By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Confronted with so much grim news 24/7 – severe droughts and floods, poverty, loss of biodiversity, and much, much more – people are understandably hungry for something positive. Fortunately, there are some dedicated organizations and government agencies working to improve peoples’ lives and natural environment via an approach linking issues that
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee recently introduced a bill that puts a ceiling on funding for family planning and reproductive health programs at $461 million; this is 23 percent, or $94 million below the current level (and $174 million less than President Obama’s budget request). The bill also calls
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org Last week, at the Women’s Policy Summit in Sacramento, promoting women’s issues took center stage for a day. An impressive array of California advocates, activists, legislators and others gathered for a conference dedicated to “Advancing Women’s Health, Wealth and Power”. One of the main themes of the day was healthcare –
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org The end of a year normally leads to reflections on how the preceding 365 days turned out on many different issues.  As  2012 comes to a close, there are reasons to feel confident about how family planning and reproductive rights fared this year. There were three major events that should be
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By HowMany.org Today, almost everywhere we turn, we are inundated with negativity about the state of our world. There is climate chaos, economic uncertainty, terrorism, inequality, environmental degradation, overcrowding, poverty; the list goes on and on. It can be overwhelming to think about global issues and global problems. However, they can’t be ignored, or if
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org The New York Times recently posted an editorial titled “A World of Harm for Women” that argued that a Mitt Romney presidential win would harm women’s reproductive rights and extend far beyond the borders of the United States.  It would indeed. Romney has pledged to reinstate the Global Gag Rule. This
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org World Contraception Day is September 26th. There are numerous reasons why this day should be celebrated and awareness raised on using contraceptives. Contraception makes it possible for couples to enjoy the pleasures of intimacy without the consequences of pregnancy. Fully 61 percent of all couples in the world today are having
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By Suzanne York, howmany.org It may have escaped your attention, but today, September 12th, is the first-ever Global Female Condom Day. Promoted by the National Female Condom Coalition, the purpose is to increase the number of women, men, youth and transpeople who know about, use, and advocate for female condoms. The coalition is made up
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By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org. As the fighting and political crisis in Syria escalates, the number of people fleeing the turmoil also increases. Nearly 130,000 people have fled Syria and taken refuge in neighboring countries since the conflict began. Globally, the UN estimates that for any crisis situation, one in five women of childbearing age is
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Good news on women and healthcare, on August 1st, the contraception coverage provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took effect, which requires employers and insurers to offer “free” (without a co-pay) contraceptive coverage, along with access to other preventive health care services, to those women with health insurance policies. (Jodi Jacobson of RH Reality
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