Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm (1924-2005) wanted to be know as “a catalyst for change.” She should be known as a catalyst for courage.

In 1968, Chisholm became the first African American woman elected to Congress and in 1972, the first African American to run for the presidency …


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Shirley Chisholm and Courage

As a feminist and as an American working on immigration policy, I have a clear line in the sand when it comes to the treatment of women who immigrate to this country: “defending our borders” should not be at the expense of defending our values. But when I interviewed women in immigration detention …


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Holding the Line: Defending Feminist Values in Immigration Enforcement

Last June women throughout Quito, Ecuador looked up at the iconic statue of the Virgin Mary at El Panecillo, visible from every corner of the valley, to see a stark banner hanging from her skirts. It said: “Safe Abortion” followed by a cell phone number. The hotline was organized by local young …


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Telemedicine’s Abortion Pill Dispatches Relief for Women

I am one of the 45 million American women who's had an abortion.  But I wouldn't criticize any woman for dealing with her unintended pregnancy differently than I did. It is, after all, your choice.
 
In the spring of 1972 I was young, single, and a leader of the Yippies, a theatrical …


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My Body, My Story: In Memory of Dr. Tiller

The need for a youth-focused and culturally appropriate HIV/AIDS educational platform is urgent. Despite growing infection rates, youth-centered prevention information created in an accessible, frank and affirming manner is …


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Taking Multimedia Action to Stop HIV-AIDS in Youth

One progressive "line in the sand" is the conviction that all people are entitled to clean air, clean water, and healthy, unpolluted space in which to live, work, study and grow. But when it comes to people of color—particularly those in urban environments—that line has been crossed one time too …


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Peggy M. Shepard: Setting the Bar for Environmental Justice

Human rights, feminism, literature and science are all aspects of our common human heritage. Women in the Middle East have a centuries-long history of political struggle, popular organizing, jurisprudence and scholarship aimed at securing rights within their societies.  Those rights have been …


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Listen to Iraqi Women

"Sexual violence is a problem on this campus!"
 
"Your silence will not protect you!"
 
"What do we want? Safety! When do we want it? Now!"
 
On the limestone steps of Old West, outside the admissions building where campus tours for new students and …


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Students Draw the Line on Sexual Violence

Obstetrician Murdered by Terrorist in Amherst, New York
by Judith Arcana
 
This poem, written for Barnett Slepian
is here dedicated, in memoriam
and with gratitude, to George Tiller
 

The doctor went into the kitchen


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Poem Honoring Slain Abortion Doctor - Again

I believe President Obama should show strong leadership in repealing the Hyde Amendment that prohibits public funding for abortions for poor women. This would send a strong signal of support to his allies in the reproductive justice …


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Repeal Hyde: Even Republicans Know It's Wrong to Politick With Women's Lives

Laurel Simons, (not her real name) who lives in a small town in Western New York, was pregnant with her first child when she got the call that every pregnant woman dreads: routine testing revealed a serious problem. The fetus had a genetic anomaly, Trisomy 18, which has an extremely low survival …


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New Yorkers Need to Upgrade Abortion Laws

Almost 40 years ago, the New York radical feminist group Redstockings pledged in its manifesto: "This time we are going all the way." Redstockings, still ongoing, now pledges "for as long as it takes" and to engage "generations teaching …


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Lessons from Redstockings: A Movement Goes for What It Wants

I am saddened by today's pop-culture version of feminism, and especially by the number of women who have embraced a new definition of feminism. Instead of seeing feminism as ensuring that all females have the right and opportunity to exercise their human capacity, many subscribe to the notion that …


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Put Self-Objectification Under Wraps

Instead of a time of hope, pregnancy too often means death for women in developing countries. In September of 2008, UNICEF reported that one in 76 women in developing nations die from pregnancy or childbirth complications. In …


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The Plight of Pregnancy: Maternal Mortality in Developing Nations

“Lines in the Sand” can be either personal or political -- or most often, both. Both frequently involve activism and personal sacrifice arising out of political commitment, and the print edition of On The Issues Magazine (1983-1999) carried many articles highlighting the need for such …


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Articles of Interest from our Archives - Lines in the Sand

Summer 2009 Café -- Our Genders our Rights

Winter 2009 Café -- New Revolutions we Need

Fall 2008 Café -- What is Terror for Women?

Summer 2008 Café -- Works Hard for her Money: Feminists and Prostitutes

Spring 2008 Café -- HIV/AIDS Blowback hits Women Hard