Did you know that pregnant women have been fired for using the bathroom to vomit, needing to carry a water bottle on the job, or asking to sit on a stool instead of standing in place all day? While employers have to make allowances like these for other types of temporary disabilities, a number of bad court decisions have encouraged them to feel they can get away with firing or mistreating pregnant workers with impunity.
It’s disgraceful and unacceptable that at a time when unnecessary budget cuts are decimating food, medical, and educational supports for low-income families, pregnant women continue to be pushed out of their jobs just as they take on all the expenses of having a new baby.
Read more about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
and take action by contacting your congressperson.
Why is El Salvador letting a woman die?
This past month, the world has been watching a 22-year-old pregnant woman in El Salvador die, little by little. I want to say it is like watching an accident happen in slow motion, but this situation is no accident. El Salvador’s government is deliberately denying lifesaving treatment to the woman, for no reason other than that she is pregnant.
According to a new report, the United States has the highest first-day death rate in the industrialized world. Addressing this and related problems will require comprehensive efforts to reduce pervasive economic, social, and health disparities.
In the United States, an estimated 11,300 babies die each year on the day they are born, according to anew report from Save the Children. The United States has the highest first-day death rate in the industrialized world, and given its large population it has 50 percent more first-day deaths than all other industrialized countries combined. The alarming report has clear implications for U.S. policy, particularly the importance of investing in and expanding the reach of programs like Medicaid and Title X that make affordable pregnancy-related care and family planning services available to millions of women who are otherwise unable to obtain such care.
First-day deaths have many contributing factors, according to the report, including preterm, unplanned, and teen births. One in eight U.S. babies—a total of over half a million births each year—are born prematurely, and U.S. preterm births rank second only to Cyprus in the industrialized world. The report also notes that half of all U.S. pregnancies are unintended and that the U.S. adolescent birth rate is the highest among industrialized countries—with teenage mothers tending to be poorer, less educated, and receiving less prenatal care than older mothers.
In the early stages of pregnancy, there are two lives in the balance, but one of them is a potential life; it can only become viable over time and at the expense of the other.
Only that mother knows what the cost to her will be and whether she can afford it or not.I defy anyone, male or female, to look my 17-year-old self in the eye and tell her that they feel personally entitled to deny her the right to regain control of her own body, that they will force her to endure an extension of that rape for the sake of their world view.
But that’s what it means to pass laws that frame the kinds of restrictions our legislature are discussing right now.
— TW: I Was Raped When I Was 17. Where Were the Abortion Experts and Commentators? (via forthecatholicgirls)(via antiprolife)
Criminalized Pregnancies: When One Woman’s Suicide Attempt Becomes Murder
The following is an excerpt from chapter five of Crow After Roe: How “Separate But Equal” Is the New Standard in Women’s Health and How We Can Change That (Ig Publishing) by RH Reality Check‘s Robin Marty and Jessica Mason Pieklo.
Ultimately, Shuai’s case leaves pregnant women exposed to the subjective, scientifically unsound opinions of law enforcement and the state. It raises severe equal protection concerns as well, since prosecutors have effectively made suicide a crime that applies only to pregnant women. Furthermore, a state engages in gender discrimination when it places additional restrictions on women from which men are exempt, which is unconstitutional under both state and federal law. Shuai did not become pregnant by herself, and, in fact, the father of her child, who promised to care for her and their baby and instead abandoned them, was the catalyst of her emotional breakdown. Yet he was not prosecuted despite the fact that “a person who intentionally causes another human being, by force, duress, or deception, to commit suicide commits causing suicide,” a Class B felony in the state of Indiana. The inescapable conclusion of the Shuai case was that in Indiana, a pregnant woman now had a fundamentally different relationship to the criminal justice system than did the father of the child.
Two Legal Settlements Highlight Pervasive Problem of Pregnancy Discrimination
In the settlement, CUNY has agreed to adopt a new university-wide policy addressing the rights of pregnant and parenting students under Title IX, publish and disseminate that policy to its faculty, conduct training so that faculty members understand their obligations, and include the policy in the student handbook. CUNY also agreed to reinstate Stewart’s full-tuition scholarship and reimburse her for expenses she incurred taking an extra course this semester in order to graduate on time. The settlement will protect the rights of tens of thousands of parents and pregnant students in this sprawling New York City college system.
The entire CUNY system—spanning all five boroughs of New York City—has over 269,000 students this year. Women account for 58.4 percent of that student population, while approximately 15 percent of the student body are parents. But the national dropout rates among pregnant and parenting students are stark: 61 percent of women who have children after enrolling in community college do not graduate. This number is 65 percent higher than for women who do not have children while in college.
The second settlement involved claims between Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and Amy Crosby, a 30-year-old pregnant hospital cleaner in Tallahassee, Florida. NWLC filed a complaint last month with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on Crosby’s behalf after Crosby was forced to take unpaid leave when the hospital refused to accommodate her doctor’s request that she not lift more than 20 pounds because of her pregnancy. “We are encouraged that the hospital and Amy Crosby have been able to resolve this matter,” Emily Martin, NWLC vice president and general counsel, said in a statement. “While the specific terms of the agreement are confidential, we are very pleased that as a result of their cooperation, Amy will be able to continue to work at the hospital. But it’s important to take note of the countless other pregnant women across the country—especially those working in low-wage jobs—who face discrimination on the job when they simply need a small adjustment or accommodation that would allow them to keep working. These women are often forced out on unpaid leave or simply fired, at the very moment they’re relying on their income and job security.”
![Criss Pregnancy Centers in the Oregon are defending their right to lie in the face of a new Oregon bill.
But Oregon is debating a bill that would have an entirely different effect on reproductive rights. State lawmakers want to ensure that CPCs offer truthful disclosures and that women who enter them are aware of the CPCs’ anti-choice agenda.
SB 490 would require CPCs in the state to disclose, both online and in their offices, what services they do and do not offer. They would have to disclose whether they offer abortion referrals and whether or not they offer contraception. Even more importantly, the bill would require CPCs to act under general health privacy guidelines, which means that “[a]n entity that collects health information from a patron of the entity may not disclose the patron’s health information to any other person without the written authorization of the patron,” according to the bill.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/dc28460b5fb7442807310ac07c3786c1/tumblr_mksxzteP2S1rql3wmo1_400.jpg)
But Oregon is debating a bill that would have an entirely different effect on reproductive rights. State lawmakers want to ensure that CPCs offer truthful disclosures and that women who enter them are aware of the CPCs’ anti-choice agenda.
SB 490 would require CPCs in the state to disclose, both online and in their offices, what services they do and do not offer. They would have to disclose whether they offer abortion referrals and whether or not they offer contraception. Even more importantly, the bill would require CPCs to act under general health privacy guidelines, which means that “[a]n entity that collects health information from a patron of the entity may not disclose the patron’s health information to any other person without the written authorization of the patron,” according to the bill.
Why Can’t I Stop Being So Scared of Pregnancy?
lucyinthesky asks:
I have a problem, and I’m ready to crack with the stress of it. I’ve been on birth control (Yaz) for a year, to help with my acne, though I don’t always take it at the same time every day. Sometimes I’ve missed pills or taken them over 12 hours late. That shouldn’t really matter, though, because I’m not sexually active. My boyfriend and I have decided to wait until we get married to have sex. We only ever make out. Still, I find myself worrying about pregnancy risks even though there are no apparent ways to get pregnant from what we do. Some small part of my mind will whisper things like, “What if he has pre-ejaculate that seeps through his clothes onto you? What if he had a nocturnal emission that night he stayed over?” Nobody else I know seems to have this constant paranoia. I don’t understand why I spend half my time worrying about a pregnancy that most people understand is impossible. I’m not sure what I’m asking here, other than, have you ever seen this before—a girl terrified of something happening when it isn’t even likely? Is there any way I can help myself and get peace of mind? Thanks.
Heather Corinna replies:
Not only have we seen this before, it’s something we see often. At our message boards, at least once or twice a week a user comes to us feeling exactly like you are. I promise, it’s not just you. Over the years, I’ve looked and looked for some kind of study on pervasive pregnancy worries when there’s not a likely risk, or when it’s been made clear someone is not pregnant, and when someone also really knows they’re not pregnant, but I’ve yet to find anything, beyond information on false or “hysterical pregnancy,” which isn’t what this is. So, I’m afraid I can’t offer you much of anything clinical, but I can certainly offer you my observations from seeing this over the years.
Some people do have a phobia specifically about pregnancy, birth, or parenting: tocophobia (sometimes spelled tokophobia or parturiphobia). In other words, just like some people have pervasive or seemingly illogical fears about heights or small spaces, some phobias are pregnancy-based, about becoming pregnant, being pregnant, and/or giving birth. This is more common than people think, especially in people who can actually become pregnant. Given what a huge deal and big life-changers pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting are, that’s not that surprising. This phobia, like any, is best addressed with a qualified therapist who treats phobias. If you feel this may be the case with you, it is something you’ll want to seek treatment for to feel better. That’s going to be particularly important if you ever do want to become pregnant, because even wanted pregnancy can be very emotionally difficult for someone with a pregnancy phobia.
Just a friendly reminder for those of you who refuse to believe that EC is NOT a medication abortion.
