Here is some religious liberty news that we reproductive justicers can celebrate: on Saturday, hundreds of Unitarian Universalist congregational delegates voted to make Reproductive Justice their next action and study issue.
In this week's sexual health round up: a CDC review of available evidence found that hormonal contraception (including Depo-Provera) does not increase a woman's risk of contracting or transmitting HIV; a new study found that cheaters were less likely to practice safer sex than those in open relationships; an online club will send you condoms for as little of $1 a month; and a man steals a vibrator for a reason.
On Friday night, as the LGBT community and their allies celebrated Pride throughout the nation, a teenage lesbian couple in Texas were both shot in the head and left to die. What we do now in response matters.
With the rejection of the “Personhood Amendment” in Mississippi and the rejection of Measure 3 in North Dakota, we see proof that Americans have a profound respect for religious freedom as the founders intended it.
Religious freedom means that the government should not privilege the teachings of one religion over another or deny individual religious freedom. Individuals must have the right to accept or reject the principles of their own faith without legal restrictions.
Yet international support for such programs has not kept pace with the need for family planning. As a result, many developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, continue to face rapid population growth and other impediments to social and economic development.
Something new is starting to happen. The last two months have hosted a collection of headlines where one group has stepped up in active support of the rights of another group. Any movement – whether old or new – has only succeeded when actively embraced by allies beyond the most targeted group. What are the possibilities of this new road we’re walking down? What does it mean for all of us to “build that circle of our common safety that all of us deserve”?
