Plan B: A Never Ending Debate

Hello!

                                                                   Photo Source: LA Times
Lets talk about emergency contraception. Plan B, also known as the morning after pill, is basically super strength birth control. It is not a form of abortion, contrary to the belief of some. The purpose of it is to reduce the chance of pregnancy after unprotected sex. It works up until 72 hours after the unprotected sex. It also can be used in loads of situation such as a broken condom, a spur of the moment fling, when a woman neglects to take her regular birth control for a few day and, in cases of rape.

All in all it is a very helpful little pill. It it also as harmless as aspirin on the body. Over the years accessibility of the pill has changed. When it was first released it could only be accessed with a prescription. Then it became available for those over 17 without a prescription but it was held .

But, as of a few days ago good news! Now anyone over the age of 15 can access Plan B without a prescription and it is to be sold alongside condoms out in the open. However the debate isn't over. According to Cynthia Pearson of the National Woman's Health Network this isn't good enough. It does make one think. Why is is that anyone under the age of 15 can buy other forms of contraception like condoms but if for some reason it breaks then the teenager has to go through the trouble of getting their parents to take them to the doctor for a prescription? For something that has no adverse effects on the body of someone under 15? It makes no sense. If the ban is not for heath reasons then it has no business  existing. For now it is a victory towards getting people to see teenagers as responsible consenting parties. Next step? Lower the price!

For information on the new law look here
For more information on Plan B check out PlannedParenthood.Org

Good News for Reproductive Rights!

Hey!

There's some big news going on right now involving the Peace Corps. As some of you might know the Peace Corps was founded in 1961 and since then have been doing great work helping people in developing countries all around the world. When people enter into the Peace Corps they are given full health coverage. This makes perfect sense considering all of the viruses and other hazards associated with developing countries. However in the past one thing congress has not covered is abortion.

One might not think too much of this but it should be thought about. According to an ABC News 20/20 investigation more than 1,000 young women have been raped or sexually assaulted while working for the Peace Corps. 

                                                         Source: ABC News via Youtube

As I stated before traditionally congress has not allowed insurance coverage to extend to abortion. Thats with no exceptions. Even in cases of rape.

However, in some good news, President Obama has included in his budget proposal the right to an abortion for members of the Peace Corps. It is only under the conditions of rape or incest but it is a step in the right direction! Here's hoping that one day there will be no specified conditions.

Sources here and here

The Heartbeat Bill Spreads

Hey! So, in my first blog post I briefly mentioned The Heartbeat Bill and I figured it was time to talk more about that.

This past January a bill was crafted that could possibly restrict any abortion after 12 weeks, around the time a fetal heartbeat could be detected. This has a few exceptions such as rape or incest. As it stands the majority of states currently ban abortion only after 24-26 weeks, around the time that a fetus could survive outside the womb.

The Heartbeat Bill didn't go very far in Ohio but it found its new home in Arkansas. On March 6th this bill was passed with the help of its sponsor Sen. Jason Rapert. This Jason Rapert. Here is a video of Sen. Rapert on the passing of his bill.

                                                       How is his goddaughter relevant to the restriction of women's rights in Arkansas?

 Lets look at the math behind this. Planned Parenthood tells me that there are 3 trimesters that each last 13 weeks. Yes, 13. That means this bill makes abortion illegal even while the woman is still in her first trimester. This leaves so much room for error. Some women don't know they are pregnant until the 2nd month. All in all this is a bill that makes getting an abortion very difficult.

40th Anniversary of Roe vs Wade

Hey everyone!

                                                                   Photo: Thinkprogress.org

So as you may know this past January marked the 40th anniversary of Roe Vs Wade, a huge milestone in women's reproductive rights. This allows anyone who wishes to seek an abortion to be protected under the U.S. constitution. Unfortunately, though this has not stopped people in places of power from attempting to infringe upon those rights. I was hopping around on the internet when I came across a story about the 40th anniversary on democracy now.org (a lovely website).
Lynn Paltrow, the founder of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, a very cool person, said some startling things. But, the most startling of all was the fact that there have been 413 cases of a woman not receiving said rights, some cases resulting in death. So, I said no freaking way! That can't possibly be true! That's utterly horrifying. Well, she was right. Some examples of this include:

• A woman in Utah gave birth to twins. When one was stillborn, she was arrested and charged with criminal homicide based on the claim that her decision to delay cesarean surgery was the cause of the stillbirth.

• After a hearing that lasted less than a day, a court issued an order requiring a critically-ill pregnant woman in Washington, D.C. to undergo cesarean surgery over her objections. Neither she nor her baby survived.

• A judge in Ohio kept a woman imprisoned to prevent her from having an abortion.

• A woman in Oregon who did not comply with a doctor’s recommendation to have additional testing for gestational diabetes was subjected to involuntary civil commitment. During her detention, the additional testing was never performed.

• A Louisiana woman was charged with murder and spent approximately a year in jail before her counsel was able to show that what was deemed a murder of a fetus or newborn was actually a miscarriage that resulted from medication given to her by a health care provider.

• In Texas, a pregnant woman who sometimes smoked marijuana to ease nausea and boost her appetite gave birth to healthy twins.  She was arrested for delivery of a controlled substance to a minor.

• A doctor in Wisconsin had concerns about a woman’s plans to have her birth attended by a midwife. As a result, a civil court order of protective custody for the woman’s fetus was obtained. The order authorized the sheriff’s department to take the woman into custody, transport her to a hospital, and subject her to involuntary testing and medical treatment.

All of that is a direct quote. So lets think about this for a minute.

All of this implies that a woman is somehow suddenly less than human because she has a fertilized egg in her? Not cool America, Not cool.

If you want to watch the video the link is here

Article I used here