Sexual and Reproductive Health

Care with herself, sexuality and eroticism in Tete Province, Mozambique

by brigitte bagnol

Grievances Against the GOP from a (former?) Republican Woman by Katie German

by Feminism and Religion

Originally posted on the Feminism and Religion Project
This article is cross-posted at Confessions of a Thinking Woman.

I was raised in a conservative, Republican, military family. I support personal freedom and personal responsibility. I... more I was raised in a conservative, Republican, military family. I support personal freedom and personal responsibility. I support the military. I support a balanced budget. I support individual rights and the constitution. I support small government. But I find myself increasingly separated from the Republican Party, and this is why:

I cannot align myself with a party that repeatedly acts to restrict the rights of women, to deny women protection from abuse and violence, and to trample the rights of women to make their own medical decisions. I cannot support a party where individual rights and freedoms are only protected for people with a penis (so long as they are not gay).

On The Cutting Edge: Ethical Responsiveness to Cesarean Rates

by Sylvia Burrow

Forthcoming in The American Journal of Bioethics

Cesarean delivery rates have been steadily increasing worldwide. In response, many countries have introduced target... more Cesarean delivery rates have been steadily increasing worldwide. In response, many countries have introduced target goals to reduce rates. But a focus on target goals fails to address practices embedded in standards of care that encourage, rather than discourage, cesarean sections. Obstetrical standards of care normalize use of technology, creating an imperative to use technology during labor and birth. A technological imperative is implicated in rising cesarean rates if physicians or patients fear refusing use of technology. Reproductive autonomy is at stake since a technological imperative undermines patients’ ability to choose cesareans or refuse use of technology increasing likelihood of cesareans. To address practices driven by a technological imperative I outline three physician obligations that are attached to respecting patient autonomy. These moral obligations show that a focus on respect for autonomy may prove not only an ideal ethical response but also an achievable practical response to lowering cesarean rates.

Reproductive Technology and Reproductive Autonomy

by Sylvia Burrow

This paper argues that the normalized or routine use of technology produces a technological imperative undermining... more This paper argues that the normalized or routine use of technology produces a technological imperative undermining reproductive autonomy in the context of labor and birth. A technological imperative encourages dependence on technology for reassurance whenever possible through creating both a (i) perceived need for laboring and birthing women to use technology whenever possible; and (ii) separation of maternal and fetal interests decreasing risk tolerance. I present a relational account of autonomy showing that a technological imperative undermines women’s capacity to resist use of technology and then develop a positive account appealing to self-trust and self-confidence to promote autonomy in response. On my view, autonomy is not simply a matter of choosing freely and acting on our choices, it is also a matter of possessing the ability to resist social contexts undermining choice and action. An important implication of this view is that respecting autonomy requires more than simply respecting persons’ ability to make and act on choices. Respecting patient autonomy requires a recognition of patients’ needs to resist factors impeding autonomy and support for that which is needed to cultivate autonomy.

Cellular localization and age-dependent changes of the regulatory subunits of cAMP dependent protein kinase in rat testis

by Brynjar Landmark

This study was undertaken to examine the expression and cellular location of the various cAMP-dependent protein kinase... more This study was undertaken to examine the expression and cellular location of the various cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) subunits in different testicular cell types, using cDNA probes, isoenzyme-specific antibodies and activity measurements. Amounts of mRNA and protein were examined in cultured Sertoli cells, cultured peritubular cells, germ cells (pachytene spermatocytes, round spermatids), Leydig cell tumours as well as whole testes from rats of various ages. In Sertoli cells, there was a good correlation between the amount of mRNA and the respective immunoreactive proteins. In other types of cell, such as germ cells and Leydig tumour cells, this was not always the case. Large amounts of RIIβ mRNA were found in Leydig tumour cells, whereas the amount of immunoreactive protein was low. Furthermore, large amounts of small-sized, germ cell-specific mRNAs for RIα (1.7 kb) and RIIα (2.2 kb) were also found in the developing rat testis after 30 to 40 days of age, but the large amounts of mRNA were only partially reflected at the protein level. Pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids were practically devoid of both RIIα and RIIβ protein. During spermatid differentiation, there was a decrease in RIα and an increase in RIIα protein. Cell specific distribution of the various PKA subunits in testicular cell types is described. In some types of cell, discrepancies between mRNA and protein were demonstrated, which clearly suggest cell specific differences in translational efficiencies for some of these mRNAs, particularly the small-sized mRNAs for RIα and RIIα in meiotic and post-meiotic germ cells.

Transliberación de la corporalidad: Transitando la transexualidad desde la bioética

by Jorge Alberto Álvarez-Díaz

Deregulating Levonorgestrel 0.75 mg for EC: Is It Time for a" Plan B"?

by Suzanne Sicchia

Sicchia, S.R., & Kelly, L.M. (2006). University of Toronto Medical Journal, 83(2), 84-86.

Queensland's proposed surrogacy legislation: An opportunity for national reform

by Tammy Johnson

Embriões e células-tronco embrionárias têm direito à vida?

by Marco Antonio Azevedo

Ethic@, 4, 3, 2005: 301-308.

Na polêmica em torno da permissão ou proibição da pesquisa com células-tronco embrionárias freqüentemente são... more Na polêmica em torno da permissão ou proibição da pesquisa com células-tronco embrionárias freqüentemente são empregados argumentos que apelam a considerações sobre direitos. Porém, faz sentido dizer que embriões têm direitos? Há argumentos fortemente plausíveis em favor da tese de que embriões de laboratório não são seres candidatos a terem direitos. Da alegação, por exemplo, de que se tratam de pessoas em potencial não se segue que pré-embriões possuam quaisquer direitos, já que ninguém tem direitos equivalentes aos de outrem pelo fato de o ser em potência. Além disso, é discutível se pré-embriões são seres individualizáveis ou apenas células totipotentes das quais podem vir a surgir nenhum, um ou mais indivíduos. Contudo, o direito à pesquisa é um direito inquestionável. Ora, para que se proíba a pesquisa científica é preciso uma razão imponente. Pesquisadores, por exemplo, não podem violar direitos humanos. Porém, não há consenso de que embriões tenham algum tipo de direito, quanto mais direitos humanos como o direito à vida. Logo, não é razoável proibir de forma absoluta a pesquisa com embriões de laboratório, violando com isso o direito incontroverso à liberdade de pesquisa, sob o argumento de que se está protegendo o direito, todavia controverso, de um ser cujo estatuto biológico e moral é patentemente indeterminado e dificilmente inteligível.

Anatomy of a Cargo Cult: Virginity, Relic Envy, and Hallowed Boxes

by Ryan Byrne

Resurrecting the Brother of Jesus, eds. Ryan Byrne and Bernadette McNary-Zak (University of North Carolina Press, 2009) pp. 137-186

'Inside and outside, cavities and containers: the organs of generation in seventeenth-century English medicine' in P. Baker, C.J. van t Land-van Wesenbeeck and H. Nijdam (eds), MEDICINE AND SPACE: BODY, SURROUNDINGS AND BORDERS IN ANTIQUITY AND THE MIDDLE AGES

by Helen King

http://www.brill.nl/medicine-and-space
published 31 December 2011

This paper looks at the gendering of body space in English vernacular medicine of the 17th century. Focusing on Jane... more This paper looks at the gendering of body space in English vernacular medicine of the 17th century. Focusing on Jane Sharp's The Midwives Book (1671), I develop Elaine Hobby's analysis of Sharp's sources and discuss Sharp's division of body parts, looking at the terminology and imagery of the womb and the penis in both male and female writers of this period.

Corporalidad y sexualidad. Aportaciones desde la esterilidad

by Jorge Alberto Álvarez-Díaz

Psychosexual and social-cognitive correlates of sexual risk behavior among male clients of female sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico

by Angela M Robertson

Semple SJ, Strathdee SA, Gallardo Cruz M, Robertson A, Goldenberg S, Patterson TL. AIDS Care. 2010 Dec;22(12):1473-80.

Male clients of female sex workers (FSWs) may act as a bridge to the general population contributing to the spread of... more Male clients of female sex workers (FSWs) may act as a bridge to the general population contributing to the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the USA and Mexico. This study used cross-sectional data to identify psychosexual and social-cognitive factors associated with sexual risk behavior in a bi-national sample of 300 male clients of FSWs recruited in Tijuana, Mexico from June to October 2008. In a multiple regression analysis, the number of unprotected vaginal sex acts with FSWs was associated with higher sexual compulsivity scores, lower self-efficacy for condom use, greater use of illicit drugs, and more financial need. Behavioral interventions are urgently needed to assist clients of FSWs in reducing high-risk behaviors in an effort to prevent the spread of HIV/STIs in this high-risk population and their sexual partners.

Hispanic women’s expectations of campus- based health clinics addressing sexual health concerns.

by Dionne Stephens

Stephens, D. P., & Thomas, T. L. (2011). Hispanic women’s expectations of campus- based health clinics addressing sexual health concerns. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 6, 260- 280.

Although the number of Hispanic women attending post secondary institutions has significantly increased in the past... more Although the number of Hispanic women attending post secondary institutions has significantly increased in the past decade, knowledge about their use of campus health services to address sexuality-related issues remains low. Increased information about this population is crucial given that sexual health indicators have shown Hispanic women in college to be at a greater risk for negative sexual health outcomes when compared to their white counterparts. In this study, we conducted individual interviews with Hispanic women to explore their sexual health concerns and identify the roles they see campus-based health clinics playing in addressing these issues. Study findings suggest a need for health providers to provide sexual health skills that empower Hispanic women, the importance of creating a sense of comfort and trust with the health provider, and illustrating respect for cultural values. Campus health centers can play an important role in providing culturally appropriate sexual health information to Hispanic and other ethnic/ racial minority students.

"Counting People" / Demography in South Korea, (1945-early 1980s)

by John P. DiMoia

forthcoming in edited volume out of Germany (C. Unger, H. Hartmann, eds.)--first version submitted; edits submitted in early May 2012.

Young Filipino men’s condom use during their most recent heterosexual sex

by Eric Julian Manalastas

Manalastas, E.J. (2005). Young Filipino men’s condom use during their most recent heterosexual sex. Philippine Population Review, 4, 103-118.

Are young Filipino male adults using protection during heterosexual sex? Using perspectives from social psychology and... more Are young Filipino male adults using protection during heterosexual sex? Using perspectives from social psychology and data from the National Demographic and Health Survey (2003), I explored condom use as sexual health behavior among young Filipino men during their most recent heterosexual sexual episode. Results based on a national probability sample of N = 594 sexually active Filipino men ages 15 to 24 indicated that overall condom use was low (13.5%). Logistic regression analysis suggested that only two factors significantly predicted condom use: the type of sexual partner and whether a condom was used the first time a man had heterosexual sex. Condom use was not related to attitudes toward condoms, to cognitive factors like knowledge of condom sources or protection beliefs, or to demographic variables. Subjective reasons for condom use are also presented, as well as implications for sexual health interventions.

Young People: Frontiers in the fight against HIV& AIDS

by Mabel Segbafah

First published on the BBC World Service Trust site for World AIDS Day 2009 : Youth Challenge

Galen and the widow. Towards a history of therapeutic masturbation in ancient gynaecology

by Helen King

Abstract here, full text available online: see the link

This paper offers a close reading of the ancient Greek and Roman texts which Rachel Maines argued were evidence for... more This paper offers a close reading of the ancient Greek and Roman texts which Rachel Maines argued were evidence for therapeutic masturbation in the ancient world, and thus precursors for the vibrator. It challenges her claim that ‘Massage to orgasm of female patients was a staple of medical practice among some (but certainly not all) Western physicians from the time of Hippocrates until the 1920s, and mechanizing this task significantly increased the number of patients a doctor could treat in a working day' (Maines 1999: 3). Maines herself suggested this was a 'hypothesis' rather than a 'fact', but in the popular reception of her book this distinction has been almost entirely overlooked. In addition the paper challenges Maines' claims that ‘hysteria’ is a single disease entity with a continuous history; these do not reflect the scholarship of the 1990s which instead insisted on the complexity of the history of this diagnosis (e.g. Mark Micale (1995) Approaching Hysteria: Disease and its interpretations; Helen King (1993) ‘Once upon a text: the Hippocratic origins of hysteria’ in Hysteria Beyond Freud (S. Gilman, H. King, R. Porter, G.S. Rousseau and E. Showalter)

2011-12-14-Recommendations Diversity Panel for the Police

by Rey Ty 鄭文華 (郑 文华)

Issues and Recommendations for
Police Officers for Cases Involving People of Diverse Backgrounds:
Diversity Panel for
Training Police Officers of the Department of Police and Public Safety
Northern Illinois University
Barsema Hall, 300, Northern Illinois University
December 13, 2011

© 2011 Dr. Rey Ty
International Training Office
Division of International Programs

Issues and Recommendations for
Police Officers for Cases Involving People of Diverse Backgrounds:
Diversity... more Issues and Recommendations for
Police Officers for Cases Involving People of Diverse Backgrounds:
Diversity Panel for
Training Police Officers of the Department of Police and Public Safety
Northern Illinois University
Barsema Hall, 300, Northern Illinois University
December 13, 2011

© 2011 Dr. Rey Ty
International Training Office
Division of International Programs

Evidence to Suggest that Copulatory Vocalizations in Women Are Not a Reflexive Consequence of Orgasm

by Colin Hendrie

Brewer G, Hendrie CA

The current studies were conducted in order to
investigate the phenomenon of copulatory vocalizations andmore The current studies were conducted in order to
investigate the phenomenon of copulatory vocalizations and
their relationship to orgasm in women. Data were collected
from 71 sexually active heterosexual women (M age=21.68
years±.52) recruited from the local community through
opportunity sampling. The studies revealed that orgasm was
most frequently reported by women following self-manipulation
of the clitoris, manipulation by the partner, oral sex
delivered to the woman by a man, and least frequently during
vaginal penetration. More detailed examination of responses
during intercourse revealed that, while female orgasms were
most commonly experienced during foreplay, copulatory
vocalizations were reported to be made most often before and
simultaneously with male ejaculation. These data together
clearly demonstrate a dissociation of the timing of women
experiencing orgasm and making copulatory vocalizations
and indicate that there is at least an element of these responses
that are under conscious control, providing women with an
opportunity to manipulate male behavior to their advantage.