National Online March – a Success!

The Trust Women/Silver Ribbon Campaign initiated a collaboration with MoveOn to conduct an online campaign during Jan. 20-27, 2012, to build solidarity and momentum for reproductive health, rights and justice.

The majority of Americans believe that women should have access to basic health care services and that decisions about reproductive health care including family planning and abortion should be left to each person.  But in 2011, rather than addressing the public’s pressing concerns about the economy, Congress and state legislatures declared a “War on Women.”

36 states enacted 135 provisions limiting access to reproductive health care, including 92 measures restricting abortion.¹ The U.S. House of Representatives held eight votes to limit reproductive health care. H.R.358 gives hospitals the right to refuse to provide a woman with emergency, lifesaving abortion care – even if she will die without it.

These measures restrict life choices for all women and families, with the most severe consequences for the most vulnerable. Low income women, younger women and women of color experience the highest rates of unintended pregnancies.

The National Online March aimed to begin 2012 with a powerful event that builds solidarity and momentum for reproductive justice.

We aimed to turn the tide on these policies in 2012.

Trust Women Week launched an affirmative campaign that marshalled support across the boundaries of age, ethnicity/race, and geography; that linked concerns about the economy and politics with issues of reproductive health; and that challenged mainstream thinking on these issues with a range of messages and approaches.

I trust women and I vote.
Reproductive rights are human rights.
Keep abortion safe and legal, and make it accessible and affordable.
Stand up and be counted for reproductive justice.
We are the 99%. Fix the economy, and stop the attacks on women’s health.
Contraception Is Prevention

(Please click here to read the entire evaluation.)

Background on Abortion for Trust Women Week

There will always be women who need access to abortions.
Abortion is basic health care for women.

• 1 in 3 American women will have had an abortion by age 45.
• About 50% of pregnancies in theU.S. are unintended.
• 4 in 10 unintended pregnancies are terminated by abortion.^[1]
• In 2008, 1.21 million abortions were performed in US.

• Teen pregnancy accounts for only 2 in 10 of all abortions
  performed in theUS.
• Women in their twenties account for more than half of all
  abortions performed in the US.^[2]
• 88% of abortions occur in the 1^st 12 weeks. Only
  1.5% occur later in the term.
• 6 in 10 women having abortions already have one or more
  children.
  • These women often cite
    the need to care for their children as a primary reason for choosing to
    have   an abortion.
  • 66%
    of women having abortions intend to have children in the future.

• 3 in 4 women who have abortions describe themselves as
  religiously affiliated.
• Catholic women have an abortion rate 29% higher
  than Protestant women.
• One in five women having an abortion is a
  born-again or Evangelical Christian.[3]

• In 2008, more than 4 in 10 abortion patients had incomes
  below the federal poverty line.^[4]
  • Women of color have much higher rates of unintended
    pregnancies and are disproportionately more likely to have an abortion, which
    points to widespread inequities in access to contraception and adequate health
    care.

• 54% of women who have abortions used a contraceptive method
  (usually the condom or the pill) during the month they became pregnant. Among
  those women, 76% of pill users and 49% of condom users report having used their
  method inconsistently, while 13% of pill users and 14% of condom users report
  correct use.^[5]

Abortion and Providers

• In 2008, 87% of U.S. counties had no abortion provider.^[6]
  • 1/3 of American women live in a county with no abortion
    provider, which meant they would have to travel outside their county to obtain
    an abortion. Of women obtaining abortions in 2006, nonhospital providers
    estimate that 27% traveled at least 50 miles.

Abortion is Safe

• The risk of abortion complications is minimal: Fewer than
  0.3% of abortion patients experience a complication that requires
  hospitalization.^[7]
• Abortion is safer when and where it is legal.
  • Opponents have attempted to claim that abortion causes a
    number of complications.  There is no
    evidence for these claims, and research has systematically discredited each of
    them:
  • In repeated studies since the early 1980s, leading experts
    have concluded that abortion does not pose a hazard to women’s mental health.^[8]
  • Abortion does not increase one’s risk of breast cancer as
    shown by several peer-reviewed and respected scientific studies.
  • Abortions performed in the first trimester pose virtually no
    long-term risk of such problems as infertility, ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous
    abortion (miscarriage) or birth defect, and little or no risk of preterm or low-birth-weight
    deliveries.^[9]

Current
Threats to Abortion Access

Threats to legal abortion

• In 1992, the Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood v. Casey
  significantly weakened the legal protections previously afforded women and
  physicians by giving states the right to enact restrictions that do not create
  an “undue burden” for women seeking abortion^[10].
• Since
  1976 via the Hyde Amendment (which has been renewed every year), Congress has
  barred the use of federal Medicaid funds to pay for abortions, except when the
  woman’s life would be endangered by a full-term pregnancy or in cases of rape
  or incest. http://youtu.be/zCmCcACrm6M
• On May 4, 2011, HR3 passed in the U.S. House of Representatives by a
  vote of 251 to 175 . (No action in  the
  Senate.)
  • Expands and makes permanent (as opposed to
    annual opportunity to strike it) that no federal funds can be spent on abortion
  • Uses personal and business tax policy to bar
    any insurance policy (including those paid with personal funds) from covering
    abortion, even to protect a woman’s health when threatened by complication with
    later term wanted pregnancies which could result in all private insurance
    dropping coverage of abortion. Currently 85% of private insurance plans cover
    abortion.
  • Redefines rape as only “forcible rape,”
    meaning those that are inebriated or drugged do not count as rapes. Women would
    have to prove that the rape was forced.

• 36 state
  governments enacted 92 anti-choice regulations related to abortions in 2011, a
  new record.  The previous record was in
  2005, when about 34 regulations were enacted.

These measures:

Discourage and delay pregnant women from acting on decisions to obtain
an abortion.

Interfere with clinician practices in the name of safety.

Restrict the gestational period for when a fetus can be aborted.

Limit government funds to for abortion care and thus limits the choices
of poor women.

Criminalize
women’s decisions. 

Restrictive
proposals

• Eliminating
  insurance coverage of abortion. Currently 85% of private insurance covers
  abortion. Laws passed by the House of Representatives and state governments are
  in effect banning private coverage of abortion
• “Consicence
  Clauses” that allow women to die. 10/2011 the House of Representatives passed
  the “Protect
  Life Act”, known by women’s health advocates as the “Let
  Women Die” bill. It allows hospitals that receive federal funds to reject
  any woman in need of an abortion procedure, even if it is necessary to save
  her life.
• Requiring Ultrasounds before abortion. Some states require
  that women receive information about how to access an ultrasound while others
  require that a woman undergo an ultrasound prior to obtaining an abortion. An
  ultrasound is not medically necessary for first-trimester abortion and
  these types of laws appear to be attempts to personify the fetus and dissuade
  the woman from choosing an abortion, as well as significantly add to the cost
  of the procedure^[11].
• “Informed consent” a.k.a. misinformation/scare tactic
  requirements are often used to interfere with a woman’s easy access to a safe
  abortion. Many states require mandatory biased counseling and often at least a
  24-hour “waiting period” between counseling and an abortion procedure. Many
  states require certain information to be given during counseling such as
  information about fetal development, how to obtain an ultrasound, along with
  misleading or inaccurate information about the risks associated with abortion.
  This requirement, designed to deter women from seeking an abortion, causes an
  undue emotional and financial burden. In states that require a waiting period,
  women must make two trips to a health care provider in order to obtain an
  abortion, increasing the difficulty of accessing an abortion for low-income or
  working women^[12] who have to find child
  care, transportation and coverage at their jobs to travel large distances to a
  provider twice.
• Many clinics and health care facilities are targets of
  serious antiabortion violence including bombings, arson, and vandalism.
  Additionally, these facilities are often subject to violent protests and
  blockades. The federal government in 1994 enacted the Freedom of Access to
  Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act which prohibits intentional property damage, or the
  use of force or threat of force to injure, intimidate, or interfere with
  someone entering a health care facility^[13].
• Crisis pregnancy centers present themselves as “pregnancy
  clinics” or “medical clinicis” to persuade women to not have an abortion.
  Rather than present all the options (continue, continue and put up for
  adoption, or terminate) they present biased facts. Many receive taxpayers
  funds.

• State initiatives to make the embryo a person. Colorado started this trend. Mississippi followed suit this year, in an
  initiative that was defeated by voters.

Some good
references:

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2011/12/27/395239/the-gops-10-most-extreme-attacks-on-a-womans-right-to-choose-an-abortion/

http://jezebel.com/5871360/the-year-in-your-uterus#

California Specific

• In California, 897,700 of the 7,680,396 women of
  reproductive age became pregnant in 2008. 61% of these pregnancies resulted in
  live births and 24% in induced abortions.
• In 2008, 214,190 women obtained abortions in California, producing a rate of 27.6 abortions
  per 1,000 women of reproductive age. Some of these women were from other states,
  and some California residents had abortions in other states, so this rate may
  not reflect the abortion rate of state residents. The rate increased 2% since
  2005, when it was 27.1 abortions per 1,000 women 15-44. Abortions in California represent 17.7% of all abortions in
  theUnited States.
• In 2008, 22% of California counties had no abortion provider.^[14]

Catholics support birth control and have abortions.

• “ Sensus fidelium —the graced and experience-fed wisdom of the faithful that has always been one of the sources of truth in the Catholic tradition.”
• 98% of sexually active Catholic women have used a form of contraception banned by the Catholic Church.
• As recently as 1968, a majority of the Pope’s advisors agreedthat there was no pastroal reaso to ban Catholics from using contraception. 

http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/news/op-eds/2011/OnfamilyplanningdoestheCatholicChurchrepresentCatholics.asp.asp

NOW! March Online for Repro Rights, Justice

From January 20 to 27,  join the first-ever “Trust Women Week,” an online mass mobilization for women’s lives and rights. The Trust Women/Silver Ribbon Campaign is the coordinating partner in this unique collaborative campaign, working with MoveOn.org and more than 50 organizations nationwide, to let legislators know that reproductive health, reproductive justice and reproductive rights are at the top of our agenda, and should be at the top of theirs.

In this collaborative national action, your messages as “virtual marchers”  will be packaged and delivered directly to members of Congress, governors and state legislators to underscore
that Americans trust women to make their own decisions about their bodies and their lives.

Online participants may select up to six tailored messages:

1. “I trust women and I vote;”

2. “Reproductive rights are human rights;”

3. “Keep abortion safe and legal, and make it affordable and
accessible;”

4. “Stand up and be counted for reproductive justice;”

5. “We are the 99%. Fix the economy, and stop the attacks on
women’s health;”

6. “Contraception Is Prevention.”

Join in this virtual freedom march, and you’ll see your participation on a real-time online map. Your participation is essential to this effort, so thanks for your support!

Click here  to join the March!

Trust Women Week overlaps the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and reasserts our firm commitment to reclaiming the future of reproductive decision-making in 2012.

Thanks again for your support

Trust Women Week: A National Online March, Banners in the Street

Trust Women/Silver Ribbon Campaign, P.O. Box 29586, San Francisco, CA 94129  Phone: 415-922-6204 w fax : 415-885-4091 w email :ershaffer@gmail.com www.oursilverribbon.org

Reproductive Justice Banners Fly in San Francisco

To see them: Reproductive Justice Banners

For the first time in San Francisco’s history, banners advocating reproductive rights and justice began flying today on Market Street, one of the city’s main thoroughfares. The display was organized by the Silver Ribbon Campaign to Trust Women, a coalition of 42 national and local organizations that aims to build the momentum and solidarity of the pro-choice majority.  During 2011, Congress and state legislatures proposed or enacted an unprecedented number of attacks on women’s reproductive health care services, including birth control as well as abortion, while slashing basic health services.

The banners kick off a national virtual online march in collaboration with MoveOn later in January.

“When the House of Representatives votes that it is okay for doctors to allow pregnant women to die in the emergency room rather than perform an abortion, it’s time for women to wake up and fight back,” said Sophia Yen, M.D., a co-founder of the Silver Ribbon Campaign. “As a mother and a pediatrician who specializes in adolescent medicine, I want to insure that my patients and my own daughters continue to enjoy the right to plan their families and pursue their career goals. For women, that means protecting and expanding reproductive rights.”

Ellen R. Shaffer, Ph.D., co-director of the Silver Ribbon Campaign said,  “Many women are angry that our health is being used as a political football, in attempts to divert attention away from the troubled economy as we enter an election year. We need the government to fix the economy and to fund vital basic health services, that are especially critical for low-income women, and to quit interfering with our private decisions about our reproductive health.”

The Silver Ribbon banner slogans are:
Her Decision, Her Health
U.S. Out of My Uterus
Fix the Economy, Support My Autonomy
Reproductive Rights are Human Rights 
San Francisco is Pro-Choice

Partner banners:

We Trust Black Women, Do You? – Sistersong

Catholics for Choice

Legal Abortion is a Human Right: United Nations – BACORR

Freedom, Privacy, Choice – NARAL California

San Francisco Supports Planned Parenthood Shasta/Pacific

Other organizations that contributed a banner to the display commented: “Women of color are more likely to be adversely affected by policy and budget cuts to family planning,” said Loretta Ross, National Coordinator of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. “It is important for women of color to be trusted to make these private personal decisions for ourselves and our families. It is our human right to do so and we will not be shamed or silenced.”

“We are delighted to join this initiative, raising awareness about continued threats to women’s reproductive rights. While Catholics have long rejected the bishops’ diktats when it comes to family planning, the bishops just don’t give up. The vast majority of sexually active Catholic women, 98 percent, use a method of family planning banned by the bishops. Now the bishops are trying to use Congress to force their will on all Americans. This is intolerable and we expect the Obama administration to reject the bishops’ demands,” said Jon O’Brien, president of Catholics for Choice.

“BACORR is proud to partner with Trust Women and to bring strong grassroots support to this campaign,” Somer Loen from BACORR said. “Too many of the people who pass restrictive laws and service cuts aren’t affected by them. We hope the banners will help empower everyone to stand up publicly for their rights.”

The 70 banners will fly for several weeks through January, 2012. Local and national events are planned throughout the U.S. around the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision on Jan. 22, celebrating Trust Women Week.

See photos of 8 of the banners here: https://picasaweb.google.com/117112844015109646967/ReproductiveJusticeBannersInSanFrancisco#

pdf of full set:

Trust Women Banners – Graphic

Take Action on Plan B Decision

From Raising Women’s Voices: We need to defend women’s health and hold the President to his commitment to scientific integrity and women’s health. Join us in calling the White House to urge them to defend contraceptive access and tell Secretary Sebelius that she must let the FDA do its job without interference. Please call the White House at 202-456-1111 to deliver this message or tweet with the hashtag #ECoutrage. 

God to Congress: War on Women OK

“It is not our job as Catholics to tell God what he should do. It is our job to learn and follow his teachings. Conscience is not convenience. We must enforce the laws of God.” Rep. Tim Murphy, Republican of Pennsylvania, having ascertained that the supreme deity is male, explained why Congress should deprive the employees of Catholic schools, hospitals and charities of the right to purchase affordable birth control, regardless of the employees’ own beliefs or practices. The hearing of the Health Subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce took place on Wednesday, November 2, 2011.

Republicans in Congress are truly on the warpath against women’s rights, and in many cases against reason.

Just a few points here about women and contraception. For starters, while it usually takes two to conceive a child, only women get pregnant. The right and ability to make independent decisions about whether and when to become a parent are fundamental to every other aspect of a woman’s life: whether society recognizes women as autonomous, independent, responsible, and competent; and whether women themselves experience the same opportunities as men to acquire education and employment, and to construct a meaningful life based on loving relationships.

Cost is a barrier to purchasing birth control for lower-income women. More effective forms like new, safe intrauterine devices (IUDs) cost more than a year’s supply of birth control pills or devices like diaphragms which are cheaper overall but also are less reliable. The rate of unintended pregnancies is soaring among low-income women, and at 132 per thousand women ages 15 to 44 is five times higher than the rate for higher income women (those over 200 percent of poverty). Low income women are more likely to have unplanned births. The costs of contraception are minute compared to the costs of pregnancy and delivery, in dollars as well as in human health.

The new health reform law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), calls for covering preventive health care services without requiring co-payments, effective in 2010. Co-payments are fees individuals must pay when they go for care, in addition to their premiums, and are intended to discourage health care visits. The problem is that they discourage people from getting care they need, particularly low-income people. Preventive health care services like flu shots can protect health by avoiding illnesses entirely or catching them early, and also save money. The ACA eliminated these co-payments for prevention.

Except in the case of contraception.

In 1968, despite the recommendation of the majority of Catholic bishops, the Pope adopted the minority recommendation to declare that using birth control was inconsistent with the Church’s beliefs. Nevertheless, U.S. Catholics continue to use birth control at the same rate as other Americans.  Virtually all heterosexually active couples of child-bearing age in the United States use birth control.  Still, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has grown increasingly insistent on enforcing the birth control ban.

As of August, 2011, after a year of studying whether or not contraception is a preventive health care service, and therefore should be covered without co-payments and deductibles, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) arrived at an answer: Yes on all counts.

In covering contraception as a preventive service without co-payments, HHS granted an exception for actual churches who provide health insurance to their employees, but required all other religiously-sponsored institutions such as hospitals that offer health benefits to follow the rule.

Catholic organizations have gone to court in the past to avoid state rules that require including coverage for birth control in the health care plans they provide for employees, and failed every time. The Church sponsors large organizations that include health care providers, universities and social service agencies, as well as churches. They employ millions of Americans, many of whom are not Catholic. Their work generates the funds their employers use to pay for health insurance. Most economists assert that the costs of employee health benefits are reflected in lower pay; that is, employers calculate benefits as a form of compensation, and many reduce wages accordingly. In effect, the money that pays for health insurance is really money that employees generate, and belongs to them.

This evidence is not good enough for the USCCB and the extremist Republicans running Congress. While dire economic threats face many Americans, Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), decided to change the subject. He called a hearing entitled “Do New Health Law Mandates Threaten Conscience Rights and Access to Care?”

Now let’s be very clear here. The Republicans and the Bishops are claiming that institutions have a conscience. Not a policy. A conscience.

Here is Joe Pitts’ description of his concern:

“Many entities feel that it [the proposed policy] is inadequate and violates their conscience rights by forcing them to provide coverage for services for which they have a moral or ethical objection. The religious employer exemption allowed under the preventive services rule — at the discretion of the HRSA [Health Resources Services Agency] — is very narrow.

“And the definition offers no conscience protection to individuals, schools, hospitals, or  charities that hire or serve people of all faiths in their communities.  It is ironic that the proponents of the health care law talked about the  need to expand access to services but the administration issues rules  that could force providers to stop seeing patients because to do so  could violate the core tenants of their religion.”

In fact, there is no involvement of any individual employer in this matter, or   any issue of an individual’s conscience except that of employees   deciding to purchase and use contraceptives. The rule requires employers’ health plans to cover contraception without any additional co-payment. There are three parties involved here: employers, employees, and health plans. No provider or caregiver is involved, nor is any patient, student, or recipient of charity. At the most extreme, every Catholic institution could claim it will close their doors absent this exclusion. So far no such institution has done so where state requirements are in effect, and when Rep. Jan Schakowsky asked representatives of Catholic institutions at the hearing if they would close, they affirmed that they would not.

Rep. Gingrey (R-GA), opined: “Imposing the dictates of the state on the will of employers sounds un-American to me.”

And another gem: “Should we force religious employers to violate their consciences? To recognize same-sex marriage? Will we ethically neuter health care professionals?”

To a person, articulate Democrats on the committee–Henry Waxman (D-CA), Frank Pallone (R_NJ), John Dingell (D_MI), Lois Capps (D_CA), Tammy Baldwin (D_WI), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Edolphus Towns (D_NY), Eliot Engel (D-NY)–challenged this tripe.

Tammy Baldwin: “This is a war on women.”

Lois Capps: “An employer is not a person. Your boss’ conscience is not your own.”

Witnesses Jon O’Brien of Catholics for Choice and Dr. Steve Hathaway were articulate and brilliant in defending the truth.

But Rep. Tim Murphy, a psychologist in his fifth term in the House, was on fire:

“Conscience is at the core of Catholic teachings… and it is not left up to individuals to decide, thank goodness. Father Anthony Fisher tells us that …there is an objective standard of moral conduct. Vatican II teaches us that the moral character of actions is determined by objective criteria, not merely by the sincerity of intentions or the goodness of motives. It is not, I repeat, it is not our duty as Catholics to tell God what he should do or what image he should adhere to, or what he should think, but it’s up to us to shape our conscience to conform with the teachings he’s given us.

“Conscience, sir,” Murphy continued, “is not convenience.”

“Conscience is formed through prayer, attention to the sacred and adherence to the teachings of the church, and the authority of Christ’s teachings in the church. So asking a group in a survey whether or not they have ever acted or thought of acting in a certain way that runs counter to the Church’s teachings is no more a moral code than asking people if they ever drove over the speed limit as a foundation for eliminating all traffic laws.

 

“I end with a quote from John Adams, in 1776,” said Murphy, “when he was writing our Declaration of Independence of the United States: ‘It is the duty of all men in society, publicly and at stated seasons, to worship the creator and preserver of the universe, and no subject shall be hurt, molested or constrained from worshipping God in the manner most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience, or for religious profession or sentiments, provided he does not disturb the public peace or obstruct others in their religious worship.’ The foundation of our nation is not to impose laws that restrict a person’s ability to practice their faith, sir.”

Well, actually, Tim: Exactly.

To do something about it click here: http://action.prochoiceamerica.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=5059&s_src=2011_adv_bc4me_whitehouse_web

and here: http://emilyslist.org/20111117_accesspoll/

and here: http://www.capwiz.com/rcrc/issues/alert/?alertid=57035501#.TsdgpZd9fWs.facebook

Also published on RH Reality Check:  http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2011/11/19/god-to-congress-wage-war-on-women

Join Us on Oct. 18: Support Truth in Ads, San Francisco

Join us on Tuesday, October 18, at 2 p.m., at City Hall Room 250. San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on the Pregnancy Information Disclosure and Protection Ordinance, proposed by Supervisor Malia Cohen.  Come early to get a seat and support the the Supervisors’ historic vote to end the deceptive ads that mislead women seeking abortions into anti-abortion propaganda mills. Katie Stack describes her experience in the NY Times: http://nyti.ms/q3oaos  - and this video documents the abuses:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jvzJ35zhvQ

Will you join us?

Need More Letters on Contraception!

Another round of letters needed:  Thanks for continuing to be heard and seen on this important issue!

A recent Associated Press story ran in the San Francisco Chronicle and many other papers (see below) under the headline Religious Groups Oppose Birth Control Rule and focused on the conscience exemption, allowing certain religious employers to decline to cover birth control without copayments and deductibles. The story may still be picked up by others. Kathy Bonk <asybinsky@ccmc.org> asks us to write letters to the editor.

To write to the SF Chronicle Editor:

http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1

Here are key points to make:

• While the Catholic church and the association representing Catholic hospitals oppose the provision, the majority of religious women support including birth control as preventive care, as do the majority of religious groups, such as Catholics for Choice, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Religious Institute and the National Coalition for American Nuns.

[thanks to Raising  Women's Voices for the following, http://bit.ly/pxbsDi]:

•   Covering contraception without co-pays is a popular policy.  According to a recent Thomson Reuters- NPR poll, 77 percent of Americans believe that private medical insurance should provide no-cost birth control and 74 percent believe that government-sponsored plans should do the same.

•   Adopting the IOM recommendations will improve women’s health. Women have unique health care needs especially during the reproductive years. The new HHS guidelines acknowledge these unique needs and treat women’s health with respect.

•   Covering family planning is cost-effective and will likely save insurance plans money. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, there was no increase in costs at all after Congress required coverage of contraceptives for federal employees in 1998. And a 2000 study by the National Business Group on Health estimated that it costs employers 15–17 percent more to not provide contraceptive coverage in employee health plans than to provide such coverage.

•   HHS has made an historic decision that will benefit women for generations to come.  The HHS guidelines will be good for women’s health and pocketbooks. This decision will give women, their daughters and granddaughters access to the care they need to be healthy at all stages of their lives. It will also ease the budget pressures on families who are struggling in these tough economic times.

Publications that ran the “religious” article:

San Francisco Chronicle (CA): http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/08/07/national/w020759D54.DTL
Salt Lake Tribune (UT): http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/52341749-68/catholic-health-hospitals-religious.html.csp
Seattle Post Intelligencer (WA): http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Religious-groups-object-to-covering-birth-control-1751869.php
Racine Journal Times (WI): http://www.journaltimes.com/news/national/govt-and-politics/article_e43e8534-8777-5861-a643-06275ee68a39.html
Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-government/catholic-hospitals-supported-obamas-health-care-law-but-now-object-to-covering-birth-control/2011/08/07/gIQAgDmp0I_story.html
Post-Tribune (IL): http://posttrib.suntimes.com/news/6941419-418/religious-groups-object-to-covering-birth-control.html
Newsday (NY): http://www.newsday.com/news/health/religious-groups-oppose-birth-control-rule-1.3081763
Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/08/07/general-us-free-birth-control-catholics_8606920.html
Bloomberg Businessweek: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9OV914O0.htm
New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/08/08/us/politics/AP-US-Free-Birth-Control-Catholics.html?_r=1&ref=politics
Times-Union (NY): http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Religious-groups-object-to-covering-birth-control-1751869.php
Stamford Advocate (CT): http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Religious-groups-object-to-covering-birth-control-1751869.php
Desert News (UT): http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700169214/Religious-groups-object-to-covering-birth-control.html
Boston Globe (MA): http://articles.boston.com/2011-08-07/news/29862037_1_catholic-hospitals-preventive-health-health-and-reproductive-rights
Herald Democrat (TX): http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/News/National/A0924-BC-US-FreeBirthControl–3rdLd-Writethru-08-07-1088
Connecticut Post (CT): http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Religious-groups-object-to-covering-birth-control-1751869.php
Boston Herald (MA): http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/general/view/20110807religious_groups_object_to_covering_birth_control/srvc=news&position=recent_bullet
ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=14249390
Ledger-Enquirer (GA): http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2011/08/07/1685327/religious-groups-object-to-covering.html
News Times (CT): http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Religious-groups-object-to-covering-birth-control-1751869.php
Star Tribune (WI): http://m.startribune.com/nation/?id=127087808&c=y
Oakland Press (MI): http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2011/08/07/news/nation_and_world/doc4e3edf1d2697b577785282.txt
Argus-Press (MI): http://www.argus-press.com/news/national/article_2ddd051b-ac43-53ff-be21-418dd51063ca.html
New Haven Register (CT): http://nhregister.com/articles/2011/08/07/news/doc4e3eb7c903134688198745.txt
Galveston Daily News (TX): http://galvestondailynews.com/ap/4a36f1
Las Vegas Sun (NV): http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/aug/07/us-free-birth-control-catholics/
Miami Herald (FL): http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/07/2348696/religious-groups-object-to-covering.html
The Herald (SC): http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/08/07/3276695/religious-groups-object-to-covering.html
Cleveland Plain Dealer (OH): http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/religious-groups-object-to-covering-birth-control/3902ef64cdc24ca9aef5aab27d96bf28
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA): http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11220/1165920-114.stm
Bellingham Herald (WA): http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/08/07/2132621/religious-groups-object-to-covering.html
Syracuse (NY): http://www.syracuse.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/religious-groups-object-to-covering-birth-control/3902ef64cdc24ca9aef5aab27d96bf28
Kansas City Star (KS): http://www.kansascity.com/2011/08/07/3061701/religious-groups-object-to-covering.html
Modesto Bee (CA): http://www.modbee.com/2011/08/07/1806288/religious-groups-object-to-covering.html
Evansville Courier & Press (IN): http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/aug/07/religious-groups-object-covering-birth-control/?print=1
New Hampshire Journal (NH): http://nhjournal.com/2011/08/08/religious-groups-object-to-covering-birth-control/

Thanks! – Ellen

Comment on Religious Exception

to E-OHPSCA2713.EBSA@dol.gov

August, 6, 2011

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
26 CFR Part 54
TD 9541
RIN 1545-BJ60
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
29 CFR Part 2590
RIN 1210-AB44
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
CMS-9992-IFC2
45 CFR Part 147
RIN 0938-AQ07
Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Issuers Relating to Coverage of Preventive
Services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

We applaud HHS’ regulations accepting the Institute of Medicine’s well-grounded recommendations for adding 8 new preventive services for women to be covered without additional co-payments and deductibles.  The scientific recognition of these important services, including contraception and screening for domestic violence, and easing the economic burden to access them, will enormously improve the lives of all women and their partners and families.

We regret however the amendment offering certain religious employers the option not to include contraception as a preventive service.  We appreciate that the religious employers in question are narrowly defined, in accordance with earlier court cases;  in essence, church employees could be affected, but not church-affiliated hospitals or health plans.

Nevertheless, many women who work for and attend the Catholic Church, for example, do not necessarily agree with the Church’s position banning all but one method of contraception. Virtually all sexually active Catholic women have used a banned method of birth control, and 63% support covering contraception through insurance.  It is unfortunate that some of these women would be asked to choose among their faith, their families, and the opinions of their employers.

We request that HHS reconsider and reverse this amendment.

Ellen R. Shaffer, PhD MPH, Trust Women/Silver Ribbon Campaign

Trust Women comment on religious exception

Birth Control? Really? (Yes, Really!)

Birth Control?  Really?
Yes, Really!
Ellen R. Shaffer
Co-Director, Center for Policy Analysis  Posted: 7/20/11 06:22 PM ET

On Tuesday, the Institute of Medicine reported what most breathing humans know more or less reflexively: That contraception is a preventive health care service. Why is this even a question?  And why must we answer it now?

Birth control is a safe and legal service that is both cost effective and particularly beneficial to women’s health. It not only protects us from the social and economic burdens of unintended pregnancies, which are relatively high in the United States. It empowers us to imagine and pursue autonomous and fulfilling lives that include the joys of healthy parenthood if and when we’re ready for it.

Most Americans believe that contraception should be affordable and accessible, whether or not they personally use it, including most Catholics, according to numerous studies reported this year by Catholics for Choice .  Nearly 100 percent of heterosexually active women have used a birth control method currently banned by the Vatican, and most continue to. Ready access should be a matter decided by women and their clinicians, certainly not by politicians.

The IOM report on gaps in coverage under health reform recommends that contraception be readily available at no cost, as should screenings for cancer, HIV, diabetes, and domestic violence. The next step is asking HHS to adopt these life-saving recommendations. This should be a slam-dunk.  But it may not be. The remaining gaps are not in our science but in our advocacy.

Opposition arguments to these recommendations are so flimsy that they are rarely reported in the mainstream media. They are promulgated largely by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, an organization that does not represent the practices or beliefs of their own congregations, or most people of other faiths, and whose lapses in sexual ethics are threatening the vitality of the Church.

So, why is the issue of contraception still a question, and why must we answer it now? The fact is that years of bullying have escalated into a war on women. Despite our most careful and strategic parrying, the words “women” and “women’s health” have become stigmatized in the fickle world of mainstream politics.

It’s time to trust ourselves with decisions about our destiny. It’s time for people of conscience to raise our voices and visibility on fundamental matters of choice. This petition to HHS is a perfect place to start.

See also: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6309/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5434

View on HuffPo: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-r-shaffer/birth-control-america_b_905061.html

IOM: No-Cost Prevention To Include Contraception, Violence Counselling

Sign the petition asking Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to accept these medically-based recommendations and to support no-cost contraception.

And this excellent petition: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6309/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5434

IOM Report: Clinical Preventive Services for Women: Closing the Gaps

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) addresses preventive services for both men and women of all ages, and women in particular stand to benefit from additional preventive health services. The Department of Health and Human Services charged the IOM with reviewing what preventive services are important to women’s health and well-being and then recommending which of these should be considered in the development of comprehensive guidelines. The IOM recommends that women’s preventive services include, among other services, improved screening for cervical cancer, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV; a fuller range of contraceptive education, counseling, methods, and services; services for pregnant women; at least one well-woman preventive care visit annually; and screening and counseling for interpersonal and domestic violence.

From Trust Women/SilverRibbon:

An expert Institute of Medicine panel commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services has recommended 8 preventive health services that should be provided without copayments or deductibles, under the terms of the Affordable Care Act.

The IOM panel report embraces a number of public health priorities identified in testimony to the panel by the EQUAL Health Network .

“Women’s health will benefit substantially from better access to these key services once they are cost-free: contraception, breastfeeding and support services, screening and counseling for domestic violence, and an annual well-woman visit, ” said Ellen R. Shaffer, PhD, Co-Director of the Trust Women/Silver Ribbon Campaign and the EQUAL Health Network.  “This constellation of services offers women and their families enormous opportunities to better control and to improve their life circumstances.”

“The IOM’s nonpartisan evidence-based decision to cover contraception without charge is long overdue,” according to Dr. Sophia Yen, MD, an adolescent medicine physician practicing at Packard Children’s Hospital.  “This will be a huge stride in preventing unintended pregnancies and thus unnecessary abortions.  I’ve seen too many women change to less effective methods of birth control because of costs in these dire financial times.  Cost-free coverage for birth control is a critical life-line to millions of women and their families.”

Sen. Barbara Mikulski, New York Times: “We are one step closer to saying goodbye to an era when simply being a woman is treated as a pre-existing condition,” Ms. Mikulski said. “We are saying hello to an era where decisions about preventive care and screenings are made by a woman and her doctor, not by an insurance company.”

Planned Parenthood Shasta Pacific:

As part of the Affordable Care Act (aka Health Care Reform), an independent panel (the IOM) was charged with recommending which women’s health services were to be considered preventive care – thus free or at low cost. The final decision now lies with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services which is expected in August of this year.

The new health care reform law represents the single biggest opportunity to advance women’s health in 45 years, and this recommendation could have one of the most far-reaching impacts we have seen in generations.  Medical data, public opinion, now the IOM are now all on the same page– for the first time in our national history, Birth Control without access-blocking cost barriers is within reach.

Sign the Birth Control Matters Petition now!

Heather Saunders Estes, President & CEO, Planned Parenthood Shasta Pacific

From RWV:

Want to know more about the recommendations?  Join Raising Women’s Voices coordinators and Susan Wood, Director of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health at the George Washington University School of Public Health, on Thursday, July 21 at noon EDT, to review the IOM report and discuss what it means for women.  Register here for the call and to get the call-in information.

Spread the word! Share the news about the IOM report with your network on Twitter.  Include #ThankYouIOM to show your support and encourage your followers to do the same.  Also check out RWV’s twitter profile for the #ThankYouIOM Twibbon.

The National Women’s Law Center

We women already know it, but it’s nice to have a panel of experts confirm it: contraception is preventive health care!

But we’re not done yet – Obama Administration officials will decide soon whether to accept the expert recommendations released earlier today.

Sign our petition asking Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to accept these medically-based recommendations and to support no-cost contraception.

The Hill: Women’s health advocates praise IOM recommendations 

• “… “This is a landmark decision not just for women’s health, but also for women’s rights in America,” Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. “Access to contraception, counseling for victims of domestic abuse, and preventative screenings for HIV and other diseases will empower women to reduce unintended pregnancies and better protect themselves and their health.”            http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/172367-womens-            health-advocates-praise-iom-recommendations

Statement from Dr. Susan Wood Regarding IOM Report that Recommends Eight Additional Women’s Health Preventative Services for Coverage

http://www.gwumc.edu/news/newsitems.cfm?neID=411

07-19-2011

Statement from Susan F. Wood, PhD
Associate Professor of Health Policy
Director, Jacob Institute of Women’s Health
The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services

Former Assistant Commissioner for Women’s Health, FDA

Women know that preventive services for women includes family planning.  Today the IOM confirmed that contraception is prevention and is part of the prevention package that should be covered by all health care plans.  By reducing co-pays and deductibles for women getting contraception, this will help women and couples plan their families, space their children, reduce unintended pregnancies, and promote better health for women and children.   Preventing unintended pregnancies is the best way to prevent abortion.

Women spend decades of their lives trying to prevent pregnancy, and only a few years actually trying to get pregnant and having children.  Making contraception affordable by eliminating co-pays and deductibles is common sense for millions of women and couples across the country – and a real benefit that women will see immediately in their pocketbooks.  This coverage of contraception will truly help “Close the Gaps” for women.

Contraception is not controversial – except sometimes for politicians.  But this should not be political; coverage of contraception should be based on the evidence as outlined by IOM, which shows that contraception for women is indeed safe and effective prevention. Along with well-woman visits and critical screening for gestational diabetes, STDs, domestic violence, and other important women’s health preventive services, the IOM report “Closing the Gaps” has helped ensure that women’s health counts when we talk about prevention. Women should not be blocked from these critical preventive services due to cost or political debate.

IOM Report July 20 – Wear Your Silver Ribbon!

Is contraception a preventive health care service? Wear your “Trust Women” Silver Ribbon pin on July 20-22 if you think so.

An Institute on Medicine panel will  recommend their findings on July 20 to the federal Department of Health and Human Services whether contraception should be covered under the Affordab;e Care Act for free, without co-payments or deductibles, like all other preventive  services.

Join Ttust Women/Silver Ribbon Campaign partners at media events July 20-22. Wear your Silver Ribbon to show that you stand with the majority who trust women to make decisioms about our health.

From the IOM:

The report will be released at a one-hour public briefing starting at 10 a.m. EDT Wednesday, July 20, in the First Amendment Room of the National Press Club, 529 14th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. Those who cannot attend may participate through a live audio webcast that will be posted on the IOM’s webpage (http://iom.edu/Activities/Women/PreventiveServicesWomen/2011-JUL-20.aspx) shortly before the event begins.

To register to attend the briefing in person, please use this link: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/589440/Report-Release-Clinical-Preventive-Services-for-Women.

To register for the audiocast, please use our separate online form, which can be found here: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/589502/Report-Release-AUDIOCAST-Clinical-Preventive-Services-for-Women.

Please direct all media/reporter calls about the report to: News Office – National Academies, (202)-334-2138<tel:%28202%29-334-2138> or onpi@nas.edu<mailto:onpi@nas.edu>.

See the IOM’s primary webpage, http://www.iom.edu/preventiveserviceswomen, which is a “one-stop shop” for the project. That webpage has links to past meetings, the upcoming public briefing, and will have future announcements and materials related to the project.

From Crisis to Progress: This Week In Health Care Politics

Wear Your Silver Ribbon- Stop HR 3!

The House leadership continues to harm women’s health by restricting women’s access to reproductive health services. Tomorrow they’re going even further by bringing up H.R. 3 to the floor for a vote, a bill that places dangerous restrictions on insurance coverage for abortion.

H.R. 3 is a dangerous and extreme bill that threatens women’s health by aiming to deny access to health insurance that includes coverage for abortion services, whether that insurance is public or private.  The bill catapults from the fact that the federal government provides a tax break on most employer-provided health insurance most women rely on, to assert that the government can dictate that this workplace-based insurance cannot cover abortion. 

 HR 3 allows no health exception: it would leave women whose health is seriously threatened by their pregnancies without access to the care their doctors recommend to protect their health. This would especially endanger the health of underserved women and those with greater health care needs. Women with illnesses like cancer and heart disease sometimes face severe, permanent health damage if they don’t have access to abortion care.

H.R. 3 would invite an unprecedented, radical level of government intrusion into deeply private and personal health care decisions. While there is an exception in cases of rape or incest, incredibly, a rape or incest survivor seeking to include the cost of an abortion in her medical expense deductions or to use tax-advantaged savings to pay for the service could have to provide evidence of the rape or incest in the event of an IRS audit in order to prove herself eligible under longstanding exceptions for those circumstances. Clearly this level of government intrusiveness into an individual’s private and personal life is unacceptable.

The legislation would also codify harmful riders that deny women access to abortion care, including the recently reinstated interference with the District of Columbia’s use of its own local funds and the restriction on federal Medicaid, both of which disproportionately affect women of color and low-income women.

By banning abortion coverage for millions of women in the new health exchanges and imposing tax penalties on small businesses that offer comprehensive insurance plans, H.R. 3 would rob women of insurance coverage for abortion. According to the Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation, the bill would likely take away health insurance coverage that women have today and would impose new tax penalties on millions of families and small businesses.

Contact Congress or Call 888-907-9762 TODAY and tell your Representative to oppose this harmful bill and protect women’s health. 

Wear your Silver Ribbon and show that you Trust Women to make essential choices about our lives and our health!

May/June Calendar of Events

SisterSong has a series of ForePlay sex-positive pre-conference celebrations

These events will have cultural and political art, fiery performances and VIPs like you!

May 18 – Boston

May 19 NYC

Atlanta June 3

SF June 9th

contact Monica Simpson for more information  Monica Simpson <monica@sistersong.net>

Their conference is July 14-17 in Miami

Act Online at the Summit on Women, Money, Power

1. From Feminist Majority: watch it live:

Were you unable to come to DC for the 2011 summit? Not to worry, we are streaming it live!  Go to our Ustream Channel and watch the Opening General Assembly on Women’s Rights Issues in the 112th Congress with Congresswomen Jackie Speier and Karen Bass right now.
Women, Money, and Power Live on Ustream!
We will also be streaming the wonderful lunch we have lined up later today. Join us from 12pm to 2pm  – Women, Money, and Power Luncheon Honoring Nancy Pelosi and Liz Shuler

2. From Planned Parenthood: Sign on:

At the Stand Up for Women’s Health Rally today in Washington, DC, Planned Parenthood will join with Senate and House leaders, celebrities, and activists and allies from all over the country to tell Congress that women’s health is non-negotiable.

You don’t have to be there in person to be a part of this movement — add your message of support now and it will be displayed online and at the rally. 

April Calendar of events

4/7 – Rally for Choice in DC

sign up with RCRC:

https://rcrc.wufoo.com/forms/lobby-day-april-7-2011/

Stand up for Women’s Health Rally facebook event

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149754481754343

Thursday, April 7 · 11:30am - 12:30pm

4/9 or before, protest/complain about Dillard’s Houston area store hosting Anti-Choice Anti-African-American event

http://www.blackpridenetwork.com/houston-area-department-store-sponsors-anti-choice-event/

Care2 reports on Memorial City’s Dillard planning to host an anti-choice fundraiser on 4/9/11.

Please sign the petition. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/cancel-the-dillards-anti-abortion-fundraiser/

Per our partners at SisterSong email dillards: questions@dillards.com
Call the store manager. Stephen Brophy ( 713) 464-1851

Fax the store manager. Stephen Brophy Fax: 713-463-4100

Boycott Dillard’s.

Protest in front of Dillard’s on 4/9/11.

read more here. http://bit.ly/i1ritb

passed:

4/2 6pm in Chicago Pro-Choice Counterprotest at the Joe Scheidler Tribute!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=204718812886125

Protest Houston Dillard’s anti-choice fundraiser

Care2 reports on Memorial City’s Dillard planning to host an anti-choice fundraiser on 4/9/11.

Please sign the petition. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/cancel-the-dillards-anti-abortion-fundraiser/

Per our partners at SisterSong email dillards: questions@dillards.com
Call the store manager. Stephen Brophy ( 713) 464-1851

Fax the store manager. Stephen Brophy Fax: 713-463-4100

Boycott Dillard’s.

Protest in front of Dillard’s on 4/9/11.

read more here. http://bit.ly/i1ritb

NOW-NYC launches “My Health Matters” on youtube. Add your video.

NOW NYC launches a video/youtube campaign. My Health Matters

http://www.youtube.com/MyHealthMattersNOW

You can make a video and upload it to youtube for the My Health Matters campaign. Talking about how your health or a woman that you care about is important and should not be endangered by government ideological political battles.

for example,

the House voted to defund all family planning for Title X clinics.

HR3 and HR 358 aim to get rid of private insurance funding for abortion

HR 358 expands conscience clause protections so broadly that it would become legal for a hospital todeny life-saving care based on “moral or religious” ground

read more here
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2011/03/14/women-declare-health-matters”

Walk For Choice II – Sat March 26th

check it out! Raven Geary has spear-headed another round of Walk For Choice

join the Walk or start one near you!

http://walkforchoice.tumblr.com/participating

• Chicago, IL home event twitter
• Boston, MA, + twitter
• Los Angeles, CA, + twitter
• Grand Rapids, MI, + twitter
• San Antonio, TX, + twitter
• Houston, TX
• Dallas, TX
• Oklahoma City, OK, + twitter
• Salt Lake City, UT
• Seattle, WA, + twitter
• Tampa, FL, + twitter
• Atlanta, GA, + twitter
• Phoenix, AZ, + twitter
• Detroit, MI, + twitter
• Youngstown, OH, + twitter
• Portland, OR, + twitter
• Tucson, AZ
• Little Rock, AR, + twitter
• Santa Cruz, CA
• San Diego, CA
• St. Louis, MO
• Lansing, MI
• Milwaukee, WI
• Fort Collins, CO
• Raleigh, NC
• Springfield, IL
• Ann Arbor, MI
• El Paso, TX

More petitions to sign…Emily’s list and Advocates For Youth

To sign or not to sign?

here are some petitions. if you are NOT living in California, please sign b/c we need all Senators on board!

But if you are from CA like me, I wonder what is the utility of signing a petition to our Senators in CA, they know that we support them and want them to support reproductive rights. Aren’t we just jamming their inbox?

EMILY’s list

Watch a video of what Senators Mikulski, Cantwell, Gillibrand, Murray, and Boxer had to say — thensign Emily’s List’s petition to show our senators that we have their backs in the fight against the GOP’s anti-woman agenda.

http://emilyslist.org/action/20110304standwithsenate/

Advocates for Youth’s petition to Senators:

Dear Senators: Young Women’s Health and Lives Are in Your Hands! | Amplify http://bit.ly/fbDxDA

Walk for Choices + Rebuild the Dream

Sites are now online for the walks this Saturday Feb. 26 in cities around the U.S.

The meeting place for the Bay Area, CA is:

Meet at Noon at Lake Merritt on Grand/El Embarcadero, Oakland.  At 1 p.m., walk to gazebo in Lakeside Park. 

• Chicago, IL  home event twitter
• Boston, MA, twitter
• New York City, NY, twitter
• Washington, D.C.
• Philadelphia, PA, twitter
• Los Angeles, CA, twitter
• Grand Rapids, MI, twitter
• San Antonio, TX, twitter
• Minneapolis, MN, twitter
• Juneau/Anchorage/Fairbanks, AK
• Pakistan – city unspecified
• United Kingdom – city unspecified
• Columbus, OH
• Houston, TX
• Dallas, TX
• Mississippi
• Austin, TX
• Oklahoma City, OK, twitter
• Greensboro, NC, twitter
• Savannah, GA, twitter
• Nashville, TN
• Hawaii
• Birmingham, AL, twitter
• Salt Lake City, UT
• Seattle, WA twitter
• Bay Area, CA, twitter
• Tampa, FL, twitter
• Atlanta, GA twitter
• Phoenix, AZ, twitter
• Gainesville, FL
• Riverside, CA
• Detroit, MI twitter
• Toronto, Canada
• Youngstown, OH twitter
• Melbourne, AUS
• Denver, CO twitter
• Roseburg, OR (Douglas County)
• Portland, OR twitter
• Annapolis, MD
• Santa Fe, NM
• Lafayette, LA twitter
• Tucson, AZ
• Orlando, FL twitter
• Asheville, NC twitter
• Little Rock, AR twitter
• Las Vegas, NV twitter
• **NEW 2/22** Sherman Oaks, CA

for more info:   http://walkforchoice.tumblr.com/about

From the Planned Parenthood

Contact Your Senators: House Zeroes Family Planning Funding

It's true. Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to defund Planned Parenthood.

It is critical that we stop this bill in the U.S. Senate. We must protect Planned Parenthood Shasta Pacific's ability to serve 100,000 men and women at more than 30 sites in 17 Northern California Counties.

Here's what you can do:
Come to our phone bank in San Francisco on Wednesday, February 23 from 2-4pm. Help residents of other states reach their U.S. Senator with our special call system! RSVP to Marsha Donat at mdonat@pp-sp.org or 925-887-5213

Sign the open letter to the reps who voted for this bill—and to the senators who still have a chance to stop it: http://www.ppaction.org/IStandWithPP

From the National Organization for Women

Contact Your Senators: House Zeroes Family Planning Funding

It's outrageous: the House of Representatives just voted to cut all screening, prevention and family planning funding from Planned Parenthood. Please contact your senators right away to let them know they must not allow this to move forward. Millions of women's lives are on the line.

Tell Your Senators to Stop this Assault on Planned Parenthood here: http://action.now.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3407

From the Walk for Choice 2011

Walk for Choice 2011 - US and Worldwide

Show your support for reproductive freedom in the U.S. and across the globe. Stand up for women's rights worldwide. Walk for Choice 2011 was created in direct response to the events in Congress surrounding The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 3). It will take place in multiple cities on February 26th, 2011, but we encourage all participants to spread the word now!

Check to find your city here: http://walkforchoice.tumblr.com/participating

From the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice

We ♥ Our Pro-Choice Superstars!

Dear Faith Activist,

Share the love! Sign our Valentine’s Day card to our pro-choice superstars.

These courageous champions put women’s lives and health first and have not backed down under pressure. That’s what we call love!

From National Network of Abortion Funds

Help Stop the Attack on Women's Health and Safety!

Send a message to your representative to let them know you oppose this dangerous bill!

Please send a message here: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6713/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5355.

From MoveOn.org

Stand up and oppose the dangerous GOP legislation to redefine rape.

Sign MoveOn’s message to stop rolling back the definition of rape and reproductive rights.

Stop the GOP attempt to redefine rape and set women's rights back by decades. Please Sign here: http://pol.moveon.org/smithbill/?rc=tw.

From Planned Parenthood Action Center

Stand Against the Anti-Choice Smith Bill

Representative Smith (R-NJ) introduced a bill that would penalize women who are raped and would effectively ban private insurance coverage for abortion for millions of women—even for women who have such coverage today. This bill would reverse existing protections that guarantee millions of women access to abortion coverage when their life is in danger. Most heartlessly, this cruel bill even bans federal funding for abortion in cases of rape that are not deemed “forcible.”

Send a message to your representative to reject this attack on women’s health.

Please send a message here: https://secure.ppaction.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=12474

From the Feminist Majority Foundation

Take Action Today!

The battle for equality never takes a day off. Here are some issues that demand your ongoing attention. Please take action on as many issues as you can!

• Expose Fake Clinics and End Deceptive Advertising Practices
• Increase Birth Control Access On Campus
• Demand an End to Child Marriage

Click here for details.

From Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health

Sign the Abortion Provider’s Declaration of Rights.