Opeds

2017 News Items

• April 21, 2017 - On women’s health, Speaker Ryan is out of touch
  Politicians such as Speaker Paul Ryan and his allies have repeatedly pushed an extreme agenda to attack initiatives such as women’s health care that have widespread support.
• April 01, 2017 - Teen pregnancy rates are declining: don’t mess with success
  Congressional opposition to comprehensive sex education, and the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts, could undermine the great success that North Carolina has enjoyed in reducing teen pregnancies in recent years.
• March 31, 2017 - Republicans Have Launched An Absurd Assault On Contraception
  With a zeal that confounds logic, ignores the budgetary consequences, and defies the electorate, the U.S. Senate has passed a measure that will, in effect, give state legislatures the power to prevent Planned Parenthood providers in their state from receiving any funding for the provision of contraceptive services under Title X.
• March 17, 2017 - GOP plan's odd side effect: More abortions
  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that enactment of the Trump-supported American Health Care Act (AHCA) would result in 24 million fewer people having coverage by 2026. And while that will have many implications for Americans' health and well-being, here's something else to consider: The AHCA will also increase the number of abortions performed in this country, perhaps more than any single piece of legislation ever enacted by Congress, especially if all funding for Planned Parenthood is blocked.
• March 14, 2017 - Slashing aid puts America's present - and future - interests at risk
  Cutting support for family planning, poverty reduction and food aid can push more young people into the hands of extremists
• March 13, 2017 - Women's rights are getting the attention they deserve
  At its heart, women's equality is a matter of fundamental equity and justice, but for those who do not find that argument convincing, let them recognize that human progress - past, present, and future - is inextricably tied to the status of women.

2016 News Items

• December 07, 2016 - The Friedman Prescription
  The world may appear to be rudderless and dangerously adrift, but in his newest book, Thank You for Being Late, Thomas Friedman takes a decidedly optimistic tack. Friedman’s book has something vitally important to offer: global and historical perspective.
• October 14, 2016 - Planned Parenthood: Happy 100th! Now Get Back to Work.
  This month, on October 16, we mark the 100th anniversary of Planned Parenthood. The occasion deserves a massive celebration, for no other organization has done more for the health and empowerment of women in this country than Planned Parenthood. It has played, and still plays, an indispensable role in the lives of millions of women and their families.
• July 08, 2016 - The Undeclared War On Contraception
  I am writing about the undeclared war on contraception. Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have been waging this war for several years now.
• May 25, 2016 - Ending the Search for Intelligent Life on Earth
  Scientists at the Extraterrestrial Research Center (ERC) announced today that they have indefinitely suspended their surveillance of radio signals from a D7-class planet in the R3231 solar system, which is located a mere 41 light-years from Xi.