Abortion Won't Work as a "Wedge" Issue in Western States Anymore
Laura K. Chapin, a Democratic strategist and consultant for the No on 48 campaign in Colorado, says that in the wake of the resounding defeat of Colorado's personhood amendment, California's parental notification initiative, and South Dakota's abortion ban, we can conclude that voters in Western states will no longer be tempted by anti-choice ballot initiatives. Writes Chapin [15], "Ballot initiatives are tempting for abortion opponents because they at least partially sidestep the complications of the legislative process. This is especially true in states like California and Colorado that have very low thresholds for getting something on the ballot." But the strategy backfired - the extreme amendments demonstrated to voters that pro-choicers are the true moderates and that votes showed that residents of Western states would rather focus on practical issues that affect their daily lives.
TIME Examines "Troubling Ramifications" of Cosmetic Genital Surgery
I don't want to read about it either, but if you're going to, you couldn't do much better than Laura Fitzpatrick's "Plastic Surgery Below the Belt [16]," in TIME, on the rise in cosmetic genital surgery. Aside from pointing out that the surgery isn't medically indicated and can result in health complications as well as decreased sexual pleasure ("The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued a committee opinion last year warning that women may experience scarring, chronic pain, obstetric risks or reduced sexual pleasure; a similar statement was issued in July by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists"), Fitzpatrick quotes sexologist and psychologist Leonore Tiefer saying: "Promoting a very narrow definition of what women's genitals ought to look like - even for those women who don't want surgery, it harms them." Fitzpatrick also points out that cosmetic genital surgery can have "troubling ramifications" beyond our own borders.
This kind of cosmetic surgery can interfere with advocates' ability to fight forced ritual mutilation in places like Africa, where the practice is still common, says Taina Bien-Aimé, executive director of international women's rights watchdog Equality Now. Designer vaginas "are considered reasons for not throwing stones, so to speak, at other cultures," she says."
Fitzpatrick concludes quoting social worker Laura Berman: "The best way to start enjoying your body could be far simpler than surgery: 'You may need a new boyfriend.'"
Chinese Woman Allowed to Continue Pregnancy
Chinese officials were threatening to force Arigul Tursun, a six-months-pregnant mother of two, to have an abortion, but she has now been freed and allowed to continue her pregnancy, reports ABC News [17]. However, she was apparently only released because, said the local population control committee chief, "she wasn't in good enough health to have an abortion." Some Republican lawmakers have suggested [18] that this case proves that US funding should not be restored to the United Nations' international family planning agency, UNFPA. But UNFPA is not engaged in any way in coercive sterilization or forced abortion, and works with the Chinese government to promote a voluntary approach to family planning.
Want to Know More About the New HHS Secretary?
For the back story on Tom Daschle, listen to the New York Times's Peter Baker talking [19] about the Senator's background and likely priorities at HHS. And Rev. Debra Haffner responds [20] to the appointment.