Mitt Romney's "close" relative died of an illegal abortion (which is why he used to say he wouldn't force his beliefs on you).

In 1963, Mitt Romney lost a "dear" and "close" relative to an illegal abortion. Ann Keenan was the sister of his brother-in-law, Loren "Larry" Keenan,...

Let's start with a fact: Ninety-nine percent of American women who've had sex have used contraception. This particular fact is arguably the cornerstone -- or a cornerstone -- on which an important part of our private lives are built -- at least for those of us who have...

Today is the 47th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling, Griswold v Connecticut, which granted married people the right to use contraception -- it's worth doing the math: it wasn't until 1965 that the U.S. government permitted married couples to use contraception. (The court would not grant single people that...

Today, the U.S. Catholic Bishops are meeting to strategize on their campaign to remove contraception coverage from health care reform. They've already prompted Congressional hearings against the coverage and instigated lawsuits against the federal government over it. During the past few weeks, the Bishops have ratcheted up the rhetoric...

In 2007, I had an interesting conversation about contraception with now-Presidential contender Rick Santorum. I was on my way down to D.C. for the launch of Birth Control Watch, a blog that monitored anti-birth control campaigns. Just ahead in the crowd piling onto the track was Senator Santorum,...

To the producers and directors of MTV's 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom:

Congratulations on the success of your shows. I'm a true fan and considering each is consistently one of MTV's top-rated, it appears many, many other Americans are too. You've accomplished a lot with the shows. Exposed the...

I'm not one for dissecting the intimate details of other people's lives to make a political point, unless of course they're dissecting the intimate details of their life to make a political point. Then it's fair game. Enter Michelle Bachmann. In this month's More Magazine, Bachmann explains, as...

Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that the allegations that Justin Bieber sired a baby boy after 30-seconds of backstage bathroom sex with a plucked from the crowd concert-goer are true. Many of the details of the story ring true -- from the backstage girl-herding for Justin's selection to...

Saturday, the day before Mother's Day, is Birth Mother's Day. It was started in 1990 by a group of birth mothers who had suffered through each Mother's Day feeling an agonizing need to recognize that they, too, had mothered a child even if they did not go on...

In the nine years since the attacks of 9/11 I've noticed the neighborhood amidst ground zero, where I live, is rarely factored into the discussions about it. Certainly other constituencies, like the victims' loved ones, have greater claim to the sorrow of the space and the significance of the day,...

So much of life depends on the womb from which you arrive. Imagine if your birth deposited you in Afghanistan instead of the US? Your life, quite possibly, would have begun in tragedy. There would have been a good chance your mother wouldn't have made it through alive. A

Today we will hear from Tiger Woods, the latest powerful public personality to be felled by a sex scandal. He will read a statement outlining his future plans and no doubt will explain how words fail to describe his disappointment in himself by letting down his family and fans. And...

Today is the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and yet another day to observe the pro-life movement's riveting mid-life crisis. Next month offers perhaps the ideal opportunity to view the crisis up close. That's when former president George W. Bush will receive the "prestigious" Cardinal John J....

Of all the domestic pursuits of Obama's first year, his common ground efforts on abortion have possibly been the most thankless. At some points it appeared the only common ground he had inspired was to unite both sides against it. Yet, each has much to gain by Obama's peace plans....

President Obama's still-to-be released common ground agenda in the abortion conflict is already having a profound and largely overlooked effect: it has exposed deep fault lines in the pro-life movement. Obama's focus on reducing the need for abortion has been embraced by some practical-minded pro-lifers who are tired of decades...

Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH) is, in many ways, a typical pro-life American. He opposes abortion and, because of that, supports every effort to prevent the need for it. Just like most pro-life Americans, Ryan supports contraception -- primarily because it is the most effective way to prevent unintended pregnancy,...

The murder, just over two weeks ago, of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller has deeply wounded and enraged the pro-choice community while also, some would argue, providing it with further reason to mistrust anti-abortion activists. Perhaps a different kind of wound has been inflicted on the anti-abortion side, and...

Can you imagine how much greater the campaign scandal would have been if Bill Ayers, the former radical bomber who was linked to Barack Obama, and Obama were Facebook friends? That, no doubt, would have been considered evidence of a relationship, a sign of intimacy even. Of course, they weren't...

In our pain, anger and profound sadness over the murder of Dr. Tiller, pro-choice people risk losing an opportunity to see a better day as a country and a movement. In the wake of our loss, it is tempting to continue to categorize in one fixed way all who oppose...

For those who would like to think today's murder in church of Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider, is an isolated incident, here's the horrifying news: You are wrong. The pattern is clear and frightening.

In March 1993, three months into the administration of our first pro-choice president, Bill...