On Saturday, our protest is not symbolic. It is a beginning. It is a declaration. From now, until we win the full liberation of women, this war on women will be resisted with conscience, anger, imagination, massive mobilization, and relentless determination to turn the tide.
The most sweeping anti-choice bill in the nation, a 68 page monstrosity currently being considered by the Kansas House Federal and State Affairs Committee, is about to become the center of showdown over the legitimacy of Kansas University Medical School programs.
The recent controversy over insurance coverage for contraception has vividly made the point that feminists have argued for years. The culture wars over reproductive rights never have been primarily about fetal personhood, the right to life, or now, religious freedom: they have always been about the control of women’s bodies and sexuality.
Politics should not stand in the way of women’s access to family planning. Investing in women’s health leads to a healthier, more prosperous society — this is the legacy we should be exporting. On International Women’s Day, let’s celebrate our success, not try to dismantle it.
Adolescents worldwide lack access to the sexuality education and the comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and services that play a critical role in their well-being and empowerment. The implementation of the full range of reproductive rights — as fundamental human rights — must be a priority for all countries.
When Virginia legislators first began considering a forced trans-vaginal ultrasound bill, progressives wondered: "What kind of world are we living in, when "informed consent" is tantamount to state-sanctioned rape?" Here's what kind of world: the kind wherein a mandatory ultrasound law scads worse than the proposed Virginia bill has already been in place for five months. In Texas. And right now there may be no feasible legal way to stop it.
