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Kicking Off Women’s History Month 2012

March 1, 2012 By 1 Comment

Image courtesy of the Library of Congress

In my house, I traditionally mark the first of the month by giving the dog his flea treatment and heartworm pills. But March is different, and not just because it signals the first month that it might actually be warm enough for the dog to get fleas – but because it’s Women’s History Month!

The first two months of 2012 have brought an avalanche of stories related to women’s issues, from the Planned Parenthood-Komen debacle to the dangerously regressive politics of Rick Santorum to the never-ending debate about the role birth control plays in women’s lives. But as vital as it is to keep abreast of issues that affect women (and men, and families) on a real-time basis, it’s also important to take time to honor the women that have come before us, the activists and politicians and writers and artists and scientists whose contributions and innovations continue to influence our lives today.

This month we’ll be sharing women’s history content every day, and we welcome your input and ideas on which women we should profile. But before we launch into all the profiles and articles, I’d like to single out Feminists for Choice’s amazing founder, Serena Freewomyn, for her own work as a phenomenal online voice, kick-ass writer, and dedicated champion of abortion rights – Serena plays an integral role in running an abortion fund in Arizona. So on behalf of all the women you help, and all of us here at FFC, thank you, Serena, for all your incredible work.

Happy Women’s History Month!

 

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Santorum Fails Prenatal Testing

February 21, 2012 By 11 Comments

Image courtesy of rawstory.com

Rick Santorum is at it again. The presidential candidate, who already thinks that birth control is “harmful to women” and believes states should have the right to ban birth control, now has his sights set on … prenatal testing.

During an interview on Face the Nation, Santorum criticized President Obama’s healthcare law for requiring insurance companies to cover specific prenatal tests. According to Santorum, since some tests are used to detect genetic abnormalities, they can “encourage” abortions. Therefore, his logic follows, having insurance companies cover the costs of these tests “is a bit loaded.” While Santorum singled out amniocenteses as a test that insurance shouldn’t cover, he said he had no problem with sonograms – even though it is possible for those images to show birth defects or other abnormalities. But I’m guessing in Santorum-land, sonograms are only important when forced on women that want abortions – or trying to make his stance on women’s health issues seem less batshit crazy than it actually is.

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The Santorum Double Standard

January 25, 2012 By 5 Comments

With the way the Republican presidential campaign is going, it’s entirely possible that Rick Santorum will have dropped out of the race by the time this article runs. Yet before his third-place finish in the South Carolina primary, Santorum had been making a lot of news for his personal experience with terminating a pregnancy.

In 1996, the then-nineteen weeks pregnant Karen Santorum had undergone surgery to address a fetal kidney malfunction. Following the operation, she developed an infection, and the Santorums had to make the difficult choice of terminating the pregnancy, or risking Karen’s life. By all accounts they made the decision together, and Karen was given medication to induce labor.

Rick Santorum is stridently anti-choice. He has signed the Personhood Pledge; he opposes Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court decision that legalized birth control. Santorum considers late-term abortion procedures “medically unnecessary,” and opposes abortion in all circumstances, including rape; incest; if the fetus has no chance of surviving to full-term; and if a woman’s life is threatened by continuing the pregnancy.   [Read more...]

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