Anna Clark's blog | RH Reality Check

Acupuncture: An Alternative Approach to Infertility

by Anna Clark, RH Reality Check

May 18, 2010 - 6:00am (Print)

While the notion of “infertility treatment” typically conjures images of invasive insemination procedures, acupuncture has been used for thousands of years to increase the chances of natural pregnancy. Indeed, many contemporary acupuncturists are pairing their personalized practice of needles with herbal treatments to enhance the fertility of their patients … and finding high rates of success.

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Challenge to Florida VBAC Ban Intensifies

by Anna Clark, RH Reality Check

April 13, 2010 - 6:00am (Print)

A coalition is challenging a VABC ban by Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, charging among other things that it is intervening in the activities of licensed providers and overriding “informed consent” standards.

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Florida Agency Set to Ban VBAC in State's Birth Centers

by Anna Clark, RH Reality Check

March 19, 2010 - 2:55pm (Print)

This Wednesday, Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration is expected to permanently ban Vaginal Birth after Cesarean (VBAC) in the state’s birth centers. Legal challenges are already in the works.

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Sex Addiction: What the Tiger Woods Story Forces Us to Confront

by Anna Clark, RH Reality Check

February 18, 2010 - 12:03pm (Print)

The term “sex addiction” is used to describe a pattern of frequent, progressive, and often secret sexual behavior, even when the behavior jeopardizes a person’s time, employment, financial stability, relationships, and reputation. While often conflated with adultery, sex addiction does not necessarily mean cheating—or even intercourse. Rather, it can manifest as a dependency on pornography, masturbation, phone or Internet sex, and other related behavior.

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No Longer Sexiled: Universities Grapple with Sex in Dorms

by Anna Clark, RH Reality Check

January 6, 2010 - 8:00am (Print)

When Tufts University officially banned students from having sex in residence hall room when a roommate is present, it met with two especially strong reactions. Colleges across the country are watching to see how it plays out.

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Vasectomy: An Easy But Neglected Form of Birth Control

by Anna Clark, RH Reality Check

November 17, 2009 - 9:42am (Print)

While it is a routine operation—nearly 500,000 are performed in the United States every year—the myths about vasectomies fester.

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Illinois Hotline Offers Recourse to Teens Facing Parental Notification Laws

by Anna Clark, RH Reality Check

October 1, 2009 - 6:00am (Print)

A hotline set up by the ACLU in Illinois is intended to help teens in need exercise their due process rights to a judicial bypass option in case they need an abortion but do not want to notify their parents. These and other efforts seek to protect the rights of pregnant young women who cannot inform their parents of their pregnancy and abortion, often because of concern for their physical safety or abandonment, or because their parents are inaccessible. In such cases, a young woman seeking an abortion can bring her case to a judge, who in turn can permit the medical procedure without the required notification or consent.

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Birth in Chains: The Shackling of Incarcerated Women During Labor and Delivery

by Anna Clark, RH Reality Check

July 10, 2009 - 7:00am (Print)

One prisoner was shackled around the waist during labor. Another, with a high-risk pregnancy, was put in a leg iron. Policies for incarcerated men are extended to women without adapting to distinct circumstances.

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Giving Birth in Chains: The Shackling of Incarcerated Women During Labor and Delivery

by Anna Clark, RH Reality Check

July 6, 2009 - 7:00am (Print)

As birthing choices are increasingly part of the public conversation, pregnant women are increasingly empowered to decide what sort of care is right for their bodies and their child. Except for those pregnant women who are incarcerated.

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Teens Who Parent Still Need School

by Anna Clark, RH Reality Check

May 21, 2009 - 7:00am (Print)

The nation with the highest adolescent pregnancy and birth rates in the industrialized world has not figured out how to meet the educational needs of pregnant and parenting teens. In fact, we're going the other direction - gutting the too-rare programs that have developed to meet the unique needs of teen parents.

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