Equal Pay Day

Yesterday was the 47th anniversary of the signing of the Equal Pay Act--the White House issued a press release (see below). In 1963 women on average earned 59 cents to the male dollar. Today, depending on where they live white women earn on average 77 cents to the male dollar, women of color 67 cents if they are black, to 58 cents for Latinas. Today women make up over 50% of the workforce.

While the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Act was signed into being, it is still common practice to pay males more as the breadwinner, head of household even though in most families there are 2 incomes, or the women is the head of household. Even in the federal government, according to Carolyn Maloney, women earn 7% less than men.

I say, Mr. President, if you want to be the change do not just issue a press release, issue an executive order and model equal pay for equal work. You are the CEO of the federal system issue, you can do it.

www.aauw.org/learn/research/statedata/upload/table_data.pdf

www.womensenews.org/story/equal-payfair-wage/090428/wage-gap-study-arrives-in-time-equal-pay-day

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/statement-president-anniversary-equal-pay-act

The Second Sex

is reviewed in Sunday's NYT Book Review:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/books/review/Gray-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema3

Legal rape

More and more states (22 according to the article cited below) are requiring ultrasounds before abortions may be performed. Oklahoma has the most draconian one--requiring a vaginal ultrasound (rather than one just using the wand on the belly)--I would call this mandatory procedure legal rape. [This law was passed over the governor's veto, and is currently being stayed by a court.]

Abortions are legal. Men and others (since there are women legislators) should NOT make laws on other people's --women's--bodies. That is the concept of bodily autonomy, which is the key to the liberal democratic concept of the (rational) individual.

The concept key to most anti-abortion laws and one that is included in Roe v Wade, is that when women are pregnant they are not wholly rational because of hormonal changes during pregnancy. Thus, in the case of requiring ultrasounds, they can be made to see what they are about to do.

We need to take control of our bodies, for good!










http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37393531

Pediatricians come to their senses

Last month the American Association of Pediatrics endorses nicking young girls' clitorises (as opposed to fully cutting and/ or infilibrating the young girls) to protect them from full Female Genital Mutilation under non-sterile conditions.
Now, they are rethinking this--since any cutting is mutilation. And, just because we might believe in multiculturalism, not all cultural practices are the same nor deserve respect (including those in our own culture...)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/health/27brfs-DOCTORSREVER_BRF.html?ref=us

Lies of Omission

Crisis Pregnancy Centers in Maryland are required by local ordinances to post if they have medical personnel on premises and if they do not offer abortion services. They are suing to be able to mislead women who seek their help.
Is deception via omission covered by the first amendment?
What is the role of the government to ensure that women get all the reproductive health services that are available?


See the article in the Washington Times (the conservative paper) May 24, 2010:


http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/24/pro-life-group-fights-disclosure-law/

Women & Healthcare

1. States are re-defining health care so that (elective) abortion is not part of it. Arizona and Tennessee have such a law--which limits the insurance sold on the state's Exchange. There are similar bills awaiting signing in Florida, Mississippi and Missouri. see
http://community.feministing.com/2010/05/health-care-bill-results-in-ab.html


2. The Catholic Church has excommunicated a nun who sat on an ethics committee which decided to save a mother's life over that of her 11 week fetus by aborting that fetus. (Note to Church: If the mother had died, so would that fetus. Allowing that woman to live, means she can have other babies in the future).
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/05/15/20100515phoenix-catholic-nun-abortion.html


Need I say more? Our reproductive health and life is under seige!

May 9th

Happy Mother's Day, and Happy 50th Anniversary to the birth control pill--which helped make motherhood a choice.