National Feminist Action Events this Summer

From the Feminist Peace Network:

July 1rst Occupy Feminist General Assembly  in Philadelphia.

The We are Women March on Washington DC will take place on August 18.  See this for more details.

Defend Women’s Rights, events nationwide on August 26th, details here.

Recent Activism Near and Far

WOMAN DRESSED IN GIANT BIRTH CONTROL COSTUME WILL FOLLOW ROMNEY ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL 
| Planned Parenthood’s action fund is sending a costumed package of birth control dubbed “Pillamina” out on the campaign trail to highlight Mitt Romney’s opposition to President Obama’s birth control coverage provision. In a statement introducing Pillamina, Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Cecile Richards noted that her organization wants to emphasize the fact that birth control is “an economic issue for women — period. That’s something that President Obama clearly understands, and that Mitt Romney simply doesn’t.” Romney has said that he opposes requiring insurers to offer birth control coverage without additional co-pays. Image via Planned Parenthood:

Massive Crowd Gathers For Reading Of Vagina Monologues At Michigan Capitol

By Judd Legum on Jun 18, 2012

After two female legislators were banned from the Michigan House floor last week after saying “vagina” during a debate about an anti-abortion measure, a massive crowd has gathered at the state capitol for a reading of “The Vagina Monologues.” There are an estimated 5,000 people in attendance.

Picture via @eclectablog:

From Think Progress

Contraception Stats

Over Two Decades, Abortion Rate Dropped For Women In Their 20s Because Of Contraception Access (from ThinkProgress)

By Annie-Rose Strasser on Jun 20, 2012

Between 1990 and 2008, pregnancy and abortion rates for women in their twenties dropped dramatically, a new study revealed today. Pregnancy rates fell by 18 percent, while abortion rates dropped by a third.

One of the biggest influencing factors in this decrease is the growing accessibility, use, and options for birth control. Contraceptive use is the best way to prevent abortions in the U.S. Over time, young women have gotten greater access to a larger number of pregnancy prevention methods. The study explains two main causes in the drop:

The introduction of new contraceptive methods and discontinuation of existing ones [and]changes in the use of existing methods: the proportion of women using any method, the methods used, and how consistently and effectively they are used.

Indeed, only 70 percent of women (PDF) who started having sex between 1990 and 1994 used protection, whereas 84 percent did between 2005 and 2008.

And President Obama’s new policy that expands access to birth control will help ensure that more women can get contraception when they need it.

Currently, over half of pregnancies are unintended in the United States. Growing access to prevention methods will lead to a decrease in such unintended pregnancies. Other factors — including the trend toward getting married at an older age — also contribute to the pregnancy drop for 20-somethings.