plannedparenthood:

The Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation has it right. Access to contraception around the world should be no controversy.

plannedparenthood:

Three cheers for birth control! According to a new CDC study, the abortion rate for women in their 20s has dropped because of increased access to birth control. Where would you be today without your birth control? Give us your answer in your reblog.

plannedparenthood:

The typical rom-com cinematic hook up doesn’t usually include lengthy (or any) dialogue about birth control, sexually transmitted infections, or using protection. So I was really excited to rent The Pill, probably the only movie to use the morning-after pill as a major part of the plot.

After a clumsy one-night stand, Fred and Mindy wake up to the realization that neither one of them used protection. Desperate to avoid fatherhood, Fred ends up having to spend the day with Mindy, who isn’t particularly concerned about preventing pregnancy, just to make sure she takes the second dose of emergency contraception, a.k.a. the morning-after pill, 12 hours later. (Fact-check: Mindy could have taken both pills at the same time or used Plan B One Step, a brand of EC that doesn’t have the second pill… but then it would have been a really short movie. Learn more about emergency contraception)

Fred and Mindy aren’t exactly ideal poster children when it comes to maturity within a relationship. Fred is cheating on his girlfriend. Mindy can be manipulative. Neither one is particularly honest with the other. There were times during the movie when I really disliked both characters. They are the perfect of example of how not to behave before, during, and after a little romantic rendezvous. But all their awkward imperfections, deceptions, and missteps help give The Pill an honesty that most mainstream Hollywood movies lack. Even though both characters are flawed, it’s easy to relate to what they’re going through. Talking about sex, using a condom or other birth control method 100% of the time, dealing with the potential for rejection: these things aren’t always easy. It’s nice to finally see a movie that explores the challenges of modern dating rather than runs from them.

-Nathan at PPFA

(via brucethegirl)

abaldwin360:

lagoble:

indigenousfeminist:

“Men’s indifference to learning about contraception and to taking any responsibility for it is a theme that emerges from many reports of projects that have attempted, and failed, to reach and educate men. One of the most successful programs of contraception education for men, a Planned Parenthood project in Chicago, abandoned its attempts to reach men over the age of twenty-five when it was found that these men simply would not participate, even when offered beer, sandwiches, free condoms—and “stag” movies. Instead, the project targeted a younger group, and as part of its research the project conducted a survey of over a thousand men aged fifteen to nineteen:

• These young men were asked whether they agreed with the statement “It’s okay to tell a girl you love her so that you can have sex with her.” Seven out of ten agreed that it’s okay.

• They were asked whether they agreed with the statement “A guy should use birth control whenever possible.” Eight out of ten disagreed and said a guy should not.

• And when asked, “If I got a girl pregnant, I would want her to have an abortion,” nearly nine out of ten said no, they would not want her to have an abortion. These teenage men agreed: Deception to obtain coital access is okay; male irresponsibility in contraception is okay; but abortion is not okay—“because it’s wrong.”

Largely because of attitudes such as these, one million teenage women—one tenth of all teenage women—become pregnant each year, and two thirds of their pregnancies are not wanted.”

—John Stoltenberg, Refusing to be a Man

just… uggh

This is an example of male privilege.

I drill it into my sons’ heads over and over that they better damn well use protection or they don’t know what being in trouble is.

storybook:

Heidi Eckert urges young women to get politically active (by mikewstagg)

My speech from the April 28th Unite Women rally in Baton Rouge. I hate watching myself, but I am also proud of myself for speaking out. I never would have imagined I’d have the confidence to do that. And the microphone is too high ;)

storybook:

UAWOW Rally - Louisiana

Ashley Heyer, Southeast Louisiana Press Liaison for Unite Women, and Ashley Baggett, State Coordinator for Unite Women Louisiana, delivered the opening statements at the Baton Rouge Unite Women’s Rally held on April 28.

Ms. Heyer described her shock at the realization about just how much of the war on women is focused not on abortion, but on restricting birth control. The shock was intensified by the fact that members of her family have been physicians.

She introduced Ashley Baggett who recounted her own experience as a survivor of domestic abuse and how that experience changed her.

hellyeahscarleteen:

Even though it’s legal for 17-year-olds [in the United States] to get the so-called morning-after pill, a new study shows that pharmacy employees often dole out the wrong information, telling the teens they’re not allowed to have the drug.

An undercover survey found that many of the pharmacies that told girls they were too young to get emergency contraception offered correct information when a doctor called seeking the pill for a 17-year-old patient, according to a report in the latest issue of the journal Pediatrics.

…

There was a huge disparity between the answers given to the teens and those offered to the physicians, with 19 percent of the 17-year-olds being told that they couldn’t get it under any circumstances, compared with only 3 percent of the physicians.

The next question was asked only by teen callers who had been told a 17-year-old could get the morning-after pill: “My friends said there is an age rule [regarding access without a prescription] — do you know what it is?”

Pharmacy employees answered that incorrectly 43 percent of the time.

Read the rest here.

(via umajanelaaberta)

prolongedeyecontact:

alittlepainalittlepleasure:

Dear President Obama,

I am appalled at your Obamacare mandate that forced religious employers to pay for health insurance coverage that includes birth control and drugs like Plan B, the morning after pill, and ella that can cause abortions.

Today, you revised your mandate in a way that is just as offensive.

Your revised mandate will have religious employers refer women to their insurance company for coverage that still violates their moral and religious beliefs. Under this plan, every insurance company will be obligated to provide coverage of abortion-causing drugs at no cost.
Essentially, religious groups will still be mandated to offer plans that cover both birth control and the ella abortion drug - only now insurance companies will offer them at no charge.
This ObamaCare rule still tramples on Americans’ First Amendment right to freedom of religion. It’s a fig leaf, not a compromise. Whether they are affiliated with a church or not, employers will still be forced to pay an insurance company for coverage that includes abortion-inducing drug.

I oppose this revised pro-abortion mandate and urge you to overturn it immediately.

Sincerely,


(After signing this petition, please cut and paste the text of it and send it to Obama by going to http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact.)

[warning: all links are, unfortunately, cis-centric]

It’s pretty embarrassing that 6,547 people are so misinformed they signed this piece of drivel. For those interested in the truth:

Plan B (aka the morning-after pill) and Ella, which are classified as emergency contraception, do not cause abortions. If you look at the science into EC it’s very clear on the subject: there are no post-fertilization effects caused by these medications, so even if you go against virtually the entire scientific and medical communities and define pregnancy as fertilization rather than implantation, emergency contraception is still not abortion.

the administration’s guidance does not include drugs that can induce abortions. As the rule explains that insurers and employers must cover “Evidence-based items or services that have in effect a rating of A or B in the current recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force)” and “the comprehensive guidelines supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration.” The contraception language is included in the HRSA guidelines, it reads: “All Food and Drug Administration approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity.” Those include:

Male Condom, Female Condom, Diaphragm with Spermicide, Sponge with Spermicide, Cervical Cap with Spermicide, Spermicide Alone, Oral Contraceptives (a.k.a. “the pill”), Patch, Vaginal Contraceptive Ring, Shot/Injection, Emergency Contraceptives, IUD, Implantable Rod, Vasectomy, Transcervical Surgical Sterilization Implant for women

These methods act to “prevent pregnancy before, and only before, fertilization occurs.” Emergency Contraceptives like Plan B — which Murphy attempted to paint as an “abortion pill”– halts the union of sperm and oocyte and inhibits ovulation. It does not work after fertilization.

Also see:

• Mechanism of Action of Emergency Contraceptive Pills
• Planned Parenthood: The Difference Between Emergency Contraception and Medication Abortion
• Letter to Kathleen Sebelius: Comments on CMS-9992-IFC2, Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Issuers Relating to Coverage of Preventive Services Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
• Guttmacher: Past Due: Emergency Contraception In U.S Reproductive Health Programs Overseas

Churches were always exempt from the rule, and with the revised mandate religious employers with objections do not have to offer the coverage or pay for it. Their employees will receive the coverage from the insurance company (a third party) directly at no cost. It’s really pretty simple. Birth control existing and the fact that your employees are using it doesn’t infringe on your freedom of religion. However, not covering contraception when your plans cover other prescription medications has been shown to violate Title VII (the Civil Rights Act of 1964). 

The mandate is not unconstitutional nor does it infringe on your freedom of religion. Getting involved in the healthcare of your secular employees, on the other hand, is an infringement on their rights. Further, conscience protections that are virtually the same as Obama’s have been upheld in court.

Honestly, you really should know the intricacies of an issue before signing petitions against something that will positively affect the lives and health of a significant portion of the country.

Further Reading:

• Text of the 2011 mandate [also see: here, here, here, here]
• Final rule for mandate [after religious exemptions were debated] and the prior interim final rule
• IOM’s July 2011 report “Clinical Preventative Services for Women: Closing the Gaps” [report brief here, testimony before House Judiciary Committee here, testimony before House Oversight & Government Reform Committee here]
• Press release: IOM report recommends 8 additional preventative health services to promote women’s health [also here]
• HHS press release
• Fact sheet: women’s preventative services and religious institutions
• Covered preventative services under ACA for women
• Coverage guidelines for women’s preventative services [also here]
• Women and the Affordable Care Act
• Pregnant women and the ACA
• Women’s preventative health services in the new health care law: FAQ
• Contraceptive coverage “accommodation” of religiously-affiliated employers: FAQ
• Access to preventative health care for women in the new health care law: FAQ
• Covering prescription contraceptives in employee health plans: how this coverage saves money
• Sampling of Catholic-affiliated institutions that provide contraceptive coverage
• Title VII requires covered employers to provide contraceptive coverage
• Amicus Brief, Department of Health and Human Services, et al., v. State of Florida, et al.
• Letter to the President opposing the religious employer exemption
• Contraception mandate doesn’t include abortifacients
• Mandate isn’t unconstitutional
• Majority of Pill users take them for non-contraceptive purposes
• Birth control is medical care
• 5 reasons why the contraceptive coverage guarantee is so important
• Benefits and savings from contraception coverage [also here]
• The White House explains its contraceptives compromise
• Obama’s contraception rule a matter of life-altering care for some
• Obama’s conscience protection clause has been upheld in court
• Large Catholic institutions offered contraception even before required to do so [also here]
• Catholic hospitals can’t discriminate based on sex in hiring, shouldn’t discriminate based on sex in coverage
• Nation’s largest Catholic university offers a contraceptive benefit
• Majority of Catholics support requiring health plans to provide contraception
• Insurance coverage of contraceptives [also here]
• Obama and the Bishops: Is the White House Caving on Birth Control Coverage?
• Expand Access, Not Exemptions
• Actual Costs of Birth Control
• Catholic groups fight contraceptive rule, but many already offer coverage
• Major mainstream religious leaders support White House on contraceptive coverage in health reform
• Health Insurance Coverage a Courtesy? No, It’s Your—And My—Wages

Now there’s no excuse for misrepresenting this issue ever again.

(via bebinn)

Rush Limbaugh, on law student Sandra Fluke, who was denied the ability to testify before the all-male panel considering contraceptive coverage.

Fuck. You.

As ThinkProgress states: “While it’s probably not even worth engaging with Limbaugh on the facts, Fluke’s testimony was about a friend who is a lesbian and needed birth control for non-sexual medical reasons, so he’s only wrong about three times over, and offensive many more times over than that.”

Need we discuss Limbaugh getting caught with Viagra that wasn’t even his? No? How about pointing out that with birth control, it doesn’t matter how much sex you have — taking one pill is enough to prevent pregnancy?

Or how about he’s a misogynistic pig? Is that ok?

(via cognitivedissonance)

oh

announcement: and this is why cis men have no fucking place in repro rights discussions

I don’t care who you are, I don’t care if you’re gay, I don’t care if you’re a ~F~eminist or a feminist ally, I don’t care if you’re pro-choice

when you force your way into these conversations you are bringing this guy with you…I know you think you’re not, and you think you’re special and progressive and wonderful, but you are one slip-up away from Rush Limbaugh, you really are, and I am afraid of you, and I do not trust your opinion on this subject and I never will

your voice is meaningless here

hurts, doesn’t it? to be told your thoughts are worthless and you should just shut up?

yeah, welcome to our world. deal with it.

(via little-sword-deactivated2013040)