Earlier this week, Washington Post columnist David Milbank leveled criticism at both sides of the debate over reproductive rights. He said the pro-choice crowd should “drop the sky-is-falling warnings about Roe and acknowledge that…not every compromise means a slippery slope to the back alley." Unfortunately, Milbank is being more than a little naïve.
January 22, 2012, marks the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Reflecting on this, I am reminded of an interview with a woman who, when asked what she thought about the fact that Medicaid would not cover her abortion care said, “I wish women had a right [to Medicaid coverage of abortion]…. I think women should have that option…. There’s a lot of things to having a right to choose.”
Today, the Obama administration stood up for women's health and announced it would keep in place a proposed rule that ensures that new insurance plans include coverage of contraception.
The Obama Administration has made a final decision on contraceptive coverage under health reform, ensuring that virtually all women with health insurance will now have access to the full range of preventive services originally recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), including all FDA-approved forms of contraception.
Without a doubt, those marching against women's rights this year will be as giddy with success as they are fanatical about their agenda. If they owned up to the program they are really pushing, that they are marching for “Forced Motherhood and Female Enslavement,” would that be enough to drive you out in the streets to protest? Stand up for access to abortion and birth control at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC this Monday!
It is no secret that women of color—specifically Black and Latina women—are at greatest risk of cervical cancer. Ending cervical cancer will be no easy task. Great strides can be made by taking a multi-level approach to the problem, which includes expanding knowledge, empowering Black women to make their health a priority, and continued advocacy efforts.
