Miscarriage = Criminal Homicide?

Sitting on the Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s desk awaiting his signature is HB12, a piece of legislation that criminalizes miscarriage. Under this statute, a woman who induces a miscarriage or obtains an illegal abortion can be prosecuted for criminal homicide, although legal abortion is still protected. Even a woman who engages in “reckless behavior” that leads to her miscarriage is legally responsible as long as the prosecutor can show this behavior contributed to the miscarriage. This includes women who had accidental miscarriages and never wanted to lose their fetus. The incidents that lie under “reckless behavior” are not defined, creating a broad scope of punishable offenses that could possibly include substance abuse, being a victim of domestic violence, not wearing a seatbelt and falling down the stairs .

This law is a major blow to women’s reproductive rights, establishing a punitive system for pregnant women. Utah is the first state to have a feticide law that attacks the woman and not the third party by making her legally responsible. If this bill is passed, a big question is going to be whether or not they are going to enforce it. Every miscarriage could potentially be caused by reckless behavior. Does this mean Utah law enforcement is going to investigate every miscarriage in the state? I doubt it. 25% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, and the time and money it would take to try and investigate all known miscarriages is exuberant. Yet this law may carry more weight than just a message. The law was originally proposed because of a case where a 17-year-old girl paid a man $150 to beat her in a failed attempt to cause a miscarriage. The girl was initially charged with attempted murder, but the charges were dropped because, at the time, under Utah state law a woman could not be prosecuted for attempting to arrange an abortion, lawful or unlawful. With the new law, however, this girl and others like her can be prosecuted in situations like this and many others.

Spending the Semester at Planned Parenthood

I first became interested in sex education advocacy when I was in eighth grade and attended a ‘Condom Jewelry and Sex Education’ workshop at a conference for Unitarian Universalist youth I was attending. The workshop was run by two high schoolers and focused on making youth comfortable with condoms and educating them about safe sex, STDs, and GLBTQ issues. Not only was it a lot of fun making necklaces and bracelets out of condoms, including flavored ones, glitter, and beads, but I really got my first perspective on the reality of sex education in America. At my private middle school we received sex education in 7^th and 8^th grade and even had an outreach educator from Planned Parenthood come in and talk to us, so I wasn’t aware that a huge portion of students received no knowledge about contraceptives or birth control in school. As a teenager the issue was very personal for me. I was one of the ‘impressionable children’ that a huge sector of society was trying to keep from being sexually active by promoting abstinence only education.

By having the perspective a youth, I thought it was naïve to believe that abstinence only education was the most appropriate policy to teach to youth. Of course teenagers were going to have sex and preaching abstinence was not going to prevent it. It seemed obvious to me that youth need to be fully informed about how to protect themselves from STDs and pregnancy, so they can engage safely in sex. I had a lot of questions about why this was such an issue. How can people think that education is a bad thing? Becoming sexually active is a choice that a person has to make for him or herself, so why is the government trying to control a person’s choices by withholding information from them? It made me angry and frustrated to think that people thought teaching youth how to protect themselves was worse than sending them out into a world full of sex without the knowledge to make smart choices.

Gaga and Lauper speak out for HIV/AIDS awareness!

I am so surprised I just now stumbled upon this awesome interview with Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper on Good Morning America. I am borderline obsessed with La Gaga and I am clearly invested in HIV/AIDS prevention among women so I can't believe this slipped under my radar!

So here's the deal. Gaga and Lauper are serving as celebrity spokespeople for MAC Cosmetics' Viva Glam Campaign. They each have a signature Viva Glam lip shade. The lipsticks are truly a steal at $14 and proceeds up to 2.5 million dollars will fund model programs that address the vulnerabilities and inequities that place women at increased risk for HIV/AIDS. Find more info at http://www.macaidsfund.org/ and be sure to watch the video below!

Women of Color HERStory Month 2010

I'm sure many of us are suffering from severe cabin fever this week, after what seems like endless snowfall and a serious shortage of snow plows. Well, we've got a few suggestions to end your boredom and get you outside of your home for a couple of nights.

In addition to Love of Friends this weekend (I couldn't help myself, I had to plug it again), New Voices Pittsburgh: Women of Color for Reproductive Justice will be launching a month-long celebration of Women of Color HERStory Month.

First up are two performances of The Vagina Monologues at University of Pittsburgh, David Lawrence Hall, February 12th and 13th at 8pm.Tickets are $10 at the door with all proceeds benefiting New Voices Pittsburgh. If you've never seen it, you need to go. If you have seen it, you know that once isn't enough.

Give the gift of honesty this Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is an excellent opportunity to have an honest conversation about sex and STD's with your partner(s). PPNYC C.E.O., Joan Malin, has a great piece about talking to your partner about sex up on RH Reality Check. Take a look at the tips we pulled for you here and then click the link to read the full piece!

• Educate yourself. Whether it’s an STI risk or something new you want to try, know as much about a topic before you bring it up.
• Do it with your clothes on. Although it might be tempting, don’t wait until you’re in the bedroom to bring up a tricky topic. Instead pick a comfortable place, before you’ve gotten hot and heavy.
• Break the ice. Telling your partner you’re nervous can be a great way to start. As can bringing up a recent study/statistic/story you’ve read or heard.
• Be upfront. Don’t beat around the bush or be dishonest.
• Use humor. Yes, this kind of talk can seem weighty or serious, but it’s ok to use humor to lighten the mood.

Abstinence Only?

Supporters of abstinence only education have chalked a new study by John B. Jemmott III, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania as a win in their column. The study, published in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, compared the delay of sexual activity amongst students who participated in four different curriculums: abstinence only, safe sex, comprehensive, and a generic health class. The abstinence only portion proved to be the most successful. After two years, 67% of the students had abstained from sex as opposed to 58% of the students who learned a comprehensive curriculum.

Though many supporters of abstinence only education view this study as indisputable evidence of its efficacy, there is reason to be skeptical. First, one study does not undo the multiple studies that prove abstinence only to be ineffective. It is important to note that this particular study is very different from traditional abstinence based curricula. It doesn't teach misleading information like "condoms don't work" nor does it use a moralistic tone to convey its message. In fact, the purpose of the curriculum is to delay sex until "you are ready" rather than until marriage. This curriculum wouldn't even have been eligible for Bush era funding for abstinence based programs and very likely would be eligible for Obama's pregnancy prevention funding as it is medically accurate.

Love of Friends!

We are 6 short days away from Love of Friends!

In the words of the Love of Friends organizers: Love of Friends (LoF) began on Valentine's Day in 2007 as a potluck to share a night with friends. Valentine's Day is often stressful for many folks, single or otherwise. LoF looks to share this day with great people and take pleasure in the talents of our friends through their music and art, as well as share good food and great company.

Basically, we want to dance, meet new folks, talk to old friends, flirt, NOT FLIRT, dress to impress and SHARE. The preparation of LoF is friends old and new coming together to make food, decorate, sew, you name it, the whole production is put together by great folks!

Love of Friends is a benefit party that supports the efforts of The Midwife Center and Planned Parenthood of southwestern PA. 

Labor's Painful Enough; Imagine it in Shackles

No woman should have to go through labor while shackled. Not only is shackling unnecessary, it endangers a woman’s health, dehumanizes her, and is part of a larger system that often denies women fair treatment. Shockingly, this practice is commonly used in Pennsylvania on pregnant female inmates. Even though some prison systems in the state have already banned the practice, it still continues against policy. In Philadelphia five months after policy banning shackling inmates during labor was enacted, Tina Torres, a inmate waiting for her case to be brought before a judge (the case was later dropped), was shackled during her labor. The shackles were only removed once she went into the operating room for a C-section and then only at the doctor’s insistence. Torres is one women among many who have been handcuffed or shackled during their labor, the standard policy in the PA correctional system.

An insensitivity toward prisoners by genera has kept this policy tucked away in prisons and hospital rooms, but as it begins to be publicized and spoken about, some politicians feel a need to do something about it. Pennsylvania State Senator Daylin Leach proposes new legislation that would ban shackling pregnant inmates before, during and immediately after childbirth and labor. He calls the practice a “barbaric relic of the past,” and is attempting to bring a bit of compassion to an insensitive system.

Super bowl, smuper bowl.

Right up front I'm going to confess that I don't follow football, watch the super bowl, and I don't think I can come up with more then three professional football players names unless they happen to be on the cover of US weekly. (I know, that makes me look so bad but I fully admit I have an unhealthy addiction to reading tabloid covers at the grocery store).

However, it has been hard to miss the Tim Tebow super bowl ad controversy. Now that the Super Bowl is just 3 days away and the debate has totally reached new levels...here are some of my thoughts.

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First, Planned Parenthood respects the ability of every woman, including Pam Tebow, Tim Tebow's mother, to make important medical decisions for herself and her family. We want every woman to live in a world in which her ability to make important personal medical decisions is respected. This is pretty basic ideology for most folks working in reproductive health/rights/justice and almost goes without saying. But just to be safe, I stuck it in here.

It's important to note that the Tebow's personal story is completely consistent with what Planned Parenthood doctors and nurses have learned from the millions of women we have served for nearly a century. Women take decisions about their health very seriously. They consider their doctors' advice, they talk with their loved ones and people they trust, including religious leaders, and they carefully weigh all considerations before making the best decision for themselves and their families.

How does our next governor feel about abortion?

This, of course, is the top question on our minds in the upcoming gubernatorial election. This weekend at the PA Progressive Summit the CEO of Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates, Sari Stevens, had the opportunity to ask some of the candidates what they would do if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Definitely worth the 4 minute watch...

Also, for those unable to attend this years PA Progressive Summit IT WAS AWESOME! Definitely put it on the calendar for next year.