Tag Archives: reproductive rights

Today’s Lady News: “Family Guy” Abortion Episode Will Finally Air — On DVD

Jessica WakemanJuly 20, 2010 //
  • A “Family Guy” episode in which Lois considers getting an abortion, called “Partial Terms of Endearment,” will be included on a 20th Century Fox DVD release in September. The Fox network had forbid “Family Guy” from broadcasting that particular episode on television. [Entertainment Weekly]
  • President Obama is urging Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which will help women sue their employers if they are paid less than their male counterparts. [New York Times]
  • The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan by a 13-6 vote. If Kagan is confirmed by the full Senate, she will become the fourth female Justice. [Los Angeles Times]

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Today’s Lady News: Missouri Women Seeking Abortion Must Legally Be Told Life Begins At Conception

Jessica WakemanJuly 15, 2010 //
  • A Missouri law will go into effect August 28 that requires doctors to give women seeking an abortion a pamphlet that reads, “The life of each human being begins at conception. Abortion will terminate the life of a separate, unique, living human being.” The law also requires women to meet in person with a doctor about an abortion before waiting 24 hours for the procedure, whereas previously they could speak on the phone. (Abortion rights supporters say the in-person meeting is intended to make it more difficult for a woman to receive an abortion.) Doctors must also offer women ultrasounds and allow them to hear the fetus’ heartbeat before an abortion. [AP]
  • The “attempted ordination” of women is now listed by the Vatican as a grave crime tantamount to child sex abuse. Both women who are ordained and bishops who conduct the ordinations would be excommunicated. [Guardian UK]

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Today’s Lady News: Judge Blocks Mental Health Screening For Abortion Law

Jessica WakemanJuly 14, 2010 //
  • A federal judge has blocked a new Nebraska law that would require a mental health screening for a woman who is seeking an abortion. [Journal Star]
  • Ex-Miss America 2008 Kristen Haglund is speaking out about her battle with an eating disorder. Her non-profit, The Kristen Haglund Foundation, provides financial aid for those seeking treatment. [ABC15.com]
  • This week the Department of Veterans Affairs relaxed the proof veterans must provide to receive benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder — but sexual assault was left out entirely. [ColorLines]

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Today’s Lady News: “Friday Night Lights” Teen Character Chooses An Abortion

Jessica WakemanJuly 12, 2010 //
  • Wow, so “Friday Night Lights” did have an abortion on the show. After getting pregnant by one of the boys on the football team, 10th grader Becky decided to terminate the pregnancy. That makes Becky one of the few female TV characters to actually go through with an abortion instead of accidentally miscarrying at the last second. [New York Times, Feministing]
  • Sarah Palin endorsed Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Karen Handel, calling her “a great commonsense conservative woman.” [AP]
  • Forever 21 is launching a new maternity line, love21maternity, in Utah, Alaska, Arizona, California, and Texas. The last three states just happen to have some of the highest percentages of teen pregnancy in the country. Maybe that’s just a coincidence, though? [TheGloss.com]
  • Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is writing a memoir! [New York Observer]

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The Myth That Abortion Causes Breast Cancer Is Circling Yet Again

Jessica WakemanJune 24, 2010 //

Some rumors just don’t go away: Richard Gere shoved gerbils up his butt. The Clintons had their enemies whacked. Abortion causes breast cancer.

A recent study of 300 women from the University of Columbo in Sri Lanka alleges that having an abortion triples a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. News of this study is primarily being reported (surprise, surprise) on anti-abortion web sites. But it has also made its way onto major news sites, like the U.K.’s Daily Mail. Keep reading »

Were You Clueless About Sex Growing Up?

Jessica WakemanJune 22, 2010 //

My first introduction to s-e-x was at the New England Aquarium in Boston when I was in 4th grade. My friends and I were on a Girl Scout trip and let’s just say us Girl Scouts knew about more than just tasty cookies after watching a pair of rock hoppers in the penguin pen. The next year, the health teacher separated the boys into one room and the girls into another room for the big puberty talk. By that point, I had read enough Judy Blume books to understand about menstruation, but fun facts about sexual activity — in humans, of course — were news to me.

I wasn’t the only kiddie who grew up naive about the birds and the bees: the Facebook group, “We bet we can find 100,000 people who were clueless about sex growing up!” has 120 members so far and is growing. After the jump, read a couple funny — er, funny/sad — stories from the sex ed trenches. Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Abortion By Computer?

Jessica WakemanJune 11, 2010 //
  • Abortion providers in Des Moines, Iowa are using videoconferencing — or “telemedicine” — to administer RU-486, the abortion pill. Women can sit next to a nurse at a clinic and with a click of the mouse, the doctor can open a drawer to provide her a dosage. Opponents of abortion rights say administering the abortion pill via telemedicine could compromise women’s safety. Abortion rights supporters say using telemedicine for RU-486 helps women who live in rural areas where clinics don’t exist — in part because of opponents’ activism to shut them down. [New York Times]
  • Next week, the Food and Drug Administration will consider approval for a new type of emergency contraception, called ellaOne, which can be taken up to five days after sex. Currently, doctors advise women who have had unprotected sex to take the existing form of E.C., called Plan B, up to three days after sex. [Salon.com Broadsheet]
  • Chris Brown had to postpone a concert in Glasgow, Scotland, earlier this week after he was denied a visa following his assault on ex-girlfriend Rihanna, last year. Said a government official, “We reserve the right to refuse entry to anyone guilty of a serious criminal offense. Public safety is one of our primary concerns.” [The Sun UK]

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13-Year-Old Pennsylvania Girl Gives Herself An Abortion

Jessica WakemanJune 9, 2010 //

A 13-year-old in Pennsylvania was hospitalized this weekend after giving herself a “home abortion” with a pencil last Wednesday. Police say the girl, whose identity is being kept secret due to her age, became violently ill for three days, had contractions and allegedly delivered a stillborn before she received medical care. Keep reading »

This Is The Abortion Ad British Pro-Lifers Got So Upset About

Jessica WakemanMay 25, 2010 //

Marie Stopes International, a women’s reproductive health care organization in Britain that is similar to America’s Planned Parenthood, ran a commercial on British TV on Monday night that had everyone aflutter. What, pray tell, was the problem? Could it be shocking imagery, like the images of bloody, aborted fetuses which can regularly be seen in public on sidewalks, on college campuses, and outside abortion clinics?

In fact, the commercial shows a couple of melancholy-looking women as the words “Are you late?” flash on screen and a voice-over says, “If you’re pregnant and not sure what to do, Marie Stopes International can help.” Very radical and crazy stuff, I know.

Do you think Marie Stopes International’s ad is more or less effective than an anti-abortion ad like the ones starring Tim Tebow and his mom, Pam Tebow, for the conservative group Focus On The Family, which ran during the 2009 Super Bowl? [Guardian UK] Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Virginia School Tries To Figure Out Who Gave “Fetus Dolls” To Kids

Jessica WakemanMay 24, 2010 //
  • Wow, this will be one interesting faculty meeting: an employee at Oakwood Elementary School in Virginia was placed on administrative leave last Thursday after it was discovered that 4-inch-tall plastic human fetus dolls were handed out to third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students. Apparently, the fetus dolls, which were not instruction materials meant for class, were handed out over the past few months and came attached with a “pro-life” message and information on the first 12 weeks of fetal growth. Oakwood’s principal has also been placed on leave while an investigation takes place. [HamptonRoads.com]
  • Sarah Palin is still saying she might run for president. Or more specifically: “I’m not going to close any door that perhaps would open.” [Gawker]

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