In clinics nationwide, young women — mostly poor women — are lured into so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" which falsely advertise themselves as health clinics, but which are anything but. These crisis pregnancy centers are often set up and run by Catholic churches, which, for obvious reasons, doesn't bode well for any woman seeking information about contraception or terminating a pregnancy. Instead of offering counseling about a woman’s choices, these CPCs steer women towards a right-wing, anti-choice agenda, using Jesus and guilt as weapons.
Melinda Gates anointed herself as the new saviour of women's and children's health, and the press ate it up in both pictures and words. A truly Hollywood event, except this is not entertainment. This is women's lives.
This past week Torry Hansen was ordered, by a Tennessee judge to pay $150,000 child support for her adopted son, whom she returned to Russia by plane, unaccompanied.
Few will ever hear of Amber Reeves, a pregnant truck driver who was fired after requesting accommodations in her work duties. She couldn’t perform her regular duties, so her employer terminated her. Unglamorous and unprotected by the law, pregnant women in labor-intensive jobs often find themselves in this kind of predicament.
Women were once seen as "second victims" of abortion. Now, as women face murder trials for unintended pregnancy losses, they're potential fodder for a prison system that is steadily becoming one of the biggest businesses in the country.
I recently had the privilege of talking with women across Guinea and the messages I heard over and over again were these: I want to live a healthy life... to earn a living... to educate my children.
