#reproductive healthcare

[whenweallvote]

Abortion is on the ballot in at least 10 states — the most on record for a single year! Since Roe v. Wade was reversed in 2022, voters in seven states have already chosen to protect abortion at the ballot box.

Is your state listed? 👀 That means YOU have the power to determine access to abortion and reproductive healthcare. Head to WeAll.Vote/voterhub now to make a plan to cast your ballot.

[bitchesgetriches]

To be clear... this didn't all happen ON the girls' trip...

[nightmarish-fallen-angel]

I just watched a news video about new guidelines regarding pain with IUD insertions.

The entire video framed this as a "women's rights" or "women's healthcare" video.

I am a trans nonbinary guy who had an IUD insertion. Using gendered language regarding reproductive rights and healthcare is so frustrating because I need these health guidelines and laws to apply to me too. And the more people stay in the habit of framing it as a "women's issue" the more likely I am to get denied the care I need.

Trans, nonbinary, and intersex people deserve to have a voice in these things as well. We deserve to have gender neutral language surrounding the procedures we might undergo at the very least.

I want the health codes and guidelines that may be written to protect me and my trans siblings if they pursue this kind of birth control or any other reproductive healthcare.

[twiggybeing]

my heart goes out to all the people living in the united states <3

to all those in other countries, please please please write letters to your governing bodies expressing concern for what is happening in the united states and advocate for asylum programs for those endangered by the trump administration.

Reproductive healthcare and gender affirming care will both come under attack in the coming months so we need our governments to prepare for an influx of individuals with complex needs

@catboybiologist @k1nky-r0b0t-g1rl @godless-of-the-hunt

[jomiddlemarch]

[allthecanadianpolitics]

A controversial Conservative private member’s bill intended to make violence against pregnant women an aggravating factor during court sentencing was roundly defeated in the House of Commons, as other parties said they feared it would reopen the debate on abortion.

The bill was supported by nearly all members of the Conservative party, including Leader Pierre Poilievre who declared himself to be “pro-choice” during his leadership campaign.

The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada had urged MPs to vote against the bill on the grounds that it promotes fetal rights, even though there is no mention of fetal rights in the text of the bill itself.

Full article

Note from Samira ( @politicsofcanada ) :

We know that this was actually an attempt to restrict abortion rights because pregnancy is already considered an aggravating factor in the sentencing of assault cases.

There is no reason for another bill regarding that to be proposed, it would be redundant. The only thing that this legislation would have done is restrict access to abortion.

[introvertedlass]

[genderqueerpositivity]

If you or anyone you know has upcoming appointments for abortion care in the state of South Carolina, make sure you (or they) keep those appointments. The new ban is temporarily on hold.

Holding on to hope that the state supreme court will strike the new six week ban down just as they did the previous one.

[jerzwriter]

This is an excellent resource.

[whenweallvote]

Today is a good day for abortion access and reproductive rights. The U.S. Supreme Court threw out a case that could have restricted access to mifepristone, one of two medications commonly used in medication abortion, and rebuked a challenge to the FDA’s authority to continue to regulate drugs. 

From the beginning, both legal experts and abortion advocates argued that the plaintiffs in this case had no standing. Today’s ruling affirms that the group of anti-abortion doctors who questioned the FDA’s authority did not have legal standing to sue. 

This decision does not mean access to abortion is protected. As many as 11 states may have abortion or reproductive health related measures on their ballot in November. Register to vote now at weall.vote/register and remind 3 friends to do the same.

[bitchesgetriches]

Hey guys! This isn't a financial question but it is an Adult question and I'm hoping you guys or someone else in bitch nation will know. How do I see a doctor for birth control without my parents knowing? I'm off in college right now and I started seeing somebody but my parents don't know and honestly I'm not ready to tell them about him or that I'm sexually active. However, I know that going to the doctor means health insurance and (since I'm on their plan) they will almost certainly know that I went to the doctor, even if they don't know what exactly for. Is there a way to avoid them even knowing I went or do I just have to lie to them about the reason? (Also the school clinic is not an option because the practitioner is out until the fall semester starts back)

Thank you!!

Y'all know we care a LOT about reproductive rights. So we're always happy to help with a question like this.

I was in a similar position when I was an 18-year-old college freshman. My parents were in the military, and at the time (maybe still?) the U.S. Army's health insurance provider did NOT cover what I needed.

I went to Planned Parenthood. At the time I lived in Boston, and this meant walking past several security guards, through two bomb-proof doors, and through a metal detector. I was terrified at first... but it was worth it. The staff there was knowledgeable, helpful, and understanding of my position. They examined me, prescribed me the birth control I needed, and charged me an affordable rate. They didn't contact my parents, my school, my doctor, or my insurance. And they allowed me to pick up the meds at their clinic instead of mailing them home.

I strongly recommend Planned Parenthood if you need to get birth control or any other reproductive healthcare without notifying your parents or primary healthcare provider. If there's not one in your area, or you can't get to it, call the nearest one and ask them for advice on how to get birth control safely and anonymously.

Here's more information:

How To Get an Abortion 

How (and Why) to Take Back Reproductive Rights: On Pulling Weeds and Fighting Back 

Blood Money: Menstrual Products for Surviving Your Period While Poor

If you found this helpful, consider joining our Patreon.

[adiduck]

Very much tmi about specifically a medical procedure involving a uterus below the cut:

Getting my IUD replaced in about ten minutes! 🙃😭

Both very grateful for access to this sort of medical care in today’s environment and NOT AT ALL looking forward to how much it’s gonna hurt LOL

If anyone has some distractions/nice things for me to come back to later while I lay in bed for the rest of the day I would appreciate it.

[letterstothefutureme]

DON’T MAKE PERFECT THE ENEMY OF THE GOOD

Planned Parenthood and NARAL declined to offer any support to petition signature collection because they said the amendment to restore abortion rights was “too restrictive.”

Right now in Arkansas, there is a total abortion ban.

The majority of abortions are done in the first 12 weeks. This amendment would restore access to the most common and desperately needed abortion care.

Opposing it is not just absurd, it’s heartless.

Arkansas has the highest maternal mortality rate in the nation.

So, I guess we’re fine with letting more women die because it doesn’t fit neatly into our political agenda.

The campaign used conservative messaging and sought Republican support. That’s what it takes to restore access to abortion care in one of the reddest states in the country.

If you actually care about restoring reproductive rights, you should be welcoming bipartisan support.

Congratulations to Arkansans for Limited Government for pulling off an incredible petition gathering campaign with nothing but pure organizing hustle.

This is only the first hurdle but every post-Dobbs ballot initiative restoring or protecting abortion access has passed.

We can do this.

Not today, patriarchy, not today

[aroaceconfessions]

tws ahead of time: venting, discussion of medical examinations of sex organs (pap smear), masturbation mention

so i am. very asexual. sex ambivalent but i’m really just not interested overall. i’m also afab. which means when i’m 21 i’m gonna have to get a pap smear. which is gonna SUCK

being trans makes this twice as bad. i’m low dysphoria but the idea of ANYTHING entering my body like that makes me want to cry. like i get panic attacks at the thought of having to put in a tampon (i’m a pads person) it’s like. bad. technically i’d be able to handle it (had a short period of time before realizing i was ace + trans where i thought i HAD to masturbate bc “everyone did it” (my parents gave good sex ed but normalized masturbation a bit too much lmao)) but i’d hate every minute of it

so the idea of a pap smear horrifies me. first off- i have to let a doctor see me half-naked. this part doesn’t bug me too much because . it’s a doctor and it’s completely non-sexual but i still don’t like the idea of anyone seeing . that

then i’d have to just fucking sit there while they put a fucking giant cold metal tool in my body so they can reach my fucking CERVIX???? and THEN they’d have to brush cells OFF of said cervix??? no. no no NO that gives me such bad anxiety it’s fucking insane.

i’m also terrified it’ll hurt because. i’m not gonna be sexually active and i don’t even fucking use tampons. and i KNOW that if i go to a good gyn then they will find ways to help me be less scared or feel it less but i still hate the idea of sharing that vulnerability. i’m a crier and i do not want to cry in front of a doctor because i’m scared of such a normal procedure. it’s less a fear of judgement and more just a pride thing i think. i know they deal with it frequently i’m just kinda horrified. the idea of coming out as ace to someone who has control over my health is also actually terrifying esp bc i live in texas

if i could i’d just get my whole uterus removed and solve the problem but apparently it “produces important hormones” that i don’t want to throw off balance so. guess i’m stuck

idk i need to talk to my mom about it (she gives good advice) or maybe my aunt (similar feelings towards sex as me) but god it just sounds so scary. i’m incredibly scared for it.

that being said if you have a cervix and are 21+ (25 if ur british) then you do need to get a pap smear once every three years. it may be horrifying but cervical cancer is way scarier. i’m sorry it sucks for us but it’s like life-or-death important. can’t really afford to skip out on it unfortunately :(

if anyone else has similar worries and/or has had a pap smear i’d love to hear about it in the notes. no pressure of course privacy n all but it’d make me feel less alone so if you’re comfy sharing. hope everyone’s having a good [time of day]

[jomiddlemarch]

Two big takeaways in case you don't want to click on the link:

"But with Roe overturned, some in Donald Trump’s orbit see a chance to reanimate Comstock, using it to ban medication abortion — and maybe surgical abortion as well — without passing new federal legislation."

"While the Stop Comstock Act may never reach Biden’s desk, there’s something he can do this moment to strike a public blow against the zombie law: pardon D.M. Bennett, a freethinking publisher and one of Comstock’s nemeses, who in 1879 was sentenced to 13 months of hard labor for mailing an anti-marriage tract called “Cupid’s Yokes.” Petitioning the Biden administration, Robert Corn-Revere, chief counsel to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Education, wrote, “By granting this pardon, the president would help right the injustice resulting from D.M. Bennett’s wrongful prosecution and conviction, and at the same time send the important message that Victorian-era laws should not be revived to undermine Americans’ individual rights.”

[catalogercas]

FYI that this is an expansion of HIPAA that prohibits disclosure of PHI for the purpose of investigating, imposing liability on, or identifying individuals seeking, obtaining, providing, or facilitating lawful reproductive healthcare.

It also requires attestations be signed to demonstrate disclosures are not for those purposes.

The associated final rule was published today.