pregnancy

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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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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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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Indianapolis Woman Alleges Brutal Police Beating That Caused Miscarriage

by Cara August 31, 2010

Trigger Warning for descriptions of police violence and forcible miscarriage, as well as discussions of racism and victim-blaming. LaDonna Dixon claims that last June, an Indianapolis police officer beat her severely after she argued with him — even though she was in handcuffs, and even though she says that she told him she was pregnant [...]

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UK Health Group Wants to Test All Pregnant Women for Smoking

by Cara June 24, 2010

Just last week, I was defending the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK for its recommendations regarding age-appropriate sex education. This week, I find myself needing to ask what in the hell they’re thinking. NICE has recommended that all pregnant women should be given carbon monoxide tests in order to determine whether [...]

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New Report Examines Reproductive Health of Urban Native American Women

by Cara May 12, 2010

A new report has been released on the reproductive health of American Indian and Alaska Native women (referred to in the report as AI/AN women, a term I will thus also use here). The full report, Reproductive Health of Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Women, can be found here (pdf) and the executive summary [...]

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Reproductive Coercion Extremely Common Among Victims of Other Forms of Intimate Partner Violence

by Cara April 9, 2010

Trigger Warning for this post and the links within. A new study has been released by the Guttmacher Institute on the subject of reproductive coercion. While a larger study on the same topic was released back in January, this one focuses specifically on cis women who are the victims of other forms of intimate partner [...]

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Anti-Choicers Target Women of Color: How Should Pro-Choicers Respond?

by Cara February 23, 2010

Earlier this month, Renee wrote a post about an Atlanta billboard targeting black women’s reproductive rights by pointing to the higher rates of abortion among black women, and claiming that abortion clinics are attempting to abort black children out of existence. It’s a great post, touching on many things that will come up here, and [...]

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Reproductive Coercion is Sexual Violence

by Cara January 29, 2010

There is a new study which discusses a horribly prevalent but rarely discussed form of intimate partner violence: reproductive coercion. From a press release by The Family Violence Prevention Fund: “Pregnancy Coercion, Intimate Partner Violence and Unintended Pregnancy” is the first quantitative examination of the relationship between intimate partner violence, reproductive coercion and unintended pregnancy. It [...]

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The Today Show Uses Fear-Mongering to Demonize Midwives and Home Births

by Cara September 30, 2009

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy The embedded video above is a fairly recent segment from The Today Show on the rise in midwife-assisted home births. It’s called “The Perils of Midwifery,” and it’s a segment which, it should be noted, uses almost entirely men as reporters and experts. And [...]

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