Blogs Comment On Definitions Of Feminism, Supreme Court Nomination, Other Topics

The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries.

~ "Sarah Palin Is No Susan B. Anthony," Ann Gordon/Lynn Sherr, Washington Post's "On Faith": The mission statement of the Susan B. Anthony List, a group that supports antiabortion-rights female candidates, "proclaims" that Anthony's antiabortion-rights stance is "untold history," according to Gordon, an editor of Anthony's papers, and Sherr, author of a biography on Anthony. They continue, "There's a good reason it's 'untold:' historians and good journalists rely on evidence. Of which there is none." According to Gordon and Sherr, the "only clear reference to abortion in [Anthony's] writings" was a remark in her diary about her sister-in-law's abortion. Although Anthony "[c]learly ... did not applaud her sister-in-law's action," the "notation is ambiguous" and "[a]t most, the quotation amounts to private disapproval within the family, unlikely to be voiced to her beloved relative," Gordon and Sherr write. There is "no hint that this is a social problem or a political matter," but the quote "was quickly fitted into the antiabortion narrative" nonetheless, they add. "Naming [a] lobby for Susan B. Anthony doesn't change her views any more than clicking your heels three times gets you back to Kansas," Gordon and Sherr say (Gordon/Sherr, "On Faith," Washington Post, 5/18).

~ "Susan B. Anthony: Pro-Life Feminist," Marjorie Dannenfelser, Washington Post's "On Faith": In a response to Gordon and Sherr's blog post, SBAL President Dannenfelser writes that their argument is "unfounded on many levels, but foremost, on the credibility issue." Dannenfelser writes that Anthony was "passionate and logical in her arguments against abortion," adding that although the "[l]ife cause isn't the issue that earned [Anthony] her stripes in American history books, historians would be wrong to conclude that Anthony was agnostic on the issue of abortion." She continues that "as one becomes familiar with Anthony's compatriots and their thoughts on the issue, it is clear and consistent that these early women leaders did not believe abortion was a good thing for women." According to Dannenfelser, "Over time, 'feminism' became the label adopted by activists preaching that women's rights and abortion rights were somehow one and the same." Recently, there has been "a shift back to the traditional roots of Susan B. Anthony feminism to give life even in the most difficult and unexpected circumstances," Dannenfelser contends (Dannenfelser, "On Faith," Washington Post, 5/20).














~ "How Webcams Expand Abortion Access in Rural Iowa," Roxann MtJoy, Change's "Women's Rights": As part of an "innovative, high-tech solution to the lack of abortion access in rural Iowa," Planned Parenthood of the Heartland has "set up a system wherein doctors videoconference with their patients and abortion drugs can be prescribed via remote control," MtJoy writes. The technology "could impact thousands of women's lives," she continues, noting that 86% of U.S. counties do not have an abortion provider. "Of course, more women having access to safe abortions early in their pregnancies has its critics," including Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, who "thinks that it puts the patient's life at risk, though he offers nothing in the way of proof to support that claim," MtJoy continues. "Telemedicine has been used for years in a variety of medical fields," she writes, adding, "Yet, only when this technology is expanded to women's reproductive health are people crying foul." MtJoy "applaud[s] Planned Parenthood's efforts to make sure that all women, not just those in urban areas, have access to safe abortion care" (MtJoy, "Women's Rights," Change, 5/20).

~ "Is Sarah Palin Really a Feminist?" Tracy Clark-Flory, Salon's "Broadsheet": Clark-Flory notes that when former Alaska Gov. and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin referenced feminism during a recent speech at a SBAL fundraiser, "she was talking about 'the pioneering spirit of our foremothers, who went in wagon trains across the wilderness, and they settled in homesteads,'" Clark-Flory writes, "When Palin talks about gender equality, she's really talking about the equal importance of men's and women's traditional gender roles. The emphasis isn't on personal freedoms, but how mothers are just as important as fathers." Clark-Flory continues that Palin "sees pro-choice activism as denying women's capacity to have it all and fancies herself a supporter of women's rights -- to a family and a career -- by shunning abortion." However, the "label ['feminism'] doesn't belong to me any more than it does to Palin," Clark-Flory writes, adding, "Besides, I'm less concerned with labels than I am with actual arguments about what is truly best and just for all women." She concludes, "I say, let Palin hide behind her favorite new buzzword; we all know she's better with catch phrases than actual policy" (Clark-Flory, "Broadsheet," Salon, 5/20).

~ "Elena Kagan: Aggressive and Abrasive?" Christine Mathias, Salon's "Broadsheet": "It always comes back to choice of words when discussing powerful women," a "point [that] was driven home" by a recent Associated Press article on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's management style during her time as dean of Harvard Law School, Mathias writes. She continues, "Women tend to use different descriptors than men when evaluating other women, so we might have been spared the series of painfully stereotypical comments unleashed by law professor Detlev Vagts," who describe Kagan as "aggressive," "abrasive" and "dismissive." Mathias adds, "The reason Vagts' comments stick in my craw so profoundly ... is the simple fact that he went on record with a legitimate news source to slag off his former boss in terms that befit a pissy child who was sent to bed without dessert" (Mathias, "Broadsheet," Salon, 5/20).

~ "Ten Better Things To Do With $30,000 Than Hire Bristol Palin To Speak," Patrick Malone, RH Reality Check: According to news reports this week, Bristol Palin, the daughter of Sarah Palin, "is now available for speaking events such as 'conferences, fundraisers, special events and holidays, as well as women's, youth, abstinence and pro-life programs' for the low, low price of $30,000 a pop," Malone writes. "Bristol is famous, of course, for becoming pregnant and having a baby as a teenager," Malone notes. Malone questions whether $30,000 is a worthwhile fee to hire Palin as a speaker, determining that the "answer is an unqualified and unmitigated 'no.'" He adds, "There is no reason to think that listening to Bristol Palin's story is going to inform, educate, enrich or stimulate" audiences in any way. Malone proposes 10 alternate ways to spend $30,000 -- including investing in a local community, donating to a state organization or paying for 30 teen mothers to travel to Congress to speak with lawmakers about their experiences (Malone, RH Reality Check, 5/20).

~ "Abstinence-Only Congressman Can't Keep it in His Pants," Mike Larsen, Huffington Post blogs: "[O]ne sure tip-off that a married congressman is getting some on the side is that he can't stop talking about family values," comedian, writer and former congressional staffer Larsen writes. He notes that Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) -- "Congress' leading advocate of abstinence-only sex education" -- resigned recently after admitting an extramarital affair with an aide. "Souder made a name for himself as an evangelical Christian who embraces family values, such as fighting AIDS prevention programs that include information on safe sex," Larsen says, adding that he considers it "wonderfully ironic that a man who preached abstinence-only for AIDS prevention was brought down by his inability to abstain from his aide." Souder also appeared in a video with the staffer to promote abstinence-only education programs, despite the fact that their "effectiveness was unproven, at best," Larsen writes. He asks, "[D]o we all get it now that the moralists are not to be trusted?" (Larsen, Huffington Post, 5/21).

~ "Male Birth Control: Not Sex Standing Up," Alex DiBranco, Change's "Women's Rights": Change editor DiBranco highlights a new public service announcement from the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy that aims to dismantle the myth that having sex standing up is an effective form of contraception. According to DiBranco, one in five men ages 18 through 29 believe having sex standing up will prevent pregnancy. She writes, "I guess this is what happens with abstinence-only education and a refusal to provide youth with proper comprehensive sex education," adding that "if this is what men think of as good birth control, no wonder we have such high rates of youth pregnancy." DiBranco says there is "some good news" about men and contraception, as "progress is being made on research to use ultrasound waves or testosterone gels to temporarily stop the production of pregnancy-producing sperm." She concludes, "Until then, if you're having sex -- standing up, lying down, or any other position out of the Kama Sutra -- the best form of male birth control is a condom. Suit up" (DiBranco, "Women's Rights," Change, 5/18).


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