Posts By: Guest Blogger

Expanding Access to Abortion in California Could Be a Model for the Country

By Katherine Sheldon, Co-Vice President of Choice USA at Sacramento State Let us start by taking a moment on behalf of uteruses everywhere to give thanks to Roe v. Wade for allowing us to do what we want, when we want, with our bodies. Forty years after becoming law, there are still people fighting to take our rights to our own bodies away from us. Over the last two years, 135 laws have been passed across the nation restricting abortion access. This is not only physically dangerous for women, but it shows them that the government doesn’t take their health seriously. AB 154 is a bill that will allow more medical professionals, including nurses and midwives, the ability to perform first-trimester abortions. Allowing these professionals to perform abortions increases the… Read more »

Save the Date: 2013 Generation 2 Generation Celebration & Awards

Join us on July 19, 2013 for the Generation 2 Generation Celebration & Awards in Washington, DC! This is the event to attend if you want to be inspired by young reproductive justice advocates and their mentors. The last year has seen a lot of attacks on reproductive freedom, but it’s also been a year of victories rooted in the passion and commitment of young people working for justice. If that’s not a reason to celebrate, then what is? Tickets go on sale April 1st! Stay tuned for more details!

Abortion Stigma is Global

By Leila Hessini, Director of Community Mobilization & Youth Leadership at Ipas Abortions have existed since time immemorial and are one of the most common and safest medical procedures. But the stigma that often surrounds abortion and anyone associated with it—women, providers, pharmacists and advocates—contributes to abortion’s social, medical and legal marginalization. At Ipas, we know that stigmatizing abortion is inherently harmful to women’s health — preventing them from getting the care they deserve. When abortion is inaccessible either legally, financially or physically, women are more likely to delay receiving care, suffer from trying to pull together the resources needed or turn to unsafe methods of pregnancy termination. Abortion stigma plays out on so many levels. Women who need abortions face stigma and may even perpetuate it, as do providers of abortion… Read more »

The Problem With Grey Rape

Written by Danielle Paradis and cross-posted with permission from Fem2pt0. Recently, in an article for the Good Men Project , I referred to “grey rape” a term popularized by Cosmopolitan in a 2007 article titled “The New Kind of Date Rape.” I continue to place scare quotes around the term because while it does the work of communicating the issue that I am trying to talk about, it is also a term that can lead to victim-blaming—and that is not something I ever want to do. “Grey rape” implies that rape occurs on a spectrum. In order to discuss the problematic issue of rape being on a sliding scale, some key terms and ideas need to be identified and expanded upon. This idea of ‘grey rape’ is surrounded by context…. Read more »

Even at the Catholic University of America, We Need Birth Control

By Callie Otto, Catholic University Students for Choice co-founder & Choice USA intern As a reproductive justice advocate at one of the most conservative colleges in the country (that is The Catholic University of America) the last few years have been nothing short of challenging. Figuring out how to get around the no condoms policy, being slut-shamed by a doctor at my campus health center, getting my favorite professor in deep shit for allowing me to talk about my pro-choice views in class, volunteering as a clinic escort at the same clinic my some of my peers sit and pray outside of — yes, I’d say it has been a challenge. These challenges have made me bitter. Bitter about the fact that I’m consistently denied my right to do or… Read more »

Artistic Allyship: Considering Social Implications of Hollywood, Broadway, and Mainstream Art

By Sarah Bernstein, Chapter Member, Oberlin College Last week my family went to see The Book of Mormon, the latest Broadway musical hit. Mormon is a sing-song baby born from the creators South Park. It parodies religion, sexuality, race, other musicals, comedy, capitalism, Disney— it pokes fun at everything there is to make fun of. It does so pretty successfully. Rolling Stone Magazine deemed Mormon a “new gold standard for Broadway… marching into legend,” The New York Times called it “the best musical of the century.” While I am a big-time showtune lover, my infatuation with “the Broadway musical” started to fade-fast somewhere around my junior year of high school. Call me a cynic, but I think the shows are overbudgeted, overpriced, overproduced, and tell mediocre-at-best stories. Still. The Book… Read more »

ChoiceWords Top 12 of 2012!

Since the new and improved ChoiceWords launched at the beginning of the fall semester we have had some incredible writing by our Student Correspondents as well as guest writers and Choice USA staff. As 2012 is coming to a close, we are excited to look back at some of the great posts we’ve had so far. Each Correspondent and each member of the Choice USA staff has picked their favorite posts of this year and we’ve collected them here as the top 12 posts of 2012! Hope you enjoy! Lydia, Correspondent: So… Where Are All the Millennial Feminists? by Sarah Sarah, Correspondent: Pornography and Measure B by Lauren Samantha, Correspondent: 21 Things by Amanda Amanda, Correspondent: Film Review: The Business of Being Born by Lauren Lauren, Correspondent: How to be an Ally: Notes on Lending a Hand to a Movement which Isn’t Yours by… Read more »

Open Thread: Holiday Fun Times

We hope everyone is having a safe and happy holiday season! As the holidays usually means time with family, we are opening up a thread to talk about the joys of being a reproductive justice advocate around those who may not see eye-to-eye on these issues. So, what’s the funniest comment you’ve received from friends and family about your activism for reproductive justice? It’s like group therapy, only virtual.

Anti-Choice Ohio: Stalled But Not Stopped

By Sarah Bernstein, Oberlin College Agh. Ohio! What are you doinggg? In my past four years of living here, I’ve asked this question a lot, particularly about the state’s attacks on reproductive justice. In the past month, Ohio’s state congress has pushed some extremist conservative legislation. Of course. Ohio just played a huge role in reelecting a president who made birth control about a million times more accessible. No wonder anti-choice bills have been rolling in. You might have heard whispers (or shouts) about “The Heartbeat Bill” and a bill that could “defund planned parenthood.” If not, here’s an overview & my two-cents about the damage they could do: HB125 (aka “The Heartbeat Bill”): Like the title implies, this bill threatens to make abortion illegal after a fetal heartbeat can… Read more »