On June 11, 2010 the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) and Law Students for Reproductive Justice (LSRJ) co-sponsored a reproductive law and policy training in Washington, D.C. Sixty people attended, representing 27 different law schools and 28 different organizations.

The event was a unique opportunity for attendees to tap into NWLC’s and LSRJ’s wealth of knowledge. Mariko Miki from LSRJ provided participants with a background of LSRJ and offered support for students interested in starting or reinvigorating a chapter at their law school. Judy Waxman, Vice President of Health and Reproductive Rights at NWLC, and Beth Sousa, Senior Counsel at NWLC, explained how health care reform affects women’s access to health care, particularly abortion. It was inspiring to hear about the benefits women can expect from health reform, and that despite some setbacks, no one has given up on keeping abortion coverage in health insurance benefit plans. (more…)

The first time I answered the question, “Nice to meet you. What do you do?” with the complete, whole truth I found it hard to breathe. I waited to see the faces change, the hand pull away. That was because, until that moment, when I first met people, I never revealed my full job description. To my relief, no one attacked me, judged me, or even looked at me strangely. I didn’t lie, but I definitely had perfected a watered down, vague answer, a safe answer, to that dreaded question. However this time, taking a deep breath, I declared proudly, “I work in women’s reproductive healthcare. I am a business manager for offices that provide reproductive health care and we specialize in abortion care.” Huge sigh of relief.

Why I couldn’t just say this from the beginning was something that I had reflected on constantly since my job had transformed into a career. I was certainly not embarrassed about what I had chosen to do every day for a living. In fact, in direct contrast, I was (and am) proud to put my values in action working in a field about which I care deeply and for a cause I believe in, heart and soul. However, my beliefs regarding women’s healthcare did not form based on the field I work in, but rather from where I grew up.

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So, you’re in love.  I understand.  And s/he’s amazing, I know, we’ve most of us been there.  You share an indescribable connection of the heart and soul, a connection you’d soon like to develop into heart, body, and soul.  Yes, most of us have been there, too.  First, though, you have the “talk,” and then s/he tells you those three little words… I have HPV.

Unfortunately, more and more of us are, or will be, similarly situated yet again. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States.  According to the CDC, 80% of American women will be infected with HPV by age 50.  There are over 100 types of HPV, thusly named because some types can cause warts (a.k.a. papillomas) on different areas of the body, including the sexy parts.  Speaking of which, according to the CDC, at least 50% of sexually active people will be infected with genital HPV, over 6 million new cases per year.  Over 30 types of HPV can be transmitted through some kind of sexual contact (including all your best moves, original recipe to extra spicy).  Two types of HPV cause 90% of genital warts cases, and another two cause 75% of cervical cancer cases.

There are likely to be just as many reasons HPV is so prolific as there are terrifying statistics I just threw at you.  For example, there is no test for men, no treatment which eliminates it, and most infections go undetected because there are often no symptoms.  Vaccines are only (so far) FDA-approved for young people (under 26), and most effective when given prior to any sexual contact.  The virus is transmitted through skin-to-skin contact, meaning condoms are effective, but not as effective as with other viruses (i.e., HIV).  A person’s body can usually fight the infection, mostly within a year or two; however, the persistent virus can cause cancer.  With that in mind, let’s get back to your intractable situation.

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When a friend of mine got married a few years ago, we joked that she and her new husband should take every opportunity available to consummate their new marriage.  Our goal?  For her not to have to be deployed to Iraq.  As a member of the armed forces, we knew that if she got pregnant, she wouldn’t have to go and wouldn’t be placed in harm’s way.  What we didn’t consider was what getting pregnant would have cost her in advancing her military career.

Getting pregnant in the military is a difficult situation for our servicewomen for a multitude of reasons.  First, her pregnancy could get her court-marshaled and possibly discharged, depending on her commander’s policy, as evidenced by Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo’s policy in northern Iraq.  At the very least, she risks her ability to move up the ranks in a military system that is already difficult for women to ascend.  One of the options not currently available to a servicewoman is the ability to safely terminate her pregnancy while she is on a military base, either within the US borders, where abortions are legal, or in other countries, where access to abortion may be restricted by that country’s laws.  Because of restrictions in U.S. law, servicewomen are unable to go to military hospitals and have an abortion performed safely, even if it’s with their own money.  Until recently, these women even had difficulty with getting consistent access to emergency contraception, which had not been previously considered a medication important enough to be carried at all military facilities.  In essence, the very citizens protecting our freedoms against those who oppose the freedoms enjoyed by Americans, are unable to exercise a right they risk their lives to protect.

While there is currently new legislation being proposed that would allow for privately-funded abortions at military facilities, this situation is a reminder that access to abortion is only part of a larger framework of reproductive justice.

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When I was in high school, I distinctly remember a middle aged woman with a willowy figure, elegant posture, and shoulder length black hair come to our school to talk about Post Abortion Syndrome. My friends and I were sitting in our crowded auditorium, only vaguely listening at first, but as she spoke about the abortion she had in her early 20s, I was touched by her sadness. She said every October, she falls back into depression (that’s when she had the abortion) and year after year, whenever she went shopping, she would think about the daughter she lost when she saw little shoes or dresses for girls.

Today, I think this woman, while I feel concerned for her well-being, may have been mentally unstable and was in no position to come to our public high school to give a lecture. This was a scare tactic and at the time, it worked, because I thought PAS was a legitimate medical concern not usually voiced in the media. (more…)

I am not a worthless piece of trash, but rather a valuable asset to people, families, the community—and the world. I hope that my story will help to alleviate the disgraceful practice of shackling women during labor, which in turn will help alleviate the negative behaviors of prison guards and hospital staff toward women who give birth while incarcerated.—Kimberly Mays

As of this spring, thanks to women like Kimberly Mays and fellow reproductive justice advocates across the state, Washington state can boast two large victories against the practice of shackling pregnant incarcerated women. On March 23, 2010, the Governor signed into law HB 2747 which bans the use of restraints on female inmates in labor or post-partum recovery, making Washington only the 7^th state in the nation to pass anti-shackling legislation. Just a couple of weeks ago, Legal Voice, a women’s rights organization based out a of Seattle, sent a press-release confirming that on May 3, 2010, the federal district court agreed that shackling laboring women violates the Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. The Department of Corrections also agreed to pay plaintiff, Casandra Brawley, $125,000 to settle her lawsuit. But, nationwide, jails and prisons and immigration detention centers continue to put non-violent women in restraints such as leg irons and wrist shackles during childbirth. Pregnant women are shackled on the way to the hospital, while they are giving birth, and during recovery.

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