Oh, Sarah Haskins. I crush on you.

Canadians for Choice Toronto crew at the International Women’s Day rally

Yep, it’ll be a full six months that we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of abortion legalization in Canada tomorrow, June 28th!

20 years and 6 months ago, Dr. Henry Morgentaler won the Supreme Court of Canada case striking down the abortion law that criminalized women who exercised their inherent reproductive rights.

And since it’s Pride weekend in Toronto, what better way to go out and PARTAY for our bodies to be with whomever we want, than to honour and remember the hard-fought battle that now legally guarantees women the right to choose what we want to DO with our bodies in Canada! (Actually accessing abortion services and quality of care though is a whole other story, you need look no further than at the 2006 REALITY CHECK report we did at Canadians for Choice to see that.)

We are one of the few nations in the world with no legal restrictions on abortion, and we should be damn proud that choice is an important matter generations young and old are continuing to fight for. It’s estimated that approximately 80,000 women die every year around the world due to complications from botched illegal abortions.

It’s been one helluva year defending choice in this country that I’ll actually detail when my latest Rabble article comes out soon, but for now I’m going to march with Pride this weekend that I live in Canada, and that I’m pro-choice.

(We’d love to have you join us at Canadians for Choice marching at the Dyke march, click here for the Facebook listing!)

Some Shameless self-promotion, I’ll be doing an interview on CIUT Radio 89.5 FM in Toronto this Thursday, June 26th in regards to the 20th anniversary of abortion legalization this year and what this means for young activists involved in the pro-choice movement now.

I’m on at 9:40 a.m. You can listen live here.

Wish me luck!

Quick link: A Time story on access to birth control, babies for unconditional love, “fierce” Catholicism, economic depression, and over a dozen (no older than) 16 year-old girls who made a pact to get pregnant at the same time: Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High

Women on Waves, the amazing Dutch abortion activism group, has hit a snag, but isn’t letting that stop them. We wrote about WOW in the last issue: the group captains a ship called Harmony, which drops anchor in international waters off the coast of countries where abortion is illegal, and gives women access to safe, medical abortion. In doing so, they have been successful at getting reproductive rights back on the public agenda (and Portugal, where Harmony was met by warships four years ago, finally legalized abortion last year).

After dealing with bureaucratic mess where the ship lost its Dutch license, Harmony was back on the water, headed this time to Ecuador, where the World Health Organization estimates that 95,000 illegal and dangerous abortions take place every year. Unsafe abortion leads to 30,000 hospitalizations and is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality in Ecuador.

Unfortunately, the ship ran aground in a tropical storm. But they’re not letting that stop them. (more inside…)

The dangerously emaciated look is so common that I’m almost desensitized to it. Almost.

It has to be pretty bad for it to make my jaw drop and my rage spike.

But it still happens.

From the Urban Outfitters splash page. Under the heading “Summer Time”.

“Yeah, we’re going to have to shoot the model sitting down, because if she stands up her shin bones will snap.”

Reminds me of this post over at Photoshop Disasters.

Join The Fat Femme Mafia at The Gladstone Hotel in Toronto on Sunday June 15th 2008 for a massive plus sized clothing sale!

Toronto fat activist and performance duo, The Fat Femme Mafia are holding another Fat Flea Market Sunday June 15th in The Gladstone Hotel’s Art bar from 10am-5pm.

All clothes are size 14 and above and between $5-$10! Accessories being sold as well!

To donate your size 14 and up clothes, please email fatfemmemafia@hotmail.com to arrange either drop off or pick up before the date. In exchange for donations the Mafia will be giving out Fat Flea Bucks to be used at the sale! Give them your old wardrobe and they’ll give you a new one!

Fat Femme Mafia co-founder and member Chelsey Lichtman (right) chats with Rosie O’Donnell about fat politics.

About The Fat Femme Mafia:

The Fat Femme Mafia consists of Chelsey Lichtman and Liz Brockest, a Toronto based performance and activist duo on a mission to spread the message that every BODY is a GOOD body. Whether they are scratching out weight loss ads with a sharpie, parading their chunky selves across a stage, or expanding public awareness on issues pertaining to bodies and health, the FFM are large and in charge and not afraid to make it known. Chelsey and Liz have toured their Love your Chub campaign all across North America dressed sometimes in their finest muumuu’s and other times in their best dresses. They are probably the diet industry’s worst nightmare and can be reached at www.myspace.com/fatfemmemafia.

With the Supreme Court becoming more conservative, many people who support women’s right to choose an abortion fear that Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that gave them that right, is in danger of being swept aside.

When such fears arise, we often hear about the pre-Roe “bad old days.” Yet there are few physicians today who can relate to them from personal experience. I can.

Waldo L. Fielding, M.D is a gynecologist who spent the early part of his career (1948 - 1953) working at a New York City hospital. His recollections of the days before abortions were safe and legal is a chilling reminder that the fact of a women’s unwanted pregnancy is often mistaken for a moral issue.

And this isn’t just a problem stateside. Here in Canada, we have our own private members Bill C-484: “An Act to amend the Criminal Code (injuring or causing the death of an unborn child while committing an offence)”. What this means in plain speak is that if a pregnant woman is attacked or killed and the fetus also dies, then the person who attacked the woman is on the hook for two attempted homicides. Sounds fair, right? Except that according to current Canadian law a fetus is not a person, and therefore termination of a fetus does not constitute murder. If a fetus were a person then abortion would be murder.

(more inside…)

I shook my fist alongside Catherine when she blogged about the Yogurt Wars. However, I have my own yogurt scandal: the conspiracy to deny me fatty yogurt. (I spurn you Liberté, for denying me yogurt that is both organic AND full-fat!!) So I loved this video poking fun at the bananas notion that all a gal needs is her pilates mat and (fat-free) yogurt to weather the trials and tribulations of life…

(Found on Salon)