Posts Tagged: abortion
3 Ways You Can Help Texas Right Now
This week has been a roller coaster ride in Texas. First, on Monday, District Judge Lee Yeakel found certain requirements under HB5 to be unconstitutional including the requirement of admitting privileges. But yesterday evening the 5th Circuit Court of a Appeals blocked Judge Yeakel’s injunction on the law, which means that even though the admitting privileges are currently considered unconstitutional by the courts, they will still go into effect – starting today – until the Court has made the a permanent ruling on the provision. Basically, it’s really bad news. Clinics are already being forced to cancel appointments and experts believe this decision will close one-third of abortion clinics in the state. Things are looking bad for abortion access in Texas right now, but this fight will be a long… Read more »
Responsibility and Reproduction: Abortion as Radical Self-Care
What is the typical picture that anti-choice politicians paint of a person who chooses abortion? She is a cisgender straight woman (of course). She consented to sex with a cisgender straight man (of course), which means she that she consented to becoming pregnant. She’s not married, nor does she have children. She’s young and irresponsible. She should have known better than to have sex! The anti-choice view behind sex is pretty obvious: Don’t have sex unless you’re married, because obviously
Why Anti-Choice Groups are Afraid of Students…and They Should Be
Yesterday, the University of Central Florida (UCF) was paid a visit by the not so pleasant anti-choice organization Created Equal. They came toting large A-frames of doctored and extremely graphic images that they claimed to be “real abortions”, and literature urging women to bring a stop to this “modern Holocaust”. Now, personally the second I hear some compare anything to the Holocaust that isn’t…you know…THE HOLOCAUST I tune out and write them off. But it pained me to watch my fellow students
Parental Consent is Advised (and Anti-Choice)
If you haven’t yet heard the story of Anonymous 5, the 16 year-old Nebraska Girl who had to ask the court system for permission to have an abortion and was denied because she is apparently “not sufficiently mature,” I apologize if I’m bumming you out with the complete ridiculousness of her situation. I’m also sorry to inform you, if it’s further news to you, that Anonymous 5’s case is hardly an uncommon one—that is if you live in any one of the 39 states that require parental notification and/or consent of an abortion. Hint: that includes a whole lot of people.
We Won’t Go Back: Raising Youth Voices in Reproductive Justice
History was recently made in Ohio when over 300 people rallied at the capitol in Ohio for reproductive rights. I was fortunate enough to attend the We Won’t Go Back rally at the statehouse in Columbus, Ohio with my Choice USA chapter (and a fellow Choice USA blogger!). At this rally, I was very inspired by the high attendance, chants and calls to action to vote and change the political climate around abortion rights in Ohio. I felt lucky to be in the presence of America’s pro-choice superstars, such as Ellie Smeal of Feminist Majority Foundation. I kept thinking of how fortunate I was to be part of something so historical and important for my generation. However, I observed something funny about the representation of the reproductive justice movement throughout… Read more »
Support the Troops, Repeal Hyde
What does it mean when you say, “support the troops?” As a whole, the US has many supportive organizations for those who serve in the military and their families, everything from national campaigns for job placement to the USO providing services for families. But what about abortion and reproductive care?
Young, Broke, and Denied Abortion Access: Millennials and the Hyde Amendment
Is there ever any end to the parade of articles decrying Millennials? Judging by the sheer volume that the media churns out decrying my generation as one self-absorbed, lazy, and curated within a bubble of indulgent vapidity, you can say there’s a perception that Millennials are the bane of the United States. Which is funny, seeing as on average, we’re receiving more education than our parents, have less job opportunities, being crushed by debt, and still being pointed at as “just expecting a handout.” This hypocrisy is especially teeth-grindingly blatant when it comes to the Hyde Amendment.
5 Ways Anti-Choice Organizations are Co-Opting Social Justice
Warning: Post contains a graphic image. When you hear the words, “justice,” “equality” and “compassion,” what do you think about? Do these words conjure up thoughts of a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speech? Or you may think about the language that advocates for domestic violence survivors or marriage equality may use. To particular anti-choice organizations, these words are the new framework for limiting your reproductive health. National organizations have started listening to the social justice movement and have found ways to make limiting choices about your body about “love for all.” Here are the several ways that anti-choice organizations have been trying to reframe their strategies to be youth-led, social justice organizations. 1. They recruit young people to spread their message.
From Miss Saigon to Miss America: Policing Asian Bodies
“Women, particularly APA women who already experience cultural pressures when deciding to start a family, may experience social pressures to produce certain kinds of children, which could lead to less control over their reproductive decisions and experiences.” – National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) After this week’s controversies around Miss America Nina Davaluri and CBS celebrity Julie Chen, it should be clear that the Asian “model minority” myth should be far from the truth. Davaluri faced a great deal of backlash and racial slurs after her victory and Chen came clean about plastic surgery on her eyes to look “less Asian.” Asian-American women are often stereotyped to be submissive, passive, and docile. But these racist attacks go much further than pop culture and our media.
If I lived in a state that had reproductive justice…
The state would respect the humanity of ALL people. The state would not pass laws diverting money from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program to give to Crisis Pregnancy Centers that “routinely lie to and coerce women.” The state would not mandate that in order for rape crisis centers to receive funding, they must not refer to abortion care when they counsel survivors. The state would not mandate that public hospitals can only perform abortions in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother. The state would not pass laws requiring abortion clinics to have transfer agreements with a local hospital and then ban public hospitals from getting into transfer agreements with abortion clinics.
