War on Women | Is Obama Against Women, Too? | 'Conscience' Says Yes

Topical Articles in America’s War on Women

 Magazine Raises Questions about President Obama’s Prochoice Record Catholics for Choice

In an unprecedented move, Conscience magazine asked leading authors to provide a comprehensive analysis of President Barack Obama’s prochoice record. Many in the progressive reproductive rights and women’s rights field have whispered it, some have murmured it, but Conscience has finally broken the silence about the administration’s abysmal failure to take action on choice issues.

David Nolan, the editor of Conscience, said, “In recent months, many have raised questions about the president’s bona fides. Some have been absurd, others merely ridiculous. We see it as a vital part of our job to hold politicians accountable for the promises they make. So we asked our authors—leading experts in the field—to consider what the president has done and what he has failed to do. We asked them to review the evidence and ask ‘Have you kept your promises, President Obama?’”

In the lead article, “Is Obama Prochoice?” Jodi Jacobson reflects on what appears to be a about-face between Candidate Obama and President Obama.

“As a candidate, Obama said all the right things. As a president, his actions suggest that then-presidential contender and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was right—he will not fight for us.… The president has presided over the greatest erosion to women’s reproductive health and rights in the past 30 years, and a continuing degradation of our rights at the state level. Yet still he remains silent. Is Obama prochoice? Not by my definition.”

GOP Lawmakers Push for Stricter Abortion Laws NPR

In 48 states, recently elected GOP lawmakers are pushing hard to get new abortion restrictions on the books. About 570 bills have been introduced that restrict abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks the laws.

“We’re seeing bills coming through that are some of the most extreme we’ve seen in years,” says Nancy Northup, whose group, the Center for Reproductive Rights, filed suit to keep the Oklahoma ultrasound law from taking effect.

States Level

Iowa| An attempt to ban all abortions in Iowa failed Tuesday when lawmakers from both parties rejected a procedural move to push the issue ahead. DesMoinesRegister

Ohio | Abortion-rights supporters and opponents rallied at opposite ends of the Statehouse yesterday because neither is getting what it wants from the legislature. Legislators are considering a bill that would outlow abortion once a fetus’s heartbeat can be detected. Effectively it would outlaw abortion at about six or seven weeks of pregnancy, often before a woman knows she is pregnant. The Columbus Dispatch

Texas | Texas Gov. Rick Perry is expected to sign a law soon requiring a woman seeking an abortion to have a sonogram and hear a description of the fetus, including whether it has developed fingers, toes or internal organs. A similar law in Oklahoma is in court. WSJ

Nebraska| A measure that would make it a felony for a doctor to participate in a so-called telemedicine abortion in Nebraska won first-round approval Tuesday from the Legislature and appeared headed for certain enactment.

The measure is intended to prevent Planned Parenthood of the Heartland from providing Nebraska women with telemedicine abortion care in line with services offered in Iowa.

Illinois| The Conservative push to restrict abortion rights hasn’t gained much traction in Illinois, largely because Democrats continue to control the General Assembly and Gov. Pat Quinn opposes most restrictions.

The highest-profile measure this spring would require doctors to ask a woman if she would like to view an ultrasound of her unborn child before performing an abortion. The Catholic Conference of Illinois is lobbying hard for the legislation, thinking that the change will discourage women from going through with abortions. Chicago Tribune