the global gag rule kills women.

some frightening information from the UNFPA:
-350 million people in developing countries lack access to contraception, which resulted in 52 million unplanned pregnancies -- nearly half of which ended in abortion -- worldwide in 2003
-The lack of funding for contraception has resulted in a "disproportionat[e]" number of women being affected by HIV/AIDS in the world's most resource-poor countries
-infection rates among young African women aged 15-24 are two to three times higher than among young men. Married women are often unable to negotiate condom use even when they know their husbands have multiple partners
-Approximately 137 million women worldwide who want to delay another birth or avoid pregnancy do not have access to contraception, while about 64 million women use contraception that is not the most effective available, the report said. Providing contraception to these women could prevent 23 million unplanned births, 22 million abortions and 1.4 million infant deaths
-33% of pregnant women worldwide receive no prenatal care and 60% of births take place outside of hospital settings
-an additional $3.9 billion in annual funding for contraception and family planning could prevent about 142,000 pregnancy-related deaths each year

"In 2004, it is a crime that women still die because they are having babies," UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said.

anti-choice activists are broadening their efforts in blocking women's access to birth control and emergency contraception. this is interesting, given that they supposedly want to decrease the number of abortions, and EC alone could prevent over a million unwanted pregnancies and 800,000 abortions every year. and since when is it ok for someone (like a pharmacist, for example) to flat-out refuse to fulfill the requirements of their job -- i.e., fill prescriptions? denying women the basic right to contraception should be met with outrage; can you imagine what would happen if pharmacists banded together to deny men their viagra prescriptions?

pro-life and pregnant

here's what happens when an anti-choice activists gets pregnant and pursues adoption-- only to find out that "pro-life" groups don't want to help a woman who is pregnant with a mixed-race child.

AN OPEN LETTER TO OFFICIALS OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT REGARDING WHAT'S NEW IN MY REPRODUCTIVE AREA.

Dear Officials of the United States Government,

I thought I would just get in touch and let you know what is going on in my reproductive system and general private area lately. You seem really interested, and I wouldn't want to put you to the trouble of subpoenaing my medical records just to find out what's happening in my uterus.It's summer, so I'm getting my bikini line waxed more frequently. (Ouch!) I had a little urinary-tract infection a while ago, but that seems to have cleared up. Cranberry juice is really something, especially when you're uninsured and can't see the doctor to check out every little searing, stabbing pain. And did you know that yogurt cures yeast infections? If only it cured AIDS, we could patent it and then withhold it from Third World nations.

My last period started on the 8th and ended on the 13th. I think right now I'm ovulating. You know those little midcycle twinges you can get around ovulation? I felt one yesterday. President Bush, Attorney General Ashcroft, I am very pleased to be writing to you at my monthly pinnacle of fertility. The lining of my uterus is thickening, and a mature ovum expectantly awaits fertilization in my fallopian tube. It is a very beautiful time, and this month it is concurrent with the new moon. As the moon waxes, it will gently pull the tide of my menses from me, culminating in my next menstrual period, which I expect to begin on the 6th of next month.

I know it might be hard to believe, but some guys think a woman's natural cycles and secretions are "yucky." Some guys are too squeamish to pick up a box of tampons at the drugstore if you ask them to. The first lady is lucky to have a partner like you, Mr. President, a person who wishes to be intimately involved not only in his wife's reproductive system, but in those of all the other women in America as well.

This is why if I ever get accidentally pregnant, you guys will be the first people I call. We'll all figure it out together, just me, my government, and that man in the polo shirt who hangs out outside my gynecologist's office holding the sign with the fake bloody fetus on it.May God continue to bless America, and my uterus.

Yours,
Emily Weinstein

Welcome to Voices for Choice!

Welcome to the new Voices for Choice NYU blog! Voices for Choice is the pro-choice group at New York University. We focus on advocacy and activism for reproductive rights issues, including:
-Emergency Contraception
-Birth control
-Abortion
-International family planning
-The Global Gag Rule
-International women's rights

and much more! We meet every Monday evening at 6:30. Email voicesforchoice.club@nyu.edu for more information, and please visit our website!