On this week’s 51%, we’ll tell you about women and the field of veterinary science; you’ll hear about how a dog helped a girl stop trying to kill herself. Plus, federal legislation concerning abortions, and a teenager who wants to learn about love.
Women are underrepresented in many scientific fields, but there’s one branch of biological science that bucks the trend: veterinary science. Women now make up the majority of veterinarians in the U.S., and fill close to 80 percent of the seats in veterinary schools. The Marine Mammal Centerin the Marin Headlands in California is an example of this trend. Jen Chien reports from KALW in San Francisco.
A therapeutic dog named Jane helped save a young woman's life in an unexpected way. Haleema Shah reports.
We turn now to politics affecting women and find that Connecticut U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal is leading an effort to reintroduce legislation aimed at blocking state and local laws prohibiting access to abortions or the operation of an abortion clinic. This comes as House Republicans recently passed a bill that would limit the use of taxpayer money for abortions. 51%’s Jim Levulis reports.
Around Valentine’s Day, thoughts may turn to any songs, books, and movies that focus on love and romance. But what happens when they become one’s only source for learning? Philly Youth Radio’s Jaya Montague used to love romantic movies, especially Twilight. But she decided that she needed to find better sources if she wanted to end up with her own fairy tale. Here is her quest to find answers from when she was a junior at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts.
That story was produced by Jaya Montague and Philly Youth Radio, a project that works with local high school students to report radio stories that matter to them.
And that’s our show for this week. Thanks to Katie Britton for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio.