What We’ve Been Reading & Watching
At a town hall meeting this week, Congresswoman Nan Hayworth used the “ham sandwich defense”. As Jodi Jacobson points out in this great piece about Bishop Lori’s use of the analogy, it underscores “just how shallow legally, philosophically and practically is the “religious freedom” argument against access to contraception. It revealed just how desperate male patriarchal religious bodies and their political surrogates are to curtail the ability of women to make decisions about their bodies and their lives.” The shoe fits here too.
Talk about male patriarchal bodies: I’m fascinated by the fight in Virginia against an ultrasound bill, and the governor’s backtracking on the issue. We agree with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro: “These institutions do not trust women.”
Which leads me to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on Morning Joe. Imagine if Congress was 51% women! Clearly women don’t always agree (See above re Congresswoman Hayworth) - but I think the whole world could change.
Finally, did you see these incredible statements by people in the public eye this week? From offensive remarks about aspirin to lies about how contraception works, don’t miss what government officials and candidates for office are saying about women’s health. After you watch all five, cast your vote for the most offensive one.
What have you read or watched this week that really made your blood boil? Or even better – do you have a clip of a champion for women’s health? Share it with us!
What We’ve Been Reading & Watching
Surely you’ve seen the panel of chaste men talking offering expert testimony on women’s sexual health:
The testimony that should be heard: Representative Issa refused to hear this testimony from Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke about the consequences of the Catholic Bishops’ refusal to cover contraception.
And here’s another perspective from workers at a religiously-affiliated social service organization, and their difficulties in getting contraceptive coverage in their insurance plan.
The truth is that this new benefit won’t increase premiums at all.
It’s all part of the larger assault on women’s health. In Virginia, scary anti-choice bills advance, including one that could mandate an invasive transvaginal sonogram.
The case that could have been: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reflects on a case she worked on before Roe.
Contraception Is About Freedom – Just Not Religious Freedom
Last week President Obama found an elegant solution to resolve the pressure he was under to allow religiously-affiliated organizations to avoid paying for contraception. Many people have weighed in on both sides of the issue – clearly, we are on the side thanking President Obama for his strong stance supporting women’s health. While I strongly disagree with her framing of the issue as one about religious freedom, I wholeheartedly agree with Sally Blount’s point that we are skirting what is really at stake here: Sex and the ability to control the outcome of sexual activity.
The true issue here is about the basic human right for women to able to plan and control if, when, and how many children to parent, and to make those decisions without having to abstain from sex. That’s what contraception enables women to do. Contraception is as much about my autonomy as a woman as abortion is, and that’s why it’s such a hot-button issue. It almost doesn’t matter that 99% of sexually active American women have used birth control. You may not be able to get any more mainstream than that – but as long as it’s about women’s autonomy, it will be controversial.
It’s also about public health. Half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended, and unintended pregnancies cost money. Every dollar spent on voluntary family planning (contraceptive care) saves nearly $4 in the same budget year, and that figure only factors in the costs of prenatal care, labor and delivery, and one year of well-baby care. (If you want sources for this information, check out the Guttmacher Institute.) Women on Medicaid don’t have to share in the costs of their contraceptives, and one of the main reasons we as advocates have been able to preserve that benefit in tight budget times is precisely because contraceptive care is so cost-effective – it’s a bargain for public health. Women who are fortunate enough to be insured without the safety net still struggle to share in the costs of their birth control.
Being sexually active and being able to control if, when, and how many children to parent is a basic human right. Women deserve this.
What We’ve Been Reading
NARAL’s response to Washington Post columnist E. J. Dionne: Contraception is a Catholic value!
Ever hear of labiaplasty? Apparently more women are “choosing” it. Check out this documentary: Perfect Vaginas.
Jamie Lynn Spears reflects on her teen pregnancy in the spotlight.
A chilling reminder of what can happen when a society values boys over girls.
What We’ve Been Reading
Victory! The Obama Administration announced today that they will require virtually all health care plans to cover birth control Don’t miss NPR’s coverage of the decision, and make sure to sign our thank you note to President Obama.
Yesterday marked the 39th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Huffington Post has a great look at how 2011 might have been Roe’s worst year yet.
Ever wonder what Planned Parenthood is all about? This says it all: “Planned Parenthood is not about judging women — their decisions or their faith — but caring for them.”
More women in elected offices is a nonpartisan movement.
Also this week: we found out that unsafe abortions are on the rise around the world. Related: check out the Center for Reproductive Right’s newly updated, interactive world map of abortion laws.
A study by the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and the Reproductive Health Technologies Project finds that an overwhelming number of Latino voters oppose government intrusion in personal healthcare decisions.
The Washington Post takes an interesting look at Mitt Romney’s rise and fall as a Moderate Republican.
New York’s Senate Democrats submitted a resolution to make January 22-28, “Reproductive Health and Justice Week”. Leave it up to the Senate Republicans to shoot it down. All hopes not lost though, here’s hoping the Assembly can make it happen.
Not surprisingly a new study from The Center for Women and Work at Rutgers finds that, “paid leave is good for working families, businesses and our economy.” The National Partnership for Women and Families has the run down.
What We’ve Been Reading – A little late!
Sorry we missed getting up our news digest on Friday, everyone. Let’s talk about the most important thing first: It’s almost Roe! Celebrate with us by attending one of our commemorative celebrations.
In Westchester, get an international perspective on the reproductive rights movement this Thursday, January 19, 6-8pm at The Women’s Club of White Plains – tickets are available at $30 and at $50, or $20 if you have a student id.
In Long Island, help us raise money for hard-hitting electoral work this year by attending our fundraiser with Planned Parenthood of Nassau County Action Fund and The Honorable Steve Israel. Join us this Sunday, January 22, 11:30am-2pm at Oheka Castle.
And here’s some more news we missed getting up last week…
First, have you heard about the new sex ed standards? We’re big fans!
Second, Washington State is considering a novel advance for access to abortion – the Reproductive Parity Act.
“How to defeat Personhood USA” reminds me an awful lot of “How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America” – both works point out exactly how mainstream birth control, and the American ideal of privacy, really are.
We will have to say good-bye to NYS Senator Suzi Oppenheimer – a pro-choice champion – at the end of this legislative session. We wish you all the best for your shoulder surgery and in retirement!
January: A Month of Action
We always kick off the year strong at Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic. From our first and biggest lobbying day of the year to the Roe anniversary to reminding everyone about cervical cancer awareness – January is a month of action.
On Monday, we brought 39 dedicated supporters to Albany from our downstate region. Our passionate supporters were just a few of the nearly 400 people from across the state who gathered in the Capitol for a raucous rally and for meetings with legislators. We make sure our legislators know how important it is to fully fund family planning care in New York, to pass the Reproductive Health Act in 2012, and to expand access to comprehensive sexuality education. If you’re interested in coming on lobby trips like this, just sign up to be part of the Planned Parenthood Action Network and we’ll keep you up-to-date.
January 22nd marks the 39th anniversary of the landmark Roe v Wade decision, in which the U.S Supreme Court ruled that the right to privacy in the U.S. constitution protects the right of a woman to choose whether to continue a pregnancy to term or to have an abortion. We celebrate the Supreme Court’s recognition of a woman’s right to privacy and to make personal medical decisions without government interference every year. This year, our events are particularly exciting.
In Westchester, we are fortunate to have Valerie DeFillipo, President of Americans for UNFPA. The United Nations Population Fund’s mission is to promote the right of every woman, man, and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. According to Americans for UNFPA, “UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with respect.” Join us to hear from Valerie DeFillipo and enjoy a wine and cheese reception on Thursday, January 19, from 6-8pm at the Women’s Club of White Plains - please RSVP here.
In Long Island, the celebration of Roe is traditionally a joint celebration with our sisters at Planned Parenthood of Nassau County. This year, we’re joining forces with our Action Funds to raise critical funds for the 2012 election work ahead of us. The Action Funds are separate, nonprofit, nonpartisan organizations that serve as the political and advocacy arms of our two affiliates. Join us on Sunday, January 22, at Oheka Castle for brunch from 11:30am-2pm to hear Congressman Steve Israel talk about “Turning the Tide: Why a Pro-Choice Majority Matters.” Please purchase tickets today.
January marks another important moment as well: National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. The New Year is the perfect time to see if you’re due for a check-up – or if you’ve put off your check-up, to make that important appointment. Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers: when caught early, the five-year survival rate is nearly 100%. Regular cervical cancer screenings and preventive care such as the HPV vaccine, which we provide, are the keys to combating cervical cancer. In 2009, Planned Parenthood health centers across the nation provided nearly one million Pap tests and almost 45,000 HPV vaccinations. If you’ve got questions or need to make an appointment, give us a call or request an appointment online.
What We’ve Been Reading
On Monday, we’ll be in Albany with Planned Parenthood supporters from across the state for the first day of the legislative session. Our goals are to protect family planning funding and pass the Reproductive Health Act. So it’s been a busy week, what with planning bus schedules and legislative meetings, but there are a few items we wanted to share. If you have any interesting reads to recommend, please leave a comment!
Rick Santorum isn’t just anti-abortion, and anti-contraception, he wants police to have the right to search your bedroom for evidence of non-procreative sex. Seriously. Interestingly, he and his wife considered having an abortion previously. No really – it was an option they considered.
It’s only January 6, but Florida already has seven anti-abortion/anti-reproductive health bills introduced.
The Mississippi personhood fight isn’t over.
What’s the link between abstinence-only programs and bullying?
Fear
Last week, I sat in the audience at the Suffolk County Legislature’s Public Safety Committee meeting, listening to more than 15 anti-choice protesters proclaim their right to free speech. They peppered their pro-free-speech statements, of course, with lots of statements that are more like yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater. I don’t want to rehash all their craziness, let’s just say I don’t take kindly to hearing Planned Parenthood compared to “killing fields.”
What brought out their craziness, this time around, was a clinic access bill. The bill, sponsored by pro-choice champion Legislator Vivian Viloria-Fisher, would create a 35-foot buffer zone around the premises of reproductive health care facilities in Suffolk County, NY within which no protests could take place. The idea, of course, is to minimize – as best we can – the harassment and intimidation that our patients feel when they see protesters outside of the office where they see their nurse or doctor. We know that women who come in for abortion care feel unsafe when they pass protesters outside their doctor’s office. The bill was modeled on the Massachusetts law, which has been upheld as a reasonable time, place, and manner regulation of speech.
The bill was ultimately tabled, as was a similar bill in Westchester last week which Trista, Lisa, and other pro-choicers came out to support. But the true craziness – and prime example of harassment and intimidation – happened after the vote that tabled the bill in Suffolk.
After the vote, I started to gather my belongings to leave, as did the antis. Lisa, who was with me, stopped me. She and I watched the antis walk out. We both saw one man turn to stare at us, and then sit back down. He was one of the many people who had spoken against the bill. We stayed in our seats. After a few minutes he walked out, only to come over to the side of the lobby closer to us and stare at us through a window in the door into the legislative auditorium. He and the rest of the antis were waiting for us in the lobby. The committee meeting continued, on unrelated issues; at its conclusion, instead of leaving, we approached the legislative staff and requested to be escorted to my car. They graciously agreed and even took us out a back exit normally reserved for legislators. To them, I say thank you for keeping me and Lisa safe.
The meeting had gone on for some time, and we were hungry. It wasn’t until after I had driven to Panera, ordered and paid for my lunch, and heard the cashier say “Have a nice day,” that I felt like normalcy had returned.
I know that the protesters have been known to take pictures of people and cars on their way into our center. I am certain that they look up license plate numbers to learn more about our patients and staff, the better to harass people. I have coworkers whose home phones have been filled with hateful and threatening messages by so-called “pro-life” people.
But in five years of working at Planned Parenthood, I have never felt so afraid as I did that afternoon.
Stigma, harassment, and fear are complicated issues, especially when it comes to abortion. The Abortioneers have had a couple of great posts up this week on just these issues. And there are other blogs devoted to the experiences of clinic escorts. This post is just one story about what happens when we threaten the antis’ right to stand outside a healthcare facility spewing hate and fear. It’s not enough to stop us – we’re still here and you can bet that we will continue to pursue clinic access bills, so we can make life a little easier for the women we serve.
By the way, you can say thank you to Suffolk Legislator Vivian Viloria-Fisher for being a woman of principle here, or call her office at (631) 854-1650. You can also call Legislator Duwayne Gregory to thank him for making strongly supportive, pro-choice statements during the discussion before the vote (not to mention voting AGAINST tabling the bill!) at (631) 854-1111. (No need to be a constituent – spread the love.)
What We’ve Been Reading & Watching
There’s a lot we could recount in our Holiday News Digest. Let’s start with an idea for anyone looking for a last minute gift – Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa – or even a late Solstice gift. Donate to an Abortion Fund in the name of a pro-choice friend: Find your local fund here, and read about the women the new Arizona fund helps here.
Of course, if you want to donate to Planned Parenthood, we have a generous donor offering to match your gift.
Excellent piece on the need to reshape our movement. If you’ve got ideas and tactics to share, let us know and we’ll take you up on it! And since emergency contraception is one of his main points, check out new information about how hard it is to get, particularly for younger women and women living in lower income neighborhoods.
Another excellent piece on parents talking to teens about sexuality – respectfully, openly, and in a way that acknowledges all the complexity. (Don’t worry, the author doesn’t pretend it’s easy!)
A couple of thoughts on abortion at Christmastime: abortion and the story of Mary’s annunciation (does anyone who’s never been Catholic know what that word means?), and anti-choicers using Christmas carols to harass women seeking health care.
The Girl Scouts of Colorado stand up for including transgender children, but a few troop leaders decide to disband their troops in response.
Since we’re still waiting on the President to make his decision about expanding the birth control refusal clause – give the White House one more call, for good measure, asking President Obama to protect access to birth control and NOT give in to the few voices calling for expansion refusal. Call 202-559-1164. (Not sure what I’m talking about? Check out my previous post and Cecile Richards’ post.)
And, let’s end with a smile from an Internet oldie:
