Posts Tagged: anti-choice
Looking in the Fun-house Mirror: Decoding Anti-Choice Spin
This post is written by Kate Londen, Choice USA Communications Manager Do you ever look at anti-choice news websites? I wouldn’t recommend it, unless you want to spend a good hour or so hate-clicking on sensationally titled articles out of a masochistic fascination. Reading their take on things is like looking in a fun-house mirror. Abortion causes breast cancer. Planned Parenthood is an abortion mill. Contraception ruins sex. You thought Beyoncé’s super bowl performance was awesome, right? Nope, it turned our children into guinea pigs for “an unfettered, out of control social experiment.” Up is down, down is up. But sometimes news comes down that is unequivocally pro-choice. What do anti-choice news site do then? Spin, baby, spin… and sometimes straight up lie. For example, earlier this month two separate reports were… Read more »
Kansas Activists Are Not Giving Up
For the second time in one month, Kansas activists descended upon the state capitol to ensure that all of our voices are being heard. On February 4th, with the help of Choice USA, we raised our concerns to legislators concerning the impending catch-all abortion bill. Soon after the bill was officially introduced as HB2253 and named: AN ACT concerning abortion; relating to the funding of abortion services; relating to restrictions on late-term abortions; relating to the woman’s right-to-know act. Of course we couldn’t stop there. Organized by Kansas NOW, a group of more than 40 pink wearing advocates from Wichita, El Dorado, Manhattan, Lawrence, Kansas City and Topeka packed the statehouse to bear testimony in front of the committee. I personally was unable to attend but I did give… Read more »
Georgia Senators Try to Take Away Their Own Right to Abortion
At Choice USA, we make habit of talking about older politicians’ assaults on youth’s reproductive agency. We’re so accustomed to these attacks against comprehensive sex education and birth control accessibility that it would be surprising to see politicians infringe upon their own right to choose. But that’s exactly what’s happening in Georgia. The newly-minted Senate Bill 98 seeks to restrict birth control accessibility among state employees who receive insurance benefits. The bill blatantly states that, “No abortion coverage shall be provided” and that it “would provided certain exceptions” to that abortion restriction. While SB 98 seems like an attempt to manage the debt caused by Georgia’s recession by decreasing government spending, it’s a classic example of sex discrimination via legislation. You would never see a bill restricting access to funding… Read more »
Heart Beats in the Heartland
This past Monday I had the opportunity, along with 25 other students across Kansas, to express my concerns regarding a piece of legislature that has been introduced once again concerning abortion restrictions. – HOUSE BILL No. 2253, Introduced by the Committee on Federal and State Affairs. After having lobbying trainings the day before, we set out to Topeka with one mission: to defeat this bill before it even gets introduced. Knowing this highly unlikely, we came equipped with confidence and personal anecdotes. Each group according to geographic location was divided into smaller groups to meet with their representatives. Some of these meetings were scheduled and some we just dropped in. From a few of their reactions they didn’t know what hit them when 10 of us walked through the door… Read more »
The Yellow Brick Road to Freedom
To me writing about Roe v. Wade in 2013 is really just a practice in futility. On the 40th anniversary of this watershed moment in the history of civil liberties in America, it is spent celebrating the victories of our elders, while others march in mourning. For the past week the thought that’s been running through my head is – so what? As a woman of child bearing age, what is Roe really doing for me these days? I know this seems harsh and you may think I should be sitting here telling you all the great things Roe has provided for me and millions of other women. I don’t mean it to take away the historical significance – I agree it was huge. Key word: was. 40 years after… Read more »
The New Year Brings New Possibilities and New Attacks on Reproductive Justice
It’s 2013 and anti-choice policymakers are at it again. 2012 was a time of great achievements in defeating bills that tried to take the control of women’s health out of their own hands. No on 6 specifically was the Amendment we in Florida fought hard and defeated; but with the New Year comes new attacks on women and specifically their access to necessary medical procedures. What seems to be the new technique for far-right ideology is attacking building specifications. These rules however only target facilities that offer abortion and other reproductive health services. The scope of work that would need to be completed to follow the new laws would end up being so expensive and laws could change so frequently that facilities wouldn’t be able to afford or keep up… Read more »
The Summer of Mercy: Revisiting My Hometown’s Dark Anti-Choice History
Mercy: Compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm The dark side of anti-choice politics hits home no harder than in my hometown Wichita, Kansas. When meeting new people, especially in the reproductive justice movement, there’s always that moment of infamy, “Ah, Wichita.” Now most are aware that the late Dr. George Tiller also called this place home until 2009 when he was shot in the face during a church service by anti-abortion extremist Scott Roeder. Less people are aware of the Summer of Mercy, I would be the first to admit that it took 21 years to hear of it, but when I did, I was speechless. Above, I’ve defined exactly was mercy means, because after reading more about the summer I… Read more »
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 »
Kansas Anti-Choice Bill: Endangering Women and Making a Mockery of the Medical Profession
When I first caught wind of the proposed House Bill 313, known by some as the “Pro-Life Protections Act,” others refer to it as the most draconian abortion bill in United States history I called my mom on the verge of a panic attack. My heart sank Sunday night when I heard it passed the house with an overwhelming 88-31 vote. Not only was it one of the most inclusive anti-choice, anti-women’s health care bill I had ever seen, it completely disregards the safety of women and makes a mockery of the medical profession. Despite the problems with taxation on abortion, allowing an embryo to have equal rights under the law, and other such ludicrous things, I am going to focus this commentary on how this bill could affect the… Read more »
