Blogs Comment On Emergency Contraception Access, Abortion-Rights Compromises, Other Topics

The following summarizes select women's health-related blog entries.

~ "Walgreens Continues Gender Discrimination at the Pharmacy," Lisa Graybill/Brigitte Amiri, American Civil Liberties Union's "Blog of Rights": Grayball, of ACLU of Texas, and Amiri, of ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project, write that "local Walgreens in Texas have repeatedly refused to sell contraception to men, despite corporate headquarters policy and federal guidelines to the contrary." In a recent case, Adam Drake tried to purchase emergency contraception at a Walgreens in Houston but was told he could not buy the product because he is a man. Although "no one should face gender discrimination at the pharmacy," the Drake case is "even more troubling" because ACLU "had already asked Walgreens earlier this year to ensure that its stores sell [EC] to men" after similar incidents in Mississippi and Texas, according to the blog. In June, Walgreens responded that it had notified all stores that they must sell EC to men. "Apparently, the Walgreens that Mr. Drake went to did not get that message," Graybill and Amiri write. As a result, ACLU has "asked Walgreens to train its pharmacists and store managers and send secret shoppers to its stores to ensure that corporate policy is followed," they add (Graybill/Amiri, "Blogs of Rights," ACLU, 11/17).

~ "Bullying and Post-Abortion Trauma," Feminists for Choice: Recent widely publicized bullying cases -- especially ones directed toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals -- have prompted many celebrities to "voic[e] their belief that life will get better for those bullied," the blog states. However, "it only gets better if individuals grow stronger against criticism or if society becomes more accepting of differences," it notes. The blog adds, "Bullying does not magically disappear once one gets older as we would like to believe, as evidenced from antiabortion bullying" by protesters outside abortion clinics. "While there are many [protesters who] just want to inform women of their options, there are also those who outright pressure and scare women seeking abortions" in an attempt to make them "believe they have done something inherently wrong that they should regret." The blog notes, "Ironically, antiabortion advocates use the emotions felt by a woman after an abortion to evidence that abortion indeed is wrong, even if they may cause the negative emotions (not the abortion itself)." The blog questions whether the symptoms of so-called post-abortion syndrome -- which abortion-rights opponents claim exists but is not medically recognized -- are actually the result of bullying. Therefore, "we, as individuals of society, need to consider what causes the emotions felt by a woman after abortion," it argues (Feminists for Choice, 11/17).














~ "Fight for Health Care Reform or Lose It," Amanda Marcotte, RH Reality Check: Republicans gained a significant number of House seats in this month's elections, boosting their hope that "by continuing to make health care reform (PL 111-148) a contentious, news-grabbing issue, they can make people even more wary of it," Marcotte writes. According to Marcotte, overturning the health reform law is "a tactic favored strongly by the anti-choice movement." She writes, "Knowing that most Americans favor reproductive rights, ... anti-choicers instead just kick up a lot of dirt and make themselves so annoying that the general public is open to making concessions in exchange for some relief." Marcotte adds, "Basically, it's bullying," and "[a]s anyone who spent time in middle school can attest, sadly, bullying often works" (Marcotte, RH Reality Check, 11/17).

~ "Center for Reproductive Rights Sues FDA for Limiting Access to Emergency Contraception," Kelly Castagnaro, International Women's Health Coalition's "Akimbo": Castagnaro reports that the Center for Reproductive Rights on Wednesday filed "a motion for contempt against" FDA for "failing to follow a 2009 court order that would make emergency contraception available over the counter for women of all ages." She notes that in 2005, CRR sued FDA "for failing to grant over-the-counter status for [EC], and in 2006, the FDA agreed to make EC available without a prescription -- but only to women 18 and over, and only behind the pharmacy counter." The center "then pursued legal action to ensure that EC would truly be available over the counter for all women, including young women," she continues. FDA made EC available over-the-counter to individuals 17 and older but has not considered making it available to younger youth. CRR President Nancy Northup said, "FDA has had ample time, countless opportunities, and overwhelming scientific evidence put before it to make a decision." She noted that President Obama "promised that his administration would reverse the [George W.] Bush policy of politics trumping science. But when it comes to emergency contraception, it’s a new administration playing the same old games" (Castagnaro, "Akimbo," IWHC, 11/16).

~ "Couple Asks Web: Should We Abort?" Tracy Clark-Flory, Salon's "Broadsheet": A Minnesota couple is using their blog, birthornot, to ask "anonymous Internet strangers to vote on whether or not they abort" their 17-week pregnancy, Clark-Flory writes. "Cleary, this screams 'pro-life' Internet prank," she says. The website is "chock full of ultrasound images and updates on their perfectly healthy" fetus, she continues, adding that the couple "say this is a way for Americans to really make their vote matter." Clark-Flory notes that the couple's "Web trail" suggests they are not serious about aborting, as they have indicated support for social conservative figures like Glenn Beck and President George W. Bush. "If this is indeed a prank -- and either way, it's scary to think of these two procreating -- it's a perfect illustration of just how poorly some anti-choicers understand the pro-choice position," Clark-Flory argues, concluding, "The [pro-choice] belief is that the choice of whether or not to abort should be left up to a woman and her doctor, not to the entire Internet" (Clark-Flory, "Broadsheet," Salon, 11/18).

~ "This Won't Work," Scott Lemieux, American Prospect's "Tapped": Lemieux writes that there were "some good points" in William Saletan's recent Slate columns about finding common ground on abortion. "In the abstract, it might be possible to generate a strong consensus by combining a legal regime of legal, safe, accessible abortions with measures dedicated to reducing unwanted pregnancies," Lemieux writes. However, "in the current American political universe, this deal isn't going to happen," as Republicans have "if anything become more hostile to providing adequate support to poor mothers and expanding access to contraception," he continues. "Any analysis [of] American abortion politics that doesn't recognize that the organized opposition to abortion is not just about protecting fetal life but is bundled up with a whole set of reactionary assumptions about gender and sexuality isn't going to get you very far," Lemieux argues. He notes that Saletan's columns also "consist of arguments for more moral hectoring of women." Lemieux adds that "it's hard to see the causal logic where repeatedly criticizing women who have abortions for reasons Saletan considers inadequate is going to increase support for the legal access to abortion that is a central part of the alleged compromise" (Lemieux, "Tapped," American Prospect, 11/18).

~ "Feminist Health Center Closes After Thirty Years, What Does It Mean For Women?" Amie Newman, RH Reality Check: "Feminist women's health centers may be a dying breed," RH Reality Check Managing Editor Newman writes, adding, "Of the over fifty or so operating over the years, only fourteen remain." She asks, "What makes feminist health centers so vulnerable, and what does Planned Parenthood have to do with it (if anything)?" Newman writes that unlike smaller clinics, Planned Parenthood is able to receive government funding because it has the means to separate public money for family planning services from any funding streams for abortion care. By contrast, "feminist health centers are locally grown, small businesses at heart," and they easily "fall prey to a variety of factors, from increased competition from larger-sized providers to a challenging economic environment," according to Newman. She notes that many feminist clinics continue to accept Medicaid patients, despite low reimbursement rates, meaning that they are "literally giving away thousands of dollars in care each year. That's not sustainable without immense support from the public." Feminist Abortion Network President Anita Kuennen has said the closing of a Cedar River Clinics' branch in Yakima, Wash., this week should serve as a "wake-up call to all who support access to choice and access to health care." Newman concludes that if the "closure is a wake-up call, I think we've hit snooze one too many times" (Newman, RH Reality Check, 11/18).


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