State Senator Jason Rapert, sponsor of the "Human Heartbeat Protection Act." Yesterday, the Arkansas State Senate passed a law banning abortion after the 12th week of pregnancy; this is by far the most restrictive abortion ban in the country. The justification for this law, which was passed by a republican-run legislature over the veto of Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe, is that a fetal heartbeat can be detected at 12 weeks. An earlier draft ... Read More

Jessica Valenti is sick and tired of the question, “Why are you so angry?” We’re all aware of the “angry feminist” stereotype that’s been bandied about for decades; anger and aggression are prominent qualities of the caricature version of feminism. This unfair and false characterization is often invoked by those who would silence the voices of feminists, dismissing their views as irrational or otherwise ... Read More

As Roe v. Wade turns 40 this year, the discussion about reproductive rights in America is as heated as ever. With an election cycle that ushered in a slew of despicable comments about rape from politicians and pundits alike, the disparity between those for and against abortion in America became even more abundantly clear. But it turns out that all those misinformed comments about sexual assault and women’s health weren’t very ... Read More

  Interesting news from the North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill--a study being published in the February issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology by Dr. David Grimes and his team of researchers show that between the years 1998 and 2005, the risk of death associated with live births (full-term pregnancies) was significantly higher than those of documented legal abortions. Though the risk of death is low for both procedures, live ... Read More

  Wednesday night I celebrated the anniversary of Roe v. Wade (the '73 case that legalized abortion) by attending author Jennifer Baumgardner's screening of the documentary she made with Gillian Aldrich entitled, I Had an Abortion, which was released by Women Make Movies. The event was held at Bluestockings, a feminist and activist bookstore on Allen and Stanton st. I must admit, despite having read and loved her modern guide to ... Read More