Free birth control? It might not be a fantasy. →
You could qualify for FREE birth control (what better way to celebrate National Women’s Health Week?). Find out here and spread the word to your lady friends.
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Yet by the first half of the 20th century, change seemed to be in the air. In 1930, Pius XII issued the encyclical (papal letter) Casti Connubii (“on chaste wedlock”), which acknowledged that couples could seek pleasure in their sexual relations, so long as the act was still linked to procreation. Then, in 1966, Paul VI’s birth control commission presented its preliminary report to the pope. It held big news: The body had overwhelmingly voted to recommend lifting the prohibition on contraceptives. (The former Archbishop of Brussels, Cardinal Leo Suenens, went so far as to say the church needed to confront reality and avoid another “Galileo case.”)
Catholics rejoiced, and many began using the pill at once. But their hopes were dashed when, in July 1968, Paul VI released an encyclical titled Humanae Vitae (“on human life”), reaffirming the contraceptive ban. It turned out that three dissenting bishops on the commission had privately gone to plead with the pope: If the position on contraceptives was changed, they said, the teaching authority of the church would be questioned—the faithful could no longer trust the hierarchy.
Ironically, it was the prohibition on contraception that would help erode the church’s power with European and American Catholics. Laypeople overwhelmingly disregarded it, and bishops throughout Europe undermined it with statements reassuring couples to “follow their consciences.” American bishops were more circumspect, but a survey of Catholic priests in the early ’70s showed that about 60 percent of them believed the prohibition was wrong. Father Andrew Greeley, a noted sociologist, traces the decline in church membership and even vocations to the priesthood in the mid-1970s to Catholics’ disillusionment with the church’s integrity on birth control.
"How the Vatican Almost Embraced Birth Control, Mother Jones
“Three dissenting bishops”
“Three dissenting bishops”
“Three dissenting bishops”
(via forthecatholicgirls)
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FREE ABORTIONS COME INTO FORCE IN FRANCE
As of April 1 women in France will have access to free abortions, while teenage girls will be able to get free and anonymous contraception.The French state will now reimburse 100 percent of the cost of abortions, while girls aged between 15 and 18 have access to free and anonymous birth control.
The change comes as a law voted in late 2012 comes into force.
Until now, French women over 18 could only claim back up to 80 percent for the procedure, which can cost up to 450 euros.
The operations, of which there are around 12,000 a year, will now be fully state-subsidised.
The move to full reimbursement, which was one of French President François Hollande’s 2012 campaign promises and is part of the 2013 social security budget, is designed to improve women’s access to abortions.
And by coupling it with free contraception for younger girls and women, France hopes to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, and thus the number of abortions.
(via FRANCE 24)
*weeps quietly*
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Oklahoma legislature letting employers opt out of contraception coverage because "a woman's identity is in her ability to be a mother...and we are taking that from them" →
More Republican bullshit.
“By allowing them to make their own decisions about their reproductive and economic futures, we’re robbing them of the only label we can fathom them having!”
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With sex ed, contraception–and Plan B–NYC teen pregnancy rate drops →
The ultimate “checkmate, pro-lifers!”
I hope more schools implement the CATCH program soon. Every teenager needs accessible, confidential reproductive health care.
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Messing with a partner’s birth control is just one kind of dating abuse.
This Monday is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. We’ll be wearing orange to bring awareness to this important issue.
Will you join us?
(via becauseiamawoman)
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Talking to Your Partner about Condoms
It’s much smarter to talk about condoms before having sex, but that doesn’t make it easy. Some people — even those who are already having sex — are embarrassed by the topic of condoms. But not talking about condoms affects a person’s safety. Using condoms properly every time is the best protection against sexually transmitted disease (STDs) — even if you’re using another form of birth control like the Pill.
So how can you overcome your embarrassment about talking about condoms? Well, for starters it can help to know what a condom looks like, how it works, and what it’s like to handle one. Buy a box of condoms so you can familiarize yourself.
The next thing to get comfortable with is bringing up the topic of condoms with a partner. Practice opening lines. If you think your partner will object, work out your response ahead of time. Here are some possibilities:
Your partner says: “It’s uncomfortable.”
You might answer this by suggesting a different brand or size. Wearing a condom also may take some getting used to.Your partner says: “It puts me right out of the mood.”
Say that having unsafe sex puts you right out of the mood. Permanently.Your partner says: “If we really love each other, we should trust each other.”
Say that it’s because you love each other so much that you want to be sure you’re both safe and protect each other.Your partner says: “Are you nervous about catching something?”
The natural response: “Sometimes people don’t even know when they have infections, so it’s better to be safe.”Your partner says: “I won’t enjoy sex if we use a condom.”
Say you can’t enjoy sex unless it’s safe.Your partner says: “I don’t know how to put it on.”
This one’s easy: “Here, let me show you.”Timing
After you’ve familiarized yourself with condoms and practiced your routine, you’ll want to pick the right time to bring up the subject with your partner. A good time to do this is long before you’re in a situation where you might need a condom. When people are caught up in the heat of the moment, they may find they’re more likely to be pressured into doing something they regret later.
Try bringing up the topic in a matter-of-fact way. You might mention that you’ve bought some condoms and checked them out. Offer to bring the unopened condoms along. Or suggest that your partner buy his or her favorite brand (and then bring some of yours with you, just to be on the safe side). Offer to try different types of condoms to find which works best for both of you.
Make it clear that you won’t have sex without a condom. If someone threatens you or says they’d rather break up than wear a condom, it’s time for you to say good-bye. Tell the person you won’t have sex with someone who doesn’t respect you or themselves enough to use protection.
Here are some tips for using condoms:
- Check the expiration date (condoms can dry and crack if they’re old). Don’t use a condom if it seems brittle or sticky — throw it away and get another one.
- Choose condoms made of latex, which is thought to be more effective in preventing STDs. (If one of you has an allergy to latex, use polyurethane condoms instead.)
- If you use lubricants with condoms, always use water-based ones. Shortening, lotion, petroleum jelly, or baby oil can break down the condom.
- Open the condom packet with your hands, not your teeth, and open it carefully so you don’t tear the condom.
- Choose a condom with a reservoir tip to catch semen after ejaculation. Lightly pinch the top of the condom and place it at the top of your (or your partner’s) penis. This gets rid of trapped air, which can cause a condom to burst.
- Roll the condom down until it’s completely rolled out — if it’s inside out, throw it away and start over with a new condom.
- Remove the condom immediately after ejaculation, before the penis softens. You or your partner should hold the condom at the base of the penis (the part nearest the guy’s body) while he withdraws to prevent the condom from slipping off.
- Slide the condom off the penis, keeping the semen inside. Since condoms can clog the toilet if they are flushed, tie it off or put in a plastic bag (so it’s not a health risk for others) and throw it out.
These aren’t the only tips on discussing and using condoms. If you want more advice, talk to your friends, siblings, or parents. Yes, parents. Not everyone feels comfortable talking about sex with their parents, but lots of teens do. Parents often have the best tips.
Health professionals are also great sources of advice on sex and sexuality. A doctor or nurse practitioner or someone at a local health or family planning clinic can offer you advice — confidentially if necessary.
Of course, the only way to be 100% protected from pregnancy and STDs is abstinence (not having sex of any kind). But if you do decide to have sex, using a condom allows you to protect yourself.
(via rabbleprochoice)
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What would a Romney Victory Mean for Reproductive Rights? →
With Election Day now upon us, it’s worth weighing the impacts of a Mitt Romney win on reproductive rights and healthcare. In general, Romney seems likely to cater to the extreme anti-choice faction of his party.
Here’s a sneak preview of possible scenarios:
- The Supreme Court gets more anti-choice. All of the abortion-related decisions on the court in recent history have been a 5-4 (or 4-5) split, with Justice Anthony Kennedy as the swing vote. The court has four justices in their 70s right now, which means that the next president could have one or more opportunities to appoint new members. Romney has made it clear that he would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned, and would appoint federal judges and Supreme Court justices that feel that way, too. Even if those appointees don’t get to throw out Roe (at least, not right away), they could still make important decisions on state laws currently caught up in the court system, like laws requiring a sonogram before an abortion and other laws that ban abortions after 20 weeks. A Supreme Court ruling upholding those laws could set new precedents for the burdens states are allowed to impose on women seeking an abortion.
- Planned Parenthood loses federal funding. One of the first things a new president gets to do is write a budget, and Romney has pledged to eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood providers immediately. “It will not be part of my budget,” he has said. And it’s not just Planned Parenthood. A Romney-Ryan administration would take away Title X family planning funds from any healthcare provider that also provides abortions.
- Healthcare reform gets overturned. Romney says he wants to toss out “Obamacare”—except for the parts that people like, such as making it illegal to deny coverage to someone because of a preexisting condition. The problem is, the parts Romney doesn’t like are required to make the other parts work. There are a lot of provisions in healthcare reform that are particularly helpful for women. For one, I’ve known women who were told that heavy periods or cramps qualified as a “pre-existing condition,” which the reform bill would outlaw. More broadly, under Obamacare, insurance companies can no longer charge you more just because you’re a woman—a practice known as “gender rating.” Birth control and other preventative care are now available without a co-payment. You can stay on your parents’ healthcare until you’re 26, which is particularly useful for women, who go to the doctor more often than men.
- There’s no more co-pay-free birth control. Even if Romney doesn’t succeed in overturning healthcare reform, he has singled out the requirement that insurers cover contraception as an “assault on religion” that “will end” if he becomes president. Paul Ryan has promised that the birth control mandate “will be gone” on “day one” of their administration.
- There are stricter limits on federal funding for abortions. Last year, GOP House members—including Paul Ryan—tried to pass a law that would have redefined rape as only including “forcible rape”—which would likely exclude statutory rape and possibly date/drugged/drunk rape. This is important, because federal laws dealing with the use of government funds for abortions have typically included exemptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act also includes other new limits, like barring tax credits for employers who choose to offer a health plan that covers abortion and making it illegal to use your own tax-exempt health savings account to pay for an abortion.
- The Global Gag Rule returns. Romney has said he will reinstate this rule, also known as the “Mexico City Policy,” that bars any US-funded organization working abroad not only from providing abortions, but from offering referrals or even discussing abortion as an option.
- Parental consent laws are federalized. In 2005, 2007, and 2011, Paul Ryan cosponsored the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, a bill that would make it illegal to take a minor to another state to avoid parental notification and consent laws for an abortion in her home state. Under the bill, a minor’s parents must be notified in writing at least 24 hours before she can have an abortion.
- Hospitals are allowed to deny women access to abortion, even if their lives are in danger. Under current law, any hospital accepting Medicare or Medicaid and affiliated with a religious institution that refuses to provide abortion care under any circumstance is legally required to transfer a woman who needs a live-saving abortion to a hospital that will. But last year, the House passed another bill that Ryan cosponsored, the Protect Life Act, which, if passed, would allow hospitals to refuse to “participate in” or “provide referrals” for abortions.
(Source: stfuprolifers)
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Study: Free birth control leads to fewer abortions
WASHINGTON (AP) — Free birth control led to dramatically lower rates of abortions and teen births, a large study concluded Thursday, offering strong evidence for how a bitterly contested Obama administration policy could benefit women’s health.
The project tracked more than 9,000 women in St. Louis, many of them poor or uninsured. They were given their choice of a range of contraceptive methods at no cost — from birth control pills to goof-proof options like the IUD or a matchstick-sized implant.
When price wasn’t an issue, women flocked to the most effective contraceptives — the implanted options, which typically cost hundreds of dollars up-front to insert. These women experienced far fewer unintended pregnancies as a result, reported Dr. Jeffrey Peipert of Washington University in St. Louis in a study published Thursday.
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Things to remember when you vote this year.
I know that in the US, we have remarkably short memories. So I’ve thrown together some things that I really, really hope everyone remembers at the polls this year. These are all things that have happened in 2012 - seriously.- Michigan Pushes Horrifying Fetal Remains Bill
- To Paul Ryan, “Rape is just another method of conception”
- The 5 Most Ridiculous Reactions to Free Birth Control
- Sex, Lies, and Limbaugh
- 3 Republican Lies About the Birth Control Mandate
- Your Birth Control Is Now Free – Thanks, Obamacare!
- Todd Akin Makes Ridiculous Rape Remarks…And He’s Not The First
- Paul Ryan: Rape Is Just Another Method of Conception
- Texas Defunds Family Planning
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Why use birth control? Why not get sterilized? Why even take the risk of having to go through an abortion.
I am 18. They will not do any sort of surgical sterilization on me. In my state you have to be 21 years old and have 3 kids for them to even think about approving your application. And even with a Tubal ligation proximately 2% of women get pregnant after wards. I will have to wait until my endimetriosis is bad enough for a doctor to tell me a hysterectomy would be the best option.
And abortions are not risky. “Researchers found that women were about 14 times more likely to die during or after giving birth to a live baby than to die from complications of an abortion.” (SOURCE)
I don’t want to sound at all like I’m pressuring you to change your birth control usage, but would you be able to get Essure or its generic counterparts? It’s a non-surgical, permanent method with a failure rate of less than 1%. There’s an explanation with pictures here.
(Source: abbyboo-boo)
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Cheap birth control options.
Because these options exist, and because your sexual and reproductive life is your business and yours alone, you can pay for your own birth control, with your own money.
- Sprintec is avaliable from Walmart pharmacies, without a prescription. This cost is $9 for 30 days, or a 90 day supply for $24. Tri-Sprintec is avaliable in a 30 day supply for $9, as well. Sprintec is the generic version of Ortho-Cyclen, and Tri-Sprintec is the generic verison of Ortho-Tricyclen. These prescriptions are the EXACT SAME THING as the name brand, but cost less because generic companies don’t have to worry about advertising costs.
These same offers are avaliable from Kroger, Target, and Sam’s Club. If you’re having trouble locating these prescriptions on their lists, you can click “Ctrl-F” and type in Sprintec and they’ll show up for you.
- Northwest Pharmacy offers cheap birth control options that can be purchased online. There’s also some more birth control options on the site here.
- There are websites that offer free condoms. Places like Planned Parenthood offer free condoms, too, if you really can’t afford them.
Many Planned Parenthood locations also offer their services on a sliding scale, so you may be able to get longer-lasting birth control at a lower cost. There are even stories of Planned Parenthood giving away birth control for free, so always ask.
If you have insurance, follow this guide to find out if your birth control is covered. If it isn’t now, it likely will be in the next year or two. Read more here.
A few abortion funds can also help with the cost.
a-war-you-cannot-win linked to one website with free condoms, and Googling “free condoms” comes up with many more!
Always look into generics!
Here’s a coupon for $10 off Plan B, good at any commercial pharmacy!
- Sprintec is avaliable from Walmart pharmacies, without a prescription. This cost is $9 for 30 days, or a 90 day supply for $24. Tri-Sprintec is avaliable in a 30 day supply for $9, as well. Sprintec is the generic version of Ortho-Cyclen, and Tri-Sprintec is the generic verison of Ortho-Tricyclen. These prescriptions are the EXACT SAME THING as the name brand, but cost less because generic companies don’t have to worry about advertising costs.
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