<^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> ........Catt's Claws # 114 ... July 14, 1996......... ........ A Feminist Newsletter by Irene Stuber......... <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> Please save this address: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et/access?ac=140032214610&pg=/96/4/26/wpill26.html It is the original article which I went totally ballistic over. I sent a copy to a couple of friends and members of my family and their screams of outrage hurt my ears from a thousand miles away. So without comment: The Headline reads: NUNS AT RISK OF RAPE CAN TAKE THE PILL, says Rome Issue 371 Friday April 26 1996 By Bruce Johnston in Rome NUNS working in dangerous areas and mentally handicapped women may be given the contraceptive Pill as a defence against rape, a leading Vatican theologian has said. Father Gonzalo Miranda, who lectures at the Pontifical Academy of the Regina Apostolorum, and is Secretary of the Institute of Bioethics at Rome's Catholic University, said that the use of the Pill is sanctioned in such cases if the women ran "a serious and imminent risk of rape". In an interview published by the Italian Bishops' Conference official news agency, SIR, which lends his views extra weight, the theologian said: "Contraception is morally illicit when it accompanies a desired sexual act, but when a sexual act is imposed, and not wanted, then contraception represents the only form of protection." He added: "In such cases the act of taking the Pill . . . is not a true act of contraception from the moral point of view, but only an act of defence." >>>>>>>>>>>> Please web over to the address above and read the complete article. My gift to you - and a question. If a married woman doesn't want sex because she doesn't want to get pregnant and her husband with the church's blessings refuses to use a condom, is she not justified in using the pill "when a sexual act is imposed and not wanted?" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As long as we're on the subject of THE PILL, I was visiting with a rather sedate woman when the news came over the TV about The Pill acting as an aphrodisiac because researchers found that women on the pill were sexually more active than women not on the pill. Studies were being planned to find out what ingredient in the pill acts as the aphrodisiac. This quiet, reserved woman turned to me and said, "Are those men crazy? Of course you have more sex when you're not afraid to get pregnant." Reason 5,975,283,681 why there should be more women in control of things. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In-your-face racism is bubbling to the surface all over this country, white on black, black on white while Native Americans, those of Asian decent and Hispanics are caught in the middle without sufficient advocacy. As a consequence, because it is men writing about men doing things -- the almost hysterical murdering and abusing of women by men is going virtually unnoticed in the press. Even the leaders of the National Organization for Women are so busy arguing race and sexual preferences that they are ignoring the escalation of violence against women. Why are the national officers of NOW stressing our differences instead of pointing out that we are ALL WOMEN and as such are in this fight against domestic violence, rape, anti-abortion, etc. TOGETHER? We have high hopes for Women Leaders Online now that Jeanne Clark has taken over the helm. Jeanne is one of the best of the best among feminist activists, a veteran of the movement when it put women's concerns first, especially when using women's efforts and women's money. We have regretfully declined to take any active part in the organization. Our efforts will remain with Women of Achievement and Herstory and Catt's Claws. We only have so much time. Membership in NOW has dropped to less than 250,000, that's a drop of at least 100,000 in the last two years if memory serves from the figures I was given while a state NOW president. And NOW President Patricia Ireland and her fellow officers are boasting about their coalition building while IGNORING WOMEN'S NEEDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Microsoft Corp. issued a public apology in Spain and Mexico for its Spanish-language thesaurus that offered "savage" and "man-eater" as synonyms for the word "Indian." The thesaurus for Microsoft Word 6.0 also listed "vicious" and "inverted" for homosexual and "vicious" and "pervert" for lesbian. "Lesbians caused trouble in Spain (when they found out about it," said Claudia Ferron, a Microsoft spokeswoman in Mexico. "We apologize... and we are working on a new dictionary for synonyms. We have no other comment at this moment." "Those who made this dictionary of synonyms are imbeciles and cretins," Fernando Benitez, a noted journalist and historian was quoted as saying in various news reports. So we tried the words with our Word Perfect thesaurus ... and it turns out that, to the Mormon cretins of Utah who developed Word Perfect, there ARE no synonyms for Indian, lesbian, or homosexual in Word Perfect 5.1 and 6.1 (now taken over by Norvell) although the spell check approves the spellings. Gay, by the way, has blithe, etc., as well as homophile and homosexual as synonyms. Of course it has no synonyms for penis or clitoris either. Microsoft is checking EVERY word in the Spanish version to make sure there are no more offensive terms. We wonder about the American version? What would have happened if the Spanish lesbians hadn't started their protests? How does your word processor define these terms? Please send your answers and comments to the feminist discussion group that was set up to discuss Catt's Claws and other feminist things, Abigail's Rebels rather than to the Catt's Claws author. To subscribe to ABIGAILS-L send an email msg: To: listserv@netcom.com Subject: (leave blank) Text: subscribe abigails-l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I really love signature statements and this one ranks in the top ten: I am woman hear me roar, and this time I am REALLY too pissed off to ignore... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A New Zealand judge may lose his position after he commented in a rape trial that the world would be much less exciting if every man through history had stopped the first time a woman said ``no.'' According to news services, Chief Justice Sir Thomas Eichelbaum took the unusual step of issuing a press statement labelling Judge David Morris's comments in his summing up as "inappropriate." The rapist was acquitted when the judge told a jury that A CONSENT RELUCTANTLY GIVEN WAS STILL CONSENT. The chief justice said he would examine closely the context of the charge and then consider Morris's suitability for conducting future trials. How unlike what has happened in similar cases in the U.S. where our professional feminists are so busy building coalitions that they can't fight for women's rights! The women of New Zealand went ballistic and put pressure on the judiciary. No judge has ever been removed but chances are this one will have learned his lesson. Here in the U.S. judges who slaps a wrist as punishment (REALLY!) when a man kills a wife, the feminist leaders are strangely quiet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Well, according to the Presbyterian Church, men's peni only can go into women's anuses, never a man's, and only men's lips, fingers, etc., can touch a women's genitalia (never another woman) in order to remain an ordained deacon or minister of the Presbyterian Church. At a General Assembly meeting commissioners voted 313-236 to amend the Book of Order to bar sexually active gays and lesbians from being ordained. To be fair, they also ordered unmarried ordained heterosexuals to refrain from sex. Heterosexuals are allowed to marry and have sex but homosexuals are not allowed to marry ... Who made these people who are homosexuals that they shouldn't be given human and humane treatment if they love God enough to serve her/him? Homosexual sex is compared to the sins of adultery, greed, lust, fornication, pride, jealousy and malice by the Presbyterians (and most other "Christian" religions). Homosexual orientation, however, is not considered a sin and gays or lesbians who remain celibate may be ordained. Oddly enough the Presbyterians decided to support the civil rights of same-sex partners. Isn't it odd that same sex couples can have civil rights but can't have sex? What is it about some Christians that they believe love and sex are dirty - really filthy if it is between two people of the same sex - even though it is love of the highest, deepest order? Frankly, who the blankety-blank cares what people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms? Just so they don't do it in public and scare the horses. Didn't I learned in Sunday School in Corinthians that the greatest of these was charity (love)? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OJ is SUDDENLY grabbing for full custody of his two minor children, born to his murdered wife Nicole. Well, actually he never lost custody, only allowed the Browns to raise the children while he was in jail. Seems like the two children may have some things to say about what happened between Nicole and OJ and the full custody ruling will give him, as legal custodian, the right to refuse to allow the children to testify in the wrongful death suit. OJ is claiming he suddenly wants his children to be aware of their black heritage, something he never seemed to care about before the trial ... In fact, he objected in WRITING to Nicole bringing the children over to his Brentwood Estate because it was too much of a hardship on his maid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . We have been criticized many times for out stance AGAINST ALL forms of censorship. Look, when my kids were growing up there was filth and smut and bad people just as there is today. More today? Yes. But the theory of parent responsibilities hold true: It is the parent's job to personally supervise what the children do, see, say, and experience. Leaving it in someone else's hands, or expecting society to take the responsibility off the parent is wrong. Even the _Lord's Prayer, says "lead me not into temptation, deliver me from evil...." It does not say "destroy temptation, destroy evil." But there are morally high minded hypocrites who expect everyone else to take care of the product of their f-----g: to take care of their precious children. And so they approve - in their laziness and irresponsibility - a series of computer programs designed to keep people from accessing what some *other* person considers undesirable material in cyberspace. As the authors of a CyberWire Dispatch article _Jacking in from the "Keys to the Kingdom: Port:_ "The road to such a moral high ground turns out to be a slippery slope." Seems that these censoring programs are not only censoring porno, but censoring ideas the authors of the programs don't want anyone to be exposed to. The moral high road has been turned over to a few people to control what knowledge is available to children on Internet so their parents don't have to bother supervising them. These programs, according to the article writers Brock N. Meeks and Declan B. McCullag, are sold under names like SurfWatch, CyberPatrol, NetNanny and CyberSitter. "Install the programs and Junior can't access porn. No fuss, no muss, no bother. "But there's a darker side. A close look at the actual range of sites blocked by these apps shows they go far beyond just restricting pornography. Indeed, some programs ban access to newsgroups discussing gay and lesbian issues or topics such as feminism. Entire *domains* are restricted, such as HotWired. Even a web site dedicated to the safe use of fireworks is blocked, according to Meeks and McCullag. But the terrible thing is that these programs keep their database of blocked sites SECRET. You, the buyer, don't know what the program is censoring out! According to authors Meek and McCullag, CyberPatrol censors out 4,800 web sites and 250 newsgroups. Using classifications that range from "violence/profanity" to "sexual acts," "drugs and drug culture," and "gross depictions," the program also censors out animal rights web pages. Envirolink which provides web pages to animal rights people is talking about suing. How about some of the other bad stuff little religious right baby puppets can't see, even those their parents who dighted* just like everyone else to produce their little darlings - but don't let the kids know! (*dighted is an Old English word.) Any gay and lesbian web sites for one. In fact, the authors say that CyberPatrol blocks a mirror of the Queer Resources Directory (QRD) at http://qrd.tcp.com/ and USENET newsgroups including clari.news.gays (home to AP and Reuters articles), alt.journalism.gay-press, and soc.support.youth.gay- lesbian-bi. CyberSitter also bans alt.politics.homosexual and the QRD at qrd.org. It blocks the NRA! Wait till the Militia children hear about that one! Of course other groups that are censored include Soc.Feminism alt.feminism, alt.feminism.individualism, clari.news.women, soc.support. pregnancy.loss, alt.homosexual.lesbian, and soc.support.fat-acceptance. Guess helping large people to accept themselves is too gross a subject to these religious hypocrites. The article points out that there are supposed to be oversight committees to approve what's blocked and not blocked but it turns out that they never actually see the list. They don't know what's *really* banned! And since the banned material is all in code ... NOW leaders who are so busy forming coalitions without paying any attention to women's issues only seemed a little miffed when it turned out that their NOW web pages were being censored! Kim Gandy gave out her usual we're upset statement to which was answered: "An indignant NOW? Let 'em rant, says CyberSitter's Brian Milburn. `If NOW doesn't like it, tough... We have not and will not bow to any pressure from any organization that disagrees with our philosophy.'" Milburn admits to censorship of philosophy and says his product is sold by Focus on the Family and everything related to sex is censored! (Can you imagine these little robot kids as adults? The girls especially will never know that they're supposed to have fun with sex just like the men do!) The article even gives some direct quotes from some of the words that they think are distasteful. Quite a list! Meek and McCullag wrote, "The smut-censors say they're going after porn, but they quietly restrict political speech." The full article, Meek said, may be found at Cyberwerks.com, I guess that's http://www.cyberwerks.com??? It is too important an article for you not to read in its entirety. We bow to Meek and McCullag for a job well done. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oh, I hate my suspicious mind but when I get a post from a man, in this case "Steven L. Batki" and it starts off with " We are two young women who are in the process of publishing a book by and for women who have experienced an abortion" - and we want your name and your experiences, I cringe. No women's names or references are given for the authors. This could be legitimate or it could be a guy looking for kicks, or it could be some religious right nut looking for women to harass. For GAWD's sake, don't fall for such things on the net. Also PLEASE remember that most email lists are monitored by the religious right and names *are* being taken, so be VERY careful about what personal information you give out. This warning also applies to Abigail's Rebels ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RE the use of birth control pills as an abortifacient - if it should fail, a medical abortion is NECESSARY. High dosages of estrogen MAY deform the fetus. Remember the use of birth control pills for abortions is effective only the first 72 hours of pregnancy. That's why it's called the morning after pill. I was also arsoned by several who said that they had already sent me information about the use of birth control pills and others who said they were disappointed that I didn't know about this process before. (Hey, I get messages that douching with coke will prevent pregnancy so I like to check the accuracy of some theories.) Well, I'm responsible enough not to post rumors. Believe it or not, it was impossible to get a solid medical report on the use of the pills from a reportable source. (Would I have been guilty of murder if someone died using the directions I gave? What would have been my responsibility if I posted the words of the medical type person who has been publically chastizing me who claimed that you had to take a whole month's worth of the pills, not 2 or 4?) Feminist organizations have funds and personnel to find out these things. They have the responsibility to publicize these things. That's why women pay them those big bucks, $125,000 plus for the president of NOW. Look, I am only one person without any membership funding, etc. I have been doing my best to get RELIABLE information on birth control, abortifacients, etc., and get them out to the public. Catt's Claws has given out more information about contraception and abortion in the 1.6 months it's been in existence than NOW has done in its 30 year history. And I'm damned proud of my record and will match anyone's. I'm out here doing something, not just complaining. I had to finally get confirmation from the FDA of all places, I was stunned. Why didn't the feminist organizations publicize the use of Birth Control pills as abortifacients? Sure some college nurses told SOME female students... but how about women going to catholic or religious schools like those run by the Baptists, or the Methodists? Or high school girls who are forced by peer pressure to be sexually active? OK. Without going into individual notes, let us review the use of birth control pills as an abortifacient. It must be used within 24-72 hours of the intercourse. It is an abortifacient because the egg which will have been fertilized will then not be able to cozy down into the uterine lining. Birth control pills are among those that the religious right target because it is not a barrier type birth control and allows the fertilization to take place. Among those who publicized the use of birth control pills as an abortifacient were Katha Pollitt _The Nation_ , Glamour magazine, and MTV. I should lhave read Katha's article because I think she is one of the three top women columnists in the country along with Molly and Ellen but I missed it with the family health problems this year. There is a group called _ Reproductive Health Technologies Project _ that has been working to get the message out about Emergency Contraception (EC or Morning After Pill). Their number is 1-800-584-9911. They are available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, and will refer you to the nearest place to get EC. James Trussell says they have a website http://opr.princeton.edu/ec/ecminip.html for the minipill information or http://opr.princeton.edu/ec/ecp.html for the pill information The site has information about emergency contraception and have a directory of more that 1800 clinicians willing to prescribe emergency contraceptives. Planned Parenthood is beginning to distribute the information about the use of regular birth control pills as a "morning after" pill. Call 1-800-230-PLAN for the nearest Planned Parenthood office. (Ironically the PP web site contains NO information about the Morning After Pill but what it does is link to the above Princeton site. Click on WWW. Took me a bit of searching to find it. There's no indication of what is behind the WWW.) However - and this is a BIG HOWEVER - few other than the Princeton site seems to give the dosages for the different brands, in fact one of those who toasted me REALLY bad spoke of huge dosages of the pills - a month's supply - being given in hospitals in cases of rape. The correct FDA approved dosage is: 2 Wyeth's Ovral or 4 tablet of Wyeth's Nordette, Lo/Ovral or Triphasil or Berlex Laboratories Levlen or Tri-Levlen and then take the same, second dosage exactly 12 hours later. Nausea occurs in some cases. Vomiting, which is RARE, will prevent it from working so take Dramamine or some other anti-nausea medication with it. In Canada, they commonly prescribe Ovral with an antiemetic (antinausea) medication. Women from Canada, Great Britain, etc., wrote how shocked they were that the U.S. women did not have access to this information. As the news reports said, "the best kept secret of women's health..." And one woman who was highly critical of what I wrote about the failure of feminist organizations to inform women failed to answer when I wrote back and asked: Has NOW or its higher-priced auntie organization ever put out ONE SINGLE MESSAGE about the abortifacient use of the Pill even AFTER the FDA announcement? PS - The Pill doesn't protect against venereal diseases or AIDS. Make him use a condom. Forgot it? Forget it! Masturbation is better than dying of AIDS. ....................... * ........................ Women's rights are young and tender and we must protect them from the plagues of holy hypocrisy and newts. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- >>> Send your ideas, comments, and news to istuber@cswnet.com for inclusion in the Catt's Claws feminist newsletter which will be emailed up to three times a week. This is NOT an interactive discussion net but an exchange of information. Catt's Claws is NOT sponsored by any organization. We are accepting *limited* donations (only what can be spared) to help offset the online costs of posting Catt's Claws. Copyright 1996, Irene Stuber. PO Box 6185, Hot Springs, AR 71902.<<<< >> Mailing by Jennifer Gagliardi << >> Proofed by Alicia Graybill <<