Alyssa Rosenberg talks all things sex and pop culture. The right reacts poorly to Obama's support of gay marriage. An examination of the controversy over wrongful death lawsuits.
Motivated by the goal of ensuring that all young people in Oaxaca, Mexico can safely and responsibly exercise their sexuality, Mauricio Cruz Avendaño works to break the myths, barriers, and taboos regarding sexuality among young people. Watch this video to hear Mauricio talk about his work with Mexfam. [via IPPFWHR]
The Senate Armed Services passed an amendment today to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would end the ban on insurance coverage of abortion care for military women and dependents who experience rape or incest.
Weekly global roundup: United Nations report on global maternal health yields mixed results; South Asian teen girls still marrying at high rates; Zambia sees conflict over various articles on reproductive rights in new constitution draft; Indonesia continues to struggle with reproductive and sexual health as they face growing rates of HIV infection.
Sexual Health Round-up: A renowned psychiatrist who is paradoxically responsible for both the biggest advance in gay rights and one of the studies most often used to deny these rights apologizes to the gay community; CDC recommends that everyone ages 47 to 67 be tested for Hep-C; and a new study warns that young men who abuse Viagra (and its cousins) are less satisfied with their sex lives.
Weekly global roundup: Nepali women learn about their right to divorce and increasingly do so; Argentina's new Gender Identity Law first in the world; Tanzania's President petitioned over contraception access; relativity in rape threats for women in South Sudan.
A New York Times article looks at how parents do (and should) react when their children inevitably see Internet pornography, an FDA advisory panel recommends approving a drug for HIV-prevention, and Massachusetts cuts over $1 million from its HIV-prevention and testing program in county jails.
Weekly global roundup: a revised family code in Mali oppresses women further; Fawzia Koofi makes waves in Afghanistan and worldwide; Venezuela wrestles with a stubborn maternal mortality rate; and a call for more midwives in Zambia.
This week, 12 new lawsuits were filed challenging the contraceptive coverage rule, doubling those already in play. The lawsuits have made a splash by virtue of their number, but when you take a moment to actually look at them, there’s nothing to see. The rule is constitutional, it violates no federal law, and it’s incredibly important for women.
When I was growing up in California, I often felt disconnected from my extended family in Mexico. Once I became a teenager, however, I realized our experiences weren't as different as I'd assumed in my youth, especially when it came to accessing sexual and reproductive health care.
After a lifetime of working different jobs, jockeying for promotions that resulted only in title changes, winning races and earning titles, and being a writer and author, I understand how much titles matter, and how much Title IX mattered.
Last week, the House Appropriations Committee proposed to cut funding for international family planning programs and impose harmful restrictions on women’s access to essential health care — including the global gag rule and prohibiting U.S. contributions to UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.
It is critical that the barriers facing women in relation to accessing supportive peri-natal services are fully understood and addressed including structural drivers such as poverty, gender-based violence from partners, in-laws and neighbours, and property and inheritance rights loss. If we do not address these issues, we can not "save the babies."
Utah State Senator Stuart Reid (R-Ogden) is proposing legislation that would offer sexuality education to parents and then allow parents to choose whether their children receive similar education in school. Before you start applauding know that his ultimate goal is to see more young people “opted out” of sexuality education in Utah schools.
This week, several video-sharing websites were blocked by the two main internet service providers in India in response to a court order related to movie piracy. These developments are worrying.
The current sexual and reproductive health landscape in Mexico is one of both progress and challenges. It is one of divisions between rich and poor, between urban and rural populations, and between younger and older generations.
Last week the UN released its latest estimates on global maternal deaths, just two years after the last figure. From 1990 to 2010, they found, the number of women dying from pregnancy- and childbirth-related causes worldwide dropped from 543,000 to 287,000, a near-fifty percent reduction in fatalities.
This has been a good year so far for an international community of mothers seeking redress for millions of forced adoptions that took place in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s.
