Freedom of the [anti-choice] people

Check this out!

Bush aims attacks on women, cutting birth control
"In mid-July, a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) draft memorandum came to public view that proposed ominous new regulations to undercut contraceptive services and reproductive health care. All hospitals, clinics and medical schools that receive HHS grants and provide family planning services would have to hire employees even if these individuals oppose abortion or birth control. The health-care providers would have to swear in writing to comply with this policy to obtain HHS funding.

This affects almost every U.S. hospital, as nearly all receive public funding. States could lose federal grants if they required health-care entities or individuals to provide abortion and birth control services.

The regulations include another dangerous provision: Abortion is redefined in such an overly broad way as to include many popular and effective forms of prescription birth control, including pills, patches, intrauterine devices and even emergency contraception. The document deliberately misnames them “abortifacients” (abortion-causing) when, in fact, they are birth control methods."

Seriously, just TRY to take away our rights...go ahead. Try it.

Linkin' Logs

Here's a little linking for ya!

Btw, if there's anything that you'd like to see us blog about on here, feel free to leave a comment with some ideas and we'll try to work those in. Thanks!

Dalit Woman Commits Suicide to Evade Rape Attempt
Despair Drives Suicide Attacks by Iraqi Women
Feminism and the Tube - think London, not your living room
Q&A: The Pregnant Man - now this is some serious science (and a really interesting story)!! good for him!!
Female Kidney Transplant Recipients Are More Likely To Reject Male Donor Organs
President Nominates Woman Army General for Fourth Star

And this one is just because I can't help but laugh a little...not because I think it's funny, but because seriously??? Although it is Iowa... ;)
Town Fireworks Display Accident in Iowa Injures 12

Readership

Dag yo. We have to up the readership on here!! If you know of anyone who might be interested in hearing more about women's rights and things a'happening in the world, please forward this on to them!!

We sure would appreciate it. :)

Newbie is here!

Hey all just thought I would say hi and that I'm excited to be blogging with Cassie! She's got some great views and insights on the matter of gender differences and what we can do to spike up the awareness of these inequalities! I figured I'd start off by just saying hi and I'll post more later! Until then..... :)

A newbie to the site!

I wanted to let everyone know that I have been feeling incredibly bad about my lack of posting to this site - therefore, I've invited a fellow feminist to blog on here as well! Megan has many good ideas and isn't afraid to be outspoken, so she should be a great addition. Stay tuned for more!

Linkin' it up

I decided to post some links to some interesting articles or Web sites. Check 'em out!

Vatican to Excommunicate Female Priests
Iraq War Vet Charged in Rape of Mich. Infant Makes Plea Deal
Anti-rape Condom Good But...
Protecting the Right to Abortion an Issue of Safety
Police: 10 Witness Rape, Do Nothing (I realize it's old but it's so shocking that I had to post it!)

Clinics of love

My best friend has been taking a class on gender and violence (such interesting discussions that are stemming out of it!) and recently had to do an interview with someone who works with a rape clinic or battered women's shelter. This got me thinking that I should really do a post about such places, especially since the people who work at these places are AMAZING! The amount of compassion those women and men have is unbelievable. I realize I'm probably speaking to the choir here, so I'll get to the point.

You want a learning experience? Go sit down and talk with someone who works for a rape clinic/battered women's shelter/etc for a few minutes. I haven't had the chance to do this yet, but I really, really want to. I'm guessing that it's going to lead me to volunteering somewhere.

If you're in Minnesota, here are a couple of great places to check out:
Cornerstone (Battered women's shelter)
Neighborhood Involvement Center: Rape and Sexual Abuse Clinic
Planned Parenthood
Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women
Minnesota Domestic Violence Crisis and Support Resources

Remember, if you have been a victim of rape (which is any kind of unwanted sexual contact), please tell someone about it! The easiest way to heal and move on is to talk about it.