Dr. Tiller's murder a year ago on May 31 was a staggering reminder of the dangers abortion providers, their staff, and patients face every day. Taunts, harassment, and threats of physical violence are a reality for those who provide women's reproductive-health care.
It's terrifying. And it's unacceptable. That's why today, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) honored Dr. Tiller's memory by speaking out against clinic violence from the floor.
Tell Majority Leader Reid "thank you" for honoring Dr. Tiller's legacy.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Choice News May 28th 2010
Supreme Court Watch
Memos from Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's clerkship with Justice Thurgood Marshall express concern that a conservative court would be a detriment to women's rights.
Stateside
Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry vetoed a bill that would have banned insurance coverage for abortion except under limited circumstances in the new insurance exchanges. This is the fourth veto Gov. Henry has issued on abortion-related legislation this year; the last three vetoes were overridden by the Republican-controlled legislature.
Contraception
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the oral contraceptive pill is the most popular form of birth control worldwide.
A report from the CDC also found that women and their male partners are increasingly using male condoms when they have sex for the first time. This trend may explain the decline in the teenage birth rate over the past few decades.
Time Magazine reports that emergency contraception (also known as the morning-after pill) is gaining in popularity among urban India's increasingly educated women.
Other News of Note
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof calls the Catholic Church's excommunication of a nun who was part of a hospital's ethics committee that voted to allow a woman to have a life-saving abortion "morally obtuse."
Writing for the Nation, Lynn Harris reports on the disturbing trend of reproductive coercion, when a man tries to force his female partner to become pregnant as a means of control. Harris argues that addressing this kind of intimate partner violence must be a part of the strategy for reducing teen pregnancy rates.
Teen pregnancy rates in Canada have dropped by 37% over the last decade. Researchers point to sexual health education and increased access to birth control as part of the reason for the decline.
In response to public outcry, the American Academy of Pediatrics has pulled back from its recommendation, issued last month, that doctors be given permission to perform a ceremonial pinprick or nick on girls if it would prevent their families from sending them abroad for female genital mutilation.
Memos from Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's clerkship with Justice Thurgood Marshall express concern that a conservative court would be a detriment to women's rights.
Stateside
Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry vetoed a bill that would have banned insurance coverage for abortion except under limited circumstances in the new insurance exchanges. This is the fourth veto Gov. Henry has issued on abortion-related legislation this year; the last three vetoes were overridden by the Republican-controlled legislature.
Contraception
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the oral contraceptive pill is the most popular form of birth control worldwide.
A report from the CDC also found that women and their male partners are increasingly using male condoms when they have sex for the first time. This trend may explain the decline in the teenage birth rate over the past few decades.
Time Magazine reports that emergency contraception (also known as the morning-after pill) is gaining in popularity among urban India's increasingly educated women.
Other News of Note
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof calls the Catholic Church's excommunication of a nun who was part of a hospital's ethics committee that voted to allow a woman to have a life-saving abortion "morally obtuse."
Writing for the Nation, Lynn Harris reports on the disturbing trend of reproductive coercion, when a man tries to force his female partner to become pregnant as a means of control. Harris argues that addressing this kind of intimate partner violence must be a part of the strategy for reducing teen pregnancy rates.
Teen pregnancy rates in Canada have dropped by 37% over the last decade. Researchers point to sexual health education and increased access to birth control as part of the reason for the decline.
In response to public outcry, the American Academy of Pediatrics has pulled back from its recommendation, issued last month, that doctors be given permission to perform a ceremonial pinprick or nick on girls if it would prevent their families from sending them abroad for female genital mutilation.
Senate Committee Votes to Repeal Discriminatory Abortion Ban Targeting Military Women
Washington, DC - Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, called a Senate committee’s vote to lift a ban on abortion services for military women an important step forward for women’s freedom and privacy.
Late Thursday members of the Senate Armed Services Committee approved an amendment offered by Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) to repeal a law that forbids servicewomen and female military dependents from using their own money for abortion services at overseas military hospitals.
This repeal does not mean the Department of Defense would have to pay for abortion services. It would simply lift the current ban on privately funded abortion care at U.S. military facilities overseas.
"We commend the committee for moving forward to end a policy that denies health-care options to women serving in the military, even when they use their own money," Keenan said. "Women in the military should have access to the same quality care available to women in our country. Signing up to serve in the armed forces shouldn’t cause women to lose health-care options if they’re stationed overseas. We look forward to working with our allies in the Senate to protect this progress when the bill goes to the full Senate."
Keenan also said that, according to the Pentagon, the number of reported sexual assaults in the military increased significantly over the past few years. The most recent data indicate that the trend may be leveling off. However, sexual assaults in the military remain a major cause for concern, thus underscoring the need for women in the military to have access to a full range of reproductive-health services.
For more information on this topic, you may find our fact sheet at ProChoiceAmerica.org.
Late Thursday members of the Senate Armed Services Committee approved an amendment offered by Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) to repeal a law that forbids servicewomen and female military dependents from using their own money for abortion services at overseas military hospitals.
This repeal does not mean the Department of Defense would have to pay for abortion services. It would simply lift the current ban on privately funded abortion care at U.S. military facilities overseas.
"We commend the committee for moving forward to end a policy that denies health-care options to women serving in the military, even when they use their own money," Keenan said. "Women in the military should have access to the same quality care available to women in our country. Signing up to serve in the armed forces shouldn’t cause women to lose health-care options if they’re stationed overseas. We look forward to working with our allies in the Senate to protect this progress when the bill goes to the full Senate."
Keenan also said that, according to the Pentagon, the number of reported sexual assaults in the military increased significantly over the past few years. The most recent data indicate that the trend may be leveling off. However, sexual assaults in the military remain a major cause for concern, thus underscoring the need for women in the military to have access to a full range of reproductive-health services.
For more information on this topic, you may find our fact sheet at ProChoiceAmerica.org.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Choice News May 26th edition
Supreme Court Watch
A large anti-choice group, Americans United for Life, is seeking a delay in the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan in order to provide the Clinton library time to find and make public her key writings while she was a White House lawyer, and later a domestic policy aide.
2010 Elections
Anti-choice Dino Rossi, who failed to unseat Gov. Gregoire twice, is expected to announce his candidacy this week against pro-choice U.S. Senator Patty Murray.
The stranger reports on Rossi's history of avoidance when it comes to discussing his stance on reproductive rights and choice.
The Los Angeles Times reports that GOP Senate candidate Tom Campbell from California is facing opposition in seeking his party's nomination because of his more moderate social policy views.
Stateside
Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry on Saturday vetoed a bill that would have required women to provide personal information, including answering questions about their relationships, before getting an abortion.
However, the Oklahoma state House voted Monday to override the veto, and an override vote is expected in the Senate this week as well.
RH Reality Check reports on the anti-choice legislation passed in the Missouri state Legislature this session.
Legislators in Kansas have put a line item into the state budget reallocating $2.4 million in federal family-planning funding to hospitals and primary or preventative care clinics. This would leave any reproductive health-specific organizations like Planned Parenthood without state funding.
A limited service pregnancy center (often referred to as a "crisis pregnancy center") in Montgomery County, MD is suing the County over the recent Baltimore ordinance that requires the centers to post signs that disclose that they do not provide abortion care or abortion referrals.
Other News of Note
Publicola reported on our Power of Choice Luncheon yesterday, where we gave Publicola News Editor Erica Barnett a Power of Choice Award. Publicola also covered the audible hissing from the audience when anti-choice U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert was mentioned in a speech at the luncheon.
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan writes a piece for the Huffington Post in remembrance of Dr. George Tiller, a late-term abortion provider who was murdered a year ago this week.
A principal at a school in Norfolk, VA is under investigation after dolls depicting fetuses were given to students.
BBC News reports that statistics indicate that the abortion rate in the UK is declining, but experts caution that it is still too early to say there is a downward trend.
A large anti-choice group, Americans United for Life, is seeking a delay in the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan in order to provide the Clinton library time to find and make public her key writings while she was a White House lawyer, and later a domestic policy aide.
2010 Elections
Anti-choice Dino Rossi, who failed to unseat Gov. Gregoire twice, is expected to announce his candidacy this week against pro-choice U.S. Senator Patty Murray.
The stranger reports on Rossi's history of avoidance when it comes to discussing his stance on reproductive rights and choice.
The Los Angeles Times reports that GOP Senate candidate Tom Campbell from California is facing opposition in seeking his party's nomination because of his more moderate social policy views.
Stateside
Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry on Saturday vetoed a bill that would have required women to provide personal information, including answering questions about their relationships, before getting an abortion.
However, the Oklahoma state House voted Monday to override the veto, and an override vote is expected in the Senate this week as well.
RH Reality Check reports on the anti-choice legislation passed in the Missouri state Legislature this session.
Legislators in Kansas have put a line item into the state budget reallocating $2.4 million in federal family-planning funding to hospitals and primary or preventative care clinics. This would leave any reproductive health-specific organizations like Planned Parenthood without state funding.
A limited service pregnancy center (often referred to as a "crisis pregnancy center") in Montgomery County, MD is suing the County over the recent Baltimore ordinance that requires the centers to post signs that disclose that they do not provide abortion care or abortion referrals.
Other News of Note
Publicola reported on our Power of Choice Luncheon yesterday, where we gave Publicola News Editor Erica Barnett a Power of Choice Award. Publicola also covered the audible hissing from the audience when anti-choice U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert was mentioned in a speech at the luncheon.
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan writes a piece for the Huffington Post in remembrance of Dr. George Tiller, a late-term abortion provider who was murdered a year ago this week.
A principal at a school in Norfolk, VA is under investigation after dolls depicting fetuses were given to students.
BBC News reports that statistics indicate that the abortion rate in the UK is declining, but experts caution that it is still too early to say there is a downward trend.
Monday, May 24, 2010
One Year Later: Honoring Dr. George Tiller
Nancy Keenan, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, published the following blog post on the Huffington Post titled, "One Year Later: Honoring Dr. George Tiller." The one-year anniversary of his murder is next Monday, May 31.
And here is a snippet:
We are days away from marking the one-year anniversary of the Sunday morning Scott Roeder walked into Dr. George Tiller's church in Kansas and shot him at close range.
After his murder, many women and men came to our blog to express their appreciation for what Dr. Tiller had done for their sisters, wives, relatives, and friends. Many of these women had found themselves in desperate and heart-breaking circumstances and turned to Dr. Tiller in their time of need.
Karen from Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania gives us one example of what Dr. Tiller meant to women:
Dr. Tiller, you saved my niece Jeanette's life, you helped our family through one of the darkest, most desperate and unthinkable moments we ever experienced. When we thought there was no where to turn, there you were. I called you the 'Wizard', because of the incredible journey we had taken to find you, in Kansas. You are, and will always be my Hero.
It makes me angry when I think about how Roeder sat through his trial without showing any remorse for his actions. He reached new lows of callousness and disrespect for the Tiller family and for families like Karen's. It's equally infuriating that the same people who spent years harassing Dr. Tiller and his patients outside his health center showed no remorse. They rejected the notion that their pattern of inflammatory rhetoric could lead to violence by the more extreme elements of their own anti-choice movement.
Here is the link to the full piece: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-keenan/one-year-later-honoring-d_b_587040.html
And here is a snippet:
We are days away from marking the one-year anniversary of the Sunday morning Scott Roeder walked into Dr. George Tiller's church in Kansas and shot him at close range.
After his murder, many women and men came to our blog to express their appreciation for what Dr. Tiller had done for their sisters, wives, relatives, and friends. Many of these women had found themselves in desperate and heart-breaking circumstances and turned to Dr. Tiller in their time of need.
Karen from Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania gives us one example of what Dr. Tiller meant to women:
Dr. Tiller, you saved my niece Jeanette's life, you helped our family through one of the darkest, most desperate and unthinkable moments we ever experienced. When we thought there was no where to turn, there you were. I called you the 'Wizard', because of the incredible journey we had taken to find you, in Kansas. You are, and will always be my Hero.
It makes me angry when I think about how Roeder sat through his trial without showing any remorse for his actions. He reached new lows of callousness and disrespect for the Tiller family and for families like Karen's. It's equally infuriating that the same people who spent years harassing Dr. Tiller and his patients outside his health center showed no remorse. They rejected the notion that their pattern of inflammatory rhetoric could lead to violence by the more extreme elements of their own anti-choice movement.
Here is the link to the full piece: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-keenan/one-year-later-honoring-d_b_587040.html
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Choice News, May 20th 2010
Supreme Court Watch
Womens E-news reports on how the midterm elections could potentially affect the confirmation process for nominee Elena Kagan.
Elections 2010
A signature drive began yesterday to get Initiative 1098, the high earners income tax, on the November ballot. It would be the first tax reform measure to be on the ballot in 40 years.
Stateside
RH Reality Check provides more commentary on the anti-choice bill passed by the Louisiana state Legislature on Tuesday to mandate an ultrasound for all women before they can receive abortion care.
Pro-choice advocates in Kansas are urging Governor Mark Parkinson to veto an anti-choice bill that would prevent the state from paying Planned Parenthood to provide services to low-income residents. Gov. Parkinson vetoed a similar bill last year.
Other News of Note
A controversial new television advertisement will begin airing next week in the UK, and is designed to provide women with information on abortion and other related services.
New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Nicholas Kristof writes about the negative effects from the unavailability of birth control in many poor countries.
RH Reality Check reports on the negative impact that the new immigration law in Arizona is having on women and their children.
Womens E-news reports on how the midterm elections could potentially affect the confirmation process for nominee Elena Kagan.
Elections 2010
A signature drive began yesterday to get Initiative 1098, the high earners income tax, on the November ballot. It would be the first tax reform measure to be on the ballot in 40 years.
Stateside
RH Reality Check provides more commentary on the anti-choice bill passed by the Louisiana state Legislature on Tuesday to mandate an ultrasound for all women before they can receive abortion care.
Pro-choice advocates in Kansas are urging Governor Mark Parkinson to veto an anti-choice bill that would prevent the state from paying Planned Parenthood to provide services to low-income residents. Gov. Parkinson vetoed a similar bill last year.
Other News of Note
A controversial new television advertisement will begin airing next week in the UK, and is designed to provide women with information on abortion and other related services.
New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Nicholas Kristof writes about the negative effects from the unavailability of birth control in many poor countries.
RH Reality Check reports on the negative impact that the new immigration law in Arizona is having on women and their children.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Choice News, May 19th 2010
Supreme Court Watch
The confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan will begin on June 28 and will conclude before the July 4th recess.
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee asking that committee members press Solicitor General Kagan on her views on abortion rights.
Stateside
The Louisiana Senate passed a bill requiring women seeking an abortion to first undergo an ultrasound. The measure is now headed to the House, where it is expected to pass.
The Louisiana House rejected a bill that would have required schools to teach comprehensive sex education.
Other News of Note
Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), an advocate of abstinence outside of marriage, resigned after admitting that he has been having an affair with one of his staffers.
Elle Magazine looks at efforts to increase men's legal rights in cases where their partner becomes pregnant and the two disagree on whether to have an abortion or carry the pregnancy to term.
The confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan will begin on June 28 and will conclude before the July 4th recess.
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee asking that committee members press Solicitor General Kagan on her views on abortion rights.
Stateside
The Louisiana Senate passed a bill requiring women seeking an abortion to first undergo an ultrasound. The measure is now headed to the House, where it is expected to pass.
The Louisiana House rejected a bill that would have required schools to teach comprehensive sex education.
Other News of Note
Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), an advocate of abstinence outside of marriage, resigned after admitting that he has been having an affair with one of his staffers.
Elle Magazine looks at efforts to increase men's legal rights in cases where their partner becomes pregnant and the two disagree on whether to have an abortion or carry the pregnancy to term.
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