1America is overspending and under-serving women and families. The problem is not access to care; it is the care itself. Just as all women benefit from legal affirmation of their right to choose abortion, so do all terminally ill Americans benefit when they are free to make affirmative choices about how their lives will end. In most Muslim-majority countries, abortion is generally prohibited with exceptions made where the health of the mother is at risk, but doctors often aren't aware of the legal exceptions.
2Our country should view health care reform as an economic investment that can create jobs that women are likely to take. Pakistani specialists say fistula can be prevented by stopping early marriages, delaying the age of first pregnancy and by timely access to good emergency obstetric care -- but education is also key. While acknowledging the "cultural context" in which many students live, Jamaican Minister of Education Andrew Holness has refused to supply students with condoms in the schools. 3Steven Mosher attacks UNFPA and Cristina Page, again. The facts speak for themselves and demonstrate just how desperate the fringe of the far-right is getting. From Connecticut to Colombia, here are the International Women's Health Coalition's top ten wins for women's health in 2008. The right of conscience is a time-honored value in our society. But it is not only health providers who have rights; so do patients. 4During this Holy Season for every faith, many are up in arms over a prayer Rick Warren will offer, some planning to disrupt it, which will only cede the moral authority progressives now have. Health care providers already strain to serve women while respecting workers' rights under existing laws. Now Secretary Leavitt has put even more obstacles between patients and the health care they need. While the Global Gag Rule was designed to reduce abortion, there's no evidence that it has. And the policy's domino effect has had negative effects on people's lives in ways that have nothing to do with abortion. 5Recently, the Czech Republic approved a bill that would extend abortion privileges and other health services to all European Union citizens. Miraculous biblical stories of birth fit more closely with our notions of reproductive technologies than with the Vatican's re-assertion that the only authentic context for human life is an act of reciprocal love between a man and woman in marriage. Pharmacists in D.C. can and do refuse to provide women's health care based on such "personal views" as latent sexism, unsubstantiated medical opinion, or whim.
our weekly audio podcast with host Amanda Marcotte
Back from the break, with an interview with a co-editor of a new anti-rape anthology, evidence that virginity pledges are bad for kids, and concerns about the economic downturn and women's safety.
More Podcasts
-
Emily Douglas, RH Reality Check
Jan 5 2009 - 4:53pm | 0 comments
President Bush's provider conscience expansion is set to go into effect January 18, but the National Partnership for Family Planning and Reproductive Health has launched a petition to block the new regulation.
-
Emily Douglas, RH Reality Check
Jan 5 2009 - 2:20pm | 0 comments
Drugs and "home remedies" are commonly used by Latina women seeking to induce abortion; Obama staff meet with faith groups; jobs in Nigeria require HIV-negative test result; Indian call center fields questions on contraception.
-
Jodi Jacobson, Consultant
Jan 2 2009 - 10:05pm | 20 comments
A statement today by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin celebrated the birth of her first grandchild, baby boy Tripp. In the same statement, Bristol Palin tells teens, in effect, don't do as I do. But neither take on the abstinence-only debate straight on.
By Dec 24, 2008 - 8:00am | By Dec 24, 2008 - 8:00am |
|
Jan 6, 2009 - 1:41am
Jan 6, 2009 - 12:36am
Jan 6, 2009 - 12:32am
Jan 5, 2009 - 9:18pm
Jan 5, 2009 - 6:36pm