Blogs Examine State Ballot Initiatives, Gender Violence, Contraception As Campaign Issue, Women's Rights

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Public Health;  Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 03 Nov 2008 - 3:00 PST

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The following is a summary of selected women's health-related blog entries.

~ "Amendment 48 Goes Too Far," Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Col.), RH Reality Check: In a post about the possible implications of Colorado's Amendment 48 -- which would define a fertilized egg as a person with full legal rights under the state constitution -- Schroeder writes that approval of the ballot measure "would open more than 20,000 statutes and regulations to re-interpretation by the courts and lawyers." The measure states that fertilized eggs would have "inalienable rights, equality of justice and due process of law." Schroeder writes, "Almost every area of the law would be affected, including criminal law, family law, trusts and estates, elder law, tort law, juvenile law, health law and business law." She says that couples could be faced with "unthinkable government investigation" into their reproductive decisions, adding, "Even the proponents of the Amendment admit they don't know all the possible ramifications." If the amendment is approved, it could be used to outlaw in vitro fertilization and many common birth control methods, Schroeder writes. She adds, "Could child welfare agencies be called to investigate abuse of a fertilized egg? Would a fertilized egg have standing to sue a woman for getting chemotherapy for cancer because it might be harmed?" She concludes, "By establishing constitutional rights from the moment of fertilization, Amendment 48 would eliminate a woman's right to make personal, private decisions about her own health care, in consultation with her doctor and family" (Schroeder, RH Reality Check, 10/29).

~ "To Be Free from Gender Violence: Our Most Basic Human Right," Malika Saada Saar, RH Reality Check: "Despite the progress of America as a nation, American women and girls are still subject to sexual and physical abuse that deprives us of our full personhood," Saar writes. She notes that worldwide, "one out of every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime." Saar continues, "Here in the United States, where the privileges and constitutionally protected rights of freedom and equality define our history of struggle, American women and girls do not possess a freedom to live out our full potential -- unencumbered by violence." Too often in the U.S., "vulnerable women and girls hurt as a result of physical or sexual violence are tossed to the criminal justice system," according to Saar. She adds that these women and girls "are not perceived as victims of violence but instead criminals, whores or girls who are out of control." Saar writes that as long as gendered violence against women is "accepted, tolerated and construed as an inevitable consequence of being female, the full promise of individual liberty and equal worth of every person will be denied to women and girls" (Saar, RH Reality Check, 10/29).

~ "Birth Control Becomes A Campaign Issue," Cristina Page, Birth Control Watch: "This election cycle marks the first time since the legalization of contraception that access to birth control has become a campaign issue," Page writes. Although abortion also is being discussed, "along with it, other women's issues are getting attention like equal pay and a broader set of reproductive health issues, including birth control," Page says. In the post, Page parses campaign ads from several races where access to contraception is an issue. The races she examines include the 4th District House race in Colorado, the Washington state gubernatorial race, the 11th District House race in Virginia, the Senate race in New Hampshire, the 15th District House race in Ohio and the 7th District House race in New Jersey. According to Page, "In tight races, the issue may prove decisive" (Page, Birth Control Watch, 10/29).

~ "Not All Politics is Local: Connecting the Dots on Initiated Measure 11," Jessica Arons, Huffington Post blogs: Politicians and advocates who oppose abortion rights "often claim they only want to 'send the issue of abortion back to the states,'" but this "position is a bait-and-switch tactic that should not be trusted," Arons writes. According to Arons, the antiabortion advocates behind this election's state ballot initiatives -- including South Dakota's Measure 11, Colorado's Amendment 48 and California's Proposition 4 -- are "all working with the common goal of undermining Roe [v. Wade] in the short term and reversing it in the long term." Arons adds that backers of these initiatives also are "fully dedicated to the idea that the right to life -- or, more accurately, the right to birth -- is a fundamental right that should be the law of the land, not just the law in some of the land." She continues, "Rather than turning attention, for instance, to providing families with the supports they need to raise healthy children, the antiabortion movement would launch a 50-state referendum on abortion coupled with a national campaign to ban it in the U.S. Constitution or with federal legislation." Arons concludes, "Passing one state initiative will most certainly pave the way for other rollbacks in the states and eventually nationwide. Unless voters in South Dakota, Colorado and California defeat these measures this Election Day, an abortion ban may be coming soon to a place near you" (Arons, Huffington Post blogs, 10/30).

~ "Abortion Providers = Women's Rights Defenders," Katrina Anderson, RH Reality Check: The U.S. should follow recommendations from Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on how states can improve their systems of protecting individuals who defend women's rights, Anderson writes. She states that by doing so, the U.S. "can send a strong statement about its commitment to ensuring reproductive rights as fundamental human rights." Anderson details written testimony submitted to the Commission by Jen Boulanger, the executive director of Allentown Women's Center in Allentown, Pa., about the center's "constant targeting" by antiabortion advocates. Anderson writes that Boulanger and other "human rights activists know that going to the Commission is only the first step in raising awareness about the important role of women's rights defenders in building the large culture of human rights." She continues, "But unless defenders are safe and able to do their jobs, women will continue to be denied their basic human rights, including their rights to equality, to be free from violence and to access reproductive health care including abortion." She concludes, "Providers of women's reproductive rights in the United States deserve not only our gratitude and respect but also a legal framework that protects their security and allows them to do their jobs. The first step is to recognize them as women's rights defenders" (Anderson, RH Reality Check, 10/31).

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