Gender Across Borders

Today is the start of 39th Regular Session of the OAS General Assembly — a meeting of the Organization of American States, which seeks to promote peace, democracy, security, and solidarity among the nations of North America and South America. Held in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, this year’s theme is “Toward a Culture of Non-Violence;” among other things, the session’s draft declaration states a commitment to “prevent, eliminate, and punish all forms of violence against women,” and to protect the rights of “individuals in vulnerable situations, particularly those affected by violence generated by any kind of discrimination, including discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and xenophobia.”

What’s particularly interesting about the start of this year’s OAS General Assembly is that it begins just four days after Human Rights Watch released a new report, “‘Not Worth a Penny’: Human Rights Abuses against Transgender People in Honduras.” From the report’s summary:

While Honduran authorities have been prompt in signing international agreements pledging to curb violence and protect vulnerable groups, attacks on transgender people — often targeted because their looks and demeanor challenge prevailing sex-role stereotypes — continue to be commonplace in the country.

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In the U.S., last month the FDA expanded over-the-counter access to emergency contraception (EC) lowering the age at which you can get it from 18 to 17.  It was truly excellent news.

In other parts of the world, the war against EC is raging.  And I really have no idea why…do anti-choice groups think it’s low hanging fruit?  Are they grasping at straws? EC is not an abortifacient.  Check the facts. Read the rest of this entry →

In a disturbing setback for women’s health and rights, the Honduran Congress last week approved a bill to prohibit entirely the use, promotion, sale, or purchase of Emergency Contraception (EC).  Under the Penal Code, the “crime” of using/selling/promoting EC  will now be on par with that of procuring/performing an abortion — which is severely restricted in the country.

Apparently the President has not yet signed the bill, so there is hope for some sliver of reason to be heard before it’s final.  Right now there’s not much more news than this.  The International Consortium for Emergency Contraception sent out an alert to its members last week, and I’ll provide any updates as I get them. But I’m guessing that Congress’ ban has a lot to do with the common misunderstanding that EC is an abortifacient.  Kids, this is why its never good to form policy decisions on ideology.  That’s my gem of wisdom for the day.

All of the anti-choice blogs and news sites documenting this update are riddled with pseudo-science and just plain wrong facts.  I can’t even bear to link to them here, but trust me it’s not pretty.  Instead, I would direct all dissenters to this pithy explanation, or this one, or this one.  When it comes to EC, as far as I’m concerned, there’s no debate.  It does not abort a pregnancy, it prevents one.  That’s it, no questions.  And I think prevention is something that we should all be agreeing on at this point.

J. Mack is a global feminist residing in Brooklyn.