Tag Archives: reproductive rights

NYC Considers Making “Crisis Pregnancy Centers” Come Clean About Anti-Choice Stance

Jessica WakemanOctober 12, 2010 //

At some point in your life, you’ve probably seen a billboard which said something like “Pregnant? Scared? Call us!” You may have thought nothing of it, because you weren’t pregnant or even sexually active yet. In New York City, home to over 8 million people, signs like these depict a young, concerned-looking women under the words “Free abortion alternatives.” They advertise the 12 various E.M.C. FrontLine Pregnancy Centers around the city which are “crisis pregnancy centers”; the city also has four other CPCs.

Indeed, they offer “abortion alternatives,” if you could even call them that. “Crisis pregnancy centers” are actually anti-abortion organizations, often run by pro-life groups, and do not actually provide a full range of reproductive health services for women. They sometimes offer sonograms for pregnant women. However, they are not necessarily staffed by licensed medical professionals and do not provide family planning (like birth control pills) or referrals for abortions. Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Ohio Woman Forced Into Abortion Clinic At Gunpoint

Jessica WakemanOctober 7, 2010 //
  • Police say an Ohio man, Dominic Holt-Reid, forced his girlfriend into an abortion clinic at gunpoint after she refused to terminate her pregnancy. The couple had a morning appointment for an abortion and she refused to go, so he pulled a gun from the glove compartment. While inside the clinic, she passed a note to a clinic employee, who called the police. Holt-Reid was charged with kidnapping and carrying a concealed weapon. Sigh. Here’s a little Reproductive Rights 101: “freedom of choice” also means being free to not have an abortion, too. [Columbus Post-Dispatch]
  • A fence business in Ocala, Florida, posted a sign on its property which reads, “Breast inspection 20 feet ahead, please have ‘em out. You got to love them rednecks.” The employees of Hercules Fence Company say it’s just “humorous, good stuff,” but some breast cancer survivors say a crude joke is not appropriate during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. [WESH]

Keep reading »

Why Washington, D.C., Won’t Be Getting A National Women’s History Museum

Jessica WakemanOctober 4, 2010 //

Two senators are blocking the creation of a women’s history museum in our nation’s capital because they are afraid it will become a shrine to abortion. I wish I was kidding. Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) put a “hold” on a bill that would sell land near the National Mall to build the museum, which would be funded through private donations (including from Meryl Streep, who has pledged $1 million towards it). The senators are claiming that the land isn’t being sold at fair market value (who needs women’s history? Let’s put a Target there!) and that there are already many museums dedicated to the ladies. The Women’s Museum, which is associated with the Smithsonian, is located all the way in Dallas however, and the existing museums in Washington, D.C., focus on niche interests, such as the arts. Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: 78 Candidates Would Force A Woman To Have A Baby From Rape

Jessica WakemanOctober 1, 2010 //
  • There are at least 78 political candidates in this year’s midterm elections who would force a woman to give birth to a rapist’s baby. That’s the extreme-of-the-extreme when it comes to opposing legal abortion. [Raw Story]
  • The ex-wife of Bishop Eddie Long, the Georgia megachurch pastor who has been accused of forcing four young men into sex, claimed in 1985 divorce papers that he had a “vicious and violent” temper and physically abused her while she was pregnant. Considering Eddie Long’s opinions on uppity wives who don’t submit to their husbands, this news does not surprise us. [Essence]
  • The U.S. is distributing $27 million in grants to programs in 20 states that fight teen pregnancy and assist young parents. The grants will help with child care, housing, and finishing their educations. [Politics Daily]

Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Glenn Beck Compares Abortion To Slavery

Jessica WakemanSeptember 16, 2010 //
  • Radio host Glenn Beck compared abortion to slavery. (Wait, yesterday I thought abortion was genocide?) We have no words to describe how offensive this is to actual slaves and descendants of slaves, not to mention women who have terminated a pregnancy for any reason. [Media Matters]
  • According to new Census data on income, poverty in America has hit a 15-year high and the number of working women has fallen by 1.3 million in three years. [Reuters]
  • There will be no bond for the 26-year-old North Carolina man accused of describing on Facebook how to make explosives to bomb an abortion clinic. [WNCT.com]

Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Missouri Women Seeking Abortions To Be Told Life Begins At Conception

Jessica WakemanAugust 23, 2010 //
  • On August 28, an anti-abortion law in Missouri will go into effect, which will require that “the life of each human being begins at conception” and “abortion will terminate the life of a separate, unique, living human being” be written on brochures handed out to women seeking abortions. Missouri already has a 24-hour waiting period for a woman seeking to terminate a pregnancy. [StLToday.com]
  • First Lady Michelle Obama has a new portrait appearing at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. The work by Mickalene Thomas, an African-American female painter, looks a little Andy Warhol-ish to me! [Essence]
  • Check out baseball prodigy Chelsea Baker, 13, who’s pitched two perfect games and been recognized by the National Baseball Hall of Fame. [CNN]

Keep reading »

What Is Ella, The Morning-After Pill That The FDA Just Approved?

Jessica WakemanAugust 16, 2010 //

Woot, woot! On Friday afternoon, the FDA approved ella, a new emergency contraceptive that can be taken five days after unprotected sex, for prescription-only sales. If the condom breaks, you are a victim of sexual assault, or any number of numerous situations where you’re doing the “No babies! No babies!” dance, you now have more morning-after pill options than ever before.

What do you need to know about ella — and Plan B, the existing emergency contraception? All the deets are after the jump. Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Bomb Scare At Tulsa Abortion Clinic

Jessica WakemanAugust 13, 2010 //
  • A bomb squad was called to an abortion clinic in Tulsa, Oklahoma yesterday afternoon when an employee reported she thought she heard a ticking sound coming from her trash can. Police arrived and sent a robot inside to find and dismantle the package. Fortunately, it turned out to be nothing. [Fox23.com, Fox23.com]
  • The Department of Homeland Security has granted asylum to a Mexican woman who was a victim of domestic violence for several years. She had been raped, beaten and almost burned alive by her husband. The DHS said Mexico could not protect her from murder threats, as well as domestic violence, if she returned. [New York Times]
  • Giorgia Boscolo, 24, of Italy is only one test away from becoming Venice’s first-ever female gondolier. Congratulations! [AP]

Keep reading »

Abortion Clinic Documentary “12th & Delaware” Debuts Tonight On HBO

Jessica WakemanAugust 2, 2010 //

A few weeks ago, I was privileged to attend a screening of “12th & Delaware,” a new documentary that screened to critical acclaim at Sundance and debuts tonight on HBO at 9 p.m. (EST). The film examines the fight over reproductive rights in the United States though the lens of an abortion clinic and a so-called “crisis pregnancy center,” which are located across the street from one another in Fort Pierce, Florida. The abortion clinic, which is constantly picketed by protesters, operates under high security and the doctor is driven to and from work every day with a blanket over his head. Meanwhile, the Pregnancy Care Center is run by anti-choicers who purposefully named their business to sound like an abortion clinic and purposefully opened up shop near an abortion clinic to confuse women seeking to end a pregnancy. Keep reading »

Frisky Movie Review: “12 & Delaware,” HBO On August 2

Jessica WakemanJuly 30, 2010 //
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