Pro-choice Republican To add to Dana Goldstein’s overview of reproductive right’s views among candidates running for a Senate seat this fall, it appears there’s a pro-choice Republican running for Senate in New Jersey. Dick Zimmer supports abortion rights, subject to "reasonable" restrictions. "Government should play a minimal part in
people’s private lives," Zimmer said. "As a
general rule, the government should not interfere in a
decision that should be made by a woman and her doctor
and her spiritual adviser and her family." Zimmer’s two primary opponents are adamantly anti-choice. Hmmm… Ron Paul’s minimalist government tendancies in all other policy areas has never kept him from advocating for government intrustion to the greatest extent when it comes to women’s bodies.

Anti-sex Blog The Abstinence Clearinghouse has started a blog. Check out Amanda’s review over at Pandagon.

Hagee: New Orleaners’ Sin = Katrina While Barack Obama was being pummeled for remarks his pastor was making, John McCain has skated by the media smiling while Pastor John Hagee, whose endorsement McCain sought, stated that New Orleans’ sinful, homosexual-loving ways brought about the deserved punishment from God that was Hurricane Katrina. Yesterday McCain finally started feeling the deserved heat for John Hagee’s radical views.

Reassesing HIV Prevention Science Centric reports on a study released in today’s edition of the journal Science (subscription required): "According to a new policy analysis led by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the University of California, Berkeley, the most common HIV prevention strategies – condom promotion, HIV testing, treatment of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), vaccine and microbicide research, and abstinence – are having a limited impact on the predominantly heterosexual epidemics found in Africa. Furthermore, some of the assumptions underlying such strategies – such as poverty or war being major causes of AIDS in Africa – are unsupported by rigourous scientific evidence. The researchers argue that two interventions currently getting less attention and resources – male circumcision and reducing multiple sexual partnerships – would have a greater impact on the AIDS pandemic and should become the cornerstone of HIV prevention efforts in the high-HIV-prevalence parts of Africa."

V-Day for Mother’s Day Joan Lipkin writes a great post today on thevitalvoice.com about her alternative celebration of Mother’s Day this year. She went to New Orleans to participate in V-Day, one of the largest international gatherings about violence against women.