A committee in the Oklahoma House of Representatives has approved two bills that would make it more difficult for teenage girls to obtain an abortion. The first law would eliminate the current statute that allows a girl to bypass the parental notification requirement with a judge’s permission. A second law would only allow a judicial bypass from a judge in

Last Wednesday, the Kansas House Federal and State Affairs committee heard testimony concerning a new bill regulating abortion.  House Bill 2253 is an omnibus bill.  This means that it covers several different topics all related to abortion.  This is potentially a quite serious bill for a number of reasons.  It is a very long bill (70 pages long, in fact);

Reproductive rights in New Mexico are in the news again as a doctor who openly performs late-term abortions has been exonerated from any wrongdoing. Dr. Shelley Sella, a colleague of the late Dr. George Tiller, will keep her medical license following an investigation into an incident in which a 26-year-old woman receiving a late-term abortion suffered a ruptured uterus. Though the outcome was positive,

Recently in New Mexico, a Republican state representative introduced a bill that could require rape victims to carry their pregnancies to term or face prosecution for “tampering with evidence.” The bill, introduced by Rep. Cathrynn Brown, would make it a felony for a woman to obtain an abortion if she was a victim of rape. The law would also apply

National news organizations are starting to take notice of the increasing difficulty people face in accessing abortion services. Both The New York Times and Time Magazine recently featured articles about the growing number of crisis pregnancy centers and other hurdles to obtaining an abortion. A few years ago, though they were quickly gaining ground in the anti-choice community, crisis pregnancy centers flew

Think about sustainable giving! It’s the beginning of a new year. We’re all recovering from holiday season spending and maneuvering busy New Year schedules. At Trust Women, we’re budgeted and scheduled to the umpteenth degree—and we’re guessing you are, too. But, just because you’re strapped for time (and maybe cash, too) doesn’t mean there aren’t still ways you can make

Last Friday, December 7th, the Wichita Peace & Social Justice Center brought in the much admired Tom Hayden to speak at their annual dinner. Imagine our surprise when Mr. Hayden wanted to come to the former Women’s Health Care Services and meet the people who are opening South Wind Women’s Center. What an honor it was to meet him! Mr.

This weekend the New York Times published an interview with Charmaine Yoest.  If you haven’t read it yet, it’s worth a read. In summary, the article focuses on how she provides a seemingly nice, modern face and perspective for the anti-choice movement. This could not be further from the truth. Yoest and her ilk are part of a new wave

In the last presidential debate, Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney said that he thinks that countries in the Middle East need to embrace gender equality and that the United States under a Romney administration could help them do just that. For a number of reasons, this statement is highly ironic. It is simply amazing (and not in a good way) how

As you may have heard, Representative Scott DesJarlais has been accused of having an affair with a former patient and then pressuring her to have an abortion. What I find most disturbing about this case is the fact that he was trying to pressure someone into having an abortion. No one should be coerced, pressured, or forced to have an

*Trigger Warning: references to rape* I am not as surprised as I want to be about Todd Akin’s comments suggesting that women rarely become pregnant from rape because “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” I’m just not shocked that Akin was ignorant enough to claim that “legitimate rape” rarely leads to pregnancy. To

Mitt Romney made the long-awaited announcement that Congressman Paul Ryan would be joining him on the Republican Presidential ticket this fall on August 11. In honor of that horrific choice, our Red State Round Up this week is not on a single state but rather what the state of the entire United States would be like if Paul Ryan were

I’m deeply disappointed in candidates for judgeships in Sedgwick County, Kansas.  They, as one newspaper article pointed out, campaigned for elections based on “their judicial temperament, their work ethic, their experience and knowledge of the law. And, of course, where they stand on abortion.” Here’s why I’m so disappointed in these individuals: it’s not just because of my personal stance

Recently Jonathon Merrit from the Atlantic said he is boycotting boycott. He insists that we shouldn’t base our purchasing decisions on the belief system of a company or organization. He was referring to the recent phenomenon of people publicly decrying Chick-fil-A and stating that they will no longer support the business because of its President’s statement that the chain supports

South Dakota law now forces doctors to give women medically false information when seeking an abortion, thanks to a recent ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. This violates the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship. It also sets the dangerous precedent that individuals now have to wonder whether their doctor is telling them the truth about risks involved in

We’re not the first ones to comment on Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s  numerous opinions on abortion. This MSNBC article, for example, takes you through Mitt’s positions at various times in his career and points out that, “the problem with Romney isn’t that he changes his mind, it’s that he changes his story.” But this week, Erin and I thought

This Red State Round Up is not actually about any one state, but instead about the state of Catholic Bishops and a lawsuit backed by seven state attorneys general in regards to the Affordable Care Act. These attorneys general were inspired by the moans of the avowed abstinent and presumably testicled Catholic Bishops. These bishops have been saying the contraception

It’s 104 degrees Fahrenheit in Wichita.  We have been canvassing for several weeks.  Wichita’s streets are broad and mostly shaded by trees.  We knocked on a lot of doors and left a lot of flyers.  Most people we talked to were friendly.  The redistricting has shaken up all of the campaigns and most of the voters.  Voters are unsure of

Mid-summer can be a challenging time for the passionate activist. Otherwise avid groups of protesters might be distracted by the nice sun and abundant opportunities for frolicking. (Even the most serious of activists will sometimes be lost to a good frolick.) So, instead of saying “Give up your summer to devote your existence to canvassing,” – although that’s not an

Condoleezza Rice has explicitly said she’s not vying to be Romney’s VP choice. “I don’t see myself in any way in elective office,” Rice said to “CBS This Morning.” Does that stop the media from broad and wild speculation? Of course not. What else would the 24-hour-news-cycle-organizations occupy their time with if they didn’t speculate like Ufologists at Area 51?