USA – Abortion After the Clinic

Abortion After the Clinic
As Republican lawmakers try to legislate it out of existence, the future of reproductive healthcare may be at home.

By Irin Carmon
Nov 11, 2019

When Leana Wen introduced herself to America as the new president of Planned Parenthood last fall, she had a story she liked to tell — one that showed exactly why abortion access mattered. It was a sad tale of “a young woman lying on a stretcher, pulseless and unresponsive, because of a home abortion.” Wen, an emergency physician who had been plucked from Baltimore’s Health Department to take over the century-old institution, said the young woman had arrived at her ER in “a pool of blood” because “she didn’t have access to health care, so she had her cousin attempt an abortion on her at home. We did everything we could to resuscitate her, but she died.”

Wen was talking about a time when abortion was technically legal, yet the story rhymed with the pre-Roe era, when doctors and lawyers spoke of being radicalized by women filling their wards with blood and desperation, the same nightmare the familiar pro-choice rhetoric warns will soon be upon us. Behind the scenes, however, a vanguard of the abortion-rights movement implored Wen, directly and through intermediaries, to stop talking about “home abortion” in such dire terms.

Continued: https://www.thecut.com/2019/11/future-abortion-access-america.html

11.11.2019

Commentary

Events/Campaigns

Ilyse Hogue

abortion pills by mail

Aid Access

Alexis McGill Johnson

Amy Hagstrom Miller

at-home abortion

Brett Kavanaugh

buying abortion pills online

Naral Pro-Choice America

National Network of Abortion Funds

Pamela Merritt

Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

self-induced abortion

self-managed abortion

Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt

USA – Leana Wen Wants to Have a More Nuanced Conversation About Abortion

Leana Wen Wants to Have a More Nuanced Conversation About Abortion

By Eliana Dockterman
October 17, 2019

Leana Wen, the former head of Planned Parenthood and a professor at George Washington University, addressed a controversial statement she made on abortion during the TIME 100 Health Summit on Thursday. Wen kicked off a firestorm on Twitter Tuesday when she broke with typical Planned Parenthood language and said that abortion should be “safe, legal and rare,” a Clinton-era phrase that has since gone out of vogue among many abortion rights activists.

During Tuesday’s Democratic primary debate, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard argued that abortion should be “safe, legal and rare,” prompting Wen to write on Twitter, “I don’t agree with @TulsiGabbard on a lot, but do appreciate that she brought up the third rail for Democrats: that abortion should be ‘safe, legal, and rare.’ We should reduce the need for abortions by investing in prevention.”

Continued: https://time.com/5703575/leana-wen-abortion-safe-legal-rare/

17.10.2019

TIME 100 Health Summit

USA – Planned Parenthood ousts leader after less than a year

Planned Parenthood ousts leader after less than a year

By Lenny Bernstein, Ariana Eunjung Cha and Amy Goldstein
July 16, 2019

The president of Planned Parenthood was forced out of her job Tuesday in a dispute over her management style and the direction of the nation’s largest women’s reproductive rights organization amid growing political and legal challenges to abortion.

Planned Parenthood’s board met in emergency session for hours Tuesday and approved Leana Wen’s immediate departure just eight months after she took over the post. The terms had been negotiated over several weeks, said a Planned Parenthood spokeswoman.

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/head-of-planned-parenthood-forced-out-after-eight-months/2019/07/16/c726b078-a7d3-11e9-a3a6-ab670962db05_story.html?utm_term=.59016a456b88&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1

USA – A Pastor’s Case for the Morality of Abortion

A Pastor’s Case for the Morality of Abortion
Jes Kast, a minister in the United Church of Christ, believes the procedure should be fully legal and accessible. Her path to that position has been complicated.

Emma Green
May 26, 2019

In America, the debate about abortion is often reduced to binary categories. Religious versus secular. Misogynists versus murderers. Even “Christian theocracy” versus, presumably, everyone else.

With abortion once again in the headlines this month, after Alabama and several other states passed near-total bans on the procedure, Jes Kast, a pastor in the United Church of Christ, spoke up as someone who does not fit those categories. She supports abortion rights, and is representative of her denomination on this issue: According to the Pew Research Center, 72 percent of people in the UCC, a small, progressive denomination with a little less than 1 million members, think abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Kast also serves on the clergy-advocacy board of Planned Parenthood, which works to “increase public awareness of the theological and moral basis for advocating reproductive health,” according to its website.

Continued: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/05/progressive-christians-abortion-jes-kast/590293/

How ‘Shout Your Abortion’ grew from a Seattle hashtag into a book

How ‘Shout Your Abortion’ grew from a Seattle hashtag into a book
Amelia Bonow was recently in Seattle to talk about the book, "Shout Your Abortion."

Originally published December 12, 2018
By Nicole Brodeur, Seattle Times columnist

Amelia Bonow was in a Lyft, headed to Seattle’s Neptune Theatre, when she told the driver what awaited her there: She had co-founded a movement called “Shout Your Abortion,” aimed at humanizing, normalizing and de-stigmatizing the procedure. It had spread from Seattle across the nation, and resulted in a book of personal essays by abortion clients, and providers, that was being launched before a crowd of supporters that night.

The driver had a story of his own, apparently, because at some point during the ride, Bonow posted on Facebook: ” … having my one thousandth conversation with a male Lyft driver who knocked somebody up who had an abortion and hasn’t ever talked about it …”

Continued: https://www.seattletimes.com/life/how-shout-your-abortion-grew-from-a-seattle-hashtag-into-a-book/

USA – Abortion foes seek Trump’s help to offset midterm setback

Abortion foes seek Trump's help to offset midterm setback

The Associated Press
David Crary
November 29, 2018

NEW YORK — Anti-abortion leaders are seeking help from the Trump administration as they shift their political strategies now that the U.S. House will be controlled by Democrats who support abortion rights.

Under Republican control, the House tried repeatedly, though unsuccessfully, to halt federal funding for Planned Parenthood, and it passed a bill that would have banned most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The Democratic-led House that takes office in January is likely to push legislation that would expand access to abortion, even if such measures die in the GOP-controlled Senate.

Continued: https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/abortion-foes-seek-trumps-help-to-offset-midterm-setback

USA – Planned Parenthood Selects Dr. Leana Wen As Its New President

Planned Parenthood Selects Dr. Leana Wen As Its New President
The Baltimore health commissioner, a Chinese immigrant, will take over Cecile Richards’ role in November.

By Alanna Vagianos and Laura Bassett
Sept 12, 2018

Planned Parenthood named a Chinese immigrant who has headed Baltimore’s health department as the organization’s new president on Wednesday.

“Today is a historic day for Planned Parenthood and the millions of people it serves. After an extensive search, I’m proud to announce that Dr. Leana Wen will serve as our next president,” Naomi Aberly, chair of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America Board of Directors, said in a statement.

Continued: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/planned-parenthood-appoints-dr-leana-wen-as-new-president_us_5b9959d2e4b0cf7b00460df5

12.09.2018

News

Cecile Richards

Dr. Leana Wen

Planned Parenthood Federation of America

USA – Let’s Talk About My Abortion (and Yours)

Let’s Talk About My Abortion (and Yours)

By Cindi Leive
Ms. Leive is a former editor in chief of Glamour and Self.
June 30, 2018

Several months ago, I appeared on a morning TV show alongside Cecile Richards, then the president of Planned Parenthood. Our topic had been women’s activism, and we’d both spoken in equal amounts. But when I checked Twitter later, the violent insults were flying only at Ms. Richards, with commenters calling her a “baby butcher” and “this puke bitch” for her support of abortion rights. None took aim at me — and as I read the stream, I felt more cowardly than I can ever remember, as if I were crouched in a foxhole while Ms. Richards took fire for the rest of us.

Why was I letting her take the heat? After all, I’d had an abortion myself.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/30/opinion/sunday/abortion-kennedy-supreme-court.html

USA – “Whatever’s your darkest question, you can ask me.”

“Whatever’s your darkest question, you can ask me.”
A secret network of women is working outside the law and the medical establishment to provide safe, cheap home abortions.

March 28, 2018
By Lizzie Presser

On a winter morning, Anna* walked the aisles of an herbal-medicine store, picked up a bottle each of blue cohosh and black cohosh, along with a plastic bag of pennyroyal tea, and drove to the topless bar on the edge of town where she worked. There, she met Jules, another dancer. They performed on a small stage with crystal curtains, the green light of an ATM flashing on their left, until 9 p.m. The women, both in their 20s, then drove to the Motel 6 where Jules lived and entered her dim room on the second floor, which smelled of grape cigars. Anna pulled out the tinctures and tea and explained the plan. She was going to help Jules try to have an abortion.

Continued: https://story.californiasunday.com/abortion-providers

USA: Planned Parenthood chief Cecile Richards will step down from abortion rights, contraception group

Planned Parenthood chief Cecile Richards will step down from abortion rights, contraception group

Dan Mangan
Published Wed, 24 Jan 2018 CNBC.com

Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards reportedly will step down from her post after more than a decade of heading the group, a leader in the abortion and contraceptive rights movement.

Richards' planned departure, which was first reported by BuzzFeed News and since has been confirmed by NBC News, comes a year after President Donald Trump took office with an agenda hostile to abortion access in general and Planned Parenthood in particular.

Continued: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/24/planned-parenthood-chief-cecile-richards-will-step-down-from-post.html

24.01.2018