The CDC recently released new data indicating that the United States’ persistently high rates of sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies are incurring billion of dollars in medical costs. This has been an ongoing issue that is hitting young adults the hardest. Health officials explain that, although these high costs are preventable, Americans are not …
Tag: reproductive health
Feb 15
Why Contraception Should Not Be Controversial
Last week I wrote about the importance of talking about abortion so that society can move beyond the labels of pro-choice and pro-life and learn more about the woman’s situation. I mentioned that if people truly wanted to decrease the amount of abortions (which I’m sure we all do) then we had to understand why …
Feb 04
Moving Beyond the Labels of Pro-Life and Pro-Choice
A few weeks back Planned Parenthood made the announcement that they will be abandoning the labels of “Pro-Life” and “Pro-Choice” in hopes of reaching more women who do not identify as “pro-choice” but still support and need their services. A study found that 35% of voters who identified as pro-life also said they didn’t think …
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 17
Women’s Health: It’s Not Up For Negotiation
You’ve probably noticed that women’s health has been in the news almost constantly over the past few months. The coverage has mainly focused on reproductive and contraceptive rights, which are both extremely important. But I think we sometimes forget there’s more to women’s health than just those issues, including breast cancer, depression, body image, and …
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 …