Betty Dodson with Carlin Ross

Better Orgasms. Better World.

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When the Supreme Court upheld a state ban on late term abortion without a health exception to save a woman's life (Stenberg v. Carhart), I lost faith in the system.

That's a big statement for a former attorney because we're all constitution whores. We believe wholeheartedly in the judiciary as the final check and balance.

I'm not sure how we got to the place where a fetus has more value than a woman. How hard is it to have any semblance of self esteem when your body is the battleground - regulated by the morality police and objectified by corporate america?

Today, 87% of US counties don't have a clinic so kiss access to contraception goodbye. Then they mire the clinics in legal battles instating waiting periods, look-at-the-sonogram-before-you-abort mind fucks, and hospital zoning regulations so they end up closing their doors. And if that isn't enough now they're going after pregnant women.

The National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) published a study this month documenting more than 400 cases of both criminal action against pregnant women and forced medical interventions - in which court orders or police action required women to undergo procedures like blood transfusions or caesarean sections against their will - between 1973 and 2005.

"From 2005 until today, without engaging in anything like the level of research we engaged in during that study, we already know of 250 cases," says Lynn Paltrow, author of the report and NAPW's executive director.

"They are happening every day."

She says an increased focus on the health of an unborn child has stripped pregnant women of their rights.

"You're not just denying women their reproductive rights, you're denying them the most fundamental aspects of due process of law," she says, noting that cases of medical intervention are often considered "emergency" ones, where women are not given the time to consult with legal counsel or present evidence on their behalf.

"Everyone feels like they are an expert on pregnant women," she says. "People feel that they are entitled to judge women when they become pregnant."

The National Advocates for Pregnant Women tracks cases where they say pregnant women are subject to harsh punishment:

• An Indiana woman who took rat poisoning in an attempt to end her life charged with attempted murder

• A Tennessee woman who crashed her car while under the legal limit for driving under the influence was charged with a DUI because she was four-months pregnant

• An Alabama woman took methamphetamines while pregnant and gave birth to a severely underweight child, who died soon after. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison under laws designed to punish those who take children into meth labs.

38 states have enacted "fetal homicide" laws which put the rights of the unborn above those of pregnant women.  I'm disgusted. Prosecuting pregnant women for attempting suicide...a whole new low for America.

We Suggest: 

Don't Forget the Fetus Soap

Attempting Suicide While Pregnant = Murder?

9 Months Pregnant in a Public Orgy

Aborting Your Rape Fetus is Destroying Evidence of a Crime?