Reproductive Rights

Harsh Abortion Laws Under Fire

AP | DAVE KOLPACK | Posted 05.15.2013 | Politics

FARGO, N.D. — Abortion rights activists on Wednesday filed the first of what they expect will be several legal challenges to laws recently appro...

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How Do We Prevent More Gosnells?

Minister Leslie Watson Malachi | Posted 05.15.2013 | Black Voices

Read More: TRAP Laws, Abortion Rights, Reproductive Rights, Kermit Gosnell, Kermit Gosnell Trial, Black Voices News

Anti-choice activists are exploiting the Gosnell trial to push for laws that close abortion clinics and otherwise limit access to choice. But that is exactly the wrong reaction. The horrific conditions at Gosnell's clinic show just how important it is to have real reproductive choice.

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On Mother's Day, Let's Invest in Women

Diane Lane | Posted 05.13.2013 | Impact

Read More: Women's Rights, Half the Sky Movement, Edna Adan, Raiseforwomen, Mother's Day, Reproductive Rights, Somaliland, Maternal Mortality, Impact News

Needless suffering and death can be avoided if women are invested in and valued culturally for more than just their reproductive capacity.

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Will Mark Sanford Listen to Mark Sanford's Lesson in Grace?

Michael B. Keegan | Posted 05.08.2013 | Politics

Read More: Mark Sanford, Head Start, Gay Rights, SNAP Program, Reproductive Rights, South Carolina, Mark Sanford South Carolina, Politics News

"I am one imperfect man saved by God's grace," Mark Sanford proclaimed as he declared victory. What I would love to see, is if Sanford applied his new personal understanding of grace to his new role in government. Perhaps he could convince his party that a little grace would do it some good.

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The Key to Sustainable Development in 2015 and Beyond

Kim Lovell | Posted 05.01.2013 | Impact

Read More: Population, Women's Rights, Women, Family Planning, Earth Day, Women's Health, Millennium Development Goals, Reproductive Rights, Environment, Reproductive Health, Sierra Club, Impact News

We've halved the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day, increased school enrollment and increased access to lifesaving HIV/AIDS treatment worldwide. Yet the goal of achieving universal access to reproductive health (MDG 5a) has seen the smallest amount of progress.

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No Girl Should Face Unwanted Pregnancy at 17: Why We Raise for Women like Clara

Jaime-Alexis Fowler | Posted 05.13.2013 | Impact

Read More: Reproductive Health, Uganda, Pathfinder International, Sexual Health, Rape, Raiseforwomen, Reproductive Rights, Impact News

In many parts of the world, women face tremendous barriers to accessing information and services for their sexual and reproductive health.

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120 Million New Family Planning Users: Are We Setting Ourselves Up for Disappointment?

Christopher Purdy | Posted 04.30.2013 | Impact

Read More: Women's Health, Women's Rights, Contraception, Birth Control, Family Planning, Global Motherhood, Reproductive Rights, Reproductive Health, Impact News

An analysis of available data on a country-by-country basis suggests that a majority of the women with unmet need for family planning are in the world's middle income countries.

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The Untold History Of Abortion Access In America

Alexander Sanger | Posted 04.29.2013 | Religion

Read More: Religion and Politics, Women's Health, Abortion Rights, Reproductive Rights, Religion and Science, Christianity, Religion in America, Religion News

Several U.S. states are falling over themselves -- and in some cases failing -- to ban abortion, abortion clinics and access to the few clinics that remain. This is not a new phenomenon.

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The Unfinished Cairo Agenda: Sexual and Reproductive Rights and Health for All

Tarja Halonen | Posted 04.26.2013 | Impact

Nearly 20 years after 179 nations committed to protect the reproductive health and rights of women and girls at the UN International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, we have the chance to ask, "Has life really changed for women and girls?" The answer is decidedly mixed.

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Obama To Speak At Planned Parenthood Gala

The Huffington Post | Luke Johnson | Posted 04.24.2013 | Politics

President Barack Obama will be the keynote speaker at Planned Parenthood's annual gala on April 25, the group announced Tuesday. "President Obama h...

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On Rape Culture, Masculinity and Reproductive Justice

Kierra Johnson | Posted 04.19.2013 | College

Read More: Steubenville Rape, Sexual Violence, Steubenville, Rape, Reproductive Rights, Violence, Rape Culture, Zerlina Maxwell, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Sexual Assault, Pro-Choice, Reproductive Justice, College News

The idea that it would be more practical to arm every woman than to teach men about rape is depressing -- and it's insulting to men. It's an extreme manifestation of the classic "boys will be boys" mentality -- and everyone but the "boys" are responsible.

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A Thought Experiment for "Pro-Life" Extremists

Dr. Joe Wenke | Posted 04.05.2013 | Politics

Read More: Women's Reproductive Rights, Women's Rights, Women, Women's Issues, Women's Health, Reproductive Rights, Politics News

Pretend that you awaken one day and discover yourself living in some nightmare world in which a malevolent higher power forces you to make Sophie's Choice.

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Putting A Speed Limit On Change

Dr. Joe Wenke | Posted 04.02.2013 | Gay Voices

Some people are arguing that the movement toward marriage equality is going too quickly. They say that it would be better to go more slowly in granting same-sex couples the right to marry. Should we go slowly in ensuring freedom and equality for all people because it will upset bigots?

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Dem Blasts 'Taliban-Like Philosophies' Of GOP Colleagues

The Huffington Post | Preston Maddock | Posted 04.02.2013 | Politics

Read More: Abortion, Kansas Abortion, Video, Kansas, Kansas Politics, Abortion Rights, Reproductive Rights, David Haley, Sam Brownback, Politics News

The rhetoric surrounding a debate over abortion rights in Kansas heated up on Monday, when state Sen. David Haley (D-Kansas City) accused his GOP coll...

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The Flawed Logic of Prenatal Discrimination

Dov Fox | Posted 04.01.2013 | Politics

Read More: Prenatal Discrimination, North Dakota, TRAP Laws, Fetal Heartbeat, Sex Selection, Genetic Testing, Reproductive Rights, Abortion, Politics News

As the Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in the same-sex marriage cases, North Dakota enacted three of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. Two of them are unlike any ever considered by U.S. courts.

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The Morality Brigade

Robert Reich | Posted 03.25.2013 | Politics

Read More: Women's Rights, Congress, Roe v. Wade, Reproductive Rights, Women's Health, Money in Politics, 113th Congress, Gay Marriage, Republicans, Same-Sex Marriage, Marriage Equality, Politics News

What people do in their bedrooms shouldn't be the public's business. Women should have rights over their own bodies. Same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. But what powerful people do in their boardrooms is the public's business.

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Make Your Voice Heard on Reproductive Rights

Mark Herring | Posted 03.26.2013 | DC

Our position is very simple and widely supported outside the extremist circles that dominate our state government: Personal medical decisions should be left to a woman and her doctor. But the laws being pushed by Ken Cuccinelli and his backers reject that fundamental premise.

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State Weighs First Abortion Insurance Mandate In United States

AP | JONATHAN KAMINSKY | Posted 03.23.2013 | Politics

OLYMPIA, Wash. — In 1970, Washington became the first – and remains the only – state in the country to legalize elective abortions b...

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Making Anti-Gay Christian-Right Views Law, At Home And Abroad

Rev. Kapya Kaoma | Posted 05.20.2013 | Gay Voices

Read More: Abortion, Religion, 700 Club, Gay Rights, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Aclj, Brazil, Reproductive Rights, Nigeria, Religious Right, Religion and Politics, Gay Voices News

Did you know that the Christian-right legal organization responsible for drafting the Defense of Marriage Act, which bans federal recognition of same-sex marriage in the U.S., also supports the criminalization of homosexuality in Kenya and Zimbabwe and has now set its sight on Brazil?

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Harsh Anti-Abortion Measure Gives Jolt To The Right

New York Times | Posted 03.12.2013 | Politics

Read More: Arkansas Abortion Law, Abortion, Politics News, Arkansas Abortion Ban, Jason Rapert, Women's Health, Abortion Rights, Reproductive Rights, Politics News

The adoption by Arkansas last week of the country’s strictest abortion ban — at 12 weeks of pregnancy, when a fetal heartbeat is typically detecte...

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Dr. Nafis Sadik Talks Women's Rights

Leah Griesmann | Posted 05.08.2013 | Politics

Dr. Nafis Sadik, the first female head of a major United Nations program (UN Population Fund 1987-2000), is the subject of a new biography, Champion o...

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GOP Lawmakers Look To Deal Blow To Planned Parenthood

AP | ANDREW DeMILLO | Posted 03.07.2013 | Politics

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Not content with enacting the most restrictive abortion law in the country, Arkansas Republicans plan to press the legislative ad...

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Delivering America's Promise to Women Who Are Raped in War and Conflict

Serra Sippel | Posted 05.07.2013 | Politics

A woman's right to dignity and bodily integrity is violated when she is raped in war and torture. Women must have access to services that may restore -- if only slightly -- her health and bodily integrity.

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Pope To Be Named Later: Authority, Leader Or Both?

Rev. Marie Siroky | Posted 05.01.2013 | Religion

Read More: Papal Conclave, Reproductive Rights, Catholic Church Authority, New Pope, Catholic Church, Pope Benedict Resignation, Pope Benedict XVI, Religion News

It is time the Conclave of Cardinals action is one that displays leadership, not authority. It is time they acknowledge the leaders they already have for the faithful.

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