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This morning we had an in-depth, nuanced conversation about emergency contraception most likely being made available over the counter in the next couple of weeks and we need to shout out our former intern Sidra Zaidi for writing this knowledge bomb of an op-ed.
The Council of Feminist Thought takes on the issue of over-the-counter emergency contraception and have a balanced debate on the pros and cons. Veronica Arreola, the assistant director of UIC’s Center for Research on Women and Gender, mother, and feminist blogger, and abstinence teacher Moises Pacheco join Brian and Molly in studio.
Moises, on why he opposes over-the-counter emergency contraception:
“I think young people, especially teenagers—females and males—need a lot of adult guidance from people that are close to them. So, when it comes to putting anything in their body, doing anything to their body, I personally don’t believe that teenagers make the best decisions, or are even capable of making those decisions…”
Veronica, on why she supports it:
“Those young women don’t always have access—good access, quick access—to a doctor, to somebody they can talk to in a medical profession. The emergency contraception has to be taken quickly. So, you need to be able to get down to the Walgreen’s as soon as you know you need it and take it.”
Maria Hinojosa: We’re very excited to introduce regular check-ins with the host of Latino USA this week! Maria will share her thoughts on the big push on Capitol Hill for immigration reform. While the bills are getting drafted, cases of unlawful raids and racial profiling continue to create distrust of law enforcement in the communities the bills will most likely affect.
Finally Leaning In: FemWeds on the AMp has not touched Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s gender management book, Lean In, because well, we’re too busy actually doing it. Writer Emily Heist Moss, who blogs at RosieSays, has our skeptic’s review.
The Council of Feminist Thought: We’ve got writer Veronica Arreola and abstinence teacher Moises Pacheco at the table this week and we’re pretty excited to let the discourse fly when talking about emergency contraception being sold over the counter, Margaret Thatcher’s troubling feminist legacy, the well-meaning babes of FEMEN, and the #SchimmelShow bringing Rez Ball to the NCAA women’s tournament.
The clinic is still OPEN. They have until March 4th to win in court or comply: http://prospect.org/article/mississippis-last-abortion-provider
On January 11, Jackson Women’s Health Organization (JWHO) - the last abortion clinic in Mississippi - will officially close its doors. It has no choice – it will be in violation of a new state law that requires all abortion providers to have hospital admitting privileges…
…Clearly, this marks a new era in the struggle for reproductive health. So what happens next? Here are some likely consequences:
Teenage Pregnancy Rates in Mississippi Rise…read more
An Increased Financial Burden for the State…read more
More States Will Follow Mississippi’s Lead…read more
An Increase in Back-Alley Abortions…read more
Lobbying on the Federal, not State, Level…read more
This is outrageous and scary. Making abortion more difficult to access does not mean that women will stop seeking abortions. Just like making drugs harder to access doesn’t mean that people will stop using drugs. It simply means that the risks and harms associated will increase exponentially. Shame on you Mississippi.
(via crunkfeministcollective)
We have found that there are no mental health consequences of abortion compared to carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term. There are other interesting findings: even later abortion is safer than childbirth and women who carried an unwanted pregnancy to term are three times more likely than women who receive an abortion to be below the poverty level two years later.
Reproductive Justice & Violence
Tomorrow for Feminist Wednesday we will be talking with Gaylon Alcaraz, Executive Director of the Chicago Abortion Fund, about widening the conversation surrounding reproductive rights to the comprehensive, historical, and revolutionary vision of the reproductive justice movement.
