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.
Earlier this afternoon, the House of Representatives hit a new low when it voted 240-185 in favor of an extreme amendment to eliminate all federal funding for Planned Parenthood. This would immediately jeopardize the health of millions of women, men and teens who rely on Planned Parenthood and are otherwise unable to afford basic healthcare services.
The Pence amendment is a disturbing attempt to prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving any federal funding because it performs abortions. But this attack hurts all of us who have ever relied of Planned Parenthood for our medical care.
While the pundits debate the aftermath of the midterm elections, it’s worth noting that there was one bright spot on election night — Colorado. For the second time in two years, voters in Colorado rejected a ballot initiative that could have seriously threatened the ability of women and families to make private health care decisions.
And the victory was decisive: 71 to 29 percent said no to Amendment 62, which would have not only prohibited abortions but could have been used to block stem cell research and curtail access to in-vitro fertilization and certain forms of contraception, among other reproductive health services. When faced with a virtually identical measure in 2008, voters rejected it 73 to 27 percent.
Imagine this — you're the busy mother of two small kids with another one on the way. This pregnancy has been fraught with complications. During a medical exam, your doctor orders bed rest for the remainder of your pregnancy. You explain that you can't possibly stay in bed for four months with two small children (!). The doctor insists. You say you want to get a second opinion. The doctor refuses and goes to court and gets a court order mandating your confinement in the hospital for the remainder of your pregnancy.
As I walked along the manicured lawns of South Dakota this past weekend knocking on doors adorned with Halloween decorations and asking people to vote to protect reproductive freedom this November, one thing became clear: people here love their families and their country. Maybe Leslie Unruh, one of the architects of the state ballot measure that would virtually end access to safe, legal abortion thought these qualities would make South Dakota the perfect place to launch a challenge to Roe v. Wade. But another thing became clear to me as well: South Dakotans don’t think our government should be involved in personal family matters.
