Last night was the second episode of Lena Dunham's new HBO show Girls, and the entire plot of the episode — fittingly titled "Vagina Panic" — centered around Jessa's impending abortion. Jessa dropped the bomb at the end of the Girls premiere that she was back in New York because she was pregnant, so it was a bold move to start off the second episode with Hannah announcing matter-of-factly Read more

Thirty famous women added their voices to the Susan G. Komen/Planned Parenthood controversy today, writing a letter of support of Planned Parenthood to Komen. Taking a noncontroversial tone, actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow, Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Banks, Scarlett Johansson, and Aisha Tyler, as well as writers including Nora Ephron and Judy Blume, thank Komen for restoring funding to Planned Read more

For years Susan G. Komen for the Cure has provided Planned Parenthood grants for breast cancer screenings. It recently decided to cut off the women's health provider, causing outrage among many supporters of both groups. Petitions to Komen to change its mind have been circulating on Facebook and across the Internet. After Komen's decision became public, Planned Parenthood told supporters that Read more

Earlier this week feminist icon Gloria Steinem told us that reproductive rights were the single biggest accomplishment for women she's witnessed. Yesterday Mississippi voters had a chance to roll back the clock by passing a ballot measure that would have defined a fertilized egg as a person. They voted against it. Initiative 26 would have added this language to the state's constitution: "The Read more

Here's the catch. You have to get to Madrid by the end of the week. The pope will arrive in Madrid tomorrow for World Youth Day, and as part of his visit, any woman who confesses her abortion during the event will be forgiven and welcomed back to the Church. "Special powers" have been given to all priests in Madrid, which they can use to absolve women who confess abortions. A Vatican spokesman Read more

Failing to accept that Planned Parenthood provides nontaxpayer-funded abortion, a legal service in America, New Hampshire's all-Republican and all-male Executive Council voted three to two to defund the state's Planned Parenthood a couple of weeks ago, saying that the money should go to organizations that don't provide abortion. Now, Planned Parenthood centers in the state have stopped dispensing Read more