I was 28 when I heard the words that changed my world forever. “You have breast cancer.” At the time I was working full time, finishing my graduate degree, and living a healthy life. My diagnosis completely knocked my life into a new reality that was dark and frightening. I did not look or feel sick, …
Tag: women’s health
Jul 23
The London Summit on Family Planning
You may have seen on the news that July 11th was the London Summit on Family Planning, brought to you by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Department for International Development (DFID). This summit was a landmark in the history of family planning, women’s health and women’s rights. The whole point of …
Jul 06
The Politics of Women’s Health in the US: Part Three
The biggest news last week was no doubt the Supreme Court ruling upholding President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA), or you may know it by its catchier on name ‘Obamacare’. The Act does a lot of good for different groups of Americans, but the one I want to look at is the biggest: women. This …
Jun 28
The Politics of Women’s Health in the US: Part Two
Apparently freedom of speech and talking like an adult are not acceptable in some places in 2012. Specifically I’m talking about the Michigan House of Representatives where, as you may have heard, one female state representative and her colleague were banned, banned, from speaking because of a word that was uttered. What could she have …
Jun 14
The Politics of Women’s Health in the US: Part One
The Debate Over What Emergency Contraception Does Exactly? I thought that the issue of emergency contraceptives pills (or also commonly called the morning-after pills, but referred to as ECs from here on out) was settled. I wasn’t naïve enough to think that everyone supported it, but thought that at least it was an accepted method …
Jun 05
Don’t Give Up Hope: Women’s Groups Do Make a Difference
When I started writing my blog last week about the battle surrounding women’s health in Texas I was struck by what a powerful group Don’t Mess with Texas Women had become in just one year. But I was still a little skeptical that they or other groups could impact the system enough to protect their …
May 30
Defending Women’s Health in Texas
Think about Planned Parenthood. What are the first things that come to mind? Women’s health? Pro-choice activism? Legal cases? Abortion? All these words apply to the Planned Parenthood organization, but they don’t capture the entire scope of what it does. The organization has existed for more than 90 years but there are still lots of …