If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
Women will never realize their potential as "economic engines" if they are subject to abuse at home or can't own or exercise control over property.
Across Eastern and Central Europe, emboldened right-wing leaders are resurrecting debates around abortion and other reproductive services, even in largely secular nations like Hungary.
This is about the notion that some religiously affiliated hospitals and schools receive federal money and therefore cannot deny a woman a federal guarantee. This is real 'class warfare' and this time the victims are the most vulnerable -- women from lower-income neighborhoods.
Members of Congress love to talk about their families. So we should be able to tell whether or not members who say they don't believe that contraception is an essential aspect of health care, especially for women, are likely users of contraception.
In her struggle for gender equality, Makbula Nassar is trying to divert a decades-long trend. Arab women in Israel have always suffered from lack of political representation and a lack of access to decision-making and positions of power.
For full disclosure, I am a Catholic, I am a Democrat and I am a woman. I am also someone who if push came to shove can afford to pay over the counter for birth control. But the false outcry this week over the need to cover birth control has made me raving mad.
Paul's pro-life views are personal. The country needs to understand that a leader can hold a view fervently without having to impose it on the country as national policy.
As a church, we need to re-examine the ways we are supporting (or failing to support) women and men who are struggling with sexuality, the economy, and the difficult decisions involved in responsible parenting.
Would so many individuals -- 'Racers for the Cure' and celebrities alike -- rise up in protest? My guess is no, they would not -- and this is the power of the stigma around abortion. When access to health care is limited by money or geography, we cannot afford to limit it further with politics.
This year, in this election, I am committing to watching even more vigilantly. I truly can't imagine a more important election for us to make our voices heard.
That a man in an eminently civilized country like Canada could invoke an ancient practice like honor killing in the 21st century is frightening. The mores that seem to be at work cut to deeply felt attitudes about families and women.
Although there are differing religious views on the use of contraception, it should be up to women to decide on whether and when to use contraception based on their own beliefs and needs.
In light of the aggressive attack on women's health by the Right, perhaps we should ask -- "Am I a woman or am I a puppet?" Our strings are being pulled far to the right, and many of us are fed up.
What is the cost to society when half of the nation's best minds and best ideas -- women's minds and women's ideas -- are left out?
They tried to strip abortion coverage out of all insurance plans during health care reform, and I didn't speak up because I thought I might lose "more important things."
I had to wait more than 10 years before I knew I was being discriminated against. Within a week and a half after Obama was inaugurated, he signed his name to the law that bears mine -- the very first one he enacted.
