Karen Handel resigned as the Susan G. Komen Foundation's vice president for public policy on Tuesday in the wake of the charity's disastrous defunding of Planned Parenthood and since she isn't taking a severance package, she's free to talk to the media. Today, she told the Daily Beast, "The idea that anyone would suggest Komen had a political agenda is absurd." more ›

The top breast cancer charity has pulled its funding from Planned Parenthood, which provided nearly 170,000 breast exams during the five years of Komen's support. more ›

Supporters of women's rights won a decisive victory in Mississippi in yesterday's elections, rejecting the “Personhood Amendment,” which dictated that the term “person” shall include “every human being from the moment of fertilization.” With 96 percent of precincts reporting, 58 percent of voters voted against the measure. And with ultra-conservative Mississippi rejecting the measure, it could mean the end for that initiative for good: “If it can’t pass here, it’d be hard to pass anywhere,” said John Bruce, who teaches political science at the University of Mississippi. more ›

In less than two weeks, Mississippi will vote on an amendment for its state constitution that declares "The term 'person' or 'persons' shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof." Proposition 26, aka the "Personhood" amendment, would, as the NY Times puts it, "would ban virtually all abortions, including those resulting from rape or incest. It would bar some birth control methods, including IUDs and 'morning-after pills,' which prevent fertilized eggs from implanting in the uterus. It would also outlaw the destruction of embryos created in laboratories." And there's a possibility of it might "even open the door to investigating women who have suffered miscarriages." more ›

The father of the Westchester woman who was killed by her husband Sam Friedlander, who also fatally shot their two children before committing suicide himself, is fighting back at accusations that his daughter was emotionally abusive to Friedlander. Gary Perez told the Journal News that Friendlander made his daughter Amy get an abortion when she became pregnant with their third child, "He said he was too old to have more children. And when she got home, he not once did anything to help her. She was very upset, and she was having difficulty coming to terms with it. When she expressed this to her husband, he told her to 'deal with it.'" Perez also suggested that Friedlander was too interested in their 10-year-old daughter. more ›

In July, a federal judge blocked NYC's law that requires "crisis pregnancy centers" to disclose whether they offer abortions and whether there's licensed medical care. Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) usually set up near Planned Parenthood offices, stopping women who are headed to Planned Parenthood and tell them, "We can do a free ultrasound and help you with prenatal care, all you have to do is say yes to life." But CPCs are not licensed medical providers. more ›

At the beginning of the year statistics came out that showed New York has a 40 percent abortion rate, statistics which many (especially the clergy) were not happy to see. Bus ads regarding the stats were put up, people doubted and backed up the numbers, a racially charged billboard was put up in SoHo (and then taken down for "safety") and then the whole issue kind of went away for a bit. Until now. At the request of Chiaroscuro Foundation, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has broken down their 2009 abortion statistics by zip code, and the results may surprise you. more ›

A federal judge blocked a recently passed law that requires "crisis pregnancy centers" to disclose whether they offer abortions and whether there's licensed medical care. Judge William Pauley called the law "unconstitutionally vague," noting, "This court presumes a threat of irreparable harm to plaintiffs’ first amendment rights." more ›

The war on women's health continues: The country is on the brink of a government shutdown because the Republicans don't want to continue $317 million in funding to Planned Parenthood. Even though more than 90% of Planned Parenthood's health care is preventive (each year, it gives nearly one million screenings for cervical cancer, 830,000 breast exams, affordable birth control to nearly 2.5 million patients, and nearly four million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV testing), the GOP is hung up on the fact that Planned Parenthood offers abortion—though none of its federal funding goes towards abortion. more ›

In 2009, Kisha Jones attempted to kill her husband's lovechild by trying to trick his pregnant mistress, Monique Hunter, into taking an abortion-inducing medicine. Then, when Hunter gave birth, Jones attempted to take the baby of a respirator and get it to drink tainted milk. This all led to her pleading guilty to second-degree assault, which she blames on the hormones of also being pregnant at the time. Today, she was sentenced to four years in prison. But the good news is she gets to keep her man! more ›

In a 39-9 vote, with one abstention, the City Council passed a bill to bring more transparency to women's health services. Specifically, it is targeted at "crisis pregnancy centers" to clearly state they do not provide abortions and do not provide licensed medical care. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said, "The goal of this bill is to ensure that women are fully informed and not deceived. Women need to know, they have a right to know, whether they are consulting with a licensed medical provider." more ›

Kacey Jordan, the adult film star who partied with Charlie Sheen during his infamous (alleged) coke-and-porn star binge last month, is back in the tabloids, thanks to a text message that TMZ happened to get. The message, purportedly sent from Jordan to Sheen, says that she's pregnant, "I don't believe it's yours, but I'm going to Oregon to take care of the situation." more ›

Not many people were happy to find out that 41% of the city's pregnancies end in abortion, so much so that he is pretty much sticking his fingers in his ears and trying to forget the data even exist. He told WNYC, “I have no idea if that’s an accurate number or not. I just don’t know." Well Bloomy, here's a study that shows multiple groups coming up with similar numbers. And check out table 4.13 here. At least teen pregnancy is down? more ›

House Republicans found themselves the butt of jokes on The Daily Show last night for attempting to make a risible distinction between rape and "forcible rape." The language had been part of a bill to limit government subsidies for abortions in instances of rape, and would have given an exemption for women who become pregnant as a result of "forcible rape." Instead, the bill’s author, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), tells Politico the modifier "forcible" will be dropped "so that the exemption covers all forms of rape, as well as cases of incest and the endangerment of the life of the mother." So the amendment is still risible, just not semantically. The Daily Show had fun with it: more ›

The Brooklyn mom who was accused of trying to kill her husband's out-of-wedlock baby, by tricking the mother into taking an abortion-inducing medicine, pleaded guilty today to a lesser charge of second-degree assault, ensuring she will likely be out of jail within two years. And the whole ordeal can be blamed on some seriously "out of whack" hormones. more ›

Gosnell, whose Women's Medical Society practice served lower income, minority women, is not a licensed OB/GYN and had his unlicensed staff (including a teenager) administer drugs to patients, according to the Philadelphia DA's office. The DA's office investigated the family practitioner after drug agents who raided the practice found out a patient had a fatal heart attack after being given a lethal dose of narcotics. more ›

Previously, Carl Paladino made it clear that he was an opponent of abortion—even if the woman in question was raped, or a victim of incest, "the baby can be adopted." But Paladino's old enemy Fred Dicker discovered some fun facts: Paladino is the landlord for a Planned Parenthood in Niagara Falls, one which offers RU-486 pill ("medication abortion"), "medications to make the abortion more comfortable," pre- and post-abortion patient education and post-abortion follow-ups. more ›

Remember Kisha Jones? She's the Brooklyn mom accused of trying to kill her husband's out-of-wedlock baby by tricking the mother into taking an abortion-inducing medicine, posing as a hospital administrator in an unsuccessful effort to have the infant taken off its respirator, and attempting to poison the infant with tainted breast milk. Well, there are two sides to every story! more ›

The US Health and Human Services Department has opened an investigation on Mount Sinai Hospital to see whether allegations that they forced nurse Catherina Cenzon-DeCarlo to perform a late-term abortion are true. DeCarlo, a devout Catholic, filed a lawsuit claiming her boss knew her objections to performing the procedure, but threatened her with charges of "insubordination and patient abandonment" if she didn't help. She also claims the mother's life was not in danger. The investigation will determine whether the hospital violated DeCarlo's civil rights by forcing her to assist in the procedure. more ›

A Catholic nurse is suing Mount Sinai Medical Center for allegedly forcing her to assist in performing an abortion, despite having knowledge of her objections towards the procedure. Catherina Cenzon-DeCarlo's boss allegedly threatened her with charges "insubordination and patient abandonment," if she did not comply. The suit filed at the Brooklyn Supreme Court charges the hospital with violating the state policy that employees may decline to participate in the procedure. Cenzon-DeCarlo had previously said of the day, "It felt like a horror film unfolding...I felt violated and betrayed." more ›

At the NARAL Pro-Choice NY luncheon yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg said he would want Obama to nominate a Pro-Choice justice to replace Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, saying he should be "succeeded by someone just as strongly committed to upholding Roe v. Wade." He also announced that as long as he is mayor, he will support the right to choose. "It is their [a woman's] right — we will always protect it." NARAL Pro-Choice America president Nancy Keenan said of the vacancy, "opponents of women's freedom and privacy will use this vacancy on the Court as an opportunity to further their attacks on nominees who have taken pro-choice positions. America's pro-choice majority will fight back." more ›

The body of the Queens man who allegedly slashed his pregnant wife’s throat and stabbed her sister washed up near the Whitestone Bridge yesterday, reports the Daily News. Fitzgerald Jolly became enraged last week when his wife announced she was going to have a baby and refused to consider an abortion, flying into a violent rage in front of several children. Both women and the unborn baby are in stable condition, but police found the unemployed construction worker’s vehicle abandoned on the bridge after the altercation, and suspected he had taken his own life. His wife and victim Patrona Kates even wished him dead. "If [the police] find him, I hope they kill him," she told reporters. more ›

A pregnant Queens woman, along with her twin sister, sought safety in a bodega last night after being violently attacked by her knife-wielding husband. Fitzgerald Jolly was allegedly furious that his wife Petrona Kates refused to have an abortion. "I guess he didn't want her to carry on with the pregnancy," a cousin told the Daily News, describing how the two women were assaulted in front of at least six children a Jamaica apartment around 8:45 p.m. more ›