Rep. Jackie Speier reveals her abortion story-- But she doesn't want you to call it that

Ever since the passionate House debate that resulted in the vote to defund Planned Parenthood, Rep.Jackie Speier (D-CA) has become a kind of pro-choice hero.

 

During the debate, Speier was moved to share her own abortion experience after Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) used his time on the House floor to describe graphic images of abortion procedures. 

But in a recent blog entry for The Huffington Post, Speier criticizes the "journalistic sensationalism" that ensued in reaction to her story and needlessly defends her decision to terminate an unsuccessful pregnancy.

She argues that women's health issues are often trivialized when they are oversimplified and that the word "abortion" can be used to cast shame on the women who choose it.

I agree with Speier that the word "abortion" has taken on a very negative meaning which has been used to demonize women and doctors.

However, I feel like her attempt to soften "the a-word" by providing the context of her experience is a bit misguided.

Speier says that the painful decision to terminate her pregnancy came when the fetus slipped from her uterus to her vagina and threatened fatal infection or complications with future pregnancies.

At the time of the procedure, she was married and over 40.

Speier intended to humanize the experience of abortion for those who have only heard Conservative talking points.

But I fear that by contrasting her experience with the "sensational" stories of 17-year-olds facing unwanted pregnancies, Speier allows us to infer that some abortions are more excusable than others.

The bottom line is that Speier was tremendously brave for sharing her story and putting a human face on an experience that millions of women endure but few discuss.

But I think that over explaining the reasons behind our decisions or trying to soften the language we use to discuss abortion caters too much to the people who poisoned the discussion in the first place.

Kristen Schaal says we should cut funding to NASA and firefighters because of their abortion ties

Kristen Schaal returned to The Daily Show in another hilarious piece mocking Republicans who vowed to cut federal funding to any organization that has anything to do with providing abortions.

According to Schaal, who is way more edgy than her Republican buddies in Congress, we should extend the cuts to firefighters and NASA for their ties to abortion. She explains it better...

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Planned Parenthood reduces abortions and saves government billions-- So why end funding?

House Republicans passed a bill that denies all federal funding to Planned Parenthood on Friday.


Supporters of the amendment claim that defunding family planning centers is fiscally responsible and will help prevent abortions.


Under the same banner of moral and fiscal responsibility, I've listed some statistics from the Guttmacher Institute (a non-profit research organization):

• Among the women who receive care at a publicly funded family planning center, 60 percent consider the center their usual source of medical care (2006).
• One in three women who were tested for HIV or received testing, treatment, or counseling for other sexually transmitted infections did so at a publicly funded family planning center (2002).
• Seventeen percent of all women, including 39 percent of poor women, who received a Pap test or pelvic screening in 2002 did so at a publicly funded family planning center.
• Without publicly funded family planning services, the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions in the United States would be nearly two-thirds higher. Among poor women, the number would double.
• Nationally, every dollar invested in helping women avoid pregnancies they did not want to have saves the government $3.74 in Medicaid expenditures that would have otherwise been needed (2008).

So...Funding family planning centers like Planned Parenthood actually reduces abortions, helps save women's lives, AND saves the government billions of dollars. Then what's the problem, GOP?


Before the bill reaches the Senate, show Congress that you support Planned Parenthood by filling out this open letter.

Tolerating Sexual Assault in the U.S. Military

Veterans Kori Cioca, 25, and Panayiota Bertzikis, 29, were assaulted and
raped while serving in the U.S.Coast Guard

On yesterday's The Diane Rehm Show on NPR, radio host Diane Rehm spoke to two of the plaintiffs and the lead lawyer who are suing the Pentagon for mishandling cases of rape and sexual assault.

The plaintiffs, 15 women and two men who claim to have been raped or sexually assaulted by comrades while serving in the U.S. military, say the Pentagon created a culture that permits rape by ignoring sexual abuse complaints.

Anu Bhagwati, a veteran and the executive director of Service Women's Action Network, told Rehm that service members may be discouraged from coming forward with rape allegations because they know the likely outcome.

According to Bhagwati, these are some of the consequences victims who report rape are commonly faced with in a military culture:

• Risk of losing their careers
• Intimidation and punishment by fellow service members or their chain of command
• Accusations of lying
• Information on assault is filed away 
• Abuser never prosecuted and free to assault again

As horrifying as these claims are, I was most shocked and disgusted by the victim-blaming and excuse-making in the caller responses to the discussion.

One caller claimed that most rape claims are lies, while another suggested that the victims could have done more to have their claims heard.
  
But the most offensive call of the day came from a man named Hans, who attempted to explain rape using some distorted version of essentialist theory.

According to Hans, women in the military need to understand that men have substantially more testosterone than women, which means that they naturally NEED much more sex.

Hans went on to say that since women need to be "enticed and charmed" into having sex, the only possible solution for reducing rape in the military is to reduce the testosterone levels of the men who join.

The responses of these NPR listeners, who probably consider themselves to be "progressive" men, are indicative of a culture in which sexual violence is tolerated not only in the U.S. military, but in the larger American society.


Anyway, I sincerely hope this lawsuit gives other victims the courage to come forward and causes the military to change the way they handle cases of rape and sexual assault.

The Woman Behind 'Live Action'-- At Least She's Active

Lila Rose is the 22-year-old woman who founded Live Action, the anti-abortion organization that released the "sting" videos of Planned Parenthood.

Although I am a staunch defender of Planned Parenthood and their work providing health services for women who may not otherwise be able to afford care, I have developed a slight fascination with Ms. Rose.

According to the Live Action website, Rose founded Live Action when she was fifteen and a student pro-life magazine called The Advocate when she was a freshman at UCLA.

Both Live Action and The Advocate have since gone national and Rose has received several awards from pro-life organizations for her work.

I'm not switching teams here, but I have to say that seeing a 22-year-old woman devoting her life to political activism is refreshing.

I am often surprised by the disenchanment and political unawareness of people from my generation.

As strongly as I feel about some political issues, I can't actually imagine devoting my life to something that I ultimately have very little control over.

Once my anger over the PP attack subsided, I realized that Lila Rose and the media attention the Live Action videos received are proof that one person actually can make a difference.

Hopefully, we Plastic Fems can use our power for good, not evil. (I kid)

Planned Parenthood Under Attack

An undercover video released by Live Action, an anti-abortion activist group, may be just the push Republicans need to pass a bill through Congress that cuts public funding for family planning centers.

The video features actors posing as a pimp and an underage immigrant prostitute seeking advice from a Planned Parenthood employee.

The actors imply that they are involved in a sex trafficking ring, but the employee gives them advice on how to secure birth control, STD testing, and abortions. 

The employee was fired following the release of the video.

While the video is shocking on its face, I think that the media frenzy surrounding it is uncalled for and slightly ridiculous.

The Planned Parenthood employee should not have advised the man to have the girls lie about their age to circumvent the law.

BUT, publicly funded health clinics are not supposed to deny services to individuals because of their citizenship status, income level, or careers. 

Also, Planned Parenthood notified the FBI of a possible sex trafficking ring when the actors left.

To somehow spin this into an accusation that Planned Parenthood aids in sex trafficking and the exploitation of women is absurd.

I believe the employee was trying to act indiscriminately towards the man so that the women he was inquiring about could receive the health care they needed.

According to Stuart Schear of Planned Parenthood, abortions are not funded by the government and only account for 3% organization's health services. 

The organization relies on public funding for preventive health services like family planning, cancer screening, and STD testing for mostly low-income women.

Despite these facts, Conservatives like Michele Bachmann (who linked the video to her facebook page) have used the video as propaganda in their war against women and their right to choose.

Free Birth Control in New Health Care Law?

Amidst the tireless debate surrounding the health care reform act, the Obama administration is figuring out whether the new law could require insurance companies to provide free contraceptives and family planning.


The law says that insurers must cover "preventive health services" without charge, but according to the New York Times, an amendment from Senator Barbara A. Mikulski required officials to weigh the "unique health needs of women".


Since Congress and the Obama administration are too afraid to dive into the uberpolitical-messy-girlystuff, a panel of outside experts was called upon to identify the specific preventive services that must be covered for women.


Aside from birth control and family planning, preventive care services could also include screenings for breast cancer, cervical cancer, domestic violence, and doctor visits for women trying to become pregnant.


Opponents believe that this could create a conflict in the consciences of employers who have moral objections to birth control. Others say that including birth control in preventive care would imply that pregnancy and fertility are diseases. Whatever.


For the life of me, I still cannot understand why these ideas remain controversial.


I can respect the opinions of those who do not wish to take contraceptives.


But trying relentlessly to restrict access to birth control because you don't agree with it is like trying to remove James Cameron movies from the shelves of all Blockbuster stores because you prefer Spielberg.


Anyway, the study hasn't come back yet. And the future of the entire health care bill is still pretty much up in the air.


So, we can't start celebrating yet, but it is nice to hear at least a soft murmuring of women's issues in D.C.

The Daily Show explains anti-abortion bill that redefines rape

The brilliant Kristen Schaal of The Daily Show breaks down the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act" (H.R.3) in terms we can all understand.

Schaal agrees with the GOP that if we redefine rape, our hard earned tax dollars will no longer have to be wasted on abortions for women who were only rape-ished. Genius!

The Daily Show - Rape Victim Abortion Funding
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