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While RH Reality Check exposes McCain's shrouded threats to criminalize contraception.

Pro-choice activists warn that a proposed Colorado ballot initiative that would define a fertilized embryo as a person could lead to disastrous consequences for reproductive health in the state, such as banning non-barrier methods of birth control or establishing a legal basis for the government to investigate a woman and her doctor for a miscarriage (via Denver Post).  

Prominent evangelicals urge Christian conservatives to distance themselves from single-issue politics, angering leaders on the religious right who have close ties to the Republican Party (via Seattle Times).  

A British member of parliament seeks to lower the abortion time limit from 24 to 20 weeks.  Supporters of abortion rights say that current laws are effective and that there is no reason to change the limit

The NY Times published an editorial on John McCain's promise to select conservative justices for the Supreme Court, noting that his nominees would be activist, right-wing justices who would limit women's rights

Roll Call, the Congress-related D.C. newspaper, has selected Dave Reichert as one of the 10 most vulnerable House incumbents

John McCain attacked Barack Obama for voting against John Roberts and Samuel Alito as Supreme Court nominees, promising to appoint more judges like them.  The article also notes McCain's long history of opposing abortion rights

Anti-choice conservative groups such as the Family Research Council are sending a letter to President Bush today, urging him to make changes to Title X regulations.  The group wants to prevent family planning organizations from receiving federal funds if they refer patients to abortion providers or share facilities with abortion providers

Anti-choice groups who oppose the use of contraception plan to protest in front of facilities that dispense birth control on June 7.  They are using misleading and inaccurate talking points to recruit protesters

RH Reality Check has an informative piece about TRAP laws - laws that seek Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers

Pro-choice legislators in the Kansas senate succeeded in defeating an attempt to override Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' veto of an anti-choice bill that would have allowed family members of a woman to sue if they believed a doctor had performed or was about to perform an illegal late-term abortion

Bloomberg LP, founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is facing a lawsuit involving 58 women who say they had their pay cut, were demoted or denied opportunities because they had become pregnant

John McCain opposes the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Act because he says it could invite future lawsuits, instead believing that women need more "education and training" to combat companies who pay women less for equal work

Missouri senators have reversed a provision that classified RU-486 as a restricted drug, the same as heroin and marijuana.  The senators say it was a mistake in the bill and rescinded their votes

The LA Times suggests that lack of demand by men for male contraceptives may be allowing drug companies to delay research of promising contraception

A Missouri state senator is sharing her personal experience with HPV, hoping to convince other women to get tested and catch potential cases of cervical cancer

Politico highlights Darcy Burner's Iraq War plan and exposes Dave Reichert's habit of pretending to support environmental legislation and flip-flopping in attempts to please the Bush Administration and his progressive 8th District voters

The Oregon ACLU joins booksellers in challenging a state law that restricts the sale or provision of sexually explicit material to children, because they fear that some constitutionally protected material could be affected.  Proponents of the bill say that the bill was already amended to address ACLU concerns

A university student in California is urging students to be tested for HPV, outlining treatment options and screening locations

RH Reality Check has details on a bill being discussed in the Michigan State legislature that would ban a late-term abortion procedure but in reality is an anti-choice attempt at forcing legislators to take a stance on abortion

Maternal mortality rates are high in Afghanistan, where many women live in remote areas and do not have access to clinics.  Many women there prefer to be examined by women doctors, though there are few of them, and even fewer trained as midwives

Joan Smith, a columnist for Britain's Independent sees misogyny in the mainstream media's portrayal of Hillary Clinton

A District Judge has quashed District Attorney Phill Kline's latest subpoena of patients' medical records for his case against Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri (via The Kansas City Star).

The New York Times reports that India's prime minister has described the widespread practice of aborting female fetuses as a "national shame", and called for stricter enforcement of the laws prohibiting sex-determination services - such as disclosing the fetus' sex during an ultrasound examination.

NARAL Pro-Choice America's Policy Director Donna Crane blogs about her experience at the House hearing on Bush's dangerous and discredited "abstinence-only" policies.

Maine's governor has signed into law a bill giving pharmacists the authority to sell certain medications for pregnant women and infants to midwives who provide care primarily during home births, improving the reproductive options for women choosing home births in that state (via Bangor News).

In an interview for "60 minutes" Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia reiterates his opposition to abortion, and also claims that "there's nothing" in the Constitution to support abortion rights (via Associated Press).

A Wisconsin pharmacist who received sanctions from the state's Pharmacy Board after refusing to dispense birth control pills to a college student or transfer her prescription is now appealing the sanctions at the state Supreme Court

Thousands of Chileans are protesting the Constitutional Court's decision to halt distribution of emergency contraception in public health clinics

Nearly forty years after abortion became legal in Britain, pro-choice supporters say that there are renewed attacks on reproductive rights

RH Reality Check details the effects of Oklahoma's anti-choice forced ultrasound law

Some young religious voters prove that religion and conservatism do not go hand in hand by focusing on social justice issues

A study comparing abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education published in the Journal of Adolescent Health has found that abstinence-only programs have no significant effect on delaying sexual activity or in reducing the risk for teen pregnancy and STIs, while comprehensive sex education programs are associated with a significantly reduced risk of pregnancy as well as a marginally reduced likelihood of a teen becoming sexually active.  

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius has vetoed an anti-abortion bill that would have imposed new restrictions on both women and providers by allowing the woman's siblings, parents, grandparents or spouse to seek court orders prohibiting abortions after the 21st week of pregnancy.  Anti-abortion groups will attempt to override the veto when the Legislature returns from its spring break (via the Wichita Eagle).  

Iowa's Governor has signed into law a bill requiring that all state-regulated health insurance plans that cover vaccinations cover HPV vaccines (via The Des Moines Register).

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer points out that it's "just plain embarrassing" that wage discrimination based on gender is still a subject for debate in 2008, as the U.S. Senate finally considers an "equal pay for equal work" bill similar to one passed by the House last year.  

RH Reality Check's Lynda Waddington writes about the difficulty of removing the taboo around abortion when American network television engages in self-imposed censorship of both the term and the procedure.

Clinics in Missouri will provide the Gardasil vaccine at no charge to qualified patients, thanks to an $11 million grant

Another article takes aim at John McCain's choice record, bursting the "McCain is a moderate" bubble

RH Reality Check thoroughly debunks the alleged efficacy of abstinence-only education

Dave Reichert is listed as the least effective congress member from Washington State and ranks 401st out of the 439 House members overall by Congress.org

Meanwhile, Darcy Burner receives an endorsement from Earth Day founder Denis Hayes

In light of recent tension between second and third wave feminists, Courtney E. Martin urges feminists to have complex conversations about generational rifts, rather than engaging in reductive arguments

Some schools in Washington State are looking forward to adopting sex education guidelines from the Healthy Youth Act, saying that they can now discuss important contraception options with students and give them valuable sexual health information

School-based clinics are helping students with a variety of health issues, including reproductive health services.  There are 20 school-based clinics in Washington, but only one is outside King County

Despite all the press surrounding a Maine middle school's decision to offer contraceptives, only one student has obtained a prescription for contraception

Michigan lawmakers are introducing a pro-choice legislation package this week.  The bill seeks to expand access to emergency contraception, health insurance coverage of contraceptives, and comprehensive sex education

The Wall Street Journal examines the increasingly popular tactic among antiabortion groups of supporting legislation that chips away at abortion rights through initiatives aimed at restricting access or limiting certain procedures.  California will be facing a parental notification ballot measure for the third time

Further commentary on California's parental notification initiative

Ms. Magazine has more on the Council of Europe's resolution calling for all of its member states to legalize abortion.  The resolution notes that "The lawfulness of abortion does not have an effect on a woman's need for an abortion, but only on her access to a safe abortion"

The Philippines government rejects the use of modern contraceptives, and though they are available for purchase, contraceptives are too expensive for the majority of Filipinos.  Authorities say that lack of access to contraceptives is contributing to high levels of poverty in the country