Full disclosure: We're total Gleeks. We love the show and were so excited for this week's episode, Sexy, where Gwyneth Paltrow returns as a substitute sex ed teacher, Holly Holliday. And we were not disappointed! Glee dove into sex education in a way that only Glee can — poking fun at the school's Celibacy Club and the sex-positive sex ed teacher, while still presenting poignant storylines like Santana's struggles with her insecurities about coming out, all while rocking out to "Do You Want To Touch Me (Oh Yeah)." (Still can't get that song out of our heads — SO good!). But whether you're a Gleek or not, you can appreciate the episode's bottom-line: teens — straight or LGBT — need good information at home and at school about making safe and healthy decisions about sex and they need caring adults to talk to.
By Becca Cadoff, Reproductive Freedom Project at 4:30pm
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted to block women from having access to comprehensive insurance coverage that includes abortion care. This is yet another example of the continuing attack on women.
Most health insurance plans currently cover abortion care, but some politicians are trying to take it away. They are attempting to rob a woman and her family of the ability to make personal and private decisions about her pregnancy. A woman's decision should be left to her and her family, not her legislator.
By Becca Cadoff, Reproductive Freedom Project at 1:01pm
After her adventures in Oz, Dorothy couldn’t wait to get back to Kansas. But if she lived there now, she might not be so eager to return. Governor Sam Brownback has just signed yet another bill that makes it more difficult for Kansas women to get the health care they need.
This behemoth 70-page sweeping anti-abortion bill attacks women’s health care from a variety of angles. It could impose new taxes on a woman who obtains an abortion and on the health center where she obtained it, and it could require doctors to inform patients about a supposed link between abortion and breast cancer — a risk that the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, and other medical experts roundly reject. The law also includes language about the legal rights of fertilized eggs, which lays the groundwork for even more extreme measures blocking access to reproductive health care.
By Becca Cadoff, Reproductive Freedom Project at 12:11pm
In the latest affront to women's health, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley signed into law a bill that could force health centers in the state to close their doors if they provide abortion care. We may not all see eye-to-eye about abortion, but most people agree that we all need access to health care without politicians getting in the way.
Isn't it time we are allowed to make our own decisions about our health care?
This bill is just another example of political attacks on women's health, following on the heels of North Dakota, Arkansas, and other state efforts to block access to abortion care. The trend of attacking women is snowballing out of control, and we need to stop it.
By Becca Cadoff, Reproductive Freedom Project at 4:18pm
Over the weekend extremist politicians continued their onslaught on restricting abortion care. What happened? Well, the saying goes "three's a crowd," and when it comes to interfering in personal decisions best left to a woman, her doctor and her family, that's especially true.
On Friday, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed a sweeping anti-abortion bill that threatens women's access to care in a multitude of ways.
Due to onerous regulations approved last week by the Virginia Board of Health, Hillcrest Clinic was forced on Saturday to shut its doors to women seeking care.
A Thursday debate about an abortion bill in the Florida House of Representatives became so insulting that five Representatives had to leave the debate.
Three is, indeed, a crowd – especially when our privacy and our health are at stake. Tell your elected officials to leave us alone.
By Becca Cadoff, Reproductive Freedom Project at 4:44pm
Yesterday, we filed a lawsuit in Arkansas to challenge what was, for a short time, the most extreme abortion ban in the nation. Don't be mistaken though, the Arkansas law is still outrageous - banning most abortions just a few weeks after a woman finds out she is pregnant. By passing this law, politicians are preventing a woman and her family from being able to make the most personal decision they might ever make.
By Amy Fettig, ACLU National Prison Project & Becca Cadoff, Reproductive Freedom Project & Steven Brown, ACLU of Rhode Island at 12:18pm
Following the lead of a dozen other states, Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee has signed into law a bill that sharply restricts the harmful practice of shackling pregnant prisoners. As we have learned from the stories of women across the country, this legislation is critical to protecting mothers and babies. In Rhode Island, legislators heard from one former inmate who described her fears for her pregnancy every time she was transported in a prison van. Not only was she shackled, the van had no seat belts, and she was constantly jostled around with no way to protect herself from falling on her abdomen.
By Becca Cadoff, Reproductive Freedom Project at 7:35pm
A few days ago, Mie Lewis blogged on the importance, and challenges, of protecting women in the criminal justice system. A recent report by the Rebecca Project and the National Women's Law Center illustrates these points well. The report graded each state based on its treatment of pregnant inmates, and only seven states received a composite grade higher than a "B." A central example of how prisons treat women poorly is the practice of shackling pregnant inmates. Causing undue health risks to women and their pregnancies, shackling takes many forms, including handcuffs, leg restraints, or even an iron band across a woman's abdomen. The practice, which contradicts common sense, seems even more absurd when you look at statistics showing most women prisoners are nonviolent offenders who pose low security risks.
