The pro-choice fightback

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/shortcuts/2012/mar/14/pro-choice-fightback

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When US Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said in January that a pregnancy created through rape was "a gift of human life", it was clear that contraception and abortion rights were back on the political agenda. Santorum wants to ban all abortions, his voice just one in a chorus of (mostly male) politicians attacking hard-won rights.

So activists are combating fire with fire. Ohio state senator Nina Turner has introduced an amendment to require men to undertake celibacy lectures and rectal exams before being prescribed Viagra. "If you want to be preoccupied with regulating women's wombs, we're going to do the same thing with men," she said. On Tuesday, the Facebook page of Virginia senator Ryan McDougle was bombarded with "vagina updates" following his support for a law to force women to receive unnecessary transvaginal ultrasounds before a termination. Example: "Hey senator! just a quick hello to let you know that I'm currently ovulating!" And earlier this week Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury strip was pulled from several newspapers for discussing the issue. "To ignore it would have been comedy malpractice," he said.

British women have had to fight a surge in anti-abortion activity too. Last weekend, a man hacked into and vandalised the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) website, telling police it was because he "disagreed with" friends' abortions. A British offshoot of a US group, 40 Days for Life, has taken up residence outside BPAS clinics, holding prayer "vigils". On Tuesday, the group celebrated a "turnaround" on Twitter. In Brighton, an anti-abortion group, Abort67, campaigns outside the clinic, using images of late-stage abortions. In response, 40 Days of Treats shows support with "treats, tweets and donations". The Brighton Feminist Collective has its own version; Kate Squeamish takes cakes and flowers to the clinic. "We're not pro-abortion, we're pro-choice. If we chip away at that, we lose everything."