Health, Reproductive Rights & Sexuality

 From NPR:

"Thousands of children are deprived of birth in this state every year because of the lack of state regulation over vasectomies."

"Any action in which a man ejaculates or otherwise deposits semen anywhere but in a woman's vagina shall be interpreted and construed as an action against an unborn child."

"The physician shall ensure that the sessions include information on nonpharmaceutical treatments for erectile dysfunction, including sexual counseling and resources for patients to pursue celibacy as a viable lifestyle choice."

 

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 From the press release:

According to a new study, while women use more prescription drugs than men, they are less likely to be prescribed drugs according to clinical guidelines and are not as good about adhering to the medications they are prescribed. The research was conducted by Medco Health Solutions, Inc. and the Society for Women's Health Research and presented Saturday at Women's Health 2012: The 20th Annual Congress.

The study found that women of all ages use more medications - an average of five drugs, compared to less than four (3.7) drugs for men, and that more women than men (68 percent versus 59 percent) took at least one chronic or acute medication during the study period. The higher average persisted even after accounting for prescription contraceptives.

Despite higher utilization of medications, women were overall less adherent than men and not prescribed treatments in alignment with recommended guidelines as often as men. Differences were most dramatic among patients with cardiovascular disease and diabetes where women showed poorer outcomes than men in 25 out of 25 clinical measures.

For women, electing not to take a medication after they have already started could be due to a variety of reasons, including: adverse side effects; inability to tolerate the medication; or failure to see or feel improvements in their health. Some of these responses could be due to the fact that women are oftentimes prescribed drugs with guidelines and dosing based on research conducted predominately on male subjects.

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 From MSNBC:

As evidence of breast-feeding’s health benefits continues to grow, the rate of 6-month-old babies who’ve been exclusively breast-fed -- no other fluids or solids, not even water -- has increased in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The 2011 rate was 14.8 percent, up 4 percentage points from the 2007 rate, the year the CDC issued its first breast-feeding “report card.” That’s still well below the 25.5 percent target in the government’s “Healthy People 2020” report.

Reaching that target may be more difficult than expected, however, because of both the expectations and reality surrounding nursing, according to the CDC’s 2011 report card -- and the research published in the journal BMJ Open.

“A woman’s ability to reach her breast-feeding goals is affected by a host of factors including support from her family, community, employer and health system,” according to the CDC.

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 From the Huffington Post:

"I was really stunned to read that Mitt Romney has now said he wants to get rid of Planned Parenthood, because really what that means is he wants to get rid of preventative health care for 3 million folks every year," Richards told reporters on Wednesday.

"It shows an extraordinary lack of understanding of family planning and the budget to say one of the ways he's going save money in this country is by ending birth control and family planning," she added. "The most conservative economist will tell you that family planning saves money. It saves taxpayers money. It's ludicrous to think that Mitt Romney, who is running for president of the United States, thinks we're going to balance the budget by ending birth control access in this country."

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 From Women's eNews:

 From CNN:

What's the connection? We live in a sexualized society where the gap between fantasy and reality is vast and harmful.

"Women are aspiring to do great things in leadership, yet the glass ceiling is still there because of the way media depict women," director and activist Jennifer Siebel-Newsom said. "It influences our culture and dictates our gender norms and values."

Siebel-Newsom's documentary, Miss Representation, is the latest cinematic foray in the movement to challenge portrayals of beauty in "the media," a term used to describe all forms of mass communication, from the internet, TV, film, magazines, radio and advertising.

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