A Melbourne GP who believes that women who have abortions deserve to die has been under investigation after he supposedly revealed on Facebook that he broke Victoria’s abortion laws, by not referring patients seeking abortions to the appropriate services and even actively attempting to talk women out of getting terminations. Daniel Mathews, a lecturer from…
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Ah, patriarchy. There’s no greater evidence that it’s a man’s world (or was a man’s world) than when we read the pages of a history book. The inherently male bias runs through most records of the centuries, because money and power lay solely at the hands of men (read this for an excellent explanation). Herstory…
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Texas judge rules new abortion restrictions unconstitutional. Despite Wendy Davis’ 11-hour filibuster blocking a super restrictive anti-abortion law in Texas, the law passed in July, banning abortions after 20 weeks and requiring doctors to perform abortions at special facilities. But the good news is that this week a judge ruled that the new regulations are…
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A pro-life Victorian doctor has been cited by fellow professionals as enacting a personal campaign contradicting the state’s abortion laws. Dr Mark Hobart has refused to refer patients for an abortion based on his religious beliefs, construing his involvement as ‘accomplice to murder’. Victoria is the only state in Australia to allow abortion in the…
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Russian parliament debate law to strip gay parents of their children. In February the Russian parliament will debate a bill that could cause same sex parents to lose custody of their children. The potential law would allow the state to strip parents of custody if they practise ‘non-traditional sexual relations.’ Currently in Russia children can…
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Before I start I just want to clarify that the Calvary Hospital in Canberra is a public hospital. More to the point, it is funded by public money. You see, due to some wonderful decision making by the Commonwealth Government, the construction and operation of the only public hospital on Canberra’s north-side (if you are not…
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A little over a week ago, somebody kind of important said something kind of foreboding/worthy of an eyeroll (depending on which side of the political fence you sit on, really) about abortion and playthings and men in blue ties… Today, Lip’s somebodies have their say. * ‘Reproductive rights’ are vital for a safe and equal…
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Abortion often goes unaddressed in Canada for long stretches until something big happens to provoke the conversation. Last week was one of those times. Dr Henry Morgentaler, an iconic abortionist and polarising Canadian figure died of a heart attack in his Toronto home on 29 May. He was 90. Morgentaler was responsible for almost single-handedly…
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Like countless other young women, the “war on women” during the 2012 American presidential election campaign was a shock to my system. It can seem so easy to take our rights for granted in a time and culture where post-feminist discourses tell us that we can “have it all”; where Beyonce’s power-femininity dominates the all-American-male…
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The theme for International Women’s Day earlier this month was ‘The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum’ and it could not be more apt given the recent horrific attacks on women in India and South Africa – attacks that are not unprecedented and are prevalent in too many countries around the world. These acts of violence against…
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Earlier this year, I wrote a short piece on my blog about protesters and the argument of freedom of speech. I think it’s worth a re-cap: ‘Every day on my way to work I walk past a women’s medical centre. Not really a notable observation except that this usually includes dodging a group of religious…
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Alright, people with tits and morbidly curious males, it’s time to talk reproductive rights in the US and whether or not the phrase ‘war on women’ has any meaning to us here Australians. In the course of this article I will be making excessive use of the word ‘abortion’ and the phrase ‘birth control.’ That’s…
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At the moment in the United States, there are things happening to challenge women’s reproductive rights. It is being referred to as the “War on Women”. States all across America are passing legislation in record numbers to dissuade, delay or stop women from making choices about their own reproductive health. It has become so overwhelmingly…
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