A new study from the Guttmacher Institute shows that the nation’s abortion rate in 2008-11 fell to its lowest level since the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing the procedure across the country. What’s behind the decline? From Guttmacher’s press release: “With abortion rates falling in almost all states, our study did not […]
birth control
Into the Lion's Den: Minister Stands Against the Right's War on Women (w/video)
TFN Insider is pleased to present this guest post from Rev. Beth Ellen Cooper of Northwoods Unitarian Universalist Church in The Woodlands north of Houston. Rev. Cooper participated in TFN’s clergy gathering in March in support of women’s access to birth control and state funding for family planning. She blogs regularly for the Houston Chronicle at Keep the Faith. Rev. Cooper also […]
Texas Lawmaker: Sex Ed Gets Teens 'Hot and Bothered,' Leads to Pregnancy
A reporter from the Houston Chronicle/San Antonio Express-News Capitol bureau caught a Texas legislator arguing Tuesday night that sex education gets previously chaste teens so “hot and bothered” that they can’t even use contraception correctly after rushing out the door to do some unauthorized field testing. Check out the audio clip of the conversation among […]
Rape and Pregnancy: Right-Wing Politicians Just. Don't. Get. It.
After last year’s embarrassments, how is it possible that right-wing politicians still say such profoundly ignorant things about rape? We sure don’t know. But Congressman Trent Franks, R-Ariz., did it again today. He was explaining why his proposed legislation banning abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy shouldn’t have exceptions for rape and incest. From the […]
Republican Lawmaker in Oklahoma Wants Politicians Out of Private Lives; What About GOP Lawmakers in Texas?
Oklahoma state Rep. Doug Cox, a physician who has delivered more than 800 babies, is frustrated with his Republican colleagues who want legislation limiting women’s access to both abortion and contraception. In a column in The Oklahoman newspaper, Cox asks with dismay: “What happened to the Republican Party that I joined? The party where conservative […]
