The Choicest of Pro-Choice News!

Here's a copy of the latest Choice Lobby Networkks CLN. If you would like the luxury of having these sent right to your e-mail account just send a note to Amanda at choicelobby@prochoiceminnesota.org

Greetings, Choice Lobbyists!

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Feature: Outing Abortion, From Town Halls to Twitter
One of the fights of the pro-choice movement is to eliminate the shame and secrecy that surrounds abortion. In 2005, the movie “Speak Out: I Had an Abortion” was made, Feministing has hosted a community blogging page dedicated to women sharing their stories, and now a Florida woman is using twitter to take the shame out of having an abortion.

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Honoring International Women’s Day
Yesterday was International Women’s Day, celebrated in many ways including a speech by the Michelle Obama at the International Women’s Day Reception in D.C. Planned Parenthood put together this short video with the message of “Trust women for a healthier world”. Combining these two efforts and many others, legislators in Congress introduced a resolution honoring the achievements of women around the world.

In honor of this annual event, here are two international choice news snip-its:
Kenyans have been working for years to rewrite their constitution and are coming close to completion. Sadly, among many other human rights protections for women, the current version prohibits abortion.
In Spain, under the strict prior legislation, abortion was legal up until 22 weeks if the woman's life was in danger, and in the first trimester in case of rape. Now, the procedure is completely legal until the 14th week, and until the 22nd week if the mother's health is in danger or the fetus is malformed.
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Healthcare. (Need I say more?)
President Obama held his Health Care Summit to encourage Congress to pass this massive reform. Guess what? Stupak is still making noise and using abortion funding as his bargaining chip. Stupak and 11 other anti-choice democrats are holding their vote’s hostage, demanding strict anti-choice language. The bill currently upholds the Hyde Amendment, which already prohibits federal funding of abortions. To appease Stupak, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) is discussing the possibility of a separate abortion bill to be voted on in addition to the entire health care bill.

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Minnesota Choice News
An abortion provider from Minnesota helps provide abortion services to the women of South Dakota.
Senator Al Franken has been making a name for himself in Congress by supporting women’s rights day in and day out.
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Choice News Around the Nation
The Arizona Senate passed bills that would ban the use of taxpayer money for abortion insurance, require the disclosure of the health risks associated with donating a human egg, and penalize the destruction of human embryos in non-therapeutic research.
In Idaho, new legislation seeks to extend “freedom of conscience” to pharmacists and other health care workers.
A Nebraska bill seeks to ban most late-term abortions based on the argument that fetuses feel pain.