Equalogy

Posts Tagged ‘Planned Parenthood’

Since I’m all the way in India and can’t celebrate Halloween, I thought I would pass on some costume suggestions from Planned Parenthood of NYC Blog:

From Megan Carpentier, Editor, News & Politics at Air America Media:

• Dress normally. Since STDs often can’t be distinguished with the naked eye, it’ll be up to you to tell people what you are.
• Dress in pink and carry a pink hula hoop all night: you’re a NuvaRing!
• Dress all in copper and put copper pipe cleaners on your head: you’re an IUD!

From the writers at Slate’s Double X blog:

• Draw a calendar on your shirt and carry a bongo drum: You’re the Rhythm Method!
• Drape ivy over your shoulders and paint a big “F” on your shirt: You’re IVF.
• Dress like a baby and attach test tubes to yourself (or drink from them): You’re a Test Tube baby!
• Wear all your winter gear and curl into the fetal position whenever possible: You’re a frozen embryo.

From the pro-choice comic Katie Halper:

• Wear galoshes and carry an oar: You’re roe v wade
• Walk around with a bunch of babies: You’re “abstinence only” sex education
• Wear a Trojan helmet and a clear raincoat: you’re a Trojan condom. Alternative: wear a raincoat and put on a name tag that says “birthplace: Troy”

And a few ideas from the PPNYC staff:

• Wear all black, but then spell out the word “Damn” on your chest with bright green dental floss: You’re a Dental Dam!
• Dress in pink and don a knit cap: You’re a cervical cap!
• Wear all black and attach small pink erasers to your outfit – you’re a rubber!

I’m not as into health care coverage as I should be (considering I’m a new college grad), but I thought I’d present a smattering of blogs and news sites that are telling the truth and making some great points about whether or not abortion will have a future in health care reform.

First the lies:

Amanda Marcotte at RH Reality Check found Fox News spewing lies about how if health care plans include abortion, providers will be forced to perform them.

Planned Parenthood says, not true.

Current law already protects individuals from having to perform abortions if doing so violates their religious or moral beliefs. There is nothing in any of the health care reform proposals that would change current law or would require an individual health care provider to perform abortions.

Jamison Foser at Media Matters debunks the myth that tax-payers will be funding abortion (or why it shouldn’t matter if they do).

The idea that taxpayers shouldn’t pay for insurance that covers medical services they don’t support is fundamentally incompatible with the very concept of insurance. If every interest group wields veto power over the medical care insurance can cover, insurance simply can’t work. If there is a reason to grant such veto power only to those who would use it to prevent insurance coverage of abortions, reporters like Matthews haven’t explained it. (And, no, public opinion does not present such a reason, as recent polling showing strong public support for women’s reproductive health coverage makes clear.)

Everything I have read so far points out over and over again that the majority of health care plans DO cover abortion, and taking that away, will take away a huge part of women’s reproductive rights.

This summary by Jodi Jacobson of where abortion stands in health care was by far the best on catching me up to speed.  She explains how some republicans can’t make the connection between contraception and fewer abortions, and how some pro-choice democrats will allow abortion to be used as a “bargaining chip” which Jacobson translates to: “Women get thrown off the bus.”

Looking for comic relief in this situation? You won’t get any.  Fox also plans to ban an upcoming episode of Family Guy that deals with abortion.

“20th Century Fox, as always, allowed us to produce the episode and then said, ‘You know what? We’re scared to f–king death of this,’” MacFarlane said.

On the bright side, there is plenty going on in terms of grassroots action.  Here are a few that RH Reality Check reccomend.

Planned Parenthood Action Center

National Women’s Law Center

NARAL Pro-Choice America

National Partnership for Women and Families