The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries.

~ "Ceding Ground is Not Common Ground," Cristina Page, Birth Control Watch: "Coming on the heels of continued debate about what 'common ground' on abortion is and whether we need it [were] two great examples of what it is not," Page writes in a blog entry. For example, HHS secretary nominee Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) recently signed a law requiring clinics to offer women seeking abortions the chance to view an ultrasound image before the procedure. The bill also "requires clinics to post a notice that women cannot be forced into having an abortion," according to Page, who adds, "The irony was lost on the legislators and media that those championing the bill would happily force women into bringing a pregnancy to term." Page writes that instead of signing the bill, Sebelius "should have used this opportunity to explain that women need accurate information about all of their choices." In addition, Democratic National Committee Chair and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) recently signed a law authorizing the sale of "Choose Life" license plates, which would then "funnel money to nefarious crisis pregnancy centers." Page writes that this action was "not common ground," adding that "mechanics of the state agencies shouldn't be used to help hoodwink women and supplant medical information with ideological propaganda." According to Page, this "was an easy one to veto," but "instead Kaine betrayed the party he now leads." She continues that efforts to seek "common ground" on abortion should include "smart solutions that people from both sides can get behind," concluding, "It's been a bad week for women and common ground for sure" (Page, Birth Control Watch, 4/1).

~ "The 'Extremist' Agenda: Opposing Incentives to Abortion," Lynn Paltrow, RH Reality Check: "Given how hard it is for most people to overcome an addiction problem quickly," as well as "the difficulty of obtaining appropriate treatment, ... laws that threaten to punish women who carry their pregnancies to term in spite of a drug problem place substantial pressure on them to get unwanted abortions," Paltrow of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women writes in a post that responds to criticism from the Traditional Values Coalition that NAPW "defends drug-addicted women from prosecutions for endangering their unborn babies." Paltrow says that although NAPW supports abortion rights, the organization "opposes laws that create an incentive for women to terminate otherwise wanted pregnancies." Paltrow adds that NAPW "would hope that such opposition would provide common ground for" supporters and opponents of abortion rights, including the Traditional Values Coalition. She concludes that "instead of assuming the worst, we could join forces and together oppose punitive approaches that are known to encourage some women to have abortions, and to discourage many more from seeking prenatal care" (Paltrow, RH Reality Check, 4/3).

~ "The FundamentaList (No. 74)," Sarah Posner, The American Prospect's Tapped: There is a "distinct absence of agreement" on the meaning of "abortion reduction," Posner writes in a blog entry…