Sexual Health Roundup: A Brooklyn high school agrees to distribute condoms at the prom though the company sponsoring it found no other takers; a study finds that whether you see MTV's 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom as cautionary tales or unfortunate glamorizations has to do with what your parents taught you about sex; and another study out of the Netherlands finds that Tipper Gore was right—young people who listen to loud music engage in other risky behaviors.
Anti-choicers are now riding a wave of sex selection politics, finding new reasons to limit access to abortion in their quest control women’s autonomy, specifically to curtail reproductive decision-making for women of color. But these policies only make matters worse.
A lot of good news, coming out of Oklahoma of all places. Melinda Gates takes on the pro-contraception cause, and Congress attacks D.C.'s right to set their own abortion laws.
Utah State Senator Stuart Reid (R-Ogden) is proposing legislation that would offer sexuality education to parents and then allow parents to choose whether their children receive similar education in school. Before you start applauding know that his ultimate goal is to see more young people “opted out” of sexuality education in Utah schools.
A recently updated list of federally approved “evidence-based” teen pregnancy prevention programs has been causing a stir. Rather than blaming Obama for this, we’d all do better to recognize that it was the result of a fundamentally flawed system sorely in need of review and repair.
This week, 12 new lawsuits were filed challenging the contraceptive coverage rule, doubling those already in play. The lawsuits have made a splash by virtue of their number, but when you take a moment to actually look at them, there’s nothing to see. The rule is constitutional, it violates no federal law, and it’s incredibly important for women.
When I was growing up in California, I often felt disconnected from my extended family in Mexico. Once I became a teenager, however, I realized our experiences weren't as different as I'd assumed in my youth, especially when it came to accessing sexual and reproductive health care.
Texas' new state-only funded Women's Health Program, built expressly to exclude Planned Parenthood from participation, has launched a website that's meant to help low-income women find health care providers. But does it work? And is the capacity there to fill the need? Our analysis indicates the answer is no.
