[img_assist|nid=598|title=Special Series|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=67]If, as a conference held September 22nd-23rd stated, "Contraception Is Not the Answer," what on earth is the question? Surely it was not, "What is the best way to reduce abortion?" No, the focus of the conference was the evil of contraception throughout society. The speakers presented a comprehensive attack escalating a new political strategy of the far right.
The pro-life organizers of the conference called the decidedly middle-class, white audience "brave" for making history attacking the "golden calf of contraception." According to the Centers for Disease Control, most American women who have had sex have used at least one contraceptive method at some point in their lives. Fr. Thomas Euteneuer told the gathering, "When you sow contraception, you reap abortion." Holding the majority of women in this country responsible for abortion demonstrates the extremism of their agenda.
Dian Harrison is the President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Golden Gate. This is the first of a series of posts about California's Parental Notification Ballot Inititiative.
October is "Let's Talk Month." It's a great opportunity to let the young people in your life know that you are there for them and ready to help, even when they are facing issues that can be tough to talk about, like sexual health.
Research has shown that teens that have good communication with their families are more likely to delay becoming sexually active and are also more likely to be safe if they do become active. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, "Teens who are close to their parents and feel supported by them are more likely to abstain from sex, wait until they are older to begin having sex, have fewer sexual partners, and use contraception more consistently."
The Annenberg Public Policy Center's Political Fact Check.org reports that The Economic Freedom Fund (aka, front-group where the Texas real estate developer who sponsored the Swiftboat ads questioning Sen. John Kerry's patriotism, and for ads defending ex-Majority Leader Tom Delay is putting his money) is planning to spend even more money in this election cycle. Already they have been active with automated phone calls suggesting that Indiana House candidate Baron Hill "votes to allow the sale of a broad range of violent and sexually explicit materials to minors," according to Annenberg. The blog Taking Down Words, first reported (and offers a recording!) the calls.
Editor's note: Some of the links in this post are audio clips; click on them to listen to Allan Carlson in a new window.
[img_assist|nid=598|title=Special Series|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=67]Welcome back to Rewire's series about the emerging war on contraception. In this episode, I will analyze Allan Carlson's presentation on "The Emptied Quiver: The Protestant Embrace of Contraception." As the daughter of two Lutheran ministers, I found Carlson's narrow take on Christianity, Martin Luther and the burden of families on clergy particularly interesting. His anti-feminist lecture examined Protestant roots against contraception and celibacy and their departure from that position, ending with an appeal for Protestants to return to their original opinion.
Congress has gone home to campaign, the Supreme Court is in session and issues of sexual and reproductive health and responsibility are at the forefront. But there is a sense that sexual and reproductive health issues are not on the minds of Americans and that perhaps candidates should avoid them.
What with the increased threats we face as a result of an administration taking its eye off the war on terror to wage war in Iraq, mounting deficits and a scandal-plagued President and Congress, people could choose to focus on "more important" issues. Americans may not list reproductive health issues as "what they are most likely to consider when choosing a candidate" but the issues serve another important role in the political dynamic this election year.
Last week, Andrea wrote an excellent post that pointed to the vulnerability of poor populations-particularly women-when natural disasters force them out of their homes. She reminded us not only to about the limp response of the international community that had just reached into their pockets for victims of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. She also noted the hole in disaster relief: when communities around the world donate housing and supplies to the displaced, these "care packages" generally do not include reproductive health supplies.
I was particularly pleased to see this post because Ipas has just released the second issue of A-the abortion magazine, and our focus for this issue is reproductive health for refugees and displaced women.
[img_assist|nid=598|title=Special Series|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=67]Two speakers at the "Contraception Is Not the Answer" conference used religion as their main argument against contraception. They used religion as a weapon to attempt to manipulate people into following their narrow beliefs. But it is important to remember that they do not represent the majority of conservatives, nor of Christians. This reality check is for the right and the left.
As of the time of writing for this blog, Focus on the Family has said nothing on its website, and Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America both issued only cursory and confusing statements late this afternoon about Congressman Mark Foley's sexually explicit communications with young boys who worked in his office.
The Senate’s last vote before it headed home to campaign was an effort to push through legislation to limit young women’s access to abortion.But the procedural motion that required 60 votes failed by a vote of 57-42.Now, what surprised me is that the House had a chance last week to pass the Senate version of the bill, which would have sent it right off to President Bush to sign into law.They would have won.Case closed.But instead House leadership would only accept their own slightly more egregious bill than the Senate’s – forcing another vote in the Senate.
Naina Dhingra is the Director of International Policy at Advocates for Youth and serves on the Developed Country NGO Board Delegation of the Global Fund.
There is no doubt that the outcome of the upcoming U.S. Congressional elections will have a major impact on the sexual and reproductive health of women and youth worldwide. Consequently, policy advocates are closely watching each race.
But these are not the only elections that will determine the future of sexual and reproductive health. Two of the most important international public health jobs are currently in the midst of highly-political selection processes: the Director-General (DG) of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and malaria.
