Sitting at a hotel bar in Puerto Vallarta, chatting with a lively group of sexuality studies conference goers, the last thing I expected to find drawing my attention was grainy-single camera coverage of a congressional meeting. But as we lounged in the humid, open air tavern, my eyes slowly shifted towards the television hovering over our bartenders head displaying CNN's coverage of the House floor. While I had always imagined that some sense of joy would come with seeing that the health care reform bill passed through the House of Representatives, my imagined excitement was drowned out by the attachment of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment to the bill.

Having returned to the US and found myself once again within reach of a computer and an internet connection, I scoured the internet trying to make sense of this unfortunate piece of legislation. After perusing all variety of impassioned rhetoric and fuzzy claims about the amendment, I was able to find enough quality reporting to come up with a clear outline of the Amendment, its origin and its potential consequences.

The Stupak-Pitts Amendment bans purchasing any insurance policy that covers abortion with a federal subsidy. In the new exchange program being proposed, most of the potential buyers will be using federal subsidies. In order for insurance companies to compete in this market, their policies will need to be geared towards customers using federal...

This week the NSRC highlighted the California’s Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Proposition 8. However, there are a lot of other important stories happening this week that speak volumes about the state of sexuality in the United States. Here are a few issues we find important, and we hope you’ll read more about.

California’s impending budget cuts literally threaten the lives of Californian’s living with HIV/AIDS.  An East Bay facility that treats low-income people living with HIV/AIDS closed its doors this past week, and it’s likely that impeding budget cuts will threaten HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment through out the state.

Obama’s nomination of federal judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter has the entire blog world speculating about her positions on numerous issues related to sexuality. RH Reality check reviews her record on abortion, and the Guardian and Pandagon.net...

I pride myself on being an open-minded individual. But I just don’t get the folks who tout their “traditional values” on issues related to reproductive health.

On one hand, their passionate stance against abortion is gutsy and even admirable. Where others hedge, they believe unequivocally that life begins at conception and that abortion is murder. In their protests and rhetoric, they are not just looking out for their own. All life is precious is their mantra. 

Given that, however, I would think one of their objectives would be to prevent unplanned—and unwanted—pregnancies in the first place. Their actions, though, suggest otherwise. To wit, they discourage women from taking the birth control pill, prevent teens from learning about contraception, and make Plan B unavailable to young women.

Then they the condemn those who do get an abortion.

Isn’t that kind of like withholding food from a child and then blaming the starving kid for swiping a candy bar (or a bowl of gruel)?

Luckily, we see options becoming available for people with dissenting viewpoints. Today, in opposition to Bush, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York rejected the FDA’s decision to limit over-the-counter access to emergency contraceptive Plan B to...

Yesterday my "brazilian mom" called me into the living room and told me watch the news with her. "You know what's happening?" she asked, her eyes heavily focused on me. "No what?" I mumbled to her in portuguese. "A nine year-old girl in [the state of] Pernambuco was raped by her step-father and impregnated with twins. She was granted an abortion yesterday and now the archbishop of Recife Olinda has called for the ex-communication of her, her family and the doctors that performed the abortion."

I am currently in Rio de Janeiro on a Fulbright scholarship studying development and it's relationship to reproductive and sexual health and rights in Brazil. I was an exchange student here 10 years ago and had no idea I'd be back hanging out with my host family for awhile before I begin my project. I must say that I really hate the fact that this is my first blog post on this journey.  This is the kind of story that makes you feel like you have a big black hole where your heart used to be, which automatically gives you indigestion. I really wanted my first post to be about my struggle hating and loving the rigid gender roles here in Brazil. (Yes, I admit it. I love getting my nails done evey week and buying shoes like they just might be the last pair on earth. However, I'm not sure I can handle the braziian bikini (who knew I had all those stretch marks stripped across my ass?) or the brazilian bikini wax, and I can't believe I actually thought about getting botox...