Reproductive Rights Blog

News: Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Teens, IVF and Nausea

Well, the condom party appeared to be a great success, and I'm excited to see how the Condom Campaign turns out.  Between that and the new Janes, maybe we'll have  increased access to the contraceptives of our choice.  It's funny to think about how many children each woman could bear if she didn't use any contraception whatsoever.  The figure is around 12 or so, which, I recall a group of women shooting for.  I need to find that article about Afghani women.  Access to reproductive health care in Afghanistan is lacking, although now I'm totally off topic.

In the meantime, things aren't going so well in Nicaragua either.  It passed a total ban on abortion, getting rid of the small window of legal abortions that was barely used anyway.  Read more about it at RHReality Check. 

There is an alleged case of clitoridectemy in Georgia (USA, not the country).  Rebecca and I want to know if there's any culture that deals well with the burgeoning sexuality of young women?   In American I see an over-sexualization of teens  (which includes the I'm tight like Spandex t-shirts) and padded training bras.  At the same time, parents don't seem to have a great grasp on how sexually active their teens are. 

Now, onto infertility and it's cure, IVF.  It appears that with more research, perhaps those who are unable to have children on their own, really shouldn't.  Isn't nature harsh?  Some advice for those trying: men should stay away from mobile phones.  If you do actually go as far as to use IVF, experts are now suggesting a limit on the number of fertilized embryos transferred.   The rise in multiple births (which are usually premature) is what sparked some alarm, and led to these voluntary guidelines.  Lastly, once you are pregnant, there are a lot of treatments for your nausea, including medication and modification of eating habits.

Announcement: Condom Party on Saturday

If you are in the DC area this weekend, you should be attending the Great American Masquerade.  It's the launch party for the Great American Condom Campaign (slogan: Be great) which seeks to fill the gap between condoms needed and condoms used here in the good ol' U.S. of A.  After talking to Stephen, the President, I am a huge fan.  There's smarts and enthusiasm behind the condomtinis, and really, with a trio like that, who can resist? 

Nicaragua may outlaw abortion

Stephen sent me an article from the LA Times, reporting that today, Nicaragua may criminalize all abortion.

Ipas estimates that 32,000 illegal abortions are performed in Nicaragua each year, many under unsafe conditions. Only 24 abortions authorized by law have been performed in the country in the last three years.

In the past, we've discussed abortion as a right under various international human rights treaties (See: Colombia's abortion law under the ICCPR).  Nicaragua ratified the ICCPR in 1980, including the optional protocol.  Shortly thereafter, it signed and ratified CEDAW.  the Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination Against Women primarily deals with discrimination, obviously, but has widely been interpreted to include abortion rights (The antis say so at Eagle Forum, and NRLC, and the pro-choicers support the family planning provision of CEDAW at FMF) when it requires access to family planning.  This law will easily be challenged by a group like CRR or HRW...I will keep you updated if I see any movement.

For a discussion of these international treaties' relation to abortion rights, check out this HRW page.

Can't Keep Up

I don't know how I always have so much stuff to post.

Scalia says abortion isn't a constitutional issue.

A new study shows that older mothers are "just as capable".

Feministing points to a Newsweek reprint of a tour through an abortion clinic. 

The University of Toronto has a Sexual Diversity program.

I don't really get why this is news, but apparently a new pill can stop your period. Do y'all not know about continuous cycling?

Speaking of pills, do you  need EC (via MeFi)?

My not-hometown of Cleveland will start teaching age-appropriate sex ed, even to kindergarteners.

And more on stress: it affects fetal development.

Yet again, a court has ruled that the Catholic Church must abide by contraceptive equity laws.

Y'all know how I like stories about animal contraception?  Elephant vasectomies!

Chlamidya causes eye cancer?  Oh, and there's a treatment.  But chlamidya!  Eye Cancer!

And lastly, many STI patients are quickly reinfected.

Cleaning Out the Bookmarks, part 2

I owe y'all posts on the Champions of Choice, my conversation with Elexa consultant & sexologist Logan Levkoff, and the Great American Condom Campaign.  They are all awesome things.

In the meantime, here's some news:

The GAO "reminded the Bush administration" that even abstinence-only education materials had to be medically accurate, including accurate information on the efficacy of condoms.  HHS had been arguing that ab-only education did not fall under the scope of this requirement, however GAO has determined that any program that receives federal funds is bound by this regulation.  Read the decision at the GAO's site.

A woman in Japan was her daughter's surrogate, meaning the woman gave birth to her own grandchild.

Some kids are hitting puberty far too early; one long-known cause is the hormones in meat.  There are other products that contain hormones that can be absorbed through the skin - the article cites a father's use of testosterone cream, shampoo with estrogen and placenta, not to mention chemical exposure. 

Scott Lemieux points to an article that discusses the financial burdens to getting an abortion.  I'll point out that for women who do not have insurance coverage of their contraception of choice, abortion may be a wholly rational economic decision. 

Take a 13 month cycle of a $30 a month contraception (I think the Ring may even be $40 a month).  That's $390.  A first trimester abortion costs about $350.  Plus add in other costs, both financial and non-financial, including not only the trip to the abortion clinic, but on the other side, the annoyance of getting a prescription filled, having money for it every month on time, and actually using birth control.  Anyway, running with the $390 v. $350, we then have to admit that a woman has only an 85% chance of getting pregnant in a year's time, so there's an 85% chance she'll have to spend $350, making the one-year financial outlay for the non-birth control strategy $297.50, saving her $92.50 per year, not including the other costs.  So you see, for a woman who must pay for everything out of pocket, it may be totally rational to have an abortion.  And you may see this when I rant about why abortion isn't tragic.

And I don't know where I got this, but the LA Times writes about how many anti-abortion folks are doing so as feminists.  Long time readers may remember when we touched on Feminists for Life, since Justice John Robert's wife is involved with the group.  As a reminder of my stance on these issues, I will point out that I believe we need better pre-natal care for women as well as post-natal care, child care, and work flexibility. However, I absolutely fail to believe that abortion hurts women, or that abortion is tragic.  It may be harmful or tragic for some women, but it is not always. And I was glad to hear Barbara Ehrenreich, at yesterday's Champions of Choice event, say the same thing.  But again, that'll be in a separate post.  Probably a long one.

Inbox

I got a lot of stuff in my inbox, and it's getting on my nerves.

In DC: Next week, Condom Party!  This week, Planned Parenthood luncheon.

Center for Reproductive Rights, formerly, CRLP, emailed about Gonzales v. Carhart, and its new site, Voice4Choice.  It's about that "Partial-Birth" Abortion Ban.  Another SCOTUS Case.

RHRealityCheck has a lot of info up, including directing us to Alternet, writing about the S.D. abortion ban (which Feminist Majority Foundation calls Draconian), and an article on parental notification laws.

Planned Parenthood released its new strategic plan.  I like it.  It's about time the pro-choice movement grew some balls, and stopped playing defense. 

And lastly, I think this is a rerun, but Rajesh emailed it to me, so it's in my inbox.  The 1983 Frontline documentary on abortion.

 

Division of Labor, and Income

It's no secret that men out-earn women.  However, this income gender gap doesn't appear until women start having families - when women scale back work responsibilities to work at home.  One writer in Australia has written an article justifying the income gap, arguing that women do not earn less for the same job - it is that men take on more hours and higher risk jobs, and so reap their just rewards.  She writes that women make less because they study the social sciences, rather than the hard sciences. 

Ben Stein echoes these feelings (thanks Rajesh) in his op-ed, writing that majoring in "African feminism in the 19th century...[or] Bulgarian poetry" does not lead to a lucrative career.  Of course, these issues (like reproductive rights work) can have their own intrinsic rewards, and we are free to make our own choices, and live with those consequences.

Nonetheless, children still need raising, and women are typically the ones doing most of that work.  An article in today's NYT suggests that while women are doing as much housework as they were 40 years ago, men are doing more housework.  Women and men do equal hours of work, according to this study, if unpaid and paid hours are counted.  Women who work outside the home work 19 more hours a week than women who only work in the home.   Of course, all this housework is unpaid, and doesn't count towards retirement accounts.

IUDs are back

This month's Women's Health Magazine has a feature on IUDs, calling them "your doctor's favorite birth control."  IUDs are out of favor here in the US, mainly due to the tragedy over the Dalkon Shield.  This specific IUD was popular in the 1970s, however, it was modified after FDA approval (if I remember the cases correctly), and caused thousands of health problems, including hysterectomies and death.   IUDs are much safer now.  There are basically two types - the copper type and the hormonal type. It is a reversible form of birth control, and must be implanted/removed by a doctor.  There's more information both in the magazine article, and at your doctor's office.

On the Road

I'm going to be out of town for a few days, which means no blogging.  As usual, I wanted to clean out my bookmarks before I left.

Ovulating women dress better.  Women are more fertile during and right after ovulation, so this is likely some way to attract a mate. 

The Post ran an op-ed called "Giving up Too Much on Choice" about N.Dakota and the entire abortion argument.  I love this.  I hate the whole "abortion is tragic" thing.  Abortion is not always tragic.  Many people have abortions and feel totally fine, and the pro-choicers who concede that abortion is tragic and difficult for everyone are being just as judgmental as the people who think that women shouldn't be able to make a decision.  "Abortion is tragic: You can have one, but please feel guilty about it for the rest of your life."  That doesn't fly with me.  Own your decision.  As much as the antis shouldn't tell us what to do with our bodies, it's even more reprehensible for the pro-choicers to tell us how to feel in our hearts.

Family size is growing among suburbanites, where large families may even be a status symbol.  Also, I love Laura.

The Post writes about Robin Sawyer and his sex ed class, one of the most popular classes from UMCP.  At least among my friends.

Progess in the male contraceptive.

And slightly off-topic: The Time of India writes that many young women in the UK are turning to prostitution to pay for school.  Not sure if this is hyped up as a warning not to send your daughters to the UK.  But reading this, as someone with grad school loans to pay back, $20K US (14GBP) doesn't seem bad at all.  I'd swap.

MeFi posted some links to good older videos on sexuality, syphilis and other fun stuff.

There was a conference on the glass ceiling.  Color me skeptical.

Yet only 6.1 percent of top management jobs in France are claimed by women and many of these women are seeking changes at the top of the pyramid...In North America the picture is more balanced, with 15.6 percent of positions on directors' boards and executive committees held by women, double that in European firms (7.6 percent) and eight times higher than in Asia, according to a joint study by the financial groups Ricol, Lasteyrie et Associes, Christian and Timbers and Capitalcom..."It's not simply about the role of women, it's about demonstrating women's views on the evolution of the economy and society," Chevremont-Lorenzini said.

And lastly, voluntary c-sections increase the risk of death to newborns.

Researchers have found that the neonatal mortality rate for Caesarean delivery among low-risk women is 1.77 deaths per 1,000 live births, while the rate for vaginal delivery is 0.62 deaths per 1,000...Part of the reason for the increased mortality may be that labor, unpleasant as it sometimes is for the mother, is beneficial to the baby in releasing hormones that promote healthy lung function...The researchers suggest that other risks of Caesarean delivery, like possible cuts to the baby during the operation or delayed establishment of breast-feeding, may also contribute to the increased death rate.

And with that dear readers, I am off.

Data

While I was doing research on PSI, I found all this great information on contraception and social marketing and abortion.  And I will integrate it into my work on social marketing.  But, in the meantime:

- Laws from all over the world on abortion, DV & FGM
- US abortion law
- A whole page on working moms & breastfeeding

So I'm going to keep on reading, and researching, because that's what I do best, but y'all might want to read some of this stuff too...v. interesting.