Supreme Court to Consider "Second Generation of Pregnancy Discrimination"

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which treats discrimination on the basis of pregnancy and childbirth as unlawful sex discrimination, has been law for 30 years.  Now, the Supreme Court will decide whether workers who were pregnant prior to passage of the PDA are still protected by it when retiring, reports the National Law Journal.  The four women bringing the case all took maternity leave, then classified "personal leave," before the PDA was enacted, meaning their retirement is calculated with fewer "service credits" than had their maternity leave be considered disability leave.  The Supreme Court decision could affect 15,000 women.

Still No Link Between Mental Illness and Abortion

News that a comprehensive Johns Hopkins examination found no credible study had ever demonstrated a link between long-term mental health effects and abortion has been widely picked up across mainstream news outlets, but columnists such as Bonnie Erbe on US News and World Report cheered the news, too:

First, there was the widely discredited
claim that abortion raised breast cancer rates. Then, so-called
pro-lifers avowed that women who had abortions became profoundly
depressed afterwards. The list of myths propagated by right-wing
abortion foes goes on and on. Today, yet another claim fell prey to scientific accuracy.

Karen Rayne Reviews "Zack and Miri Make a Porno"

Dr. Karen Rayne, who runs the Adolescent Sexuality blog, has a lively and insightful review of "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" up on her site. Karen calls the movie "cute and funny" but identifies two major flaws: the film doesn’t portray any condom use, and it suggests an overly simplified, unrealistic view of sexual pleasure.  Writes Karen,

The integration of condoms into sex/fucking/lovemaking scenes in movies
has the potential to have a huge impact on teenagers’ and young adults’
safe sex practices.  After all, our society has given sexuality
education of our young people over to the movies and media, since the
education system and most parents aren’t willing or able to talk about
it…

And when will this constant barrage of social weight stop supporting
the ideas that (1) just because you’re in love, the sex will be
fabulous, and (2) vaginal intercourse alone should be orgasm-producing
for women?

 

Texas High School Students to Take "Paternity Awareness" Classes

In Texas, high school students will learn all about child support, "alleged" and "presumed" paternity, but won’t necessarily get comprehensive sexuality education around pregnancy prevention. Reports MySanAntonio, 

Starting this school year, health classes at all Texas public high
schools must teach a curriculum called Parenting and Paternity
Awareness, or p.a.-p.a., as required by a 2007 state law.

As part of the curriculum, students learn how to calculate child
support payments, as well as the costs associated with having and
raising a baby. They are also introduced to legal lingo, such as
“alleged” father and “presumed” father and are taught the process for
establishing paternity.

Says Dr. Janet Realini, president of Healthy Futures, a nonprofit focused
on preventing teen and unplanned pregnancy:

Children who have strong relationships, positive role
models and a sense of belonging in their community are less likely to
engage in risky behaviors, Realini said.

P.a.p.a. “gives lots of logical reasons, in terms of the
consequences of being a young parent, for young people to wait, but I
think what we need to understand is that it’s not all about logic,”
Realini said. “Human behavior is very complex and young people are
making decisions based on what they see in their lives, and what they
expect for their future, as well as the information that they have.”

 

California Woman Pleads Guilty to Practicing Medicine without a License

Bertha Pinedo Bugarin, reproductive health care clinic operator in San Diego, has plead guilty to nine counts of practicing medicine without a license, the LA Times reports.