Our Bodies Our Blog

 

Occasional posts examining the intersection between health, politics, and reproductive justice.

Depo provera
Depo-Provera: "I Wouldn’t Recommend It to Anyone"
close up of antidepressant pills
When Antidepressants Leave Lasting Damage
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Cervical Cancer Prevention: What You Can Do

January 25, 2019

January is Cervical Health Awareness Month. More specifically, January 21-27 is Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, and for good reason: nearly 13,000 women…

Breast Reconstruction Options: What’s Best for You?

October 16, 2018

Some women decide to forego reconstruction and instead “go flat.” Read more->Women with breast cancer who undergo mastectomies often face difficult decisions…

The OBOS Founders’ Chronicle: 2017

July 18, 2018

Begun during the early days of the second wave of the U.S. women’s movement, Our Bodies Ourselves (OBOS) (formerly known as the…

A Call for Women Who Experience Pain with Sex and for Health Care Providers Who Treat Them

June 15, 2018

My name is Marta Milkowska and I am a graduate student at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. I am working on…

A Message About the Future of Our Bodies Ourselves

April 2, 2018

A letter from Our Bodies Ourselves Board Chair Bonnie Shepard, April 2018 Dear friends, I am writing to you – our longstanding…

Religion-Restricted Healthcare and its Effects on Reproductive Health Needs

March 20, 2018

  In my last year of medical school, I began looking into residency programs in obstetrics and gynecology. My first interview of…

Faith, Not Contraception, at the Heart of Trump’s Family Planning Funding

February 28, 2018

Under the Trump administration, Title X — the federal family planning program — will prioritize funding for abstinence and faith-based family planning…

Safe and Supported: Inside the DIY Abortion Movement

February 5, 2018

As abortion becomes harder to access, more and more women are taking matters into their own hands with self-managed abortion—buying abortion pills…

What Have We Learned From the Survivors of Larry Nassar?

February 1, 2018

On January 24, Dr. Larry Nassar, the former women’s team doctor for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University, was sentenced to up…

Why One Montana County Wants A “Crackdown” On Pregnant Women

January 18, 2018

On January 11, 2018, the Big Horn County Attorney’s Office in Big Horn, Montana released a statement that launched 2018 straight into…

The Sad State of Sexual Health Education in Physician Training

January 12, 2018

  As a primary care physician, people come to me with all sorts of questions about their sexual health: they want to…

Will This Black Mother’s Death Spark the Change We Need?

January 3, 2018

Earlier this year, Shalon Irving, a 36-year-old high ranking African American public health official at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), died…

Putting Health First: The Global Business of International Commercial Surrogacy

December 28, 2017

OBOS has long been known for calling attention to women’s health concerns that are overlooked due to financial profit, insensitivity, or simple…

Art Not Just For Art’s Sake

December 6, 2017

There are many extraordinary people among us. In October, the Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum celebrated some of…

“Our Bodies, Ourselves” in Luganda: Changing the Course of Ugandan Women’s Health and Rights

November 27, 2017

I first met Diana Namumbejja Abwoye, now a nurse practitioner student at Boston’s Simmons College, in 2013. With her soft voice and…

Different Waves, Same Wavelength: Intergenerational Reflections on Feminism

November 22, 2017

My friend Norma is 85 years old. I am 23. On the day we first met, while working on the same OBOS…

#NoChoice: Stories of Abortion

November 21, 2017

“I can’t get the blood out of my husband’s blue silk shirt.” That’s what Lynne Hanley was told to say when she…

“Uber of Birth Control” in the Crosshairs of Anti-Abortion Activists

November 6, 2017

If you thought an app that delivers contraception to your door would barely register on the radar of anti-reproductive rights activists, you’d…

The Trump Administration’s Latest Plan To Dismantle Reproductive Rights

October 16, 2017

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a draft of its strategic plan for the next four years…

Bollywood Birds and Bees

October 10, 2017

An earlier version of this article appeared on Biopolitical Times, the blog of the Center for Genetics and Society. There are few…

Let’s Talk About Sex–And Reproductive Justice

October 5, 2017

Thanks to the reproductive justice collective SisterSong and the group’s allies and partners, reproductive justice is a phrase and a concept well-known…