photo courtesy of Ben at Lifehacksimmediately
In general, I love Ohio. I’ve mentioned before that I am also a huge fan of Cleveland, so my only consolation with this story is that it’s from another city in Ohio. A dry cleaner in Cincinnati has decided to share their opinions regarding abortion via their hangers. RH Reality Check refers to Springdale Drycleaners’ hangers as the “worst marketing decision ever,” and I have to agree that it’s not the best choice. The paper covering the hanger includes a picture of a smiling child, and the words “choose life!” Continue Reading →
Abortion
Recent posts
Why I Refuse To Use The Term “Pro-Life”
In light of Savita Halappanavar’s death due to being refused an abortion after miscarrying, using the term “pro-life” to mean “anti-abortion” is increasingly problematic. As therapist Lyla Cicero points out, “when a choice must be made between a mother’s life and a child’s, choosing abortion is still being pro-life, isn’t it?” Her piece on a pregnant teenager who identified as pro-life yet choose an abortion exemplifies this dilemma: the girl was choosing her life, choosing to delay having children, choosing to commit her time to working her way out of poverty. The irony, as Cicero notes, is that “The politicians who so vehemently call themselves pro-life are the same politicians who would resent [the teen mother's] living off the government.” That quote leads into the connections between pregnancy, poverty, and abuse. Continue Reading →
Confusion About Whether Pregnant Women Can Die
Republican Representative Joe Walsh has said that abortion is never necessary to save the life of a mother because “with modern technology and science, you can’t find one instance” of a pregnant woman dying. Um, no, sorry, that’s not the case. Medical advances have certainly aided women in surviving pregnancy and childbirth, but it’s not been an absolute triumph. For instance, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have stated in this article: “Abortions are necessary in a number of circumstances to save the life of a woman or to preserve her health. Unfortunately, pregnancy is not a risk-free life event.” Continue Reading →
A Biblical Perspective On Abortion
Abortion is a tricky issue, resonating with people on multiple levels (personal, religious, political, among others) and I feel that I should state that in this post I’m not trying to convince someone to think differently here, or come over to my view (which is pro-choice if only because I’m hesitant about people without wombs making decisions for people with wombs, and because I believe that abortion needs to be safely available as part of the effort to provide social equity and begin to fix the socio-economic-educational problems that lead to unwanted babies in the first place). However, I recently discovered that the Bible does not necessarily unilaterally condemn abortion, so I thought I would share some of that information here in case others find it as thought-provoking as I did. I followed a link (I forget from whom) to the site of a Christian blogger who provides close readings of Biblical passages. The first post, What the Bible Says About Abortion, discusses a passage in Numbers wherein God tells Moses that if a husband suspects his wife is pregnant with another man’s baby, they can perform a ritual that will cause the woman to abort. Whoa… Continue Reading →
A Jewish Perspective On Abortion
Discussions of abortion frequently focus on Christian perspectives, as pro-life Christians tend to be the ones out protesting the most visibly. However, other religions certainly have perspectives on abortion. This narrative by my Jewish friend Sarah, on finding support from other Jewish women while choosing to have an abortion, shares an experience that is thought-provoking, interesting, and unique. Follow us on Twitter @mysexprofessor. Follow Jeana, the author of this post, @foxyfolklorist. Continue Reading →
Clarifying Arizona’s 20-Week Abortion Limit
I’ve seen a lot of furor online at Arizona’s proposal to ban abortions after 20 weeks – especially regarding the definition of pregnancy as starting two weeks prior to insemination, at the start date of the last menstrual period. Yes, this legislation is absolutely infuriating and wrong-headed, but not just for the reasons you think. As explained at Feministe, doctors have always calculated gestational age using the first day of the last period. It’s weird but that’s how it’s done. So in medical terms, the new law wouldn’t change anything in terms of how we count… Continue Reading →
Why Women’s Sexual Health In The News Is Good… And Bad
There is a ton of news coverage of laws pertaining to women’s sexual health right now, and it’s not looking too good for women who want not only access to contraception and basic health rights, but also to accurate information about their bodies. Feministe gives a good run-down of the various states that have passed, or are trying to pass, laws that would make it illegal for women to get abortions after 20 weeks (even if the fetus is dead), or that would list all doctors in the state who perform abortions (despite the fact that such doctors are often targeted by violent protesters and sometimes killed), and so on. Women are compared to livestock that sometimes have to carry non-viable fetuses to term, or they are called sluts for wanting access to birth control. Politicians in Kansas and Arizona are trying to pass bills that would allow doctors to withhold medical information from pregnant women that might affect their decisions on whether to bring a fetus to term. How a doctor might reconcile this with the Hippocratic Oath boggles my mind, as it certainly harms pregnant women to not know the full extent of what is happening with their bodies. Continue Reading →
Abortion Laws In Africa
The HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa receives much media attention, but there is another problem: the illegal status of abortions in many countries, which makes them that much more dangerous for women. This article gives a thorough overview of the issues at play, including how outdated colonial laws interact with local norms about sex and birth control. As in many cases, greater access to and education about sex, contraception, and abortion appear to be the best options for maximizing women’s health. Follow us on Twitter @mysexprofessor. Follow Jeana, the author of this post, @foxyfolklorist. Continue Reading →
Rape Culture, Pro-Life, And Anti-Women Rhetorics
There is a connection between various cultural messages about sex that reach us through the media, politics, and everyday life. I’ve seen it helpfully articulated on feminist blogs and in conversations with feminists and other allies, but it wasn’t until I was reading the footnotes of Sex at Dawn (because I am a nerd like that) that it all fell into place for me. First, I’d read Echo Zen’s Slutwalk address, which was awesome and thought-provoking. Speaking from the perspective of a reproductive health advocate, he defines rape culture as a culture that punishes women for trying to be in control of their sexuality, especially when that means choosing to be sexually active. Rape culture normalizes sexual violence and employs victim-blaming and slut-shaming strategies to cow women into complying… Continue Reading →
What Is It With Walgreens Policing Women’s Sexual Health?
Planned Parenthood reports that a Walgreens pharmacist in Idaho refused to fill a prescription for Methergine, a medicine used to control uterine bleeding following childbirth, a miscarriage, or an abortion. The pharmacist asked the nurse calling to fill the prescription whether it was needed for post-abortion care, and when the nurse (citing patient confidentiality) refused to answer, the pharmacist hung up. As one blogger notes, this is an attempt to punish women who exercise their reproductive rights. Right on the heels of some Walgreens pharmacists refusing to sell Plan B to men, this is a punitive, disturbing way of policing women’s sexual and reproductive health. Follow us on Twitter @mysexprofessor. Continue Reading →