Surprise! Pregnancy before conception in Arizona

Amitti Mackey

Disclaimer: This post is filled with sarcasm and the content may not reflect the views of everyone at the UI Women’s Center

Governor Jan Brewer (R-Ariz) recently signed a law into existence that further limits the control women have over their own bodies when it comes to abortion. The law states that a woman is considered pregnant two weeks before conception.

Yes, you read that correctly. A fetus in Arizona is considered “conceived” before an egg is ever fertilized inside a woman’s body. Please try to wrap your brain around that for a second.

Can’t do it? That’s because it sounds as though women’s uteruses in Arizona have suddenly become time machines and there is some paradoxical, constant pregnancy happening. According to this (unethical and biologically impossible) logic, women are perpetually pregnant, provided at some point in time they have sex and a sperm makes its way to an egg. Sound crazy? It is.

This law was designed to further limit the amount of time in which a woman can proceed with an abortion. Most laws state abortions must occur before the point of viability, or when a fetus can survive on its own outside the womb. Many medical experts say this stage occurs about 22 to 26 weeks into pregnancy. The logic behind the new law is to calculate the gestational age according to the first day of the previous menstrual period, rather than the date of conception. For all intents and purposes, that is about two weeks, shortening the time frame for women to have abortions to roughly 20 weeks post actual-conception.

I am not going to get into my views on pro-life versus pro-choice. It is irrelevant for the topic at hand and a can of worms I don’t want to bust open for discussion less than two weeks prior to graduation—priorities, people, priorities. The point I’m trying to make is how scientifically and medically dishonest the wording of this bill is. As my friend Rachel so astutely said, it’s really sad when real-life headlines resemble those of The Onion.

War for Women’s Votes

Hannah Blankenship  

The GOP’s media-monikered “War on Women” has dominated headlines for weeks.

Rightfully so, it follows months of hostile treatment towards women through Republican legislation which attempts to control reproductive rights and access to birth control.

Shoe-in presidential nominee Mitt Romney has led much of this movement…until he realized that he was clearly lacking female support in several key swing states, and quickly backtracked. The War on Women has quickly become a war over women’s votes, with both sides casting accusations at the other.

Obama has supported women and our reproductive rights from the start. Back in 2009, Obama’s first Act of Congress was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which feminists know as one important step in ensuring women are paid fairly among their male peers. In stark contrast, Romney’s campaign staff couldn’t give a clear answer to a Huffington Post reporter when asked if the nominee supports equal pay for women (what the act ensures). The staff’s canned response of “we’ll get back to you on that” inspired a trending Twitter hashtag, showing that women find this response to a simple civil rights question ridiculous.

An ABC News/Washington Post poll from earlier this week suggests Romney is already paying for these and other anti-women’s-rights gaffes. The poll shows 57 percent of registered female voters support Obama, while only 38 percent support Romney. The poll, which ABC called “the second major national poll in recent weeks pointing to a gender gap,” also illustrates the president’s “largest margin among women to date.”

What’s in our feed?

• Utah’s state Senate approved a bill Tuesday that would require schools to teach abstinence only sex-education. Senators are still arguing about the implications of the bill, which would also prevent students and teachers from discussing contraception and homosexuality in schools. Read the full article here.
• A recent study reveals the economic benefits of birth control. A New York Times article discusses the advantages of birth control in women’s professional—and personal—lives.
• Ron Paul visited the University of Idaho campus Monday. I had the pleasure of attending (Ick). One thing caught my attention; Paul talked about his fervent support for the freedom of American people to choose for themselves, saying:

“Why can’t you make up your own mind about what you put in your own body?…If we believe in freedom, you don’t endorse what other people do.”

Meanwhile, he remains firmly against abortion. Maybe by “American people” he means “American men.” Hmm…

Paul’s anti-choice explanation –> here.

Paul implying women lie about rape –> here.

UI students weigh in on Paul’s first visit –> here.

Birth control: a universal right

Hannah Blankenship

Americans support universal access to birth control.

A nationwide poll by Quinnipiac University shows that 54 percent of voters approve of President Obama’s revised requirement, which ensures women have access to free contraceptives through their employer’s coverage, or if they work for a religiously exempt entity, that insurance company will provide them access. Though debate in Congress this week would make Americans think otherwise, this new poll shows that we approve.

And why shouldn’t we?

Universal access to free birth control means we are making strides in the right direction. While most women—meaning 99 percent of women—use birth control at some point during their lifetime, it only affirms that  women will be able to use and afford the method of their choice.

Though GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum informed us last week (thanks, Rick!) that birth control costs women “just a few dollars,” the overwhelming majority of women know that over the average 30 years spent preventing pregnancy, contraception comes with a hefty price tag. Depending on the method, an insured woman can spend anywhere from $4,089 (IUD) to $12,999 (the pill or vaginal ring) during her lifetime. Uninsured women then incur a cost anywhere from $8,178 (IUD) to a staggering $73,159 (the pill or vaginal ring).

And the benefits don’t stop there. Universal birth control doesn’t just liberate women from these steep costs. Providing access means that we as a nation can look forward to speedy, pragmatic benefits. The only thing we expect to see go downhill is the rate of unintended pregnancies, along with abortion rates. We, as a nation, have an opportunity to help women save on their health care, which can lead to this money being reinvested in other, more fruitful ways. Women may be able to explore more options, in the education or employment fields. And while these economic ramifications are exciting to imagine, the real thrill lies in the potential to empower women across America.

As a commentator on rhrealitycheck.org recently wrote, though, many women who use contraception walk a fine line:

“On one hand, everyone uses it. On the other hand, there’s still a stigma attached to it. Young women feel anxious about getting birth control pills, and many people don’t carry condoms around when they should because it’s stigmatizing. Contraception is still seen as the active choice, in no small part because you have to pay money for it.”

As she pointed out, and as many women know, the argument about universal access to birth control is not about money. This action has the potential to create immense positive change in our society. If free birth control becomes the status quo, then along with that comes a woman’s choice, regardless of income or access, to control if and when she becomes pregnant. While this isn’t something new for the educated women like myself and my peers at the University of Idaho, I strongly believe that this mindset can spread and can stay.

The male-dominated debate in Washington has tried to frame this issue for us. Politicians have told us that it’s a civil rights issue, a social issue, a religious issue—but it’s not. It’s an issue for women who pay for the pill if they can, and risk unplanned pregnancy if they cannot. It’s an issue for the 99 percent of us who use birth control, including women of religion. It’s an issue for the tens of millions of American women that want and need comprehensive health care coverage, including contraception.