HERvotes: 11 Doctors Explain Why All Employers Should Cover Birth Control

Some religious institutions are objecting to new federal rules requiring that they cover contraception for their employees in their health insurance policies. Below, Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health (PRCH) physicians remember patients whose stories show the importance of affordable birth control for all women, no matter where they work. (Patients’ names have been changed.) [...]

Abortion Is 14 Times Safer Than Childbirth (No Surprise)

This week the world was stunned by the announcement that the much-lauded, seemingly apolitical and altruistic Susan G. Komen for the Cure cut off funding for breast cancer screenings for poor women at Planned Parenthood health centers. Even though Komen is now backing off the decision, the curtain has been pulled back to reveal the [...]

Victory! Obama Stands Up to Bishops and Protects Birth Control Coverage

Great news! Despite months of fierce lobbying by the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Obama administration announced today that it would not exempt Catholic hospitals from the Affordable Care Act requirement for insurance plans to cover employees’ birth control. The news, which comes on the first day of Trust Women Week, is a [...]

Will Obama Betray the Other 99 Percent?

There is another 99 percent group in our country, distinct from but inextricably entwined with the now more familiar #99Percent, those everyday Americans, who–in such a brilliant framing by the Occupy Wall Street movement–are to varying degrees affected by the vast economic inequality that characterizes American society. I refer to the 99 percent of American [...]

Our Bodies, Ourselves Is 40 and Fabulous

Here are the cliff notes to this review of the new Our Bodies, Ourselves: Get this book. Get it because you have always seen it but never opened it. Get it because you have an older version and want to see what’s new. Get it because you will find yourself in these pages, whether you are [...]

As We Hit 7 Billion, Behold the Future of Contraception!

This Monday, as the world’s 7 billionth baby was being born somewhere on the planet, I was sitting in a conference room in Seattle catching a glimpse of the future of contraception. I was at, in fact, the Future of Contraception Initiative, where 200 of science’s brightest minds revealed their progress toward the next big [...]

Why I’m Glad My Miscarriage Wasn’t in Mississippi

I had a miscarriage in 1991. No one accused me of murder. No one arrested and jailed me on suspicion of abortion. No one charged me with endangering the miscarried fetus. If Initiative 26 to amend the Mississippi constitution passes next week, that won’t be true for the next woman who miscarries. She will be [...]

Hold the Sprinkles: National Pro-Life Cupcake Day Is Upon Us

Here at the Ms. Blog, we don’t usually turn down cupcakes. But over the next few days, we’ll be forgoing any of the tasty deserts handed out by the Cupcakes for Life movement. In case you didn’t see it on your calendar, this Sunday, October 9, is National Pro-Life Cupcakes Day, designed by folks against [...]

Tsk Tsk: Stigma, Shame and Sexuality

Over at Gender Across Borders today we are kicking off our three-day series on stigma, shame and sexuality. The series is cross-posted with RH Reality Check and in partnership with Ipas. I am proud, excited, nervous and touched to be introducing to you 18 poignant and provocative pieces about an issue that eludes definition: stigma. The [...]

Virginia Poised To “TRAP” Abortion Clinics

Imagine if, before she could stitch up your cut or extract a tooth, your doctor or dentist had to remodel her office to meet the same standards as a hospital. Most doctor’s offices don’t have five-foot-wide hallways, sinks with hands-free faucets, 250-square-foot operating rooms or exam rooms with a clear floor of 80 feet. Nor [...]

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