Celebrating Our Bodies Ourselves

In honor of the 40th anniversary of Our Bodies Ourselves (OBOS), Gina Maranto elegantly sketches the illustrious history of the women's health classic and the organization that publishes it for Biopolitical Times this week.

In addition to its pioneering work on women's health and rights, and as Maranto points out its important role in "spawning the consumer health revolution," OBOS has long shared the Center for Genetics and Society's concerns about the social implications of human genetic and reproductive technologies. They have provided crucial support to efforts to stop human reproductive cloning, and to develop effective regulation, in particular of the sale of women's eggs.

The wide-ranging OBOS website includes material on assisted reproduction and emerging biotechnologies, as do recent editions including the about-to-be released ninth US edition of Our Bodies, Ourselves, the book. OBOS's leadership has been centrally involved with CGS's Tarrytown Meetings initiative, which brings together people and organizations that approach human biotechnologies from a perspective grounded in social justice, equality, human rights, ecological integrity and the common good.

Celebrations of the landmark OBOS anniversary begin this Saturday, October 1, with an all-day free public symposium at Boston University on women's health and human rights. This event will bring together women from 12 countries to share their stories about transforming Our Bodies, Ourselves for their own countries. Other events are planned for Albuquerque, Bethesda, Santa Fe, Atlanta and Cambridge, and the Bay Area, in which CGS's Marcy Darnovsky will participate.

Previously on Biopolitical Times:

• Turning 40, Going Global
• Women's health group launches campaign on risks of drug used in egg retrieval
  
• Egg Freezing: Risks to Women and Children Unknown