Choice Words

This article in the NYT is freakin’ ridiculous.

Should you click on that link, you will see sarcastic commentary about Merck’s recommendation to vaccinate boys with Gardasil, the HPV vaccine. How sarcastic? Oh, let’s see:

HOW cool are those Gardasil Girls? Riding horses, flinging softballs, bashing away on drum sets: on the television commercials, they are pugnacious and utterly winning. They want to be “One Less,” they chant — one less victim of cervical cancer. Get vaccinated with Gardasil, they urge their sisters. Protect yourselves against the human papillomavirus, or H.P.V., which causes cervical cancer.

Uh, has the author of this piece ever seen ANY other pharmaceutical commercial? I mean, if I never see one more person jumping through meadows of sunflowers, swimming with dolphins, and floating on rainbows because they have some medicine to help control some condition, it’ll be too soon. So, what’s the problem? I know I’d be pretty pleased if I never had to worry about some of the most common strains of HPV again (and thanks to my last shot of Gardasil yesterday, I won’t!).

They continue:

Will parents of sons consent to a three-shot regimen that has been marketed as benefiting girls? How do you pitch that to Gardasil Boy’s parents?

Think altruism. Responsibility. Chivalry, even? Oh, and yes: some explicit details about genital warts and sexual transmission.

Oh no! The poor boys! Having to take a “girl’s shot”! Whatever will they do?

I think the author of this piece forgot that, aside from providing personal protection against whatever you’ve been vaccinated against, shots are also for public health. As in, herd immunity. You vaccinate enough people against something, and soon, instances of whatever condition will drop dramatically, even among those who haven’t been vaccinated.

And, last I checked, guys were still able to get genital warts.

But at least Lisa Lippman gets it:

“If there was a vaccine I could take that would get rid of prostate cancer, why wouldn’t I?” said Lisa Lippman, a Manhattan real estate broker with three sons. “If there was a vaccine that sons could get that would get rid of breast cancer, most parents wouldn’t hesitate. But cervical cancer is the ‘sex cancer.’ ”

And as a last note, please pay attention to the disturbing, yet hilarious last quote in the article. Apparently, this woman’s son will not only not be having sex until he gets married, but he’ll have to be married a LONG TIME before he has sex. Who knows how long that’ll be. But with that attitude, her future daughter-in-law will probably HAVE to be a virgin, so why get the shot? Yuck.

So, I’m not at all shocked to learn that presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, has officially endorsed Colorado’s “Human Life Amendment” this week. The ballot initiative, if approved by Colorado voters this fall, would define personhood as beginning when an egg is fertilized. Not implanted in the wall of the uterus, which is actually what jumpstarts the process of telling a woman’s body it’ll be busy, busy.

“This proposed constitutional amendment will define a person as a human being from the moment life begins at conception,” Huckabee said in a statement.

“With this amendment, Colorado has an opportunity to send a clear message that every human life has value,” Huckabee said. “Passing this amendment will mean the people of Colorado will protect the sanctity of life from conception until natural death occurs.”

The initiative, if approved by voters in November, would extend state constitutional protections to every fertilized egg, guaranteeing the right to life, liberty, equality of justice and due process of law.

Yeah, but women… nope, they don’t get those same rights. We know what bills like this mean to abortion rights.

But what would a law like this mean for fertility centers where multiple eggs may be fertilized but not all are implanted for IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies? Would discarding the unused eggs merit a capital crime, sending doctors and potential parents-to-be off to the is slammer?

And why, praytell, is the focus always on what women produce? What of semen? Why is there no outrage when men simply discard their precious sperm into the wind after a lonely night at home?

Seriously. This is ridiculous. I’ll take my eggs scrambled, please. How do you want yours?

Yesterday, Wednesday the 27th, Virginia Senator Ken Cuccinelli (a staunch anti-choicer who barely won reelection this term) proposed an amendment to the state budget that would prohibit state funding for Planned Parenthood.

One of our amazing Senators and supporters, Senator Janet Howell, spoke in support of Planned Parenthood and all the valuable services it provides to Virginia women and families everyday. However, the amendment passed with a tied vote that was broke by our Republican Lt. Governor Bill Bolling.

As a resident of Virginia and an employee of Planned Parenthood that works in Virginia, I am outraged by this. This is not the first time my state’s anti-choice legislators have singled out Planned Parenthood and I am sure it will not be the last.

Luckily, we still have time to stop this awful amendment. The Senate is doing the final reading of the budget today. If you are a Virginia state resident, please contact your Senator and let them know why this amendment must go. Virginia’s women and families are at stake.

Alright, this isn’t really related to reproductive justice directly, but we do address body image issues for young women on here from time to time. The body image message of this video is confusing, to say the least. I don’t understand why anyone would want to look like a human topiary or a poodle while exercising, but maybe someone else out there has a logical explanation.

Seriously. WTF?

Just read it, you’ll find it gross too:

Kansas Republican Sen. Sam Brownback is applauding a vote in the Senate that would ban abortion funding at Indian health care service facilities.

It passed as an amendment to the Indian Healthcare Improvement Act.

“This is an important victory for the cause of life,” said Brownback. “In the midst of the national debate about abortion, we have come to some fundamental agreements. We should not be using American tax dollars to fund abortion.”

The amendment was sponsored by Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana. Brownback was a cosponsor.

from Prime Buzz.

Yeah, you’re real cool, Brownback, real cool. Picking on the little guy is totally a class act.

Advocates for Youth and Choice USA are asking you to help gather signatures from your peers on a petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Here’s why:

The Center for Reproductive Rights - a legal advocacy organization that promotes and defends the reproductive rights of women worldwide - recently filed a lawsuit to force the FDA to reverse its decision that restricts young women’s access to Plan B without a prescription.

That’s why we need your help to continue to collect signatures to keep the pressure on the FDA and make sure that ALL women have access to emergency contraception - not just women 18 and older!

Here’s what you can do:

1) Sign the online petition and forward it to your friends, encouraging them to also sign the petition and pass it on to their friends!

2) Start by collecting 25 signatures on your campus and in your community (click here to download the Petition Kit in PDF) and send them to our office by March 7th via fax or mail. Encourage your friends to do the same!

Our goal is to collect 10,000 signatures by March 7th!

Mail or fax to:

Molly Dilworth
Choice USA 1317 F Street NW, Suite 501
Washington DC, 20004
Fax: 202.965.7701

I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve heard people say something like, “Oh, you know, McCain is pretty moderate, so him winning the election would be okay.”

Sure, if consistently voting against legal abortion and contraceptives is moderate.

Check out the part where he has no idea if condoms can stop the spread of STI’s.

I’m Catholic. I’m pro-choice. And I support pro-choice candidates with my votes. According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, I’m on the highway to hell.

I love the church I attend, and feel like part of a strong community of compassionate, progressive Catholics there. I know we’ve bandied about on this before, so I won’t go into the debate of the issue, but it’s strange to me how my church, which is part of the local diocese, doesn’t seem to espouse any of these Church judgements on me. I guess that’s why I keep going. Hat tip to Feministe.

This disturbing bit of news was snagged from RH Reality Check:

In Canada, under that stupid old “concience clause” crap that we have here in the States, doctors can now refuse to perform pap smears on unmarried women.

Pap smears. You know, that procedure we all know and love that can let us know if we’ve got HPV or cervical cancer. The one that can save our lives if it catches cancer at an early stage? Yeah. The same one.

Because apparently, performing a pap smear on an unmarried woman totally implies that you support her decision to have premarital sex, and that’s really, really, really bad. Am I wrong in drawing the conclusion that these doctors refusing pap smears see HPV and cervical cancer as a punishment for engaging in sex before marriage? Cause that’s what I’m getting from this, and it’s really pissing me off.

What are you doing this summer? Have any fun plans? Are you seeking an adventure? Do you want to be involved with reproductive justice issues while exploring the United States by bicycle? Well my co-worker Nora Dye has created an AMAZING opportunity, “Wanderlust” a reproductive justice bike tour from New Orleans to New York City!

From May 24th-July 1st, 2008 you can have the opportunity of a lifetime by sharing the results of the Pro-Choice Public Education Project’s recent research on the concerns of young women of color as well as the experiences and projects of you, the riders!

By traveling the country and listening to those organizations and people who are fighting for reproductive, sexual, and political autonomy, you will gather knowledge and information, forge connections between people who could mutually benefit from knowing each other, and get inspired and excited by the amazing communities, ideas, and projects that are being manifested every day!

Please check out this exciting opportunity and consider joining in the exploration of the politics of sexuality from the bayou to the big city!

Got questions? Email them to wanderlust@protectchoice.org and ask for an application!