reproductive health

I got my first three-letter disease as a result of a sinus infection. There was no way to know. No way to prevent it. I got my second three-letter disease from a man that I loved at the time. There was a way to prevent it. It’s called herd immunity.

These side effects are not new to hormonal birth control; rather, hormonal birth control is new to men. Women and other folks with vaginas have been dealing with this sort of issue since... well, ever.

For some reason, being a virgin automatically makes me unable to know my body.

For some reason, being a virgin automatically makes me unable to know my body.

When I found myself facing an unwanted pregnancy, and after having spent the good part of two years pregnant, I knew right away that I would have an abortion.

It had never occurred to me to visit [a Planned Parenthood].... And yet, in a culture where the rights and healthcare needs of people assigned female at birth are constantly under attack, it’s easy, even for someone like me, to have warped ideas about exactly what one will experience.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably been getting annual pelvic exams since you were a teenager. You did this because conventional wisdom told you that you needed a Pap smear and a physical exam to keep your vagina and uterus up and running. Also, your doctor probably held your birth control prescription hostage every year until you came in to get checked out.

Today the Supreme Court handed down a ruling on the case Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt. What was at issue was the regulations the state of Texas wanted to impose on abortion providers as outlined in the controversial HB2 law. You remember it: it was the one that State Senator Wendy David filibustered while we all cheered.