Videos Discuss 20-Week Abortion Bans, Family Planning, Sexual Assault in the Military

July 20, 2012 — The following summarizes select women's health-related videos.

20-week abortion bans: MSNBC's Rachel Maddow reports on the trend of abortion-rights opponents pushing legislation that bans abortion beginning around 20 weeks of pregnancy. Supporters and critics of the laws both agree that a court ruling on the bans would test the current constitutional standard that a woman has a right to an abortion until the point of viability. This week, the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit in Arizona that marks that first legal challenge to the bans, which have been enacted in eight other states (Maddow, "The Rachel Maddow Show," MSNBC, 7/12).

Global family planning: A video from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation explains the public health, societal and economic benefits of investing in family planning for women in the developing world. The video, narrated by Melinda Gates, notes that more than 200 million women want access to contraceptives but do not have it. The foundation released the video ahead of the London Summit on Family Planning earlier this month (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 7/6).

Sexual assault in the military: MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry interviews Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) about her call for a congressional investigation into reports of sexual assaults at Lackland Air Force base in Texas, where 25% of instructors have been charged or are under investigation. Speier has introduced legislation that would move sexual assault investigations out of the chain of command of the military, with the aim of encouraging victims to come forward and increasing prosecutions (Harris-Perry, "The Melissa Harris-Perry Show," 7/14).