This political season, everyone who is against abortion keeps rattling off about how it’s an easy choice for a woman. I hear words scrambled into arguments that are excruciatingly harsh. Words like…MURDER and SELFISH and HUMAN LIFE and RESPONSIBILITY. I am here to tell you that abortion is never an easy choice. For anyone.

No, I have not had an abortion myself. Thankfully, I have been using birth control and condoms consistently and I have never been pregnant. If I were to ever become pregnant somehow, I cannot say that I would have the baby. I know that choice is gut-wrenching. That is why I do everything I can to make sure that I don’t ever have to make it. I have been sexually active for almost 5 years now and my methods of birth control have always worked.

Some of my friends, however, have not been as careful as I have been. Some of my friends, including a best friend and a roommate, have gone through the process of an abortion. Believe me, it is not as easy as many people paint it to be. I have watched these girls cry for nights on end. The choice to have something taken out of your body that could grow into a life, regardless of whether or not you believe it is currently ‘alive,’ is one of the hardest choices a woman can ever make.

My old roommate, Carol, couldn’t speak for days after she found out she was pregnant. She was 21, in college, and a dancer. Going forward with having the baby would mean postponing her college graduation at least a year. She would have had no way to pay rent — since she was paying it through student loans — if she left her dance program. She would have to move back across the country to live with her mom and be apart from all of the friends she had made, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend wanted the choice to be hers, but we all knew the truth: he didn’t have any money and hardly any responsibility. Read More »

We’ve got a serious case of the Issues this year. But what to care about? Where do you aim your burgeoning, passionate fury? Trick question! Everywhere, of course! We’re all such furious young people. But you’d be remiss if these weren’t on your political plate:

-The New Russia
Does Russia actually have the national cojones to start a second Cold War? Honestly, it seems unlikely; as a nation, we’re not as fresh around nukes as we used to be, and I’d hope there have been enough near misses since then that’d we’d be leery of another round of brinkmanship. But it’s clear that the Motherland is tired of playing second fiddle to emerging powerhouses like China, and with all the god-knows-what they’ve been getting into recently, we’ll definitely want a Prez who can play both hardball and group hugs with the Russians. Of course, this probably won’t affect the average college student much, though you might want to bug your facilities management about getting some sturdier desks. Read More »

I know that I am a woman of the new millennium, but I still cannot believe that in 2008 there are still people out there trying to control women’s bodies and what we choose to do with them. Especially doctors.

Recently, a federal rule was proposed in Minnesota that would eliminate the mandate for hospitals to provide emergency contraception to rape victims. This rule would “broaden the definition of abortion to include the most widely used forms of birth control, which can prevent implantation of a fertilized egg.”

“It elaborates that the rule change would mean doctors and nurses would not have to provide information on birth control, prescriptions or give referrals to get it elsewhere. Operating room technicians would not have to clean instruments used in a surgical procedure, the proposal said.” Read More »

She’ll give you a lap dance, as long as you hold her cane

I guess I’m not the only one who has no idea how to do that damn self breast exam

How to “unlock” your iPhone 3G

Sure! Let’s define Birth Control as abortion!! Sounds like a plan, George W!!!

Yo, stop buying sh*t

I always thought they were recycling this stuff

Oh man, these Belugas are seriously tripping me out

Some best friend she is

Eat your Pork Rinds, Billy! They’re good for you

Sarah Jessica Parker’s Mole…ohmygod you guys, it’s gone!!

I’ve sought out emergency contraception three times since 2002. In the first part of this article, I shared the situations that got me into trouble. In this part, I’ll share how I got out, and my experiences with the pill itself.

TAKE I:

So, I find myself in trouble, due to two factors: first, the drunk and condom-free attentions of my (newly ex) boyfriend, and second, his unwillingness to deal in any way with the consequences. I solve this problem as I solve all others: by turning to lady friends and Google.

My roommate Kristin and I look up the “morning after” pill, and discover that there’s only one clinic within driving distance that prescribes it. We also discover that EC is only effective if it’s taken seventy-two hours after sex; thanks to my post-breakup moping, I have about twelve hours left. It will take two hours to reach the clinic. We scramble to the car.

When we arrive at the clinic, I am escorted into an exam room, where I meet a blonde woman in a lab coat. I explain my situation, and ask for the EC.

She shakes her head at me. I see pity in her eyes.

“I can’t prescribe those pills to you, honey,” she says. “I’m a Christian.”

This is the precise moment when I start crying. Read More »

I’ve gone to a doctor for emergency contraception three times. Every experience has been different. The first two instances occurred years apart; the second and third happened within months of each other. I’ve gone whilst in monogamous relationships, and after casual sex. I’ve gone to a doctor’s office, an emergency room, and Planned Parenthood. Only one thing remained the same: I was never ready to get pregnant.

EC, for those not in the know, is a blanket term for a variety of medications that change your body’s chemistry to reduce your chances of getting pregnant. Plan B is the most popular, and it’s wonderful for many reasons. Yet, with the exception of the occasions on which various looney-pantsed individuals have pitched a fit about its legality (because we all know that unwed mothers are sacred to the right wing), very few people talk about it.

Because I think this is lame, and because I enjoy sharing a bit too much about my body, I’ve decided to give a run-down of my EC experiences. I’ve split it into two parts: The Problem, in which I almost get pregnant, and The Cure, in which I don’t.

Read away. Read More »

[Okay.  So now maybe it WASN’T fake?!] 

[Editor’s Note: since this story was published, Schvarts has admitted to faking the reality of the situation. Her project was to induce conversation about such topics, not actually do them]

Well if my massive hangover wasn’t enough to get me to barf this morning, this story will surely help.

It seems that the line between what is art and what is downright vulgar and disgusting is a lot finer than believed. Aliza Schvarts, an art student at Yale, artificially inseminated herself repeatedly while simultaneously taking medications to induce miscarriages…for her senior art project.

The final product is “a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself ‘as often as possible’ while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process….” Read More »

Meet Thomas Beatie, 34, born in Hawaii and currently residing with his wife, Nancy, in Oregon. The happy couple wed in 2002 and as you’ve no doubt heard by now, they are attracting worldwide attention thanks to the tiny little fact that Thomas, not Nancy, is carrying their first child.

In the April 8th issue of The Advocate, the leading GLBT magazine, he wrote an article entitled, Labor of Love: Is society ready for this pregnant husband? , in which he discusses his decision to carry his daughter and the difficulties which he and his wife now face.

During his sex-change surgery, Thomas decided to only have his breasts removed– keeping his reproductive organs intact. Therefore, since Nancy, his wife, lost her womb to a disease, it was up to either Thomas or a stranger surrogate to provide the couple with offspring.

The first few doctors they went to were horribly unsupportive. One nearly insisted that he shave off his facial hair and go to counseling. Read More »