Planned Parenthood is a reproductive health care provider that is "dedicated to offering men, women, and teens high-quality, affordable medical care," according to its website. The organization also “...
Many people think a low-wage worker is a young adult making minimum wage to earn a bit of pocket money or save up for college. While these workers make up some of the low-wage workforce, the vast majo...
Like many other privileged American kids, my biggest concerns at ten years old were whether or not I could finish my homework before soccer practice or if my dad was going to buy me the new marine bio...
On April 22nd, after nearly six weeks of delay, the Senate finally passed the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. This bill will provide harsher penalties for perpetrators of trafficking, hold pat...
To say sexism and gender-based discrimination don’t exist would be like claiming oceans aren’t wet. There are, in fact, many issues facing women of the present, and they need to be addressed. So thank...
Nicki Minaj has always taken pride in and ownership of her sexuality in her work. While some deem these choices to be controversial, it seems that she's trying to demonstrate that women's sexuality an...
Access to education is a fundamental right. But are all American students learning everything they need to know? The use of abstinence-only education in schools is archaic and absurd, and yet it’s a c...
On Thursday October 2nd, The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the state of Texas to enforce tough restrictions through the Texas House Bill 2 act. This act, which was released in 2013, includes ch...
It has been almost two years since I heard the infamous Todd Akin remark about “legitimate rape” and abortions and I am still as angry as I was then. Recently, Todd Akin rereleased a statement in his ...
Whether it was the commencement speech given during my high school graduation last summer or comments made to me by adults throughout my first year of college, I have heard time and time again about h...
As a rising college senior, I’ve already been inundated with cautionary tales of being female while working in corporate America. Now, thanks to the recent Hobby Lobby ruling, my generation of women c...
Last week, I was able to score some passes to a screening of Obvious Child from Feministing.com. Just the idea of a romantic comedy about abortion made my feminist mind little-kid-giddy. Obvious Child...
Gillian Robespierre, Writer/Director: "I first made the 'Obvious Child' short film in the Winter of 2009 with my friends Anna Bean and Karen Maine. We were frustrated by the limited representations of...
My voice was trembling when I spoke the words “I decided to choose abortion.” I was telling my personal story and expressing my opposition of House Bill 695, a bill that would shut down all but one ab...
I think that most people can agree that being a mother is one of the most important jobs in the world. Mothers shape future generations and thus the future failures and successes of humanity. Being a ...
I am not someone who attacks others for their personal beliefs. I do not openly ridicule people for having a specific belief system…unless that belief becomes a law by which I am forced to live my l...
More than ever, the women’s vote is important in the 2012 Presidential Election. All of the attention around the politics of health care for women had made the Republican Party and the Romney campaign...
I’m sure you’ve seen it in the news this week. The headlines are everywhere and my Twitter feed is decorated with rants from various people I follow: a man running for senate named Todd Akin used the ...
The folks over at Pathfinder, a great reproductive health organization, recently launched No Joke. #ChoiceMatters. Everywhere., a campaign to raise awareness about international reproductive health ca...
This video is a few months old but I stumbled across it recently and think it's still (always) very relevant, and a good review of where we were on the reproductive rights debate in 2011. Also, I love...
Is it a widespread tendency of conservative politicians to both promote abstinence-only sex education, which research shows contributes significantly to increasing teen pregnancy rates, and be anti-ab...
After attending a recent event commemorating past voices of the women’s health movement, I turned on the news to watch the recent contraceptive hearings, and realized just how far we haven’t come.
As...
Merle Hoffman is the publisher/editor-in-chief of On The Issues Magazine and one of the most outspoken advocates for progressive and feminist issues.
Merle established Choices Women's Medical Cen...
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was appointed to the US Senate by Governor David Paterson in 2009 to fill the vacancy left by Hillary Clinton when she was selected by President Obama to serve as Secretary ...
I grew up in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas. My parents divorced when I was five years old and after living with my mom and grandparents for two years I moved in with my father who raised me as a femini...