Abortion

Obviously Cardinal Dolan Is Really Pissed About Cuomo's Abortion Bill

A few weeks ago, we wrote a post entitled "Cuomo's Women's Equality Act Brings The A-Word To New York State Politics." The headline basically tells the whole story. It focused on the brewing controversy evoked by a tiny stipulation in Cuomo's new bill that calls for writing Roe v. Wade protections ... More >>

Cuomo's Women's Equality Act Brings The A-Word To New York State Politics

In the video below, Governor Cuomo lays out his intentions for the Women's Equality Act - a plan that would focus on erasing specific gender biases in New York State law. Akin to the gun control bill passed in December, it's a landmark piece of legislation for the Cuomo administration and, per usual ... More >>

Supreme Court Hears Arguments Against California's Same-Sex Marriage Ban, Punts

At approximately 10:15 this morning, the U.S. Supreme Court started hearing arguments on Proposition 8, the 2008 California initiative that banned same-sex marriage in the state. It was the court's first major hearing of gay rights in 10 years, and will be followed by consideration of the Defense of ... More >>

Hillary, Roe v. Wade's 40th, and the Great Conservative Revival Not Working Out for Rightbloggers

Since the 2012 Presidential election, conservatives have been trying to think up ways to revive their movement. Last week a number of them approached the subject, including George F. Will (basically you're doing great don't change anything), Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (basically you're doing g ... More >>

Man Who Threatens Life of Two Pro-Life Advocates Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison

Yesterday, 51-year-old New York native Theodore Shulman was sentenced by Manhattan federal court to 41 months in prison for threatening the lives of two pro-life advocates online after pleading guilty in May. It all started in January 2010, when Shulman, the son of feminist political activist Alix ... More >>

Man Who Threatens Life of Two Pro-Life Advocates Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison

Yesterday, 51-year-old New York native Theodore Shulman was sentenced by Manhattan federal court to 41 months in prison for threatening the lives of two pro-life advocates online after pleading guilty in May. It all started in January 2010, when Shulman, the son of feminist political activist Alix ... More >>

Planned Parenthood's Worried About Money Problems (As Explained In $4.6 Million Ad Campaign Bashing Mitt Romney)

Planned Parenthood is worried that a Mitt Romney presidency would leave the group strapped for cash -- and it's explaining the potential predicament by spending more money on political attack ads bashing Romney than it's ever spent before.We'll repeat: Planned Parenthood is concerned about potential ... More >>

Senate Hopeful Tom Smith In "Another Day, Another Stupid Rape Comment From A GOP Senate Candidate"

Here's some free advice for Republican Senate candidates: stop talking about rape! Even if a reporter tries to bait you into it with some sort of rape-y/abortion question, just say "my Republicanism guarantees that I will somehow fuck this up and come across looking like an insensitive prick. So no ... More >>

Even Pro-Life Christians Think Congressman Todd Akin Is "Extreme"

"He seems a little extreme."Those were the words we were shocked to hear this morning when we spoke to a pro-life Christian leader about the idiotic comments made by Congressman Todd Akin about women being able to magically end a pregnancy when they're the victims of "legitimate rape."Pastor Robert ... More >>

Scientology and Forced Abortion: Laura DeCrescenzo's Three-Year Legal Odyssey

Laura DeCrescenzo had just got out of a two and a half hour deposition with attorneys for the Church of Scientology when I talked to her on the telephone yesterday at her home in Albuquerque. All told, over the three years she's been suing Scientology for the way she was treated as a young Sea Org ... More >>

Mitt Romney Might Pick a Woman Running Mate. What's His Record With The Ladies?

Team Romney might pick a woman as Mitt's running mate, reports now indicate. As the Atlantic Wire's Elspeth Reeve pointed out, this marks a drastic shift from the campaign's previous "no more Palins" / "boring white guy" approach to potential veeps, which "appeared to rule out not just candidates w ... More >>

Wendy Long: What Does NY's GOP Senate Candidate Want To Do With Your Vagina?

Sorry, ladies: even though today is a great day to have a vagina in America, there are still politicians out there who want to control our girlparts -- even in New York. One of those pols, recently nominated Manhattan lawyer Wendy Long, will face off against U.S. Sen Kirsten Gillibrand in November ... More >>

In Arizona and Texas, A Planned Parenthood Free-for-All

"Family planning:" The wholly innocent term infuriates the pro-life community. To them, it connotes Big Government abortions, the movie Juno and everything that is "morally wrong" with women's reproductive health (apparently, there is a lot). Since the female health service organization Planned ... More >>

WILL BOWL FOR CASH

Hit the lanes for a good cause

October Baby

New York's Reproductive Health Act: What You Need To Know

It's Cardinal Timothy Dolan Week (no, really), and the conservative Catholic leader has certainly not let the eponymous 7-day shindig go to waste. Dolan made the rounds in Albany on Monday, where he and other top Catholics made clear their anti-abortion and anti-pedophilia prosecution positions. ... More >>

Mitt Romney Thinks He Can Just "Get Rid" Of Planned Parenthood (Which He Can't) -- And New York Dems Are Pissed!

​Former Massachusetts governor/wannabe GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's currently catching some heat from the left over comments he made about his desire to "get rid" of Planned Parenthood -- something he has no authority to do, even if he is elected president.One of those worked up over R ... More >>

Rick Santorum Opposes Prenatal Testing, Women

​Rick Santorum doesn't think that insurance companies should have to pay for a simple diagnostic test that determines whether a baby will be born sick or severely disabled. Santorum, who is so anti-abortion that he would make his own daughter carry a rape-baby to term, thinks that amniocente ... More >>

Virginia Wants to Wand Your Vagina. Rightbloggers are Outraged (That You'd Complain)

The week before last, some Catholic organizations were told they'd have to allow their insurance providers to offer (at their own cost) birth control to their employees. Rightbloggers were outraged at this violation of the Catholic orgs' civil rights. Last week, the Virginia legislature passed a bi ... More >>

Susan G. Komen for the Cure: Guns are OK, Planned Parenthood Is Not

​More unsettling developments in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure shitshow. The breast cancer advocacy group cut $680,000 in screening grants to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, saying that the organization could not give money to groups that are under congressional investigation. ( ... More >>

Planned Parenthood NYC: Breast Cancer Screenings Will Continue in the City

​The battle has finally been won against...breast cancer screenings? Yes, you read that right and yes, it's OK to get really pissed off, ladies. Amid sustained pressure from right-to-life groups (and the congressmen they support), Susan G. Komen for the Cure -- the nation's main breast can ... More >>

America’s Top Heathen

Odin himself might have had a hard time predicting Dan Halloran’s strange career on New York’s City Council

Lizz Winstead Tells Us Why She Wants to Make Planned Parenthood Like LensCrafters

Photo by Mindy Tucker​Lizz Winstead is a wee bit tired. She's been traveling since June 14 with her "Planned Parenthood, I'm Here For You!" Comedy Tour, which has spanned 12 cities and 10 states. Plus she's been working on her upcoming book, out in June of 2012. All this activity "does energiz ... More >>

Eleanor Bergstein, Screenwriter, Talks Dirty Dancing

Wikipedia​At Monday night's screening of Dirty Dancing, hosted by Jezebel for the New York Abortion Access Fund at Cinema Village, one attendee asked screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein to entertain the audience with what would have been some fan fiction. "I'm wondering if in your mind you have an ... More >>

Q&A: Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino On Planned Parenthood, Her First "Sex Talk," And Being A Role Model

​ Yesterday morning a vote by North Carolina's legislature overrode Governor Bev Perdue's veto of the state's budget, and as one of the consequences North Carolina became the third state in recent weeks to cut all public funding to Planned Parenthood programs. Proponents of the measure relied ... More >>

It's As If Jon Kyl Never Even Opened His Mouth

Is this smirk intended to be a factual statement?​Arizona Senator Jon "Cowardly Lyin'" Kyl's egregiously, ludicrously wrong not-intended-to-be-a-factual-statement about Planned Parenthood's abortion services has been stricken from the Congressional record. It's as though it never even happened ... More >>

On Shutdown Budget Deal, Rightbloggers Agree: Planned Parenthood is Evil

Last week's threatened shutdown of the federal government over the budget was averted, at least temporarily, by a compromise plan. The compromise throws the big-spending Democrats into reverse, and gives Republicans who had promised sweeping cuts a small, face-saving victory. Now onto the next ... More >>

Planned Parenthood Care Chart vs. NPR Spending Chart

​After last night's late budget compromise and extension, Planned Parenthood has been protected from any government spending cuts (so far). Yesterday, the Washington Post's Ezra Klein posted a graph from Planned Parenthood demonstrating what activities they perform (abortion is excluded from f ... More >>

PLAN ON IT

A political rally you can dance to

CLINIC COMEDY

Look at this fucking House of Representatives

About That Fetus Called to Testify in Court...

​Yesterday we wrote about the 9-week-old fetus "called to testify in court" as part of anti-abortion group Faith2Action's oh-so-dramatic effort to convince Ohio legislators to pass the so-called Heartbeat Bill, which would outlaw abortions after a fetus's first detectable heartbeat. If passed, ... More >>

Fetus Called to Testify in Court

​Janet Folger Porter, president of anti-abortion group Faith2Action, has called a 9-week-old fetus to testify before Ohio's House Health Committee in favor of legislation that would outlaw abortions after the first heartbeat can be medically detected. We have many questions about this.

Abortion Billboard in SoHo Calls Out African Americans During Black History Month

​Life Always, an anti-abortion group, revealed a giant new billboard today at Sixth Avenue and Watts Street in the New York City neighborhood of SoHo, featuring a picture of a young black girl and text that reads, "The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb." Underneath is ... More >>

Glenn Beck Accuses Planned Parenthood of Abetting Sex Trafficking (Video)

via Fox News​In Glenn Beck's universe, Planned Parenthood is not just an organization that provides reproductive health care and education to those in need of it. Planned Parenthood, as he "revealed" during his program yesterday, is a nefarious ring of criminals involved in child sex trafficking. ... More >>

House Votes to Block Federal Aid For Planned Parenthood

​The House of Representatives voted Friday afternoon to block Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funding by a count of 240-185. The measure was led by GOP Rep. Mike Pence, who argues that the government should not support organizations that "provide or promote" abortion. The group last ... More >>

Would a South Dakota Bill Legalize the Murder of Abortion Doctors?

​There's a law being put forth in South Dakota by Rep. Phil Jensen that's getting a lot of attention as it seems as if it would effectively allow for -- perhaps even promote -- the murder of abortion doctors. The law seeks to make killings intended to prevent harm to a fetus part of the defini ... More >>

"Forcible Rape" Back to Just Regular "Rape" in House Bill

​The biggest problem in the House of Representatives at the moment is Chris Smith's "No Taxpayer for Abortion" Act, which seeks to limit women's choices in reproductive matters by doing things like banning federal funding for abortions in rape cases. Also an issue, though, was the bill's langu ... More >>

Philly Abortion Doc Murdered Babies With Scissors, Prosecutors Say

A Philly abortion doctor -- he wasn't even an OB/GYN but just a general practitioner -- is accused of the grisly murders of viable babies after he illegally plucked them from the wombs of women in their last trimester. The babies were born alive, say prosecutors, and then Dr. Kenneth Gosnell used ... More >>

Catholic Church Abortion-Shames New Yorkers, But of Course They're Missing the Point

​Abortion. Saying the word in the midst of a cocktail party will hush even the most intrepid of irreverent souls. Because even if you're pro-choice, you can't actually be pro-abortion, at least not in any public fashion. Baby killing is always, always, always bad. Right? Which is perhaps why t ... More >>

The 2010 Rightblogger War on Christmas Special -- Featuring Abortion Gift Certificates!

Merry War on Christmas! This conflict has been dragging on for years, which is not entirely a bad thing, as it has produced a thriving War on Christmas industry, which our economy desperately needs. The opportunities for outrage this year are slim, but where there's a rightblogger, there's a way, w ... More >>

Before Roe v. Wade: Fighting Over Abortion in Albany

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. March 25, 1971, Vol. XVI, No. 12 A holy war in Albany for the 'Right to Life' By Robin Reisig The New York State legislature is probably going to practice medicine again this spring. Abortion medicine. Catholics opposed to killing "th ... More >>

Pre-Roe v. Wade, Abortion in NYC Still Difficult in 1970

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. October 15, 1970, Vol. XV, No. 42 The New Abortion Law: Back to the Quacks By Robin Reisig If you need an abortion after next Monday, when New York City's new health code on abortions becomes law, you may find yourself driven back to " ... More >>

NARAL's Endorsement of Eric Schneiderman: The Backstory

​NARAL New York just produced a video and hosted a press conference for Eric Schneiderman, the Democratic candidate for attorney general. NARAL has yet to even endorse Andrew Cuomo, the sitting attorney general who is running for governor. Yet it is governors who shape abortion policy; Ne ... More >>

Eric Schneiderman's Numbers Don't Look So Hot, Victory and All

​If you've never heard of Jay Townsend, guess what? He runs a small marketing firm and lives in Cornwall on the Hudson and last night he got at least 10,000 more votes than Eric Schneiderman (http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/primary_2010_returns/). Townsend is now the Republican cand ... More >>

Q&A: Against Me!'s Tom Gabel on Anarchists, Anti-Abortion Billboards, Alternative Press Magazine

tkTom is the one in black. Against Me! leader Tom Gabel is the sort of lyricist that can't stop himself from contemplating the folly of Robert McNamara's foreign policy decisions mid-song, and he's the sort of singer that can find a way to make the former Secretary of Defense's quirky name positive ... More >>

When an Abortionist Dies

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. January 30, 1969, Vol. XIV, No. 16 Dr. Spencer, 1889-1969: Last Trip to Ashland by Susan Brownmiller One month, to the date, before his death last Tuesday, I was privileged to meet the legendary Dr. Robert Douglas Spencer. The trip to ... More >>

A Quick Look at BAMcinemaFEST Docs: 12th & Delaware

Clip Job: The Abortionist, Before Roe v. Wade

​Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives. August 18, 1966, Vol. XI, No. 44 The Abortionist on The Circuit of Fear By Marlene Nadle The abortionist is the man hunted by the police and a million desperate women a year. No city can be without him. Few are. In almost ever town ... More >>

Chatting with a signer of the 'Manhattan Declaration'

​This week, 150 Christian religious leaders unveiled the Manhattan Declaration: A Call to Christian Conscience, named after our very own borough. It's a manifesto signed by prominent Christian leaders that calls for staunch opposition to things like abortion, gay marriage, and other satatanic ... More >>