Question

250 words Choose a global women’s health issue mentioned in OBOS and discuss the characteristics, incidence, and prevalence of this issue. Using OBOS as a guide how can we advocate for change in this issue? Are there any organizations nationally or globally that are currently working on this issue? What strategies do they employ that are in line with the recommendations in the OBOS? Are there additional strategies that you believe could be employed to increase the effectiveness of their efforts?

Answer 1

Our Bodies, Ourselves" has long been called the bible for women's health,From the beginning, OBOS promoted a broad and often daring vision of the close ties between women’s health and social, environmental, and political conditions. This cutting-edge point of departure meant that the organization and its publications often served as a pioneer in identifying and grappling with emerging issues, taking on challenges that most other women’s health groups missed or considered outside the purview of dominant reproductive health and human rights conversations.

Its signature book tackled human genetic and assisted reproductive technologies beginning in the 1990s, with medical information and political commentary on matters including human cloning, surrogacy, sex selection, genetic testing, and proposals to genetically modify future generations.OBOS closely partnered with women’s organizations in other countries that document on-the-ground conditions for women’s health and well-being. These partnerships helped alert OBOS of the need to bring wider attention to the inequities of international commercial surrogacy.

This unique resource offers a balanced view of the business of contracting with women in hubs around the world to carry babies for individuals and couples who are unable to have children either because of infertility or other health conditions, or due to discriminatory laws that curtail their ability to parent. While commercial sites tout the legal and monetary benefits of hiring women from resource-poor countries for this labor, Surrogacy360 enables people to see the decision from multiple sides. This means including a clear-eyed view of the risks to gestational mothers (“surrogates”) who are enlisted into the enterprise, and of the power imbalances that typically characterize those relationships.

As the new phase of OBOS unfolds, the former director, Judy Norsigian, will step back into a key role as chair of the Board of Directors. Surrogacy360 will find a new organizational home. Simon & Schuster will continue to publish Our Bodies, Ourselves for the foreseeable future in both print and e-format, as much of its content remains current and relevant.

For half a century, OBOS has fostered a vision of competency, compassion, and community, and a tradition of combining clearly-written, nonjudgmental factual information with illuminating personal experiences and stories. This will provide a solid foundation for the organization’s new era and an inspiration for others.