The age old question

No, I'm not talking about the "meaning of life" however we do come to the answer in the same way, through self reflection. I'm talking about the question of when life begins.

Some folks in Colorado think that this is a question that the state should answer for everyone, I disagree. Considering that philosophers, scientists, clergy, and religions throughout time have never been able to come up with a definitive agreement, it's appalling to me that the anti-choice folks of Colorado think that they should.

Colorado is facing a ballot initiative this year that if passed, would establish that life begins the moment a sperm meets an egg, resulting in a zygote with the full legal rights (independent of the woman) that all (well most) Americans hold. In my opinion, if you believe that a zygote is a full citizen, then that is your right, but it is not your right to push this belief on everyone else in your state. Simple.

But if this ballot initiative were to pass (fingers are crossed for the negative) the consequences are outrageous. This is some of what would be a stake:

• Access to emergency contraception and IUD's for birth control could be illegal.
• Women who have illegal abortions could be charged with murder, and in pro-death penalty states, face the prospect of execution.
• Women wishing to become pregnant using in vitro fertilization could face major barriers, since the process of storing a fertilized egg would be in jeopardy.
• Enactment in Colorado could open flood gates for other states to follow suit.

I'm hoping that this initiative in Colorado is a long shot. Even if it isn't, I would hope that if adopted it wouldn't pass as constitutional in the Supreme Court. But I think we need to be aware of what the anti-choice groups are doing and what they are capable of - and fight back! Because in the face of increasing anti-choice attacks everywhere, your reproductive freedom is at stake.

Teen Pregnancy is the New Black???

It's hard to not get overwhelmed with images of teen pregnancy when everywhere you look, it's in the news. Celebrity teens having babies, high schooler's getting pregnant en masse, movies like Juno, and now the new TV show on ABC Family about a pregnant teenager. Not only do I feel overwhelmed, but I can't help but get the feeling that the media coverage of teenage pregnancy is, well...making teenage pregnancy normalized, and dare I say "cool" *gasp*.

A recent Time Magazine piece following up on the Gloucester Pregnancy "pacts" gave coverage of a Crisis Pregnancy Center that was not shy about the fact that they are biased in their counseling.

"This has been the mission of the crisis-pregnancy-center movement, the more than
4,000 centers and hotlines and support groups around the country that
aim to talk women out of having abortions and offer whatever support they can.
If not in Hollywood, then certainly in Gloucester, teen parents and their babies
face long odds against success in life. Surely they deserve more sympathy and
support than shame and derision, if the trend that they reflect is not a typical
teenager's inclination to have sex but rather a willingness to take
responsibility for the consequences."

So, the only way to be responsible if you are a pregnant teen is to become a parent? I don't think so. I think that there are three options out there for unintended pregnancies for a reason, so that women can choose the most responsible option for them! But are the children educated about how NOT to get pregnant?

It seems like no one is taking the time to really think about how teenage pregnancy is something that should be prevented, something that can be prevented through education, and something that should not be covered on Entertainment News.

Karen Heller wrote a great piece at the Philadelphia Inquirer. She recognizes that reality doesn't make for such great entertainment and pushes for quality sex-education that is geared toward prevention. You should check it out.

And, in light of the fact that the teen pregnancy rate is no longer dropping, and that one in four teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease, we need to be focusing on comprehensive sex education and prevention - not TV series and media fiasco's.