Although the anti-choice movement’s message and goals largely haven’t changed, they’ve taken their tactics up a notch. The organization leading this shift is called Americans United for Life (AUL), a model-bill writing institution that is led primarily by conservative women, which was the brain behind the record-breaking number of abortion restrictions passed in 2011. Their hallmark creation is Defending Life,

The international spotlight focused on El Salvador the last few months, as a woman who goes by Beatriz attempted to acquire an abortion in a country where abortion—no matter what the situation—is completely illegal. Beatriz, 22, suffers from severe lupus and other complications, which makes pregnancy dangerous for her. According to RH Reality Check, which has run a series of

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?

By now we’re all too familiar with the horrifying images from China of a young mother, Jianmei, forced into an abortion. The images of Jianmei are certainly a call for reform in China. But to me, the passionate and furious response to them in the United States also illustrates people’s subconscious respect for choice and reproductive rights: even if they

A mini-documentary on Youtube from 2007 has recently gotten a new lease on life. The filmmaker asks protesters outside of a women’s health clinic in Libertyville, Illinois whether they think abortion should be illegal. They do. What should the penalties be, he asks? What happens next is fascinating: they fumble. Anna Quindlen, writing for Newsweek in 2007, notes that “the

On April 6, our Red State Round Up: Mississippi focused on a bill that passed in the Mississippi Senate that would require abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. At the time we mentioned that this could effectively shut down the only abortion clinic in the state; the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, since it only has one doctor with

From author Hillary Jordan’s website: Hillary Jordan’s novel When She Woke is a dark but necessary tale, especially for our society today. It’s a dystopian narrative about a future where women are denied a legal right to choice. Hannah Payne is a woman living in a future where our country no longer has the separation of church and state. There’s

Maybe we should change the title of this column to “‘States That Make Red Laws’ Round Up.” Because, Michigan is definitely not a red state. It is aqua blue – not even a swing state. And yet, it has been the center of attention this past week because of this over-the-top, far-reaching anti-abortion omnibus bill. Among other things here’s what

Having ready and affordable access to contraception and abortion is an integral part of creating a healthy society for women and families. We have talked about that on this blog – it’s one of our established arguments and part of the central mission of Trust Women as an organization. But, we haven’t had as much time to talk about motherhood,

Wisconsin is not a red state. But, the results of the recall election on Wednesday place it as an important swing state in the upcoming presidential election and force us to reflect on the policies Governor Scott Walker supported as a very red, very anti-choice leader. After becoming the first governor to survive a recall vote, Walker said he would

Ok, so our title is a bit misleading: we know Washington D.C. is not a state. But, what’s happening there is significant and reflective of the frustrating challenges the reproductive rights movement has been facing all of 2012. A bill that would make abortion after 20 weeks illegal in Washington D.C. has been causing controversy in the nation’s capital. We

The legislative “War on Women” has been major news now for the past five months. We know that anti-choice legislators at both the state and national level have spent a time, when our country needs new jobs, a better health care system, support for returning service members and senior citizens, etc., debating and restricting what women can do with their

North Carolinians voted on and passed Amendment One on May 8, a constitutional amendment against the rights of same-sex couples. Amendment One not only defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman but it also goes beyond state law (which already contains this definition of marriage) and bans other types of previously legal domestic unions. The basis

According to a 12-minute sermon by Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, a regular guest on Sean Hannity’s show, women have “no love.” He said women have created a “shameless society.” He said that most women can’t use logic and that they can’t handle power. And, he claimed that one of the greatest mistakes in U.S. history was granting women the right

Earlier I addressed Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant’s intentionally harmful choice of words when referring to the pro-choice movement. He said that the Left’s “one mission in life is to abort children, is to kill children in the womb.” Well, it looks like this comment was only the beginning of a trend among anti-choice leaders. Their trend being: Let’s create irrational

Every two minutes someone in the United States is sexually assaulted, according to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network. This simply staggering number makes an average of 207,754 victims (age 12 or older) each year in the United States. In an effort to combat sexual assault, every April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. But a single month of awareness

This past Tuesday, May 1, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed into law new restrictions on late-term abortions. A bill sponsored by Rep. Dough McKillip, House Bill 954, also known as the “fetal pain” bill, bans abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy and makes no exception for cases of rape or incest. One problem with this bill lies in its very

Normally Red State Round Up is devoted to deconstructing problematic anti-choice legislation in primarily conservative states. We reflect on the content of the proposed harmful bills and how they would affect women and families within the state. This week, I would like to address one politician from the state of Mississippi and his callous, misguided and downright damning language. Phil

“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” has, of late, been rocking my world. Admittedly, I can be over-enthusiastic – especially in regards to political comedy. But, I’m sure I am not alone in fist-pumping over the hilarious and pointed coverage on anti-choice legislation. “The Daily Show” has had exceptional coverage of women’s issues with a particular focus recently on anti-choice

A doctor in Idaho, Rick Hearn, who said he wants to defend the underrepresented and disenfranchised, is a lawyer and a plaintiff in a case that would challenge the constitutionality of the state’s “fetal pain” law. With both a medical and a law degree, his role seems tailored to fit his unique education. It’s an unusual move, but Hearn said

Memes – images, videos or even ideas that are passed electronically from one Internet user to another – are quick to spread and also quick to fizzle. They inundate social networks. The success of memes can be dependent on timeliness, but  they often seem to drop out of nowhere riding a shifting cultural mood or commenting on an existing one.

This pas week Arizona lawmakers passed House Bill 2036 in direct contradiction of Roe v. Wade.  The bill, already passed by the Senate, approves a 20-week abortion ban and imposes additional requirements on doctors, abortion clinics, and state’s health department. The bill’s only exception is if continuing pregnancy would pose a risk to the life of the mother or cause

In Texas, women and their families will be endangered by a lack of state and federal family planning funds. And, it’s the state legislators and governor themselves that caused this with irresponsible actions. Even opponents of abortion should recognize that cuts in funding for family planning and taking actions that required the federal government to cease Medicaid funding is counterproductive:

The Mississippi State Senate passed a bill that would require physician abortion providers have admitting privileges at a local hospital. This could effectively shut down the only abortion clinic in the state since it only has one doctor with admitting privileges. Sen. Dean Kirby said the bill would protect women from “back-room abortions.” Governor Phil Bryant was more upfront on the intentions of

This is the second part of a two-part series where I examined first how abortion has been portrayed in contemporary films, and in this post how October Baby addresses it. What October Baby lacks for in quality, it makes up for in heavy handedness. The stiff acting and bland writing would normally just make October Baby a dull movie. But,

In light of the release of the movie October Baby, a flick about a woman who survived a failed late-term abortion attempt and as an adult is dealing with health problems, I want to address how pregnancy has been dealt with in films. This is a two-part post. The first will deal with how pregnancy and “choice” has been dealt with

A bill in Arizona, HB 2625, which would have allowed employers to question their employees about contraception use, and refuse to provide coverage for contraception, was voted down. But, there will be another vote on the bill because Republicans said they are still concerned about employers’ religious freedom. The bill as originally written would allow employers to fire their employees

This post is the second of a two part series on gender inequality in the United States.  Gender inequality is defined as the disparity in status, power and prestige between people who identify as women and men. Last week, I looked at how gender inequality still exists in the United States, despite our frequent unwillingness to acknowledge it. Even as

The Tennessee House is currently considering HB 3808, “The Life Defense Act” introduced by Republican Representative Matthew Hill.  It cleared subcommittee on March 6 with a vote of 8-5 and passed the Health and Human Resources Committee this Wednesday, March 21. It is now being scheduled for a vote on the House floor. The bill as originally introduced would require

Kansas Governor Brownback hadn’t read the now 71-page piece of legislation egregiously dubbed the “Women’s Right to Know Act” and the “No-Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” but that didn’t stop him from declaring he would sign it into law if it arrived on his desk. Being a “pro-life” governor, his eager willingness to approve any anti-choice legislation echoes the GOP’s

March 14 was a big day for Kansas voters to voice their concerns about reproductive rights in the state legislature. Trust Women hosted a lobby day as an effort to enable constituents to speak with their state legislators about bills threatening women’s reproductive rights. Volunteers lobbied with Founder and Executive Director of Trust Women Julie Burkhart and Virginia Phillips, who

This post will be the first of a two part series on gender inequality in the United States.  Gender inequality is defined as the disparity in status, power and prestige between people who identify as women and men. Today I will look at how gender inequality still exists in the United States, despite our frequent unwillingness to acknowledge it. Next

A mandatory ultrasound bill in Idaho that looks similar to the Virginia and Texas mandatory ultrasound bills moved out of committee and will be going to a floor vote. Idaho Senate Assistant Majority Leader Chuck Winder introduced SB 1387, originally SB 1349, which forces women to have a transabdonminal or transvaginal ultrasound prior to having an abortion and for the

The abortion debate is too much for the funny pages according to several newspapers across the country. Garry Trudeau, creator and writer of the liberal comic strip Doonesbury, decided to address the abortion debate in his most recent story arc. In it, a woman seeking an abortion is directed to the “shame room” and she is called a “slut” by

On January 20th, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius issued a final rule requiring that all women have access to free preventative care services including contraceptives. Since then, I haven’t been able to read through the news without seeing mention of the subsequent controversy. Catholic leaders are upset there’s no exemption for religious hospitals, universities. Obama announced a

This week, we saw plans continue to honor Rush Limbaugh despite his offensive remarks regarding a Georgetown law student in Missouri and restrictions on abortion as well as sex education in Utah. Missouri Despite Rush Limbaugh’s vicious attack on Georgetown law student, Sandra Fluke, Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives is still moving forward with plans to honor the

When Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke a “slut” for testifying for women’s right to free and accessible birth control, he was putting a bull-horn to the lurking and unspoken discomfort the ultra-conservative have with women’s sexuality. Fluke wanted to represent women in a hearing that could determine whether or not birth control would be covered by their health insurance. Because

Here begins a weekly column on reproductive rights and other women’s issues from a female-identified contributor. Clearly there is an underrepresentation of women and women’s issues in the media. Turn on the television, check into the radio and if you get the chance to hear about women’s issues they will usually be voiced by a man. We don’t need studies

About a month ago, I was driving through the Pennsylvania countryside on my way back to my hometown of Philadelphia. The route was breathtaking: rolling hills, peaceful farmland and grazing cattle. There were signs for general stores and grandma’s pie shops. It was about as American as apple pie and Uncle Sam.  I was about to burst into what I’m

As March begins, it looks like 2012 is gearing up to be a repeat of 2011 in terms of the number of anti-choice legislation we’ve seen introduced and passed at the state level. This week’s Red State Round Up will focus on two such pieces of legislation: “personhood” bills in Oklahoma and a bill forcing women seeking an abortion get

Dear Friend, As a pro-choice supporter, you’ve seen too often the wrath of the anti-choice movement on women’s rights in Midwestern and Southern states. These states have been an intense breeding ground for right-wing extremists. Women and families suffer the consequences of an anti-choice climate, as it undermines a woman’s individual rights. Each week, Trust Women PAC will publish a

Women’s access to reproductive healthcare is being threatened. Lawmakers from all over the country have drafted and passed several bills that restrict women’s access to abortion, emergency contraception, birth control and even medically accurate information about sex and contraception. Laws have also been drafted and passed that elevate the status and immunity of ideology-based organizations that push misinformed anti-sex, anti-contraception