AlterNet.org: Reproductive Justice and Gender

Hey Guys, Don't Want Kids? A Vascetomy Is Probably the Way to Go

Anna Clark, RH Reality Check — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Historically, the burden of family planning has almost always fallen on women. Isn't it about time for that to change?

Do Yearly Mammograms Save Women's Lives?

Naomi Freundlich, Health Beat — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Controversial new recommendations on breast cancer prevention have caused a stir in the women's health community. But do yearly mammograms really change death rates?

Is House Health Care Bill a Threat to Our Constitution?

Barry W. Lynn, Americans United for Separation of Church and State — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:00:01 PST

The House health-care bill isn't just a threat to women's rights; with the Stupak amendment, it's a breach of the Constitution.

Anti-Abortion Group to Protest Palin

Stephanie Mencimer, Mother Jones Online — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

To liberals, she epitomizes the anti-choice far right of the GOP. But to American Right to Life, Sarah Palin is not pure enough.

U.S. Christian Right Activists Pushing Death Penalty for Homosexuals in Poor African State

Christi van der Westhuizen, IPS News — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Some believe a slew of new, homophobic laws are an attempt to preserve Uganda's shaky patriarchy.

Catholic Bishops Put Sex Obsession Ahead of Mission to the Sick and the Poor

Adele M. Stan, AlterNet — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

First they threatened to take down health-care reform over abortion coverage. Now they're threatening services to the sick and poor of Washington, D.C., over same-sex marriage.

What Should a Feminist Man Look Like?

Courtney E. Martin, The American Prospect — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Many young men reject the trappings of traditional, sexist masculinity. But what's the alternative?

The Democratic Party: Whose Team Is It, Anyway?

Katha Pollitt, The Nation — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

In the wake of the passage by Democrats of a radical anti-abortion measure, Democratic women are asking, "Whose party is this?"

Why the Catholic Bishops Who Pushed Through the Stupak Amendment Are Hypocrites

Jon O'Brien and Nancy Keenan, AlterNet — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

The same language the bishops thought too weak to truly ban public funding for abortion maintains their charities' own access to public money.

How Abstinence-Only Programs Perpetuate Dangerous Stereotypes

Martha Kempner, RH Reality Check — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:00:01 PST

It's bad enough the media teaches my daughter harmful gender stereotypes. Does she have to get it at school, too?

How Catholic Bishops Threw the Health Care Debate into Turmoil with Anti-Abortion Maneuver

Adele M. Stan, AlterNet — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

It took a virulently anti-choice measure to pass the House's health care reform legislation. Progressives are strategizing how to keep it from the final bill.

'Precious': How a Film About an Obese Harlem Teenager Turned the Tables on Hollywood

Emily Wilson, The Women's Media Center — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:00:01 PST

The success of this harrowing new movie undermines the conventional wisdom about what audiences want to watch.

9 Silly Things People Say When They Hear You Don't Want Kids (And Ways to Counter Them)

Liz Langley, AlterNet — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Wanting kids isn't just the social norm, it's said to be a biological imperative, the only supposed "duh" of evolution. But yet, some of us choose not to -- and for good reason.

How the Stupak Amendment Radically Undermines Women's Rights

Rachel Morris, Mother Jones Online — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Bart Stupak's last-minute amendment to the health care bill is even more dangerous than you think.

4 Ways the Stupak Amendment Deprives Women of Access to Abortion

Jessica Arons, The Wonk Room — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:00:01 PST

The health-care bill passed by the House will expand access to health care. But millions of women are about to lose coverage they currently have and need.

Fetus-Shaped Potatoes? Going Undercover Inside the Weird World of Right-Wing Abortion Foes

Ann Neumann, AlterNet — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

I went undercover to a Pro-Life Federation conference. What I found there was not "middle America" or even conservative America. It was fringe America.

"Restless Vagina Syndrome": Big Pharma's Newest Fake Disease

Terry J. Allen, In These Times — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

The pharmaceutical industry wants you to think that if you don't have sex like a porn star, you're in need of their drugs.

Why It's Not Smart to Call Women Conservatives 'Whores'

Tana Ganeva, AlterNet — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:01 PST

Conservative women should be strongly criticized. But using gendered language to attack them doesn't help progressives.

Boobs to Die For

Elisheva Wolfe, Nerve.com — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:00:01 PST

I love my boobs. I'm going to use them every day until they start to kill me.

How a Racist Judge Inadvertently Made the Case for Gay Marriage

Madison Shockley, Truthdig — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:01 PDT

A bigoted justice of the peace in the backwoods of Louisiana accidentally got to the heart of the issue around a key argument in California's gay marriage debate.