Politics

HERvotes: Where’s the Bipartisan Support for the Violence Against Women Act?

by Terry O'Neill · February 2, 2012 · 1 comment

According to the media, the public holds the bickering, do-nothing Congress in unprecedented low esteem. But here’s some good news: In the weeks and months ahead, there is one area where our legislators can redeem themselves. The Violence Against Women Act is up for reauthorization, and if Congress passes a strong bill, millions of girls and women will have a better chance to escape and heal from sexual, domestic, dating and stalking violence. We only have to read the latest headlines to know that our nation ...Read More

Reproductive Health

Just Another Business Decision for Komen

by Lori Baralt · February 1, 2012 · 9 comments

In the midst of the many attacks against Planned Parenthood and abortion rights over the past year, the news that Komen for the Cure was halting future funding of breast cancer screening and breast health education to Planned Parenthood affiliates has still managed to create shock waves in women’s health advocacy circles. Many feel hurt and torn: How could one women’s health organization turn its back on another? Although we all know abortion is a politically polarizing issue, Planned Parenthood has generally been ...Read More

Breast Cancer

Komen and the Dangers of Corporate-Funded Causes

by Mara Einstein · February 1, 2012 · 6 comments

Breast-cancer charity Susan G. Komen’s decision to pull funding from Planned Parenthood–an organization that provides subsidized breast cancer exams for lower-income women–leaves me scratching my head. Komen claims to be withholding funds because of new criteria barring it from providing grants to organizations that are under investigation by local, state or federal authorities. In and of itself, that is odd. What is stranger, however, is the 2011 hiring of Karen Handel–who was openly anti-Planned ...Read More

Reproductive Rights

Abortion Is 14 Times Safer Than Childbirth (No Surprise)

by Carol King · February 3, 2012 · no comments

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 far reach of the anti-choice far right into every corner of American society. Komen’s story that the decision wasn’t a political one was a hard sell, especially after it was reported ...Read More

Global

Do Restrictive Abortion Laws Actually Reduce Abortion Rates?

by Gwen Sharp · January 26, 2012 · 1 comment

Andrew S. let us know that The Lancet has just released a study on global trends in abortion, focusing on overall rates, access to safe vs. unsafe abortions, and how the legal status of abortion impacts abortion rates. The results shed some interesting light on the effects of efforts to reduce abortion by outlawing or restricting access to it. Looking at data from 1995 to 2008, the authors found that abortion rates were actually lower in areas of the world with less restrictive abortion laws: [Via ThinkProgress.] The ...Read More

Military

The Invisible War of Military Women

by Holly Kearl · January 25, 2012 · 2 comments

On Sunday I attended the Sundance premiere of The Invisible War, Kirby Dick’s heartbreaking documentary about sexual assault in the military. The 90-minute documentary opens with vintage military recruitment ads aimed at women from as early as the 1940s. They’re followed by clips of women military members talking about what drew them to a career in the military. Quickly, the interviews turn serious, and we learn that each woman is a survivor of rape at the hands of another military member. Even though all ...Read More

Ms.cellany

HERvotes: Why Is the Washington Post Backing Bishops Over Women?

by Eleanor Smeal · February 3, 2012 · 2 comments

The Washington Post is supporting the Catholic Bishops by repeatedly (and one-sidedly) attacking the Obama administration’s decision to maintain contraception coverage for millions of women, without deductibles or copays, under the Affordable Care Act. The Bishops ...Read More

Black Herstory: Rosa Parks Did Much More than Sit on a Bus

by Rachel Griffin · February 3, 2012 · no comments

As a Black feminist scholar, every February I find myself troubled by the ways that we simultaneously remember and forget women who look like me. Not that I’m satisfied with the memory of Black women every other month of the year but February–Black History Month–can ...Read More

My Problem with “Slave Rape,” or Why I Love the Story of Sukie

by Janell Hobson · February 2, 2012 · 5 comments

Early in the new year, a black woman student at my university invited me to guest lecture for a special Black History Month event that would highlight the history of black women. My heart leaped. “I would be delighted to participate,” I said. “What would ...Read More

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