.S.  There is even a TV movie about it: A Private Matter.  (via MeFi)

Working Women & Divorce: My Two Cents

Thought I should throw my two cents into this debate about the Forbes article where in the author admonishes men from marrying women with careers.

The author's argument relies on a number of studies as well as some long-standing observations.  For example, career women are less likely to have children.  We know that women's education decreases fertility, something development agencies are capitlizing on.  Of course, education also increases income.  Therefore, educated women are more likely to have careers and have fewer children (due to the opportunity cost of those children).

Secondly, the author states that career women are less happy.  This is due to the breakdown in gender roles and expectations.  One cannot fulfill goals that one does not know of.  Without clear gender roles, it is harder to feel that one is successful.  Making one's own path is certainly the harder path, not to mention the increase in demands (children, home, job) upon career women.  Generally, the more choices a person has, the less happy he is with that choice.

So far we've seen that some of the arguments the author makes are totally rational, but not necessarily due solely to women, nor are they unexpected.  Next, the article goes on to deride the lack of support (increase in male illness), lower rates of home cleanliness, and increase in infidelity.  The rates of infidelity for women are approaching those of men because women are working outside the home.  Women's infidelity is not worse than men's, so it's infidelity in both men and women that is the problem, not women's infidelity.  Next, the problems with the marriage that are more about the relationship and shared duties, well, I have a hard time placing the blame on women for those.  These problems are mainly because the men in these relationship fail to step up - they still want to be coddled, and the center of attention, and be met at the door with a drink. 

The author's advice is great for men who want to continue to be selfish and immature.  But what the author really should have written is "Marriage is hard.  You are going to have to compromise.  And your wife is not your mother.  Not that you should take your mother for granted, but no one will ever care for you the way your mother did.  Don't expect that.  Be aware of how wonderful your wife is, because she will be out in the real world meeting men who are interesting and attractive and treat her with respect, so you'd better do the same.  If you don't help with the housework she will get frustrated and you won't have sex and you will have an affair, or she will be stressed and it will be bad for your relationship.  I'm writing this in simple sentences, because if you need this advice you are obviously simple."

Anyway, that's my take on it for now.
Check out feministe, feministing, echidne, pandagon and other great feminist blogs for other opinions

Plan B approved

In case you hadn't seen yet, Plan B was approved for OTC use for those over 18.
Many groups have commented, including Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Alan Guttmacher Institute, and Kaiser Network.  And on the anti-choice side: Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America, and Christian Newswire.

More Updates

God, I am so boring lately.  More fetus in fetu.  ABC covered a man who they are calling the first pregnant man, but he had a (dead) fetus in fetu.  MeFi is running a discussion if you'd like to join.

Actually, you know what?  I'm gonna clean out my bookmarks for y'all as long as I'm here.

CNN reports that dads may suffer post-partum depression.  Although, this doesn't appear to be new information.

People in the UK are losing their virginity early, and under-estimating the risk of STDs.  Also, in the UK, people are having problem using condoms - getting them to stay on, not break, etc.

Pretty people have female children.

DES, an anti-miscarriage drug, raises the risk of breast cancer.

And, slightly off-topic, a writer in the UK says we should reclaim the f-word (feminism).  You should also check out the book The F-Word.

Animals on the Pill

We've talked about pigeons and and monkeys (sorry about the formatting - scroll down) on the Pill.  The Beeb is reporting that Australian officials are considering controlling the kangaroo population through oral contraceptives.  I am still wondering how the dosage is controlled with these plans...

Follow Up - Two Sets & The Glass Ceiling

So you know how I'm obsessed with uteruses ?  Turns out that while women might have two vaginas or two uteruses, there's a man in India with two penises.

And remember how we discussed maternity leave as part of the glass ceiling?  A new study reveals that women get paid more at firms where there are women supervisors.  The article says that men who work for women receive less pay, and that women generally work in female dominated (and lower paid) fields, while men work in male dominated (and higher paid) fields.  And as long as we're talking about women's earning power, wealthier women are more likely to divorce their husbands.  Whether its due to financial independence, or due to the necessity of domestic power sharing, or maybe the social acceptance of divorce these days, the study shows that a wealthy woman is more likely to get divorced.

Back Online

I've been without internet access for a few days, and I'm still hopping around in terms of places to live, so things might be a little bit hectic here on the RRB. Of course, you read the great websites to your left, right?

In any case, here's what I've been seeing:

Women who perform FGM in Sierra Leone are stopping

Malaysia outlaws unsuitable names. Malaysia is not unique among states in determining that there are appropriate and inappropriate names parents can bestow upon their children. Sometimes the rule is with regards to the child's last name or the neceessity of having a name at all. Some countries require that the name be gender specific, or that they be from a government approved list.

WaPo reports that the ABC program (Abstinence, Be Faithful, Use Condoms) isn't working so hot in Africa.

Abstinence until marriage -- the A of ABC -- appears to be well understood by young people. Being faithful -- the B -- is less clear to many. The usefulness of condoms -- C -- varies widely, with some African teenagers aware that they protect against HIV infection most of the time, while others have heard mostly about their rare failures.
ABC is a centerpiece of the Bush administration's $15 billion, five-year plan to fight AIDS in 15 target countries, most of them in Africa.
Closer to home, a study from Philadelphia found that an "abstinence only" sex-education curriculum was more likely to persuade black junior high school students to put off initiating sex than a more comprehensive curriculum.

And the Chinese activist who reported forced sterilizations in China has been tried in closed door proceedings (without his choice of counsel) for crimes of public distrubances. From what I know of the Chinese legal system...oh boy. There is a lot of work to do, and I know from personal experience that there are many committed people, including those in the Ministry of Justice, in working on Chinese criminal procedural law. If you are specifically interested in Chinese crim pro law, check out this (which I had a hand in) to learn more.

And for a little humor (I think courtesy of Neil), check out The Onion's take on Plan B.

From the other blogs: NY pharmacists called out for refusing to fill prescriptions, Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, and Worst "Pro-Life" argument ever. Because, really, I have WORK to do...

Recent Court Actions

The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a conviction for criminal transmission of HIV.  The man, Adam Donald Musser, is serving 50 years for having unprotected sex with four women, knowing he had HIV.  At least one of the women is HIV+.  This is not unique to the United States, or Iowa, although it may be hard to meet the burden of proof with regard to mental state.

In NM, a biological father just won custody over the adoptive parents of a toddler.  The biological father knew that the biological mother was pregnant, and made no moves to indicate interest in custody until two years after the child had been placed with his adoptive parents. The father did not give his consent to the adoption, and there was not enough proof that he had abandoned the child, said the court.  The presumption is that a biological parent is a fit parent, and it is the burden of the state to prove that he is not. 

India is considering having only female judges oversee rape trials.  India, frankly, has a horrible history of recognizing sexual assault and abuse, not to mention that it was only recently that domestic violence was criminalized.  I'm not convinced that having women as the judges or attorneys is the only way to have a fair trial - I don't see why there couldn't be more training for the entire judicial system, and a strict enforcement of sanctions for inappropriate behavior by both attorneys and judges.  From research I did years ago: the laws regarding sexual assault and rape in India are gender-biased (e.g. men cannot be victims of rape).  The average sentence for violation of "unnatural offenses" under which child sexual assault is prosecuted, is 5 years.  Penalties for raping a minor were harsher than for raping an adult woman.  There was no provision for marital rape, or rape under false pretenses or economic duress - pretending to be a woman's husband & having sex with her carried no penalty.  And that's all I can find from my short project.

Also: via feministing, I am pissed about the anti-choicers in Cleveland, and I am even more pissed that antis from CA are interfering in OH abortion politics, which suck anyway.