Reconciling abortion with my motherhood
At some point during my own pregnancy I knew I would confront my pro-choice politics, not because I had had an abortion in the past but because I could have, and because I believe so strongly in my right to do so. Because I dedicated some years of my career to the pro-choice movement; because [...]
That Homebirth Study in South Australia
Planned home and hospital births in South Australia, 1991-2006: differences in outcomes Robyn Kennare, Marc Keirse, Graeme Tucker and Annabelle Chan, MJA 192(2), 18 January 2009 You’re going to be hearing a lot from the Australian Medical Association about That Homebirth Study In South Australia, so here are a few actual facts to be getting [...]
Things that are not our business, Duggar edition.
I don’t suppose anyone has a cite for this? “Every time you have a pregnancy, the placenta implants in the uterus and that implantation site cannot be used again because it’s scarred,” said Dr. Diane Harper of the University of Missouri in Kansas City. [source] There’s also a bizarre statement about how the “weakened” pelvic [...]
Friday Hoyden: Sister Donna Quinn
Sister Donna Quinn, a Dominican nun, has been involved in pro-choice activism in the United States for many years. From escorting women into clinics and protesting anti-choice legislation to fighting for women’s access to all levels of the religious hierarchy, she has been a long-term champion for women’s rights. She is now under fire from [...]
Rally in Canberra September 7: Homebirth: What’s the Crime? Guest post by Janet Fraser
This is a guest post by Janet Fraser, National Convenor of Joyous Birth, the Australian homebirth network, also blogging at Looking Glass Alice. It is cross-posted here. With a background in academia and feminist activism, Janet brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to running the world’s only forums solely devoted to homebirth. HOMEBIRTH: WHAT’S [...]
On late-term abortions and sex ed/contraception
Something that’s been bugging me in the increased abortion talk after George Tiller’s assassination is the derail into talking about sex ed and contraceptive availability. Sex ed and contraceptive availability and looking after babies are extremely important things. They’re vital. And they will also do nothing to reduce the rate of late-term abortion. (They won’t [...]
A Tale of Two Murders, by Guest Hoyden Slave2TehTink
Slave2TehTink is normally found making posts with no redeeming social value whatsoever[1] in her LiveJournal, or posting pictures of her small menagerie on her flickr. Offline she lurks on the Civil War battlefields of northern Virginia with her fawn Doberman Tink, and knits. Last Sunday, Scott Roeder took the “law” into his own hands and [...]
Feminism and birth in Australia: moving from stat-wrangling towards a reproductive choice perspective
I’ve been looking for the most recent official stats on homebirth and hospital birth mortality in Australia. I can’t find 2007 or 2008 figures, but there are 2006 figures available. Australia’s mothers and babies 2006 The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Perinatal Statistics Unit, Published December 2008. Most births in Australia occur in hospitals, [...]
Some women are afraid of being mummy-tracked; others are afraid of being fired.
One of the ways of starkly illustrating an aspect of the gender divide is DeBecker’s quote: “At core, men are afraid women will laugh at them, while at core, women are afraid men will kill them.” I think there’s a class and mothering parallel here: Middle-class women are afraid of being mummy-tracked; working-class women are [...]
Quickhit: Maternity Services Review and Homebirth
Further to our thread on the Maternity Services Review, check out ABC Unleashed: Homebirth ban, by Alison Leemen The Maternity Services Review report, released last weekend, was an attempt to delivery continuity of care and midwife-led services to more Australian women. In so doing, it has stripped that very same care and service from the [...]
Forced-birther blames bushfires on abortion law reform
There’s always one, isn’t there? The fatuous godbag woman-hater who blames disasters on the Wrath of God. We saw them after Hurricane Katrina, and now they’re starting to waggle their loathsome little fins in the wake of the horrific Victorian bushfires. Today, it’s Pastor Danny Nalliah. From the fucking “Catch the Fire Ministries“, if you [...]
Women as wheelbarrows: Italian PM wants woman in coma alive as fetus container
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in consultation with the Vatican, is trying to overturn a court order to remove the feeding tubes from a woman who has been in a coma for 17 years and been assessed as having no hope of any recovery. Why? Because she’s fertile. The other day, Pavlov’s Cat referred to [...]
Douchebag oTY contestant: “Uh oh” nurse routinely pulls IUDs out
Turns out yesterday’s Douchebag of the Year contestant has a competitor. Already.
Backpedalling and finger pointing while spinning like a top
It’s finally sunk in, apparently, that the long-claimed link between having an abortion and breast cancer simply doesn’t stand up to rigorous scrutiny. Forced-birthers are backing away from the claim that there is a direct link BUT don’t cheer too fast: they’re staunchly proclaiming that feminists are still teh eevil indirectly! Here’s one Karen Malec [...]
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