Videos and Summary Article

I'm really glad we will be addressing this debate in class since it has been such an important topic lately. I was moved by Speir's speech and it reminded me of what we discussed in class last week, of how abortion is not a decision which women take lightly. I thought she presented that point very well and I was also reminded of our talk on whether or not this debate is a waste of time when so much more is happening in our country. It seems like the debate between "prochoice" and "prolife" will never end but I'm not sure how much farther it can be taken. I think the one of the underlying points is that people should be able to use their insurance for what is needed in their specific circumstance and their privacy should be respected.

Reading Week 7

I am firmly against the Pence amendment, and I thought that Rep Jackie Speier really "pwnd" the opposition. The excerpt read from the book was the worst example of "yellow journalism." Speier also makes a good point that abortion is legal here! So like it or not, government funding should support it simply becuase it is the law. I am disappointed that the House has, in fact, voted to restrict funding (I think). The amendment completely misses the big picture: only 3% of clients receive abortions, so the government is restricting funds to the other 97%. That makes a lot of sense. Additionally, becuase Planned Parenthood also offers contraceptives and testing, the amendment could be said to be increasing the number of abortions demanded and reduce the healthy sex practices that we have worked so hard to instill in people. It is frustrating how short-sighted these opponents of Planned Parenthood seem to be.

First of all I don't agree that the bill is of the "highest priority", I agree with congresswoman Speier that this is hardly what is on most people's minds as they search for jobs. The fact is abortion is not bad for women's health and that abortion procedures only account for 3% of Planned Parenthoods services. Planned Parenthood is the primary healthcare provider for many women (as well as men and families) and should not be under attack when the organization alone makes up so little of our budget. From what I can tell the argument for the bill is just political and doesn't really lead us anywhere. Also a recent Daily Show episode addresses this topic really well.

Week 8

I noticed that there would be tax penalty on employers who offer health insurance plans that cover abortion and individuals who buy a health insurance plan of their own that covres abortion. I'm confused here. Will parenthood have both cut of funding and tax penalty? The debate on funding cut involves so many political reasons. I feel that every political organizations wants to maxmize its own benefit on this debate. I mean even though they say they're concerned with women health, they are more concerned about what kind of benefits they can get from the cut of the funding.Abortion has been legal throughout the United States, but different states have placed varying regulations on it, from requiring parental involvement in a minor's abortion to restricting late-term abortions. It seems that people who want to cut the funding focus on that abortion was “a multibillion dollar business” and that “abortion hurts women’s health and puts future children born to women who aborted at significant risk.” However, Planned Parenthood fought back by claiming that there were lies about who they are and what they do. Planned Parenthood insisted that they provided reproductive healthcare, family planning, and sex education for millions by giving its 2009 annual report. It mentions that 3% received abortion services. This does not count a huge percentage. It seems that their idea is that Parenthood should still get federal funding by pointing out their importance on reproductice healthcare.

What I found most surprising in this chapter entitled “Sick and Tired” was the prevalence of double standards. Professional women had more flexibility and support, while working-class women were facing the opposite trend of access to resources. Also, I thought it was interesting what the advent of the pill meant. For instance, it led to increased female college graduation, increased female professional school matriculation rates, and increased age at first marriage rates. The lack of maternal care benefits in private plans is a problem that needs to be addressed as it can have huge implications. Evidence supporting the need for maternal benefits includes the fact that maternity leave before delivery can reduce Caesarean section rates fourfold and extended leave after childbirth can increase the successful establishment of breastfeeding.

I though the article was interesting and informative on the different types of contraceptives that are available, and provided important information that I hadn't been very familiar on. What really struck me was the severity of the side effects of some the contraceptives and exactly how they work. It was very interesting to see how many options for contraceptives there are, the increasing amounts of research going on to improve contraceptives. I also thought it was interesting how different contraceptives may be better for different people based off of their race, religion, and their cultural and moral beliefs.

I think this article is a testament to the progress that has been made and provides some inspiration for progress that can still be made. Women's right to birth control and contraceptives has come a long way, and it is encouraging that pharmaceutical companies and researchers have invested their time and effort into developing new methods of contraception that women prefer. Birth control methods, especially emergency contraception, are much safer than they previously were. However, I think that some women, even though they have physical access to contraceptives, don't really want to take the option because of how they think others will view them (particularly in conservative communities).

Week 7

This was by far my most favorite article so far. I had never heard of the type of birth control used through injection. This article in itself proves how far women's rights have progressed in the past century. Not only do we have the opportunities to use birth control, but there are many options of which type of birth control to use. Women have the right to control their bodies and their reproduction, which is so, so important in the liberation of women. I thought it was ironic how the article discussed the benefits of Yaz. Yaz claims to stabilize pre-menstrual emotion highs and lows, however, last year I was on Yaz for six months and sunk into a horrible depression for three months. This has also occurred with one of my other friends who used Yaz, so be careful while using Yaz. I am now on Yasmin and am obviously much happier with the outcomes. While the variety of options of birth control are in some ways a blessing, they also have had major side effects on the shift in social norms of our society, how sex is now seen as a much more casual practice than in years past.

I thought the whole part where it talked about how there are risks associated to taking pills in the wrong way was very interesting. As more of such pills become available and information on what it contains becomes more accessible, it wouldn't be surprising if new pills produced by people who are not licensed for the job start to circulate. They might end up selling it under the table, especially to younger or disadvantaged females who are do not have the knowledge or capacity to make good decisions and get proper ones after consulting a doctor. This could lead to problems, because as the article said, high doses could have estrogen-related risks, like stroke, etc.

Also, it seemed so problematic. Starting the pills might be easy, but ending it seems to have so many associated problems with the hormonal withdrawal.

Like other people have mentioned, I'm not so sure how good it is to limit the number of menstrual cycles to 4 per year. It seems so unnatural and rather questionable in health.

As someone who does not use contraceptives, I am always very curious as to why people decide to use them. Some of my friends consider it to regulate their menstrual cycles, while others seem to use it so that they wont get pregnant with unprotected sex. Generally, though, I think people should bear the pains of menstrual cycles since all women since the beginning of time has done so, so there should be no reason why people today can't do the same? And as for unprotected sex, I seriously don't think that sound like a good idea, even if the relationship is monogamous, since you never know. That said, I'm still rather curious about the idea. So many people here in America take contraceptives.

Advances in Hormonal Contraception

I think the reading this week was very useful and informative. I've always been confused about the different kinds of contraception so I think it offered a good overview. Some of it was still a little confusing, especially when dealing with when the pills are supposed to be taken, for example, or when the ring was to be taken out and put in. It made me wonder if the women using these contraceptives fully understand and follow their plans, I think it would be hard for me to comprehend at least to start out with. The side effects can cause some worry, I wonder how healthy it is to limit your periods to four times a year. I also wonder, specifically with the newer drugs, what the long term effects may be. Also, I was surprised by the emergency contraception bit when it said: "there is no existing evidence that EC disrupts an established pregnancy", I was under the impression that that was exactly what it did..

I think it’s so interesting that Deborah asked about a contraceptive for men, because I have heard that they are coming out with one! I heard about it when I was in Nicaragua, and I remember some of the guys I was talking to being a little bit weary of it, because it’s just coming out. I’m definitely looking forward to new and better contraceptive methods in the future!

In regards to the article, I thought it was very educational about various kinds of contraceptives. And I definitely agree that doctors and sex ed in public schools are not teaching this material enough. Looking back on my high school experience, I never got any sex ed on contraceptives and neither did my doctor discuss it extensively with me. It seems like we still have a ways to go.

I agree with Deborah because when I talked to my gynecologist almost none of these options came up, and they didn't really come up in sex education either. All I knew about contraception was the pill - until there started to be commercials on TV for alternatives (like the nuva ring) a few years ago. So there definitely needs to be more education and more awareness on options. Of course it should go beyond that and there should me more availability of female contraception as well.

Also I was wondering why the article kept saying how nurses needed to keep such and such in mind when talking to patients, but why aren't the actual gynecologists and doctors in the picture of informing patients?