Book Club: Pro – Reclaiming Abortion Rights

Pro PollittPro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights by Katha Pollitt, prize-winning author, poet, essayist, and columnist for The Nation, is a book for people who are in the “muddled middle” of the abortion debate. YOU are a member of this group — more than half of Americans — if you do not want to ban abortion, exactly, but don’t want it to be widely available, either.

Pollitt argues that “muddlers” are clinging to an illogical and ultimately untenable position and need to sit down and examine their reasoning carefully. She does so in a witty, engaging manner, taking us through 218 pages in the following six chapters:

RECLAIMING ABORTION. Pollitt states her case:

“Abortion. We need to talk about it. I know, sometimes it seems as if we talk of little else, so perhaps I should say we need to talk about it differently. Not as something we all agree is a bad thing about which we shake our heads sadly and then debate its precise degree of badness, preening ourselves on our judiciousness and moral seriousness as we argue about this or that restriction on this or that kind of woman. We need to talk about ending a pregnancy as a common, even normal, event in the reproductive lives of women … We need to see abortion as an urgent practical decision that is just as moral as the decision to have a child — indeed, sometimes more moral.”

WHAT DO AMERICANS THINK ABOUT ABORTION? Polls are one thing; voting, another. Voters in even the most conservative states reject extreme abortion restrictions, despite polls predicting passage. Continue reading

TIED! DuVal and Ducey TIED With Two Weeks Until Election Day!

The following guest post comes to us via Kelley Dupps, political engagement coordinator for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona.

fred-duval

Fred DuVal trusts women.

Tea Party Republican Doug Ducey acknowledged this weekend that despite all of the support from the Koch brothers, he and his Democratic opponent, Fred DuVal, are tied in the polls with two weeks left until Election Day. This revelation comes on the heels of the marriage equality court case decision on Friday.

We’ve all heard about the issues in this campaign — education, jobs, veterans — and we can all agree that these are important issues that will face the next governor of Arizona. But it’s what we haven’t heard that really sets these two candidates apart: women’s health. We have yet to hear from Mr. Ducey how he believes that the government should ban abortion in all cases — even those cases of rape, incest, or health of the mother. And that is just the start of Mr. Ducey’s long list of how he doesn’t trust women, or their families, and how he would like the government to intrude into people’s lives.

Women’s health and reproductive justice have barely been a blip on the screen. This is unfortunate because reproductive rights are the single largest set of issues distinguishing the candidates. Doug Ducey has installed Cathi Herrod from an extreme lobbying group, Center for Arizona Policy, as a key adviser on his campaign. Though he has tried to sell himself as a “moderate,” he seeks the advice of Ms. Herrod, who has been behind heinous discriminatory bills — such as this year’s SB 1062, widely regarded as an attack on the LGBTQ community — that have made our state a laughingstock. Continue reading

Pro-Choice Friday News Rundown

Human papillomavirus. Image: University of Arizona

Human papillomavirus. Image: University of Arizona

  • Even though AZ state law requires an emphasis on abstinence, students in Tempe are getting a new, more comprehensive sex-ed curriculum. (AZ Central)
  • So, no reason for alarm or anything, but everyone has HPV. Pretty much. Almost. (NBC News)
  • Americans are just as polarized as ever on the issue of abortion. And, as you’d imagine, men are more likely to rate themselves as “pro-life.” (Gallup)
  • But perhaps pollsters are asking the wrong questions on this issue. (Think Progress)
  • When it comes to the issue of choice, President Obama’s federal judicial nominee, Michael Boggs, is not fit to sit on the bench. (RH Reality Check)
  • The NYPD is finally going to stop seizing condoms from sex workers. (Slate)
  • Apparently switching birth control pills can affect your satisfaction between the sheets! (Time)
  • Wendy Davis has been dubbed Abortion Barbie by the anti-choice crowd. They even made offensive little posters with her depicted as a pregnant, nude doll. Stay classy, y’all! (HuffPo)
  • Thing I know from personal experience: Getting permanent birth control is not easy when you’re a young woman. (Chicago Tribune)