reproductive justice

Study: Too Many Fat Women Don’t Even Know They’re Fat

by Cara November 23, 2010

So there’s a fascinating new study out about how women perceive their weight, with the results being that a significant proportion of women who were deemed “overweight” by the BMI did not view themselves as such. Cue the body-shaming, junk reporting, and photographs of fat1 people with their heads cut off. In the most neutral [...]

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Tuesday March in Pittsburgh in Response to the Death of Amy Lynn Gillespie

by Cara November 22, 2010

Last week, a post I wrote about the death of Amy Lynn Gillespie generated a lot of attention. Ms. Gillespie, who was being detained Allegheny County Jail for violating the conditions of her work release by becoming pregnant, died after being denied timely medical care for her treatable condition. As I argued in the post, [...]

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Woman Jailed for Becoming Pregnant, Then Died From Lack of Medical Treatment

by Cara November 18, 2010

Trigger Warning for prison abuse, specifically denial of medical treatment, and reproductive rights violations. At the beginning of this year, a 27-year-old woman named Amy Lynn Gillespie died (h/t @DCdebbie). She was 18 weeks pregnant, and died in a hospital after being transferred there by Allegheny County Jail, which was currently detaining her. The problem [...]

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Girls’ First Sexual Encounters Are More Likely to Be Unprotected. How About We Ask Why?

by Cara November 9, 2010

Trigger warning for discussions of sexual violence, victim-blaming. This morning I came across a post at a CNN blog about a new study (which has not yet been peer reviewed) on teen sex and sexual health. The aspect of the study making headlines both at CNN and elsewhere is this: “Girls take more chances during [...]

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Man Who Tried to Force Woman Into Abortion at Gunpoint Charged with Attempted Murder of Fetus

by Cara October 26, 2010

Trigger Warning for discussions of intimate partner violence and attempted forced abortion. On October 6, Dominic Holt-Reid allegedly pulled a gun on his pregnant girlfriend Yolanda Burgess and forced her against her will to drive to an abortion clinic for a scheduled abortion she no longer wanted to have. Thankfully, she was able to slip [...]

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Report Shows HIV-Positive Women in Chile Forcibly Sterilized, Denied Medical Treatment

by Cara October 22, 2010

Trigger Warning for descriptions of forcible sterilization and denied medical treatment, as well as discussion of other forms of discrimination against HIV-positive people and references to sexual violence. A huge issue for women worldwide is the continued spread of HIV/AIDS. Globally, women make up about half of all people living with HIV or AIDS, and [...]

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As DA, Colorado Senate Candidate Said Alleged Rape Could Be Seen As “Buyer’s Remorse”

by Cara October 11, 2010

I recently wrote about a case out of Michigan where a prosecutor declined to file charges in a rape case by saying there was no element of force or coercion, despite the victim’s testimony and the corroboration of key parts of her statement by one of the accused parties. While it turned out that the [...]

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Australian Women Report Sexual Abuse in Victoria Psychiatric Wards

by Cara October 4, 2010

Trigger Warning for discussions of violence against women with disabilities, and discussions of sexual violence particularly within the context of psychiatric units. Last week, news broke in the Australian state of Victoria that women who are patients in psychiatric wards are being routinely sexually harassed and assaulted by men who are patients in those same [...]

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North Carolina: Consent to Sex Cannot Be Withdrawn

by Cara September 23, 2010

Trigger Warning for rape apologism, specifically within a legal context, and descriptions of rape. Today I came across a story about rape charges being dropped against a high school student and star football player in Charlotte, NC. Stories about rape charges being dropped always interest me, not because the reasons for dropping charges are always [...]

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On Birth Rape, Definitions, and Language Policing

by Cara September 16, 2010

Trigger Warning for discussions of rape apologism, specifically related to birth rape and other medical rape, and graphic descriptions of rape, including birth rape. This post has been slowly brewing over the past week, as I was sincerely hoping to not feel ultimately compelled to write it. I note this simply because in the meantime, [...]

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