In honor of International Women’s Day, organizers of the Women’s March have declared March 8 “A Day Without a Woman.” Here’s what you need to know about the strike and how you can get involved.

How Can I Participate?

According to the organizers’ website, anyone, anywhere can participate in “A Day Without a Woman” in the following ways:

1. Women take the day off, from paid and unpaid labor
2. Avoid shopping for one day (with exceptions for small, women- and minority-owned businesses).
3. Wear RED in solidarity with A Day Without A Woman
4. Male allies lean into care giving on March 8, and use the day to call out decision-makers at the workplace and in the government to extend equal pay and adequate paid family leave for women.

According to the Huffington Post, all 16 public schools in Alexandria, Virginia, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools in North Carolina, and at least one preschool in Brooklyn, New York, have canceled classes Wednesday in anticipation of staff shortages since the vast majority of teachers are women.

Some businesses and organizations, like NARAL Pro-Choice America, have also chosen to close their doors in solidarity with the strike.

What Is the Goal of “A Day Without a Woman”?

The goal of A Day Without a Woman is to both oppose President Donald Trump and “highlight the economic power and significance that women have in the US and global economies, while calling attention to the economic injustices women and gender nonconforming people continue to face.” The strike hopes to promote awareness for women’s equality issues including: the gender pay gap, paid family leave, and reproductive rights.

Will It Work?

It’s hard to say. The only way a strike works is if people actually participate. As Quartz points out, privileged women are more likely to be the ones participating in the strike. A large number of working-class women are expected to abstain from the strike due to the potential repercussions they could face.

Put simply, many women can’t afford to take off an unpaid day of work, or lack any paid time off. Others fear losing their jobs if they strike. In February, a story about twelve employees at the I Don’t Car Bar & Grill in Catoosa, Oklahoma went viral after they were fired via text for staying home to participate in the Immigrant Strike.

The women strike organizers address the issue of privilege, writing:

We must be diligent and look out for each other, using our privilege on behalf of others when it is called for. Social activism is not a privilege. It is a necessity born out of a moral imperative and an imminent threat.

Given the historic number of participants who attended Women’s March events across the country, this strike has the potential to be extremely disruptive. But if even a mere fraction of paid and unpaid women stay home on Wednesday, the organizers will have proven their point–the world needs women!

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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It may be hard to imagine that in 2016 having an abortion is still illegal in a country as developed as Ireland. As a traditionally Catholic country, it has strict laws regulating abortion, with the exception of instances in which the procedure would save the mother’s life. New data illustrates the way in which many Irish women seek abortions despite the country’s particularly restrictive laws.

To clarify: the Republic of Ireland is its own country, while Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom–along with England, Scotland and Wales–which has more relaxed laws around abortion. In the U.K., the Legal Abortion Act of 1967 made abortion legal before week 24 of a pregnancy. But that law does not apply to Northern Ireland, which criminalizes abortion like the Republic of Ireland. Abortion is punishable with up to a 14-year prison sentence in Ireland and up to a life sentence in Northern Ireland.

In April a court in Northern Ireland heard a case in which a young woman from Belfast bought drugs online to terminate her pregnancy. She couldn’t afford to go to England to perform a legal abortion, so she saw the pill as her only option. Her roommates reported her to the police and she was ultimately given a suspended sentence. Had she lived in another part of the U.K., she could have gotten an abortion legally–and between 2010 and 2012, roughly 15,500 Irish women went to England or Wales to do so. Instead, this woman found herself guilty of a criminal offense because she couldn’t afford to travel.

A recent analysis of data from Women on Web–a telemedicine group that provides abortion pills and instructions to how to take them–shows that 5,650 women from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland bought these pills between 2010 and 2015. Most of the women in the study said taking the pills was the right decision for them.

The most commonly cited reason for having an abortion was that the women were not able to have a child at that point in their life, closely followed by not having enough money to raise a kid. Most of the women in the study reported that they became pregnant due to the failure or misuse of contraceptives. About 50 percent of the women were aged between 25 and 35. Three-quarters of the women were pregnant for seven weeks or less at the time they took the pills.

It is not that uncommon for birth control pills to fail. In fact, there is a 5 percent risk of becoming pregnant even if you take your pill every day, according to the American Pregnancy Association. Finding oneself with an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy while also not having the financial means to take care of a child is a nightmare for many.

“Abortion is a criminal offense in Ireland and if women are accessing these dangerous pills online and have an adverse reaction that could endanger their life, who will take responsibility?” Bernadette Smyth, a member of the pro-life group Precious Life, told the BBC. She added that abortion not is the answer. But then, what is?

Having abortion rights in Ireland will not take any anti-choicers’ rights away. The whole point is the spectrum of options, for everyone.

— Claire Brophy (@ClaireBrophy) October 17, 2016

As the debate in Ireland continues opposition to the current abortion laws may be growing. Professor Abigail Aiken, who led the study, said to the BBC that the current law dates back to 1861 and harms women by creating a climate of stigma, shame, and isolation. She also said that groups like Women on Web make the process of having an abortion much less stressful for women. She said:

I think it really demonstrates that women can make the best choice for themselves when it comes to their own reproduction. The only negative thing about this is that women reported they had to do it against the law, and they went through considerable stress and anxiety and secrecy and isolation and shame.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post How Irish Women Buy Pills Online To Get Around Abortion Laws appeared first on Law Street.

A new study by Danish researchers at the University of Copenhagen shows that your birth control pills might raise the risk of depression. The pills contain many hormones, so the theory that birth control pills can increase depression has been floated before, but this new Danish study is one of the largest and most comprehensive looks into the subject to date. The study looked at health records for one million Danish women between the ages of 15 and 34.

The study shows differences in rates of depression between types of hormone used, and also between oral or non-oral birth control. Women were grouped together based on whether they used hormonal contraceptives, including women who had done so in the previous six months, and those who do not. After over six years of following the women, an analysis of the data showed that the women using combination pills, that contain both estrogen and progestin, were 23 percent more likely than non-users to be on an antidepressant. But the numbers for women who took pills only containing progestin were even worse–34 percent more likely. Other, non-oral types of birth control also saw high rates of depression. According to the researchers that is probably because of the higher doses of hormones in those types of contraceptives.

This naturally created a ton of reactions on social media. Some were digitally shaking their heads–isn’t this already common knowledge?

I thought this was very common knowledge, but yes. The pill makes you depressed. It is insane. https://t.co/B8zi9evg2i

— Allie Goertz (@AllieGoertz) October 4, 2016

Cosmo said there’s a “new” risk about hormonal birth control increasing depression but like lol that’s really not anything new

— emo mommy (@emxmess) October 4, 2016

Many were just happy that the pill keeps them from getting pregnant.

The scientists who are claiming birth control causes depression don’t realize how psyched I am each month when I’m not pregnant

— Scarlet Meyer (@scarletkmeyer) October 4, 2016

And the risk seems to be the highest among teenage girls. Adding a birth control pill with even more hormones resulted in girls being 80 percent more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant when using a combination pill compared with non-using teenagers. Girls using progestin-only pills were 120 percent more likely.

However it is important to point out that the pills alone probably do not cause depression. Additionally, not all depressed women are treated with anti-depressants, and also some women may take anti-depressants without a formal depression diagnosis.

Maybe it’s time to invent a male birth control pill?

Birth control pills should be for men.

It makes more sense to unload a gun than to shoot at a bulletproof vest!

— TheBamaBromoRN (@BamaBromo_) September 30, 2016

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Sleepless nights; nights full of tossing and turning. It happens to all of us–but for some it’s more frequent than others. In fact, an estimated 50 to 70 million American adults suffer from sleep disorders like insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea. Many turn to prescription sleep medications for relief– but women are more likely to take sleep drugs than men. About 3.1 percent of American men and 5 percent of American women report having used a prescription sleep medication within the last 30 days.

What does this use of sleep aids mean for women? Read on to learn more about sex differences in sleep and sleep drugs.

Sex Differences and Sleep

There are distinct biological and physiological differences between women’s and men’s sleep. According to the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR®), sex chromosomes, as well as gonadal hormones play a role in how individuals of each sex sleep, the sleep disorders they experience, and their responses to sleep medications. Examples of sleep differences between the sexes include women being more likely to experience disorders such as insomnia and restless leg syndrome (RLS); depression, pain, and stress are more likely to cause sleep disturbances in women than in men; and women being susceptible to changes in sleep throughout their lives, particularly at points when they experience hormonal and physical changes like puberty, pregnancy, and menopause.

Sex Differences and Sleep Drugs

Similar to how sex differences can impact sleep and sleep disorders, the way that these disorders are treated can also be affected by sex differences.

Case Study: Zolpidem

In 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took a huge step by recommending sex-specific regulations for the prescription of sleep drugs that include zolpidem. This was groundbreaking in that it was the first time that the FDA had ever specifically recommended a sex-specific dosage for a particular medication. Zolpidem, which is used to treat insomnia, is found in Ambien, Edluar, and Zolpimist–all commonly prescribed sleep drugs. Zolpidem, a sedative-hypnotic, slows down activity in the brain.

The FDA reduced the recommended Zolpidem dosage for women to half of what was being prescribed. According to the SWHR:

This change in dosage was based on the discovery that women were metabolizing the same dose of drug 50 percent slower than men, which resulted in higher amounts of Ambien in women’s bloodstream leading to more excessive sleepiness in women compared to men.

Currently, the FDA is reviewing other popular sleep medications to determine if similar sex-specific recommendations should be issued for those as well.

Sleep Drugs and Contraceptives

We’ve all seen commercials for prescription drugs that recommend “talking to your doctor” before taking the advertised product, especially if currently using other medications. There’s a reason for that: drugs can interact and make other drugs less effective, causing unexpected side effects, or increasing the action of a particular drug. For women, it’s especially important to be aware of the interactions between hormonal contraception and sleep drugs.

Case Study: Modafinil

Combined hormonal contraceptives include the birth control pill, patches, injections, and vaginal rings like the NuvaRing. In the U.S., roughly 22 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 44 use contraceptives that fall into this category. Modafinil, which is a drug prescribed for certain sleep disorders like narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and excessive sleepiness, can lower the effectiveness of combined hormonal contraceptives. According to SWHR:

A specific enzyme in the liver breaks down modafinil to its composing molecules, which are then eliminated in the urine. The same enzyme that is responsible for clearing the body of modafinil also breaks down contraceptives. Studies have shown that, when taken together with modafinil, the overall blood levels of contraceptives decrease by 18 percent, resulting in potentially significantly lower effectiveness of the contraceptives.

Modafinil could also lower the effectiveness of other types of contraceptives, like emergency contraceptives such as the morning-after pill.

These interactions are also particularly concerning for women who become pregnant while still taking modafinil. Because modafinil lowers the effectiveness of contraceptives, this interaction is extremely unsafe for pregnant women and could potentially cause harm to a fetus.

Can contraceptives affect sleep?

Some evidence suggests contraceptives can cause changes in sleep for women. According to a 2001 study published in the European Journal of Physiology, oral contraceptives can affect sleep cycles and raise the body temperature of young women–another factor that plays a role in how well an individual sleeps. A woman’s menstruation cycle can also affect her body temperature, and therefore, how well she sleeps.

Sleep Drugs and Older Women

Women aged 55 and older are more likely to report sleepiness than men, and on average report 20 minutes fewer sleep per night than men. Post-menopausal women also report more fragmented sleep–they have a harder time staying asleep for long periods of time without waking up. According to the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center, physical factors can also disturb a post-menopausal woman’s sleep, such as arthritis and other pain-related conditions, chronic lung disease, heartburn, and a need to urinate more frequently.

But women aren’t alone in experiencing differences in sleep as they age–men do as well. As a result, both older men and women use sleep aids, which are often over-the-counter products. According to SWHR:

A recent health and wellness survey shows that 35 percent of people 60 years or older take OTC sleep medications at least 20 days a month. And 70 percent of them take OTC pain and sleep combination products, increasing the amount of the active ingredient in their system. This growing practice of self-medicating with OTC sleep products in an off-label way is alarming.

While those concerns are certainly valid–the mixing of medications, including over the counter drugs, can often cause problems; it’s still undetermined if there are any sex-specific effects of sleep medications on older women. Moreover, limited information is available as few sex-specific studies have been completed on how sleep medications and medications often taken by older women interact–a worrisome problem as older women continue to use these medications.

What’s Next?

The FDA is continuing to recognize that sex-differences are important when it comes to not only the differences in how American women and men sleep, but also how sleep medications can affect each sex. Additionally, nonprofits have been pioneering work studying and raising public awareness of these issues. Take, for example, the SWHR Interdisciplinary Network on Sleep. Launched in 2014, the network identifies areas in sleep health in which more work needs to be done specifically regarding women. According to SWHR:

The Society for Women’s Health Research is proud to bring together this interdisciplinary group to look at the critical issue of sleep in women’s health. We need greater focus on sex differences in sleep research to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of sleep disorders for both women and men. There continues to be knowledge gaps in the medical community regarding women and sleep. This SWHR Network is helping to address those gaps and highlight the importance of healthy sleep for everyone.

Sleep is important to all of us–woman or man, young or old. But recognizing the way different hormonal and physiological factors affect how we sleep, creating guidelines for medications based on those factors, and raising public awareness of risks associated certain sleep drugs and other medications are all steps in the right direction and will help us all sleep a little easier.

Resources

CDC: Prescription Sleep Aid Use Among Adults: United States, 2005-2010

Journal of Women’s Health: Exploring Sex and Gender Differences in Sleep Health: A Society for Women’s Health Research Report 

Huffington Post: Why We Need to Pay More Attention to Women’s Sleep

NIH/Medline Plus: Zolpidem

NIH/Medline Plus: Modafinil

FDA: Questions and Answers: Risk of Next-Morning Impairment After Use of Insomnia Drugs; FDA Requires Lower Recommended Doses for Certain Drugs Containing Zolpidem (Ambien, Ambien CR, Edluar, and Zolpimist)

Huffington Post: Are Your Sleep Drugs Hurting Your Contraceptives?

Guttmacher Institute: Contraceptive Use in the United States 

RareConnect: Oral Contraception / Birth Control and Modafinil

European Journal of Physiology: Oral Contraceptives Alter Sleep and Raise Body Temperature in Young Women

UCLA Sleep Disorders Center: Sleep and Women

Huffington Post: Beware Risky Sleep Drug Usage in Older Americans, All for a Good Night’s Sleep

Sleep Review: Society for Women’s Health Research to Study Sleep Differences

Society for Women’s Health Research: Interdisciplinary Network on Sleep 

Society for Women’s Health Research

The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR®), is a national non-profit based in Washington D.C. that is widely recognized as the thought-leader in promoting research on biological differences in disease. SWHR is dedicated to transforming women’s health through science, advocacy, and education. Founded in 1990 by a group of physicians, medical researchers and health advocates, SWHR aims to bring attention to the variety of diseases and conditions that disproportionately or predominately affect women. For more information, please visit www.swhr.org. Follow us on Twitter at @SWHR. SWHR is a partner of Law Street Creative. The opinions expressed in this author’s articles do not necessarily reflect the views of Law Street.

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As reported previously on Law Street, Oregon and California recently passed legislation to allow women seeking certain hormonal contraceptives to bypass a doctor and a prescription and speak with a pharmacist instead in an effort to make contraception more accessible for women.

Women in Oregon were able to start getting these contraceptives prescription-free in January.

As of Friday, the law in California has now been enacted and women can begin to use this service.

Advocates believe that this will make it easier and less costly for women to obtain contraception. The issue of unintended pregnancy has been at the forefront of many discussions now because of the heavy debate on abortion. According to the Guttmacher Institute, almost half of all pregnancies in the U.S. (6.1 million) are unintended. Fifty-four percent of unintended pregnancies in the U.S. resulted from a non-use of any method of contraception.

Obviously, one of the best methods to prevent unintended pregnancy is using some form of contraception. Unfortunately, for some women it is not just as easy as picking it up from their local pharmacy. In most cases, a woman must see a doctor in order to get the prescription they need–costly and sometimes inconvenient or impossible for some women.

There is one key difference between California’s and Oregon’s laws. There is no age-restriction for women seeking contraception in California but in Oregon you must be 18 or older and have obtained your first prescription from a doctor.

Other positive steps were taken this week when the FDA loosened regulations on the abortion-inducing pill mifepristone, now allowing women to request a medication-induced abortion up to 70 days after conception, rather than the previous 49 days. The second drug is also now allowed to be taken at home rather than in the doctor’s office.

This news comes at a time when many clinics have been forced to shut down around the country due to strict abortion laws in many states. The Supreme Court has been hearing testimony, debating the issue and will decide on the constitutionality of these key legislations. But for now, the FDA’s decision is a step in the right direction to lessening the burden on women in some of these states where legislatures are trying to outlaw legal abortion.

There is good news coming out of other parts of the West, too. In Colorado, a program was started in 2011 that aimed to have long-lasting contraception, like IUDs and implants, accessible and free to teenagers. Through this program, by 2013, the rate of teenage pregnancy had dropped 40 percent. However, due to the initial funding running out, Gov. John Hickenlooper asked the state for funding to continue the program. Republican lawmakers said no, but the program has survived through private grants and donations, which was an unexpected win for health providers in the state. As a lot of abortion providers are forced to shutter in many parts of the state, these small reproductive rights victories are key.

Julia Bryant

Julia Bryant is an Editorial Senior Fellow at Law Street from Howard County, Maryland. She is a junior at the University of Maryland, College Park, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Economics. You can contact Julia at JBryant@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Reproductive Rights Breakthroughs in Oregon and California appeared first on Law Street.

Yesterday the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy celebrated National Thanks Birth Control Day, where women everywhere were encouraged to share the reasons why they love birth control on social media. The campaign aimed to dispel myths and raise awareness of all of the benefits of contraceptives, which makes perfect sense because birth control is pretty amazing.

Not only does it help prevent unplanned pregnancy, but it also stops cramps, regulates periods, clears acne-prone skin, and allows women to be able to have sex on their terms. All of these reasons account for why 99 percent of women have used birth control at some point in their lives.  Therefore talking about the subject shouldn’t be taboo or politically polarizing, but rather a celebration of women having power over their ovaries and their destinies!

Here are some of the best birth control shout outs women all across the country had on social media:

Birth control gives women power to plan their families & futures. Accessibility is essential. #ThxBirthControl pic.twitter.com/0aAsFCNVar

— Cecile Richards (@CecileRichards) November 10, 2015

#ThxBirthControl for helping me regulate my periods and lessen how long they last each month. Also I enjoy not having babies. — Katelyn (@katelyn0donnell) November 11, 2015

#ThxBirthControl for giving me my life back when endometriosis threatened to cripple it. @bedsider — Tracy L F (@stillsunflowers) November 11, 2015

I get to spend all the energy I would waste on worrying if I was pregnant on writing really fire tweets. #ThxBirthControl — Caitlin Van Horn (@HelloCVH) November 10, 2015

#Birthcontrol means families can plan, women can continue their educations, and kids are born into healthy families. #thxbirthcontrol

— Amanda O. (@colorcodedlife) November 10, 2015

#BirthControl lets us take charge of our own destinies. #ThxBirthControl! pic.twitter.com/xzwDgwBLVT — PP South Atlantic WV (@PPSATWV) November 10, 2015

Its #ThxBirthControl day! So many reasons to be grateful for contraception. And this sums it up. #bossbride pic.twitter.com/Zv1Z30GGj2 — Charreah Jackson (@Charreah) November 10, 2015

#ThxBirthControl for helping us shape our futures! (CC: @Bedsider) pic.twitter.com/iRwTbatHNQ — CenterforReproRights (@ReproRights) November 10, 2015

Fur babies now. Real babies later. #ThxBirthControl for giving us options! pic.twitter.com/AuGX4l74E5

— SF State SHS (@SFStateSHS) November 10, 2015

I want to thank birth control for giving me the opportunity to not worry about unplanned pregnancy. #ThxBirthControl #R29xBedsider — Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) November 10, 2015

#ThxBirthControl for letting me have 2 kids when I was ready and spaced apart! -Amy pic.twitter.com/cCNX3pQTKR

— CenterforReproRights (@ReproRights) November 10, 2015

More than 99% of women have used birth control. I love being in good company. #ThxBirthControl — Ashley Rickards (@AshleyRickards) November 11, 2015

#ThxBirthControl For helping girls run the world #R29xBedsider pic.twitter.com/TfjNEUaAuV — Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) November 10, 2015

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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