When you think of a 12-year-old girl, you probably picture a child…not a wife and mother.In the United States recently, we have learned that child marriage still occurs from time to time and needs to be confronted.For example, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that a 15-year-old girl is old enough to be the common-law wife of a man more than twice her age (this ruling also created the possibility of girls as young as 12 becoming common-law wives).Here in the United States, this problem is an anomaly.In much of the developing world, however, it is commonplace—a major threat to the lives and well-being of tens of millions of girls.
Yesterday in the Senate, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) introduced the International Child Marriage Prevention and Assistance Act (S. 3651 -- see our Policy Watch section) that will seek to protect young girls in the developing world from forced and early marriages, taking on a major issue facing many girls today. Though it could be perceived as a simple cultural difference on its surface, it presents a major health issue and human rights issue, and it need to be combated.
Riddle me this .... if all public health professionals agree that there is no threat in allowing HIV-positive people who live in other countries to travel to the US, why does the government maintain a policy prohibiting the action? If you replied, "because of social conservative politicians" you win.
I am a big proponent of improving the convenience, safety, and efficacy of available contraceptive methods. I am grateful that women today neither suffer the severe side-effects experienced by first-generation pill users, nor are forced to try desperate options like using crocodile dung and honey to prevent an unintended pregnancy.
Oftentimes it seems like unintended pregnancy and teen pregnancy are used interchangeably.Even more problematic, one is often mistaken for the other, leaving both misunderstood by policymakers and the public.Despite the obvious overlap, they are not the same. However, both are equally important to address at the systemic level -- each deserving its own attention.
When people think of reproductive health in Louisiana these days, they think of SB 33, an ultra-restrictive abortion ban that would outlaw abortions, including in cases of rape and incest and to protect the health of the mother.So it should come as welcome news to hear about a more levelheaded reproductive health program: the state has just been approved for a program that will expand preventive family planning services for women.Louisiana will receive matching federal funds to provide contraception, gynecological exams, and other services to uninsured low-income women who do not qualify for Medicare.About 75,000 women will be served state-wide through this program, called “TAKE CHARGE.”
Today is World Population Day, an annual event convened by the UNFPA in conjunction with other parts of the UN system to raise awareness about important population and development issues. This year's World Population Day is focused on the pressing needs of youth around the world. This theme is particularly timely.
As the largest youth generation in history - at approximately 3 billion people, nearly half of the total global population - today's youth urgently need education and resources that will equip them for their futures. This education must include sexual and reproductive health education if global youth are going to have any hope of overcoming the challenges they will face, particularly widespread poverty, a growing HIV pandemic, and a lack of basic health care services.
So the other day I was at a fund raiser... A friend and I were talking, and her 5-year-old son was there. As we talked, he was minding his own business, playing with his toy cars. But then we heard his little voice - "Mommy, what is Planned Parenthood?"
Despite always being open with her child, I could see the panic set in. There could be a whole conversation behind that question before she ever got to an answer. Isn't it too soon for "The Talk?"
Perhaps not. As the organization SIECUS writes, "sexuality education is a lifelong process that begins at birth."
If you haven’t read Michael Kinsley’s recent op-ed in the Washington Post, “False Dilemma on Stem Cells,” you need to.In it, he points to exactly the kind of inconsistencies in the logic of organizations that oppose sexual and reproductive rights that Rewire often tries to highlight.
We have talked about the thinking among these groups that seek to prohibit abortion at the same time as they seek to prohibit contraception – the most effective, proven way of preventing unwanted pregnancies (and thereby, abortions) among sexually active individuals.In other words, they say they want to stop abortions, but they’re not willing to support the easiest way to prevent them.
With Andrea's post from the other day fresh in my mind, I set out to find my issue-du-jour, and I came across a 1999 satirical column from the always-irreverent newspaper, The Onion.
In an Onion column, "I'm Totally Psyched About This Abortion!," fictional author Caroline Weber writes, "The funny thing is, I actually have the pro-life movement to thank for this opportunity. If my HMO wouldn't have bowed to their pressure not to cover oral contraceptives, I never would've gotten pregnant in the first place."
