Deconstructing Elaine

Planet Jackson Hole, Oct 8, 2008.

"Interruption during the first trimester of a first pregnancy causes a cessation of cell differentiation..."
Well, yeah.
If a pregnancy ends, the body will respond accordingly and stop performing functions that go with pregnancy, such as changes in breast tissue, whether the interruption is spontaneous or induced.

"...which may result in a subsequent increase in the risk of cancerous growth in these tissues."
Hmm. Really? I see the word "may" there as well as no quantification of the amount of risk.
According to Elaine's ad, this was found on the Planned Parenthood website on Sept. 5 1997. A quick search of PubMed finds some interesting results. Several articles concerning a link between abortion and breast cancer came out in the late 90s, a majority of which reported a link.
5 or so years later, a new round of articles came out, pointing out biases in previous papers and/or correcting poor experimental design. It is tricky to ensure that you don't bias your results, and multiple areas of concern must be addressed (are you comparing spontaneous abortions to induced abortions? women who have birthed to those that haven't? were these first pregnancies and abortions or were there completed pregnancies before the abortion? etc.)
I was intrigued to find that political bias is allowed to shine through your "journal." I hadn't encountered it so directly before, but my previous searches on this website were for work and didn't address this issue or similarly political issues. There's a pro-life journal (I see you and your bias, Issues in Law and Medicine) that regularly publishes papers and submits them to PubMed. Hope my taxes aren't funding that research!
Anyway, the latest papers (2007, 2008) seem to still have some mixed results on this issue. Those that found a strong link usually have authors that always find a strong link but most papers conclude there is very little to no increased risk of breast cancer linked to abortion.

Women in Politics

The best leader does not ask people to serve him, but the common end. The best leader has not followers, but men and women working with him.
- Mary Parker Follett (1868-1933)

As we prepare to watch this evening's vice presidential debate, let's reflect on the insight provided by an American social worker, consultant, and author of books on democracy, human relations, and management. She coined phrases like "conflict resolution" and advocated the principle of power "with" instead of power "over".

Sarah Palin Action Planning Meeting TODAY in Jackson

>> TIME TO MOVE!
Please attend an organizing meeting for the
Girls and Women for Obama show of support
to coincide with the Sarah Palin Fundraiser
presently scheduled for September 24 at Teton Pines
All those who can help plan, execute and attend a hand-in-hand show of support for Obama that will line the bike path to the entrance of Teton Pines please attend this meeting. Women outside of Teton County are encouraged to come so contact all whom you think could join in.
Wednesday, September 17 @11:30
Oswald Gallery
165 North Center Street
Please bring friends, ideas and commitment (lipstick, optional)
Questions/comments please contact Mary Woollen mjwoollen@msn.com
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Give to PP in Palin's Name!

This great idea came via my friend Kirsten:

Make a donation to Planned Parenthood. In Sarah Palin's name.
And here's the good part: when you make a donation to PP in her
name, they'll send her a card telling her that the donation has
been made in her honor. Here's the link to the Planned
Parenthood website:

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/

You'll need to fill in the address to let PP know where to send
the "in Sarah Palin's honor" card. I suggest you use the address
for the McCain campaign headquarters, which is:

McCain for President
1235 S. Clark Street
1st Floor
Arlington , VA 22202
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Voter Responsibility

There are two ways of meeting difficulties: you alter the difficulties, or you alter yourself to meet them. -Phyllis Bottome This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers; they lived only 95 years ago. Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote. The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote. (Lucy Burns) And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.' They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air. (Dora Lewis) They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cell mate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women. Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote. For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms. (Alice Paul) When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/suffrage/nwp/prisoners.pdf So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because-why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining? Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new movie 'Iron Jawed Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder. All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more rote. Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes it was inconvenient. My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history, saw the HBO movie, too. When she stopped by my desk to talk about it, she looked angry. She was--with herself. 'One thought kept coming back to me as I watched that movie,' she said. 'What would those women think of the way I use, or don't use, my right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn.' The right to vote, she said, had become valuable to her 'all over again.' HBO released the movie on video and DVD. I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include the movie in their curriculum I want it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think a little shock therapy is in order. It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy. The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.' Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know. We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party remember to vote.

Katha's Tough Qs for Sarah: Pass It On!

Katha Pollitt asks Sarah Palin some doozy questions in her latest Nation column, "Lipstick on a Wing Nut". Oh, if only Sarah would reply!:

§ Suppose your 14-year-old daughter Willow is brutally raped in her bedroom by an intruder. She becomes pregnant and wants an abortion. Could you tell the parents of America why you think your child and their children should be forced by law to have their rapists' babies?

§ You say you don't believe global warming is man-made. Could you tell us what scientists you've spoken with or read who have led you to that conclusion? What do you think the 2,500 scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are getting wrong?

§ If you didn't try to fire Wasilla librarian Mary Ellen Baker over her refusal to consider censoring books, why did you try to fire her?

§ What is the European Union, and how does it function?

§ Forty-seven million Americans lack health insurance. John Goodman, who has advised McCain on healthcare, has proposed redefining them as covered because, he says, anyone can get care at an ER. Do you agree with him?

§ What is the function of the Federal Reserve?

§ Cindy and John McCain say you have experience in foreign affairs because Alaska is next to Russia. When did you last speak with Prime Minister Putin, and what did you talk about?

§ Approximately how old is the earth? Five thousand years? 10,000? 5 billion?

§ You are a big fan of President Bush, so why didn't you mention him even once in your convention speech?

§ McCain says cutting earmarks and waste will make up for revenues lost by making the tax cuts permanent. Experts say that won't wash. Balancing the Bush tax cuts plus new ones proposed by McCain would most likely mean cutting Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security. Which would you cut?

§ You're suing the federal government to have polar bears removed from the endangered species list, even as Alaska's northern coastal ice is melting and falling into the sea. Can you explain the science behind your decision?

§ You've suggested that God approves of the Iraq War and the Alaska pipeline. How do you know?

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Sarah

My brother seems to be in love with her. My mom thinks she's sharp. I'm sure there are many Wyoming women that can identify with her. I think she was an intriguing choice for VP and one which seems to have played well so far. Despite the scandals and the lack of experience, those I know on the conservative side seem to think she's perfect to be our understudy POTUS.
While it would be a nice big step forward to have a female Vice-President, I'll be voting for those who understand the importance of reproductive freedom and will fight to maintain and improve it.

Hillary

I'm listening to to Hillary Clinton's DNC speech from last night, and, wow. I felt ambivalent about her during the primary and now I'm having a bit of regret that she is not our presidential candidate.

I love that she mentioned gay rights - DNC platform be damned! I love that she mentioned crying - yes, that's what passion means sometimes. I love that she paid tribute to Michelle!

I like her message, the Democratic message, about single purpose and unity - it's way past time the Dems figured out that's what we need.

I keep thinking that Bill Clinton was her biggest Achilles heel. If she had come from a more independent background - not a wife of a leader, not a Clinton with a wishy-wash background. If she could have come to our attention like Obama did via her own merits only, and inspired a grassroots movement the way he has... If only...

At least we can rest assured that the glass ceiling has been shattered and we will have a woman president someday soon. A woman who did not have to get to her place of power by being attached to a powerful man.

Let me know your thoughts....
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Hormones

I was having dinner with some friends last night when I mentioned the NuvaRing, a birth control alternative that releases a steady flow of hormones, much like The Pill. I only just learned about this handy device and I'm particularly interested in it because you can make it work so you never have a period. Hallelujah! This is a Goddess-send to someone like me - a newly single bi girl, nearly 40-years-old, who plans never to have children. I mean, what's the point of menstruating for a woman like me?

But my friends, who are health-conscious sorts like me, were appalled by the idea. They find the artificial hormones to be too scary. Doctors say the NuvaRing is safe as can be. But is it a bad idea to play chemist with one's own body chemistry? I've been doing so for years with other medication so I guess I'm just not that freaked out by it.

I'm curious to hear from readers on this. Send us your hormone stories, birth control preferences, rants and raves...
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Guest Post: Local Election Results!

This is from Guest Blogger Zora Neale Hurston:

Power to Teton County, Wyoming! Do you know that Teton County had the nation's first all-woman town and county governments? In the early 1900s every town and county official from Mayor to Sheriff was a woman. Finally, some thoughtful, strong, sensible women are stepping up to the political plate to help fix local politics. Not one, but two great advocates for my home town have advanced to the general election in November. Louise Lasley is Public Lands Director at the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance. Her participation on the Town Council is critical during the current Master Planning cycle.

Claire Fuller, a 24-year-old 3rd generation Wilsonite, couldn't be a better advocate and example to women of all ages. Fair, intelligent, and motivated, Claire will carry her ideas and values into the world. Her grandmother is one of my heroes. Ginny Huidekoper taught me how to drive a tractor on the ranch she homesteaded at the base of Teton Pass. With views of the valley from the bench, huge granite boulders dot her hay fields like a Wyoming Zen garden. Ginny's an author, homesteader, pilot (the first woman pilot in the state), entrepreneur (she started one of Jackson's news paper on a dare received at the Stagecoach Bar in Wilson), Olympian, and a no-nonsense liver of life.

If Claire has been smart enough to pick up one iota of the magic possessed by the women in her family (her mom, Zadie, is an outstanding musician and fantastic educator), then we'll be in damn good shape for her term of office. And I know she has been.

"To me success means effectiveness in the world, that I am able to carry my ideas and values into the world - that I am able to change it in positive ways." - Maxine Hong Kingston
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Daily Reflection

Oh, the glory of growth, silent, might, persistent, inevitable.
To awaken, to open up like a flower to the light
of a fuller consciousness.
-Emily Carr

I love this quote for the day. Emily Carr was a Canadian artist and writer heavily inspired by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast.

The Importance of Solitude

Privacy is essential not only to the souls of painters and poets, who thrive in solitude, but to the rest of us too - individuals whose canvas is our lives.
- Sue Halpern

Good luck to all for whom solitude is going to be the state of existence for a while. May you find it nourishing and the building block for increased integrity.

Skulking

Look at this man's posture. He's positively skulking! Could it be that he actually feels a tinge of shame over the fact that he votes in this county even though he only spends a few weeks here a year? Could it be that the 90,000 (!!!!) civilian deaths in Iraq are finally weighing heavy on his shoulders?

Nah.. his bones are just brittle. Leave it to gravity to be the force that finally brings this man to his knees.

In defense of bikinis?

The other night, the Cowgrrls joined up to watch the Olympics women's beach volleyball competition. I, being a sports luddite, was surprised to find that the uniform of choice for the players is a bikini. Actually I suppose it's the official required uniform. Whatever. My question is, why? They're not exactly sexy bikinis - the top looks more like my sports bra than a cleavage enhancer. And the bottom is just a little snug triangle, nothing special. Still, each time I saw one of the players tug a bikini wedgie out of her bum, I had to wonder what the advantages to this outfit are. Could someone enlighten me? What would be so wrong with shorts? Bad aerodynamics? Bad ratings?

Meanwhile, over in Kanab, Utah, the City Council has been fighting bad press about the ban on bikini's at the new town pool. These sort of paradoxes really try my feminist filosophies. On the one hand, I want the Olympians to wear something more appropo of Olympic standing; on the other hand, I want the good Mormon girls of Kanab to be free to flaunt all the flesh they care to without the town getting its panties in a twist.

Oh, if all women's issues were so breezy to puzzle over...
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Anthrax Suspect Suicide Was Antiabortion

Yesterday, NPR ran a story about Bruce Ivins, who is accused of sending out deadly anthrax letters post 9/11/01. Ivins killed himself last month.

There was some speculation that Ivins had targeted Daschle and Leahy because he saw them as holding up funding that would have helped pay for his research into an anthrax vaccine. Now, officials close to the investigation say another possible motive could have been that Ivins saw the senators as bad Catholics because of their votes in favor of abortion rights.

This news dovetails with what I'm reading in Jennifer Baumgardner's excellent new book, Abortion & Life. She notes:

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, abortion providers were struck with a sick recognition: They had already been receiveing death threats from fundamentalists on a regular basis. Innocent people had been murdered and stalked, letters that claimed to contain anthrax had been sent.

Wish some of those "Homeland Security" dollars could go to protect clinic workers and patients..
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Paris Does D.C.

I'm a latecomer to this whole McCain v. Paris Hilton wrangle. I just read up on the face-off on The Nation, and I watched Paris Hilton's comeback to McCain's put-down of her. I never thought I'd hear myself say this but, I *heart* Paris Hilton!

XY Games

I heard a very interesting story on Talk of the Nation this morning about gender testing at the Olympics. For years, all female Olympians were subjected to a pretty degrading physical examination to determine whether or not they were in fact women. Male Olympians were not subjected to testing. I'll infer that the organizers believed that men would disguise themselves as women in order to compete against "lesser athletes" and have a better chance of winning but that women would not disguise themselves as men. This value judgment does not strike me as entirely valid. I imagine there have been women that wanted to compete in events that were not open to women and therefore disguised themselves as men. Moreover, there are many events were men and women can compete on an equal footing, I'm sure. For instance, would women competing in equestrian events be subjected to testing? I think male and female equestrians compete against each other. I digress. The point is, in China, they plan to perform genetic testing on some female athletes if their gender comes into question. The 'genetic test' label gives the results the appearance of scientific authority. However, apparently gender is not always black and white. There are certain syndromes that cause individuals to test positive for some markers of the opposite gender. These people have no knowledge of this condition. They told the story of an Indian marathoner who "tested" male but was a woman. She looked like a woman and had always identified as a woman. Nonetheless, she was stripped of her medal and demonized in the media. This phenomenon whereby some people may appear on a genetic level to not be 100% female or 100% male was fascinating to me. I'd love to learn more about it.

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Good News: A Step Toward Pay Equity!

Via The Gavel:

House Passes the Paycheck Fairness Act

July 31st, 2008 by Jesse Lee

The House has just passed the Paycheck Fairness Act, H.R. 1338, by a vote of 247-178. Although the wage gap between men and women has narrowed since the passage of the landmark Equal Pay Act in 1963, gender-based wage discrimination remains a problem for women in the U.S. workforce. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women only make 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. The Institute of Women’s Policy Research found that this wage disparity will cost women anywhere from $400,000 to $2 million over a lifetime in lost wages. Furthermore, loopholes created by courts and weak sanctions in the law have allowed many employers to avoid liability for engaging in gender-based pay discrimination. The Paycheck Fairness Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), will strengthen the Equal Pay Act and close the loopholes that have allowed employers to avoid responsibility for discriminatory pay.

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Stuff that's not in the recruiting ads....

Women in the military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than to die in combat. Only 8% of reported sexually assaults are referred to courts martial. An 'army of one' shouldn't mean defending yourself from other US soldiers.


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Back assward

Haiti just ratified Michele Pierre-Louis as prime minister. She is the second female prime minister in the country's history. Haiti has had two female prime ministers. Haiti. Sigh.


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