CLN Archive
 June 30th 2009 The Next Generation of Pro-Choice Support
Randall Terry, the anti-abortion extremist who founded Operation Rescue and led the crusade against Dr. Tiller in Kansas, has called on activists across the country to “raise up a new generation” of extremists to be foot soldiers in the war against women’s rights.
He had even renamed his organization- it is now Operation Rescue Insurrecta Lex (meaning insurrection against death in Latin...oh boy)-and even went so far as to call out to anti-choice activists to be willing to ‘take a bullet’ for their cause.... "The freeing moment will come when you decide to take a bullet for this movement," Terry said in a small ballroom watched over by one security guard. "Then you can't be bullied and intimidated into silence anymore." [does anyone smell a staged shooting coming???]
But those of us who are willing to fight for women’s bodies and lives have an increasing obstacle to face: the steady decline of abortion providers in this country. As Dr. Tiller’s clinic is being closed, and another abortion provider stands up to fill his shoes, the lack of OB/GYNs who choose to provide abortion care for women will soon become even more of a problem than it already is.
Already, 87% of counties in the US and 98% of rural counties have no abortion services. Nearly 2/3rds of second-trimester abortion providers are over the age of 50, and recent statistics have shown that the number of overall providers has decreased by 1/3 in recent years: from 2,680 in 1985 to 1,787 in 2005.
Part of the problem is that family planning and abortion training is barely, if at all, covered in medical school training. Anti-abortion groups pressure school administrators to exclude this training, an effective tool since recent research shows exposure to family planning education, including abortion, is a strong indicator of whether a medical student will go on to become a provider. Salon.com covers the story of a young abortion provider and her journey through medical school and the obstacles she faced. And will still face. Visit Medical Students For Choice to see how you can help this excellent organization increase the number of women’s health providers in your area.
Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor Senate confirmation hearings are set to begin July 13 for Pres. Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Second Circuit Court of Appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor.
The session, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, is likely to last several days at the end of which will come the Senate vote. While Judge Sotomayor has not ruled on any major abortion cases in her years on the bench, NARAL Pro-Choice America’s President Nancy Keenan encourages all pro-choice supporters to contact their U.S. Senators and tell them you expect Roe v. Wade to be a part of the Senate hearings.
Choice News-The Pill Kills...who this year?
They are at it again this year! And by ‘they’ I mean the crazies that wage ‘The Pill Kills’ campaign every year to try to dupe women into thinking their bodies are nothing but baby factories. Last year, their slogan was ‘the pill kills babies,’ claiming taking oral contraceptives causes chemical abortions by allowing fertilization and preventing implantation. This year, they have changed their tune a bit; they are now claiming ‘the pill kills women,’ focusing on the side effects of the pill (possible blood clots, stroke...we all know, we all see the commercials, we all know the majority of pharmaceuticals on the market have much greater side effect risks). What is interesting is that the American Life League, who sponsors this absurd campaign, is also against non-hormonal forms of contraception, including condoms and diaphragms. Apparently, trying to prevent pregnancy is ‘just as bad’ as trying to end one. C-r-a-z-i-e-s.
The Department of Justice apparently had a hand to play in the murder of Dr. Tiller...because they weren’t doing their job. Under the Bush Administration, criminal enforcement of the federal law designed to protect abortion providers and clinics had declined by more than 75 percent over those 8 years.
And Feministing reports on a Cook County, Illinois woman who was reportedly shackled during labor the Chicago jail. And she wasn’t the first...she is the fourth woman to file a lawsuit against this sheriff’s office for being shackled during birth. Wow. The Star Tribune covers Gloria Steinem’s visit to Minneapolis...she is excellent. June 16th 2009 The Effects of Clinic Violence
We are all enraged by the murder of Dr. Tiller. We are all deeply saddened by the tragedy surrounding this senseless killing of a person who risked his life for the women of this country, women who had nowhere else to turn. Women with wanted pregnancies, pregnancies that could no longer thrive or threatened their lives.
On Sunday morning, mourners filled the pews of the Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita to grieve for the assassinated women’s health provider. The ceremony, protested by the infamously disgusting Westboro Baptist Church (remember, the “Christians” who protested funerals of military members killed in Iraq because, they claimed, their deaths were retribution for “America’s tolerance of gays”), was also protected by 50 American Legion Riders on motorcycles who came to honor Dr. Tiller’s Navy service. The alleged gunman, Scott Roeder, ominously warned that more violence is coming. "I know there are many other similar events planned around the country as long as abortion remains legal," Roeder told the Associated Press. We have all heard the backlash now from the pundits who have called Dr. Tiller “Tiller the Killer” (Thanks, Bill O’Reilly. Classy.) who are sputtering and lashing out at our accusations that they have played a hand in this violence. Because they have- hate filled rhetoric by anti-choice demonstrators over the years has a place in the blame. Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, called Dr. Tiller a mass murder who did not have time to “prepare his soul to face God.” Rev. Rusty Thomas of Operation Save America crowed, “[Tiller] died the way he lived. Someone ‘chose’ to end [his] life.”
Seattlepi discusses it well: while it is worth noting that the “mainstream right-to-life” movement is non-violent, decent-minded Americans across the spectrum should condemn the enablers. Enablers like O’Reilly, Coulter, Limbaugh, Gingrich. By non-violent, by the way, I am not referring to those screaming outside of clinics.
But getting lost in the shuffle is women. Women who desperately need access to these services now have one less doctor to turn to. Here is a collection of excellent web articles regarding women and the late term abortions they need: v Phoebe Terry (pseudonym) was elated to learn of her pregnancy at the age of 40...until she discovered her wanted fetus would have Trisomy 18, a chromosomal disorder that kills most before birth, the rest for only a few months after with painful physical abnormalities. v RhRealityCheck has an open forum for women or their partners to share their personal stories about their late term abortions. v The legacy of Dr. Tiller: "It comes down to who is the patient. Is the woman the patient, or is the fetus the patient? One or other is the patient. I've never heard a fetus talk to me. I've heard thousands and thousands of women share their pain, their desperation, and their hopelessness." v Check out IamDrTiller.com for a heart-wrenching memorial to the hero.
June Choice News
According to the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, unwed pregnant teens and 20-somethings who attend or have graduated from private religious schools are more likely to obtain abortions than their peers from public schools. Huh.
The University of Minnesota is snapping back at the MCCL, who claimed that the University is trying to clone human beings and is in violation of the law. Wendy Burt, director of public and community affairs for the Academic Health Center, directed the group to “remove false statements” about the university and “issue a retraction visible to your members and the community containing the truth” about the university’s research. Way to go, U of M! June 8th 2009 The Murder of A Woman’s Health Advocate.
Sunday morning while attending church services, late term abortion provider from Kansas, Dr. George Tiller, was brutally murdered. The victim of decades of harassment, from the bombing at his clinic in 1985 to being shot in both arms in 1993, Dr. Tiller was a staunch advocate for women’s health by providing services to woman who, in later stages of pregnancy, found themselves with medical complications and fetal anomalies.
We will all mourn this loss to our community. The National Organization of Women (NOW) is forcefully identifying this violent act as domestic terrorism, and has declared Monday, June 1 as a National Day of Commitment for all those who believe abortion must remain both safe and legal, and for those who believe that women have the right and indeed the moral obligation to make their own childbearing decisions. Cristina Page discusses on RhRealityCheck how anti-abortion violence is at its highest during pro-choice administrations. Rhetoric surrounding the anti-choice movement is most forceful and most inaccurate during these times, fueling the opposition to women’s rights. Abortion providers and their staff around the country are chilled by this deplorable act of violence. This is a call to pro-choice advocates to speak out, speak UP about this issue. We have to be vocal about our advocacy, we have to start forcing the conversation in OUR terms. This is what happens when we allow the conversation to be dominated by those who discuss abortion rights in terms of the ‘lives of the unborn.’ We HAVE to take this conversation into our own hands, we HAVE to put this debate in the context of women’s lives, of women’s bodies, of women’s health. So speak up, Choice Lobbyists. Start the conversation today in memory of Dr. Tiller, and other abortion providers murdered because of their roles as women’s health advocates. And in memory of women who have given their lives and bodies as a result of unsafe, illegal abortions.
Judge Sotomayor Pro-choice advocates look forward to hearing Pres. Obama’s recent Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, discuss her opinions on Roe v. Wade. Nancy Keenan, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, announced in a press release on May 26, 2009, “President Obama has selected a nominee with a distinguished record of professional accomplishments as a judge, prosecutor, and community leader. This impressive personal biography signals that she possesses an understanding of how the law affects everyday people’s lives. We are encouraged by the strong support she receives from her peers and other legal scholars and the fact that the Senate has twice confirmed her for federal judgeships. We look forward to learning more about Judge Sotomayor’s views on the right to privacy and the landmark Roe v. Wade decision as the Senate’s hearing process moves forward." For information about the Supreme Court's decisions on key cases related to reproductive rights, please visit http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/Courts-SCOTUS-Choice-Cases.pdf Choice News Despite the fact that abortion has been illegal in Chile since 1989, the country has one of the highest abortion rates in Latin America, resulting in hundreds of women dying every year from botched procedures. At the launching of a new helpline that will give women information on obtaining Misoprostol, a drug used for treatment of gastric ulcers that will safely induce abortion, supporters chanted "Contraception - so we don't need abortions. Safe abortions - so we don't die." A new article in the journal Contraception gives renewed credence to the ol’ “pull-out” method. Studies have shown that, while doing nothing to prevent STI/STD’s, the withdrawal method is actually nearly as effective as condoms in preventing pregnancy. RhRealityCheck discusses. May 25th 2009 Greetings Choice Lobbyists! The Poll and the Expected Backlash
As many of you have probably heard, the new Gallup Poll released the other week stated that, for the first time since Gallup has begun asking the question in 1995, the majority of adult Americans are identifying as ‘pro-life.’ The poll found 51 percent saying they were “pro-life,” up 7 points from a year ago to a new high. And, just like any poll on an issue as polarizing as abortion, proponents and opponents on the issue seize the numbers and either shout accolades on the results or start ripping apart the statistical methods. So that is what we will do...and do it well.
“But a close look at polls that ask a similar question reveals that responses to this question move around a bit. CNN asked the same question in April, and found the “pro-choice” response ahead by 4 points, but the “pro-life” response was ahead by 5 points a couple of years ago. Fox News polls have found the “pro-life” response ahead, “pro-choice” ahead, and the two tied in various polls throughout the years.
In addition, there is no way of knowing whether people being asked the question even know what the two labels mean. More important, abortion remains a deeply complex issue; one for which views are far more nuanced than politically charged terms like “pro-life” or “pro-choice.” This poll question creates absolutes, when in reality, abortion really represents an issue in which there aren’t any absolutes for many (if not most) people.” And The Republican Majority for Choice Executive Director, Kellie Ferguson, and co-Chairs Candy Straight and Susan Bevan, issued the following statement on the newly released Gallup Poll regarding reproductive choice:
“Simply using the labels pro-choice and pro-life is somewhat misleading and does not accurately portray voters' beliefs on government policy that affects reproductive choice.
Polling consistently shows that being personally pro-life and wanting so-called "pro-life government policies" are two very different things. National polling conducted last year confirmed that 66% of self-identified pro-life Republicans felt that while they personally would never choose to have an abortion, they believe the decision should be left to the woman - not the government.” Read the full article at the Real Republican Majority. Choice News In Kansas, Gov. Mark Parkinson has restored state funding for the family planning services at Planned Parenthood, funding which was cut by the state’s legislature. "Eliminating funding for programs intended to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies does nothing to help reduce abortions in Kansas," said Parkinson. YES! In Louisiana, the state House passed a bill that would allow health care providers to withhold certain services and medications, including abortion and emergency contraception, on the basis of religious or moral objections. This “provider conscience” bill passed by a vote of 65 to 33, and will now move to the state’s Senate. And the ACLU has filed a suit to stop Catholic Bishops from restricting trafficking victims’ access to reproductive health services, including birth control and abortion. Most federal grants to anti-trafficking organizations are doled out by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, per a 2006 contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. And the bishops make subgrantees pledge not to “provide referral for abortion services or contraceptive materials.” In its lawsuit, the ACLU claims that this violates the First Amendment’s religion clause, as state entanglement with religious practices. According to the memorandums obtained by The New York Times, the Republican party has mapped out the issues they will debate for each of the potential Supreme Court nominees. The memorandums dissect possible nominees' records, noting statements the groups find objectionable on issues like abortion, same-sex marriage, the separation of church and state and the propriety of citing foreign law in interpreting the Constitution. May 22nd 2009 Greetings Choice Lobbyists! What does a “24 Hour Waiting Period” Prior to Abortion Mean for Women? Well, as Slate.com calls it, it is a “time-out for grown women.” Currently, 24 states have laws requiring a woman to receive information (which they term “counseling”) and then wait, usually for 24 hours, prior to obtaining an abortion. Not only does this waiting period increase the hardship on a woman going through a painful time by increasing the personal and financial cost, thereby preventing some women from accessing abortion services, but the law is in itself insulting to the social image of women. Women are subjected to this type of romantic paternalism from the state because of a social perception by those advocating for the laws that, well, women are too stupid to make an important decision all by themselves. Does that piss anyone else off? Not to mention the fact that, according to a recent Guttmacher study, the law has almost no effect at all. Previous research has confirmed that women—surprise surprise—have usually found a trusted counselor of their own, and have already decided to go through with the procedure before they call to make their appointment. All these laws do is further a damaging social perception of women as helpless, stupid creatures in need of protection from their own decisions. And to gum up the system so it is harder to access the services they need. This is why we have to advocate against these types of laws. And we have one in Minnesota that requires a 24 hour waiting period, with written materials offered to women. And in our neighbor state, Wisconsin, two trips to the clinic are required because the ‘counseling’ must be given in-person. See different states policies here. Choice News And the Notre Dame Circus is finally over... I don’t know about everyone else, but I got tired of hearing about the uproar over Pres. Obama giving the commencement speech at Notre Dame last Sunday. But, now it is over, and we can all have a good laugh listening to anti-abortion hecklers during the speech (followed by thunderous boo-ing for the idiot), and reading about men who drove around in trucks with bloodied, aborted fetuses splashed over huge signs. But now Pres. Obama has been pulled into the abortion debate, and we have to stand up and ensure that he remains true to his word, that he supports a woman’s right to choose. And in Willamina, Oregon, the local school board has approved a school district health plan that includes birth control for students! The Department of Health and Human Services has released a report acknowledging that women are more vulnerable to high health care costs than men, because of the needs of more frequent check-ups for reproductive health issues. You have to wonder why those who are so bend on ensuring women carry all their pregnancies to term aren’t up in arms about the recent Supreme Court decision ruling that women whose pension payments are reduced because they took pregnancy-related leave during employment when pregnancy discrimination wasn’t illegal aren’t entitled to full pensions now.... Greetings Choice Lobbyists! Sec. of State Hillary Clinton: This is What a Woman’s Rights Advocate Looks Like Sec. of State Clinton was grilled by House Republicans before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, where she “shattered the myth that has existed for so long that we could talk about family planning, reproductive health, women's rights, women's health or even human rights, and not say the word "abortion."” Sec. Clinton was strong and articulate in her defense of women’s rights, asserting unapologetically that “[the Obama administration] happens to think that family planning is an important part of women’s health and reproductive health includes access to abortion[.]” Watch her stand up to Congressman Chris Smith and defend women’s rights across the globe. I am personally extremely proud that we finally have a strong, aggressive female diplomat who will fight for women’s access to imperative family planning services. Stand Up for FPSP, and Say NO to Positive Alternatives Funding! As evidenced by the article in the Albert Lea Tribune, your local legislators are hearing from their constituents who support funding Positive Alternatives, which funds Crisis Pregnancy Centers that give misinformation to women seeking pregnancy advice. Contact your legislators and tell them NOT to support Positive Alternatives, and the women of Minnesota need funding for Family Planning Special Projects! End of session anti-choice alert! As the MN legislative session winds down to an end, this is the time when many anti-choice bills try to slip through. We have to be ready to do quick, last minute contacting of our legislators about these bills! So be on call, and be ready to contact your Senators and Representatives about last minute legislation that harm women’s freedom of choice!
Choice News In an interesting colloquy, readers comment on Sarah Palin’s recent statements about how she twice considered abortion when learning that her child would have Downs Syndrome. To those who attended the recent forum at the University of MN, titled “Abortion: Two Perspectives,” a fairly inarticulate student wrote a letter to the editor of the U of M’s student paper, the MNDaily. Please voice your opinion, and write a comment back! In an excellent article, RhRealityCheck discusses a very important issue: while states are so concerned about passing laws regarding “coerced abortions,” little attention has been paid to coerced medical care for pregnant women. Namely, how pregnant women are deprived of valuable information regarding their deliveries. C-section deliveries are on the rise, but not because women want them: because hospitals may require them, or misinform women about their options. So: states claim to “care about the decisions pregnant women are making,” yet fail to care about the biggest decision that women who carry to term face: the method of delivery. Tell your friends about the Choice Lobby Network
Thanks everyone! Stay tuned for next week’s CLN update! Greetings Choice Lobbyists! Great news in the Senate!!! Last night, the Senate Budget Committee rejected a measure that would have extended a major funding source of the failed “abstinence-only” programs of the Bush administration! The committee rejected the amendment, offered by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), by a vote of 10 to 13. The proposal would have secured five more years of taxpayer dollars for the Title V initiative, one of three separate programs that censor teachers from providing teens with accurate information about contraception. Also last night, an amendment offered by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nevada) failed by a vote of 41 to 56 that would have made so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” eligible for federal funding for the first time ever. And earlier this month, a step forward for funding comprehensive sex education! The Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act, authored by Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA) and Senator Frank Lautenberg (NJ), was introduced March 17. The REAL Act would establish the first ever grant program for responsible sex ed. Under the bill, sex education programs would be age-appropriate, medically accurate and provide information about both contraception and abstinence. Visit SIECUS for more information! Choice News
Good thinkin, Huck. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee compared abortion to slavery this week, angering the NAACP. He said, "The idea that one person, in this case a biological mother, would have life and death control over another human being - albeit her own child - but could have that level of ownership over another is no longer just an issue of politics or culture, but the utmost essence of moral behavior of a civilized people." Hey Huck: men used to have complete control over the lives of women, too...which you seem to be ok with, hmm?
HPV in women and girls can lead to cervical cancer, so when the Gardasil vaccine arrived three years ago it was thought of as a preventative measure to protect women and girls from a very serious illness. This was outweighed not by safety or efficacy concerns...but by the fear that our young women would become more sexually promiscuous. As the vaccine’s maker is now trying to get Gardasil approved for men and boys, however, the concerns have become centered around cost, safety, efficacy... even though most men have no symptoms or effects of HPV, except genital warts caused by certain strains, thus the need for the vaccine is most certainly highest for women and girls. This leads to the sad and infuriating conclusion that sexism surrounds even the basic health of young women in this country, and safety concerns are a distant second chastity.
v In 2006, the FDA changed the prescription requirements for Emergency Contraception, allowing women over the age of 18 to receive it without a prescription. Women under the age of 18, however, were still required to obtain a prescription. This week, a federal judge ruled that the age restriction was arbitrary and capricious, and blatantly politically motivated. The judge ordered that the Plan B pill be available to 17 year old women within 30 days, and to review whether to make it available to all women regardless of age. The judge criticized, "Indeed, the record is clear that the FDA's course of conduct regarding Plan B departed in significant ways from the agency's normal procedures regarding similar applications to switch a drug from prescription to non-prescription use."
Pro-Choice Action: Solidarity Event for Planned Parenthood! Every year on Good Friday, anti-choice demonstrators protest outside of the Planned Parenthood Highland Park Clinic. They bring offensive signs, giant crosses, pray, and harass Planned Parenthood patients as they enter the clinic. That’s where we come in! As a counter, we participate in a solidarity event to show our support for the imperative services that Planned Parenthood provides to the women and men of our communities. Last year, we raised over $15,000 for Planned Parenthood with the Pledge a Protester fundraiser. So sign up, and join us on Friday, April 10th to show your support for Planned Parenthood, an organization that works harder to prevent unintended pregnancies and abortion IN ONE DAY than these anti-choice protesters do in their whole lives.
Latest Choice Lobby Network message Greetings Choice Lobbyists! Are YOU Ok with Abstinence-Only Education and Anti-Choice Legislation? Because abstinence-only advocates are lobbying for it, and anti-choice groups will soon be face-to-face with our local legislators. When? The day before our Pro-Choice Lobby Day. Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) will be lobbying at the Capitol for laws that infringe upon our rights to choose and education programs in our schools that don’t work. This is why it is so important for us to unite, on March 25th, to tell our legislators that Minnesotans SUPPORT women and healthy teens. If you have not signed up for Pro-Choice Lobby Day yet, it is NOW that we need you to STAND UP AND RAISE YOUR VOICE FOR CHOICE!  Not only is Lobby Day incredibly effective and a great learning experience, but it is a BLAST! It is a great way to connect with other pro-choice advocates from all across Minnesota, so you can make some friends while sharing advocacy tips and strategies, new projects and goals, and plans of attack for pushing your legislators!
Lobby Day pulls us together, from all across the state, to create a unified front for pro-choice issues both locally and nationally. So raise your VOICE for CHOICE! And join us at the 2009 Pro-Choice Lobby Day at the Capitol in St. Paul! You will be well prepared for the day, don’t worry! Break-out sessions and Lobby 101 presentations before you lobby your legislators will help you with what issues to discuss and the approaches that are effective. This year, a new break-out session-Intergenerational Voices-helps in approaching different generations on choice topics. The pre-Roe generation has a unique viewpoint on the abortion debate, a view that we hope to have fully represented at lobby day this year. For any questions contact Amanda at lobby@prochoiceminnesota.org, and click to sign up TODAY!!!
Join Planned Parenthood Advocates in a Solidarity Event! Every year on Good Friday, anti-choice demonstrators protest outside of the Planned Parenthood Highland Park Clinic. They bring offensive signs, giant crosses, pray, and harass Planned Parenthood patients as they enter the clinic. That’s where we come in! As a counter, we participate in a solidarity event to show our support for the imperative services that Planned Parenthood provides to the women and men of our communities. Last year, we consistently had more supporters than the protesters did! Not only that, but we raised over $15,000 for Planned Parenthood with the Pledge a Protester fundraiser. So sign up, and join us on Friday, April 10th to show your support for Planned Parenthood, an organization that works harder to prevent unintended pregnancies and abortion IN ONE DAY than these anti-choice protesters do in their whole lives.
The HHS “Physician Conscience” Rule is Open for Comments!!!!! As we saw at the end of last year, Bush pushed through a regulation from the Department of Health and Human Services that provided for those in the medical industry, from those that fill your birth control to the sales clerk that rings up your purchase for it, to have the right to refuse to serve you on behalf of their own “moral beliefs.” Now, Pres. Obama is pushing to overturn this unnecessary and harmful attack on reproductive rights. Like last time, there is a 30 day comment period. We need to FLOOD the Dept of HHS with our comments about this destructive attack on women’s rights. Comments may be submitted electronically on the Web site www.Regulations.gov (by entering 0991-AB49 in the search box) or via e-mail to proposedrescission@hhs.gov. Attachments may be in Microsoft Word, WordPerfect or Excel, but Microsoft Word is preferred. Learn more as RhRealitycheck discusses. If you wonder what this rule looks like in real life, ABC News did an undercover investigation using a 16 year old woman actor who is denied her birth control prescription by a pharmacist. See how those in the waiting room reacted.
Choice News Another reason to lobby against abstinence-only education...RhRealitycheck discusses some of the talking points of abstinence-only ed; including impressing upon youth harmful stereotypes and excuses for behavior. Looking at some schools curricula (all of which receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding for the programs), we see language such as: “...girls need to be careful with what they wear, because males are looking! The girl might be thinking fashion, while the boy is thinking sex. For this reason, girls have a responsibility to wear modest clothing that doesn't invite lustful thoughts." NOT KIDDING. What is the real effect of a recession on women’s reproductive health? Interviews with women show that they are struggling to afford birth control, and taking serious health risks in waiting to have abortions until they scrounge up finances. Organizations such as the National Network of Abortion Funds are seeing a steep rise in the need for their services for financial assistance.
Tell your friends about the Choice Lobby Network Thanks everyone! Stay tuned for next week’s CLN update! Friday March 13th 2009 Greetings Choice Lobbyists! Are YOU Ok with Abstinence-Only Education and Anti-Choice Legislation? Because abstinence-only advocates are lobbying for it, and anti-choice groups will soon be face-to-face with our local legislators. When? The day before our Pro-Choice Lobby Day. Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) will be lobbying at the Capitol for laws that infringe upon our rights to choose and education programs in our schools that don’t work. This is why it is so important for us to unite, on March 25th, to tell our legislators that Minnesotans SUPPORT women and healthy teens. If you have not signed up for Pro-Choice Lobby Day yet, it is NOW that we need you to STAND UP AND RAISE YOUR VOICE FOR CHOICE! Not only is Lobby Day incredibly effective and a great learning experience, but it is a BLAST! It is a great way to connect with other pro-choice advocates from all across Minnesota, so you can make some friends while sharing advocacy tips and strategies, new projects and goals, and plans of attack for pushing your legislators! Lobby Day pulls us together, from all across the state, to create a unified front for pro-choice issues both locally and nationally. So raise your VOICE for CHOICE! And join us at the 2009 Pro-Choice Lobby Day at the Capitol in St. Paul! You will be well prepared for the day, don’t worry! Break-out sessions and Lobby 101 presentations before you lobby your legislators will help you with what issues to discuss and the approaches that are effective. This year, a new break-out session-Intergenerational Voices-helps in approaching different generations on choice topics. The pre-Roe generation has a unique viewpoint on the abortion debate, a view that we hope to have fully represented at lobby day this year. For any questions contact Amanda at lobby@prochoiceminnesota.org, and click to sign up TODAY!!!
Join Planned Parenthood Advocates in a Solidarity Event!
Every year on Good Friday, anti-choice demonstrators protest outside of the Planned Parenthood Highland Park Clinic. They bring offensive signs, giant crosses, pray, and harass Planned Parenthood patients as they enter the clinic. That’s where we come in! As a counter, we participate in a solidarity event to show our support for the imperative services that Planned Parenthood provides to the women and men of our communities. Last year, we consistently had more supporters than the protesters did! Not only that, but we raised over $15,000 for Planned Parenthood with the Pledge a Protester fundraiser. So sign up, and join us on Friday, April 10th to show your support for Planned Parenthood, an organization that works harder to prevent unintended pregnancies and abortion IN ONE DAY than these anti-choice protesters do in their whole lives.
The HHS “Physician Conscience” Rule is Open for Comments!!!!! As we saw at the end of last year, Bush pushed through a regulation from the Department of Health and Human Services that provided for those in the medical industry, from those that fill your birth control to the sales clerk that rings up your purchase for it, to have the right to refuse to serve you on behalf of their own “moral beliefs.” Now, Pres. Obama is pushing to overturn this unnecessary and harmful attack on reproductive rights. Like last time, there is a 30 day comment period. We need to FLOOD the Dept of HHS with our comments about this destructive attack on women’s rights. Comments may be submitted electronically on the Web site www.Regulations.gov (by entering 0991-AB49 in the search box) or via e-mail to proposedrescission@hhs.gov. Attachments may be in Microsoft Word, WordPerfect or Excel, but Microsoft Word is preferred. Learn more as RhRealitycheck discusses. If you wonder what this rule looks like in real life, ABC News did an undercover investigation using a 16 year old woman actor who is denied her birth control prescription by a pharmacist. See how those in the waiting room reacted.
Choice News Another reason to lobby against abstinence-only education...RhRealitycheck discusses some of the talking points of abstinence-only ed; including impressing upon youth harmful stereotypes and excuses for behavior. Looking at some schools curricula (all of which receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding for the programs), we see language such as: “...girls need to be careful with what they wear, because males are looking! The girl might be thinking fashion, while the boy is thinking sex. For this reason, girls have a responsibility to wear modest clothing that doesn't invite lustful thoughts." NOT KIDDING. What is the real effect of a recession on women’s reproductive health? interviews with women show that they are struggling to afford birth control, and taking serious health risks in waiting to have abortions until they scrounge up finances. Organizations such as the National Network of Abortion Funds are seeing a steep rise in the need for their services for financial assistance.
Tell your friends about the Choice Lobby Network Thanks everyone! Stay tuned for next week’s CLN update!
Friday March 6th 2009 Greetings Choice Lobbyists! Planned Parenthood Funding Crisis As I’m sure many of you have heard, Sen. David Vitter and Sen. DeMint are waging war on women’s reproductive health and the ability of women and men across this country to have full access to family planning services. While we are used to attacks from anti-choice legislators about abortion, what is really disturbing is that these attacks are not about abortion—they are about birth control. Birth control, which decreases the numbers of unintended pregnancies and thus abortions by countless amounts every year. Birth control, championed by pro-choice and abortion rights advocates, is essential to family planning. It is essential for women to live our lives how we see fit; to control when we have children so we can achieve whatever goals and dreams we have set out for ourselves. Why the attack on birth control? Who knows. As we have all heard Planned Parenthood labeled an “abortion factory” or “industry” by those opposed to responsible family planning, it appears to be mostly an attack on Planned Parenthood itself. Despite the fact that PP devotes the vast majority of its services to prevention and treatment (the last time I checked, my routine cervical cancer screening I got from PP had nothing to do with abortion). Sen. Vitter is trying to strip federal Title X funding from Planned Parenthood in the 2009 omnibus appropriations bill. This funding, it is important to note, does not fund abortions. The Hyde Amendment prevents that. This funding goes to preventative services offered by Planned Parenthood. And Sen. DeMint has submitted an amendment to remove affordable birth control provisions from the Appropriations Act...so your birth control, no matter where you get it from, could skyrocket in cost. This is an attack on the rights of women to responsibly plan their families and reproductive futures. It is masked behind the controversy surrounding abortion; but this legislation is attacking the estimated 80% of American women who use oral contraceptives, and their rights to reproductive autonomy. Call Sen. Amy Klobuchar at 202-224-3244 and tell her to stand up against this attack on women’s rights, and to oppose Senators Vitter and DeMint. Read more from Salon, RhRealitycheck and Feministing. HAVE YOU SIGNED UP FOR PRO-CHOICE LOBBY DAY YET??! Please join us! Pro-Choice Lobby Day is on March 25th. Lobby Day is an excellent way to get involved in local politics and get actual face time with those you helped elect into office. Tell your senator and representative what issues matter to YOU, their constituent, and how you are expecting them to vote on issues facing them this legislative session. Not only is Lobby Day incredibly effective and a great learning experience, but it is a BLAST! It is a great way to connect with other pro-choice advocates from all across Minnesota, so you can make some friends while sharing advocacy tips and strategies, new projects and goals, and plans of attack for pushing your legislators! Lobby Day pulls us together, from all across the state, to create a unified front for pro-choice issues both locally and nationally. So raise your VOICE for CHOICE! And join us at the 2009 Pro-Choice Lobby Day at the Capitol in St. Paul! You will be well prepared for the day, don’t worry! Break-out sessions and Lobby 101 presentations before you lobby your legislators will help you with what issues to discuss and the approaches that are effective. This year, a new break-out session-Intergenerational Voices-helps in approaching different generations on choice topics. The pre-Roe generation has a unique viewpoint on the abortion debate, a view that we hope to have fully represented at lobby day this year. For any questions contact Amanda at lobby@prochoiceminnesota.org, and click to sign up TODAY!!! Choice News Scott Fischbach, the executive director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) is now also an embryonic stem cell researcher! Or at least, he is pretending to be. As two bills are introduced into the Minnesota Legislature Tuesday, one to ban sex-selective abortions and the other to ban human cloning, including the process embryonic stem cells undergo in stem cell research, Fischbach champions the ban on cloning stating that adult stem cell research is much more promising than embryonic stem cell research, and even goes so far as to say that embryonic stem cell research has led to no scientific progress. This is contrary to the research of the scientific community, of course. And sex-selective abortions? Don’t we have a recession and a few billion dollars in a budget deficit to figure out, and instead our legislators are wasting time debating bills that are completely unnecessary and force doctors to bring legal implications into their decision making? A massive anti-choice bill was passed in the Missouri House by a vote of 115-41. Not only does this bill make it a crime to “coerce” a woman into having an abortion, it also requires a 24 hour waiting period after viewing an ultrasound, it requires physicians to personally give every woman seeking an abortion an “information packet” including color photographs of fetus development alongside a statement that “The State of Missouri wants you to know that the life of your unborn child began at conception, and that your unborn child has protectable interests in his or her life, health and well being." WOW. Rep. Beth Low (D-Kansas City) said it best: "I am sick to death of the women of this state being disrespected and having their health care decisions invaded." In Brazil, a 9 year old girl is alleged to have been raped by her step-father. She is impregnated with twins. She weighs 80 lbs. Abortion is illegal in Brazil, with the exception for the life of the mother; doctors determined this most certainly was life threatening to this girl. The Roman Catholic Archbishop’s reaction to this terrible situation? Excommunication for the girl’s mother and her doctors. The attorney for the Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife said the girl could have carried the twins to term and had a C-section. Nothing like having an attorney tell you what medical decisions you should make. Thanks everyone! Stay tuned for next week’s CLN update!
Friday Feb 27, 2009 Greetings Choice Lobbyists! Anti-Choice Bills Introduced in the MN Legislature Three new anti-choice bills have been proposed in the legislature. · HF1057, SF904 would create a misdemeanor offense for a physician to perform an abortion outside of a 20 mile radius of a hospital. o Republican Rep. Laura Brod of New Prague is joined by Republican Sens. Pat Pariseau of Farmington, Michelle L. Fischbach of Paynesville, Joe Gimse of Willmar, Steve Dille of Dassel and David Hann of Eden Prairie in supporting this bill. · HF1058, SF905 would prohibit the abortion procedure saline amniocentesis, a procedure used in very rare cases. This procedure is a form of instillation abortion where a fluid that induces abortion is injected into the amniotic sac. Instillation accounts for 0.8 percent of abortions performed and saline accounts for only about 10 percent of those procedures, with urea and prostaglandin used in other cases. o Sens. Amy Koch, R-Buffalo; Pat Pariseau, R-Farmington; Michelle L. Fischbach, R-Paynesville; Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove; and Claire A. Robling, R-Jordan; are joined by Rep. Patti Fritz, DFL-Faribault are supporting this unnecessary and intrusive bill. What happened to the idea that there are decisions that must be made between a doctor and a patient? Why should legislators with no medical training decide the best medical treatment for women? · HF1059, SF906 would strip low-income women of resources needed to help with the cost of abortion, stating that funding for state-sponsored health programs cannot be used for funding abortions. This is in direct conflict with the 1995 Minnesota Supreme Court decision in Doe v. Gomez which stated that it violates our state constitution to restrict state funding for abortion. o The bill is being pushed by Sen. Claire Robling, R-Jordan, and Rep. Mary Ellen Otremba, DFL-Long Prairie. It is bills such as these that slowly chip away women’s reproductive rights in Minnesota. These bills are unconstitutional, unnecessary, and an intrusion into the rights that patients and doctors possess with regard to medical treatment. It is bills such as these that make Pro-Choice Lobby Day so important; so that we can all raise our voices to those that represent us and utilize our power as constituents. Contact your Senators and Representatives in the MN Legislature TODAY to tell them NOT to support these attacks on reproductive health, and sign up for PRO-CHOICE LOBBY DAY TODAY!!
Pres. Obama to Cut Funding Programs-Urge Him to Cut Abstinence Only Funding! While Minnesota’s sex ed bill (HF550, SF273) is making its way through the legislature, Pres. Obama is calling to end unnecessary spending on the federal level. The Federal government has allocated $1.3 billion for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs that are wasteful and ineffective. Take action TODAY and tell Pres. Obama that this harmful and wasteful abstinence-only spending MUST STOP! 1.94 MILLION Unintended Pregnancies and 810,000 Abortions are Prevented Each Year by Publicly Funded Family Planning Services The latest Guttmacher Institute publication adds fuel to the fire to recognize the need for funding family planning services, and how instrumental these services are to our economy and collective well-being. By providing millions of young and low-income women access to voluntary contraceptive services, the national family planning program prevents 1.94 million unintended pregnancies, including almost 400,000 teen pregnancies, each year. These pregnancies would result in 860,000 unintended births, 810,000 abortions and 270,000 miscarriages. Choice News Pres. Obama will start the process of reversing the “Physician Conscience” rule today, a late night Bush Administration Dept. of Health and Human Services provision which provides unnecessary allowances for physicians to deny reproductive services to women. A 30 day comment period will again be open soon for the public to view opinions. In Oklahoma, a challenge to the state’s ultrasound requirement survived a motion to dismiss on Thursday. Oklahoma County District Judge Vicki Robertson has issued a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of the law. This law, one of the most heinous ultrasound laws in the country, does not require patient consent and in cases of early pregnancy requires a vaginal ultrasound, in which an ultrasound device is placed inside the vagina, resting one end on the cervix. There is no exception for victims of rape or incest. A woman is forced to have a medical instrument inserted into her vagina for absolutely no medical purpose, a procedure that is required even for victims of rape. Alaska Gov. Sara Palin is showing support for a proposed parental consent law in the state. In 1997, a similar law was passed but was declared unconstitutional under the Alaska Constitution as inhibiting a teenage woman’s reproductive freedom. State Rep. John Coghill (R-North Pole [is it inappropriate to comment?]) equates the need for parental consent to this: “[Y]ou want an aspirin, you want to go on a fieldtrip you need parental consent. This is the only area because of a constitutional struggle that we come down to where a parent has no right.” A fieldtrip? Aspirin? Is he serious? Iiiiinteresting.... it isn’t often that FOXNews tells it like it is, considering its viewer demographic. However, I stumbled across this piece online from FOXNews that does a nice job combating commonly held sex myths, including debunking abstinence effectiveness and how parental consent laws do not decrease teen abortion numbers. Wow. I am pleasantly surprised by the FOXSexpert: 10 Sex Findings You Won’t Believe.
Pro-Choice Lobby Day March 25, 2009 Mark your calendars! The annual Pro-Choice Lobby Day is on March 25th. Lobby Day is an excellent way to get involved in local politics and get actual face time with those you helped elect into office. Tell your senator and representative what issues matter to YOU, their constituent, and how you are expecting them to vote on issues facing them this legislative session. Not only is Lobby Day incredibly effective and a great learning experience, but it is a BLAST! It is a great way to connect with other pro-choice advocates from all across Minnesota, so you can make some friends while sharing advocacy tips and strategies, new projects and goals, and plans of attack for pushing your legislators! Lobby Day pulls us together, from all across the state, to create a unified front for pro-choice issues both locally and nationally. So raise your VOICE for CHOICE! And join us at the 2009 Pro-Choice Lobby Day at the Capitol in St. Paul! You will be well prepared for the day, don’t worry! Break-out sessions and Lobby 101 presentations before you lobby your legislators will help you with what issues to discuss and the approaches that are effective. This year, a new break-out session-Intergenerational Voices-helps in approaching different generations on choice topics. The pre-Roe generation has a unique viewpoint on the abortion debate, a view that we hope to have fully represented at lobby day this year. For any questions contact Amanda at lobby@prochoiceminnesota.org, and click to sign up TODAY!!!
Thanks everyone! Stay tuned for next week’s CLN update!
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