News that should surprise no one: Abortions in Arizona are up 25 percent this year. Thank you, Jan Brewer and our craptastic legislators. (AZ Daily Sun)- Oh, but the Center for Arizona Policy (aka big time anti-choice lobby) disagrees with these facts. (East Valley Tribune)
- Women are befuddled about birth control and I can’t help but wonder why. It’s not like our education system focuses mostly on only teaching abstinence, or that most parents don’t take the time to talk about sex and reproductive health with their children! #Sarcasm (Toronto Sun)
- Speaking of parents failing their children with regard to sex ed … (Think Progress)
- Dear anti-choicers: All of the roadblocks you put in front of women seeking abortions — mandatory ultrasounds, various arbitrary waiting periods, forcing them to listen to propaganda prior to having an abortion — ultimately have no effect on abortion rates. Know why? Because they don’t get to the core of why women have abortions. These obstacles are rooted in the false assumption that women are ignorant and not fully capable of making proper decisions about their bodies, and thus need to be educated about abortion. Because none of those things is true, your tactics, predictably, are failing to do what you intended them to do — reduce abortions. Feel free to try again, but only with tactics that are considerably less stupid. For instance, access to affordable contraception and comprehensive sex ed. That’d be a good start! (Salon)
- Ann Romney does not wish to discuss serious world issues like birth control or same-sex marriage because those topics are not what this election is about. She’d much rather talk about what kind of husband and father Mitt is. After all, that’s what is on the minds of Americans. Is Mitt a nice dad? Is he good to his wife? Then obviously he’s qualified to lead the nation and serve as commander in chief. Duh. She also says those issues distract from the real issues: jobs and the economy. (WaPo)
- Uh, Earth to Ann: Birth control is an economic issue. A woman’s ability to control her own fertility will be the most important factor in dictating her professional and socio-economic status. (Jezebel)
- “Forcible rape” language is still all the rage among the anti-choice crowd. This time it’s New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, who proposes the state needs proof of “forcible rape” in applications for child care assistance. I wish this were some kind of a joke. (RH Reality Check)
Tag Archives: forcible rape
Pro-Choice Friday News Rundown
Because Planned Parenthood is so committed to women’s health and providing the best preventive care possible, we’ve just pledged to dedicate $3 million to launch an initiative to fight breast cancer with expanded screenings and education! Woo hoo! (MSNBC)- Dear Todd Akin, Your assertion that a woman’s body can “shut the whole thing down” to prevent herself from being impregnated by her rapist is the biggest crock of $&*% we’ve ever heard. Sincerely, Legitimate Ob/gyn Professionals (NYT)
- You know who’s more extreme on abortion than Todd Akin? Mitt Romney’s running mate, Paul Ryan! Boom. (The Daily Beast)
- Please take a look at this fantabulous video extolling a myriad of benefits of contraception. It is so worth your time. (Guttmacher)
- The tone deaf GOP is going all in on a plan to abolish abortion, and they could give a friggin’ crap if you were “legitimately raped” or molested. (Jezebel)
- Remember that one time when Paul Ryan co-sponsored legislation with Todd Akin using the language “forcible rape” instead of just plain “rape” — as if there were different categories and classifications of rape? Well, he now insists “rape is rape” and pretends like this is just basic common sense that he’s always embraced! HA! It’s unfortunate that rape wasn’t “rape” when he insisted upon using the “forcible rape” phrase in the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. (RH Reality Check)
- The Daily Beast has an epic slideshow detailing the history of abortion rights in America. (Daily Beast)
- It’s time to panic: Gonorrhea is becoming resistant to the only medical treatment left. (The Grio)
- Isn’t it interesting that anti-choicers have taken extreme interest in a black woman’s death following an abortion (which is extremely rare), rather than the much higher rate of mortality among black women after childbirth? (Double X)
- The Catholic Church: a long legacy of protecting the pre-born from not being born, but not protecting post-born children — from rape. (Gawker)
- In related religious news, the Christian right’s affinity for the notion of fetal personhood has absolutely no scriptural basis. Whatsoever. (Role Reboot)
- The scary world that awaits us if the GOP wins their war on a woman’s right to choose. (Mother Jones)
- Medical science has proved that circumcision has significant health benefits, including decreasing the risk of cancer and lowering HIV transmission rates. However, circumcision rates are plummeting, which is probably going to cost the United States billions in health care costs. (USA Today)
- Sadly, a young pregnant leukemia patient has died due to the failure of the Dominican Republic to allow her timely access to chemotherapy — all because because abortion is illegal in the DR and life-saving chemotherapy treatments are likely to terminate a pregnancy. (CNN)