The Activist Beat with Rose Aguilar, host of Your Call on KALW in San Francisco is a weekly roundup of progressive activism that the mainstream media ignores, undercovers, or misrepresents. <\/em><\/p>\nMarch 8 marked International Women\u2019s day. Rallies, protests, and events took place around the world, from Gaza to the Arctic. <\/p>\n
I love looking at photos and reading articles about women working for a more sustainable and equitable society for all, but it was hard to focus on what\u2019s happening overseas as we suffer so many setbacks here at home. It\u2019s tough to keep up and make sense of what we\u2019re currently facing. Look at what\u2019s happened in the past week alone. Here are a few headlines.<\/p>\n
Tennessee abortion bill would require publishing names of doctors<\/p>\n
Georgia Senate panel votes in favor of \u2018fetal pain\u2019 abortion bill <\/p>\n
Arizona might curb birth control coverage<\/p>\n
\u201cConscience Cause,\u201d A new SuperPAC, forms to deny women access to birth control<\/p>\n
Alaska rep says women should have to get a man\u2019s permission to obtain an abortion <\/p>\n
Pennsylvania governor criticized for saying women can \u2018close your eyes\u2019 to avoid viewing ultrasound image<\/p>\n
It gets worse. This afternoon, a live ultrasound demonstration is scheduled to take place in the Idaho state Capitol by Stanton Health Care, a crisis pregnancy center. Three Stanton clients, one in each trimester of pregnancy, will participate. The media rarely report this, but crisis pregnancy centers are not medical clinics. According to investigations and women who\u2019ve visited these centers, they provide clients information that has been medically refuted and try to talk women out of having abortions.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the Idaho state Senate passed a bill requiring women to have an ultrasound before terminating a pregnancy. It should be noted that State Senator Sheryl Nuxoll co-sponsored the bill and arranged for the \u201cvoices from the womb\u201d event. Electing women to office, simply because they are women, is not a solution.<\/p>\n
Women and men around the country are protesting these horrific laws. Protests recently took place in Boise, Idaho. <\/p>\n
Women are also stepping forward to tell their personal stories, which is a very important form of activism. Carolyn Jones recently wrote a powerful piece for the Texas Observer called \u2018We Have No choice\u2019: One Woman\u2019s Ordeal with Texas\u2019 New Sonogram Law.
\nAfter learning that the baby she was carrying was profoundly ill and wouldn\u2019t develop correctly, she and her husband decided to end the pregnancy. <\/p>\n
Texas law requires that women have an ultrasound and then wait 24 hours before having the procedure. What she goes through is painful and heartbreaking. She writes, \u201cWhat good is a law that adds only pain and difficulty to perhaps the most painful and difficult decision a woman can make? Shouldn\u2019t women have a right to protect themselves from strangers\u2019 opinions on their most personal matters?\u201d<\/p>\n
We need to continue telling these stories to make these issues real. <\/p>\n
Women are also expressing their views on the Facebook pages of politicians like Kansas Governor Sam Brownback and Texas Governor Rick Perry. Women are posting questions about sex, menstruation, PMS, and anatomy. On Virginia State Senator Ryan McDougle\u2019s page, Elizabeth Heidelberg writes, \u201cDear Senator, I\u2019ve had an IUD for the last 6 years. At 48, I\u2019m thinking maybe it\u2019s time to get rid of it, but really wanted to get your expert opinion on women\u2019s health issues before I decide. Please let me know what you think my best course of action would be. Condoms? Just in case. Thank you so much for your time.\u201d<\/p>\n
This makes me want to reread \u201cThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale\u201d by Margaret Atwood, a science fiction novel about the subjugation of women.<\/p>\n
So what\u2019s next for the women\u2019s movement? What\u2019s most effective? Our personal stories and voices are the most powerful tools we have. And it\u2019s up to those of us in the media to elevate them. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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The Activist Beat with Rose Aguilar, host of Your Call on KALW in San Francisco is a weekly roundup of progressive activism that the mainstream media ignores, undercovers, or misrepresents. <\/em><\/p>\n