On May 9th, thousands of Canadians traveled to the nation’s capital and took part in the ‘Campaign for Life’ - an annual gathering of the anti-choice community to protest Canada’s pro-choice stance. In ‘solidarity’, regional chapters of the Campaign for Life coalition organized similar small-scale protests that will occur throughout the month of May. Last week was [...]
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Mental Disability Discussion Presents Opportunity for Real Change
Like everyone on December 14, when I learned of the killings of 20 children and 7 adults a combination of heart break and horror washed over me. Who could do such a thing? We didn’t know much about the shooter, Adam Lanza, and we didn’t know his mental health status, yet, there were many assumptions [...]
The Phenomenal Women Who Inspire Us
When my editor sent out a request for us to ponder which woman inspire us, I posted the question on Facebook. I was curious if there would be a consensus (there wasn’t). And I was curious to know what kind of woman it was that invoked such an awesome emotion. After all, to inspire someone [...]
Tell Congress to Protect Tax Cuts for 98% of Women and Families
The YWCA USA is thanking those Senators and Representatives who have supported extending tax cuts for the middle class. Join us and thank your Congressman or Congresswoman – send a letter, tag them in a Facebook holiday card, or send them a Tweet. When I was attending graduate school, I interned at the YWCA Madison (Wis.), which served homeless and [...]
What It Means To Be Adopted: In Celebration Of National Adoption Day
I was born on April 20th, 1984. On June 5th, nearly two months after being placed on an adoption list in Montreal, I met my parents and became Kathleen. I can’t be sure what occurred during the two month gap between my birth and the introduction to my family; perhaps it’s an ‘adoptive limbo’, a [...]
Something Of Monumental Importance is Happening Tomorrow!
It’s here! I can’t believe tomorrow is finally Election Day. By now you’re probably exhausted from all of the pleas for your vote. I know I am. But hopefully you’ve already registered and, if you didn’t vote early or by absentee, you plan to vote tomorrow at a polling station. Well if you’re tired of [...]
3 Videos Everyone Should See Before Voting: It’s Not About Abortion
Most women (and their spouses), whether personally comfortable with abortion or not, don’t automatically think about whether or not they might end up in jail, arrested while in labor or strapped to a hospital bed to undergo a forced Cesarean when they get pregnant. Laura Pemberton certainly didn’t before it happened to her. And what happened to [...]
Race, Class, Gender and Economics – A Discussion about the Indian Commercial Surrogacy Boom
A country of over a billion, India isn’t a stranger to the baby-boom. Over the last few years, this fertility has been captured into a new business – known as commercial surrogacy or “wombs for rent”. Commercial surrogacy is legal in India as of 2002. Combine that with India’s relatively affordable and high standard of [...]
Pandering and Lip Service Not Required: Romney Isn’t A Mystery On Women’s Issues
We can drone on about sound bites and rehash debate comments all we want. We can debate the facts laid in campaign ads, and count up how many lies have been told. We already know where both Obama and Romney stand on women’s issues, so let’s drop the pandering and lip service and be real [...]
Conflicting Numbers: College Enrollment Figures and Post-Grad Salaries Hardly Match Up
50 years ago, women attending college wasn’t nearly as commonplace as it is these days. And if they did, nine times out of ten it was only for them to get their “MRS” degree. For those of you unfamiliar with this degree plan, it’s when a woman goes to college not to pursue any educational [...]