50 is the new 40

The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force has decided that routine mammograms should start at 50, not the original 40. The group is comprised of 16 healthcare experts. However, no oncologists are present on the task force. Women under 50 should weigh the pros and cons of getting mammograms because of the risks and anxieties caused by a false positive.

My thinking, and certainly every woman’s mileage may vary, is “better safe than sorry”. I would much rather have a biopsy in my forties, even if it is a false positive, than have one in my fifties and find out I have advanced cancer because I didn’t get it done in my forties. Catching it early is so important that I would think it would be worth the anxiety caused by a false positive. Women aren’t fragile little flowers that must be protected from“psychological harms.” We can deal with the stress, if it means saving our lives.

Women who get breast cancer in their thirties and forties do exist (see the article linked below), and that to me is enough to keep the age at 40 (or even lower it) statistical significance be damned.
The American Cancer Society will not change their guidelines, and I think I’ll go with the group that has worked to eliminate various forms of cancer since 1913 (as the American Society for the Control of Cancer) over a task force with 16 members, government or no.


Read Kathleen Reardon’s piece in the Huffington Post, she was diagnosed at 32.


What do you think?

Bit O' Updates

President Obama is not happy with the Stupak-Pitts amendment’s language. While he's not making any deep assertions, at least he's not interested in seeing the status quo change one way or the other.

Senator Barbara Boxer of California is confident that the Senate has enough votes to block the amendment. Boy do we hope she's right.

Be! Agressive! B! E! Agressive!

As I’ve mentioned previously, it’s wonderful to see so many people riled up over choice. Many Oklahoma university women’s and gender studies departments and organizations are mobilizing effectively, as can be witnessed in previous posts. If this is what we see now, imagine what the response will be when the Oklahoma legislation is actually in session come February 1st.

Constant vigilance is key. We need to stay pumped, not just for our state, but for our country. While we in Oklahoma were rejoicing over the brief respite from HB1595 (mind you, it will be back), another piece of junky legislation was being tacked onto the U.S. House health care reform bill; the Stupak-Pitts amendment.

According to Laurie Rubiner, PPFA Vice President for Public Policy and Advocacy, the Stupak-Pitts amendment not only prohibits coverage of abortion in the public option, but also prohibits private insurers from providing abortion coverage in their subsidized plans. To offer abortion at all they would have to offer two plans—one subsidized with no abortion coverage, another unsubsidized with abortion coverage.

It is sincerely doubtful that they will actually bother to do this. I’m sure private insurers are already annoyed at the prospect of having to work with subsidies at all. Not to mention women don’t exactly plan for an unplanned pregnancy, so they might skip the abortion coverage in favor of the subsidy. What it all boils down to; despite the presence of health care reform, millions more women would be without abortion coverage than ever before. Despite being insured, more women would have to pay out of pocket if they needed an abortion. For a surgical abortion, the costs start at around $500.

There has been speculation that the amendment was tacked onto the bill by health care reform opposition in order to sink it. However, many representatives saw through this and voted it in anyway (despite great trepidation from some). So it stands, for the time being.

Now it’s the senate’s turn to draft a bill, and then the House and senate will merge the two by consensus and Obama will give the final version his signature. Now is the time to make sure that this amendment goes no further. Some representatives are confident that Stupak will not make it to the final vote. It is up to all of us to make sure that it will not.

So stay active people, in the state and the nation. If you don’t know who your representatives or senators are in Oklahoma, please follow the following links, look them up, and give them a call.

Oklahoma House of Representatives
Oklahoma State Senate

Power to the People!

Today was a beautiful day at the capitol both literally and figuratively! At least a hundred men and women from diverse backgrounds across the state turned out in support of choice at the rally today located on the steps of the Capitol Building.

The rally, orchestrated by the wonderful O.U. Women’s Studies Associations and Oklahomans for Reproductive Justice, featured a wide array of speakers, including students, faculty, and our very own Director of External Affairs, Keri Parks. However, everyone was invited to come up to the podium and share their story!

I daresay not a hand was without a sign, nor did a voice go unspoken. Several of the classic slogans and rallying songs were deployed by all ages. For many, this was their first taste of activism. Others have been doing this for a lot longer. A number of women mentioned that this reminded them when they had been to the capitol 27 years previously to rally for the equal rights amendment.

Good riddance to the apathy that young people have been known for. Long live choice!

Lets keep the momentum going through February fellas!

UCO Provides Voice of Reason at Anti-Choice Exhibit

An anti-choice organization known as Justice For All has set up a gruesome exhibit on the south side of the UCO campus. For your viewing pleasure, you can witness just about every myth, circular argument, and scare tactic employed by this type of extremist group. The usual photos taken out of context and photo shopped images are present, as are those nice fellows standing around the exhibit. The ones that are all too happy to argue with you until you acquiesce or ignore them.



These people are not there to create dialogue, they are there to cajole, intimidate, shame, and manipulate you into adopting their point of view.

Fortunately, The UCO chapter of NOW in conjunction with the UCO Women’s Studies Student Association has put together a wonderful counter-display located on the opposite side of the exhibit to provide a voice of reason where there was none before. The wealth of information they supply refutes many of the claims asserted by Justice for All. Planned Parenthood was honored to lend them their support today, and we were delighted to see so many students getting involved in pro-choice activities. We even had a number of students just passing by become spontaneous volunteers! Thanks everyone!

Planned Parenthood loves to see everyone get involved, especially students!

On Friday, November 6th, we will be participating in the pro-choice rally at the Oklahoma State Capitol! Come and show your support for reproductive rights! We hope to see you there!

Holiday Activism at its Finest

PPNYC  has some wonderful Pro-Choice costume ideas for Halloween up! I want to be an I.U.D. now!

Double Yay on a Wednesday!

Ebay has stopped the creepy pro-life memorabilia auction for Scott Roeder, murderer of Dr. George Tiller, because it violates their policy. Source: Kansas City Star

And

According to  USA Today  President Obama will be signing into law the The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. This law makes assaulting someone based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or disablity a federal crime. So this new federal law comes not a moment too soon, as a recent incident in Tulsa makes it all too clear that this law is a necessary one. Oklahoma excludes sexual orientation in its own hate crimes law, but thankfully federal law trumps state law.

Now, if we could just add profession to that...