Archive for the ‘Planned Parenthood’ Category

Unfortunately, the slashes to Planned Parenthood’s funding at the state level don’t end with North Carolina. Wisconsin is also expected to defund Planned Parenthood, making Wisconsin the fourth state that has cut Planned Parenthood’s funding. Governor Scott Walker is expected to sign off soon on a state budget that proposes a $1 million cut to Planned Parenthood’s state funding and the elimination of funding to nine of Wisconsin’s twenty-five Planned Parenthood clinics. The nine clinics that will be closed currently provide affordable health care to approximately 1,200 uninsured women and men.

The bill came from Wisconsin’s Joint Finance Committee, which voted in May to block any state family planning to organizations that separately perform abortions or makes abortion referrals, legislation that basically singles out Planned Parenthood. While proponents of the budget argue that Title X federal family planning funds will be redirected to public health agencies that don’t perform abortions, the cuts to family planning don’t stop at Planned Parenthood.

The Joint Finance Committee also voted to drop men entirely from BadgerCare Plus, Wisconsin’s state family-planning program that is run by Medicaid. This vote was in conjunction with another that favors stricter eligibility requirements with tightened income ceilings for patients who wish to be eligible for BadgerCare. BadgerCare currently provides affordable care to over 60,000 residents of Wisconsin.

“It is greatly disturbing to me that some politicians’ personal beliefs are trumping our shared responsibility to make sure women and men have access to preventive reproductive health care, which is not only essential for their own lives, but also a cost-saver for all Wisconsin taxpayers,” said Teri Huyck, president of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin.

Despite the fact that taxpayers’ funds cannot be allocated towards abortion services (due to the Hyde Amendment), and despite the fact that available statistics document that abortion services account for approximately 3 percent of the services performed at Planned Parenthood, Senator Glenn Grotham proudly states that he would cut more funding from Planned Parenthood if he could, as the organization “promotes” abortion.

Other states that have cut funding are North Carolina, Indiana, Kansas. Tennessee is also expected to cut spending for Planned Parenthood, and more states, Texas and Oklahoma, are also considering similar legislation.

Hi, I wanted to introduce myself. I’m a new face on this blog. My name is Bethany. I’m an undergraduate student at UNC Chapel Hill and an intern at the Durham offices of Planned Parenthood this summer. I’m really excited to be working with PPCNC, and I’ll be contributing to this blog this summer. So, if you’d like to read more about a certain topic you’re interested in, respond to this and let me know.

Bethany

When the NC Legislature convened on January 26 we knew we were in for a rocky legislative session. We had our suspicions of what this session could bring but held out hope that the new majority would do as they promised and adopt a strictly “small-government-keep-your-laws-out-of-my-personal-life” philosophy while focusing on creating jobs and balancing the budget in a responsible way.

But no such luck on any of those fronts. The new majority’s attacks on teachers, public education, voting rights, working people (and pretty much any policy that creates good quality of life for middle class people) is fodder for at least a year’s worth of blog posts.

Now that the Legislature has adjourned for a brief respite prior to a special session on redistricting (and whatever else they feel like taking up) beginning July 13 now seems to be the perfect time to recap the important events with respect to anti-choice legislation and where we go from here. Starting with…

Choose Life License Plates (HB 289)

What is it? This omnibus license plates bill included a “Choose Life” special plate. These plates bear an anti-choice message and create a state sanctioned funding stream for so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” in North Carolina. The bill specifically states that the funds from the sale of the “choose life” special plate “shall not be distributed to any agency, organization, business, or other entity that provides, promotes, counsels, or refers for abortion.”

CPC’s pose as medical clinics but are actually staffed by volunteers, very rarely medical professionals and are backed by religious groups. CPC’s deny women information regarding the full range of their reproductive health options when faced with an unintended pregnancy.

What happened? In every committee and on both the House and Senate floors, amendments were introduced to remove this plate from the bill, to broaden the scope of organizations that could receive funding through the sale of this plate and to require organizations receiving the funding to post very clearly the extent of the services and referrals they offer. Each amendment was defeated. Perhaps most telling as to the real agenda of the majority, at every turn an amendment that would have incorporated a “Trust Women” or “Respect Choice” plate in the bill with funds going to Planned Parenthood was also defeated.

The bill passed the General Assembly late last week and is on the Governor’s desk awaiting further action.

“Women Know Nothing” (HB 854)

What is it? Officially titled the “Woman’s Right to Know” by bill sponsors, this bill was nicknamed “Women Know Nothing” by pro-choice legislators who were appalled by the truly impressive level of anti-choice propaganda this bill contains and its insulting implications that women are incapable of rational thought and making informed decisions.

The bill mandates state-scripted “counseling” written by politicians, not doctors, that all women must receive at least 24 hours in advance. The bill also requires a 24 hour delay for women seeking abortion care and that all women receive an ultrasound (already required by state regulation anyway) BUT that she must also listen to the technician describe her ultrasound in detail. The bill even gives a woman’s partner the right to sue the doctor if he believes that she was not provided this information. Not only is this a violation of HIIPA, there are also no exceptions (for any portion of this bill including this one) for victims of rape or incest. More of the scary details here (http://plannedpcnc.org/blog/2011/05/women-know-nothing/)

What happened? Despite very passionate and admirable efforts by our legislative champions on the House and Senate floors, this bill passed both chambers. However, proponents of this bill were not able to secure a veto-proof majority in either chamber. The bill is now awaiting action by the Governor. We anticipate that she will veto this bill.

Planned Parenthood Defunding (state budget)

What is it? A “special provision” in the NC state budget specifically prohibits Planned Parenthood from doing business with the state including entering into any government contracts and receiving any federal dollars that pass through state government.

This is an unprecedented attack as no organization has ever been singled out from doing business with the state in this manner. It is not a cost-saving measure. This will not save the state a dime. However, it will effectively shut down Planned Parenthood’s teen pregnancy prevention programs and will ultimately deny low-income women affordable preventative health care services such as cancer screenings, birth control, and STD tests and treatment. For some helpful (we hope) FAQs on this often confusing budgetary issue, check out these earlier posts: What the heck is going on? Part 1 and Part II.

What happened? The state budget passed the House and Senate earlier this month. North Carolina is one of the few states where the Governor does not have line-item veto. Governor Perdue vetoed the entire budget citing massive cuts to education. Last week, the House overrode the Governor’s veto with the support of five Democrats and all the Republicans in the chamber. The Senate (where Republicans have a veto-proof majority) also voted to override the veto thereby making the budget that included the Planned Parenthood defunding provision law.

What now? Our number one concern is our patients and continuing to provide them with the high-quality, affordable preventative care they need. We are considering all options including legal action to make sure that patient care is uninterrupted. We will continue to keep you updated as this fight continues!

And a silver lining

There were 12 anti-choice bills introduced this legislative session that we highlight in brief here. In spite of a very difficult session where the chips were stacked heavily against us, only four of these bills were actually heard and eventually passed (the one not included here is HB 215 which passed very early on). Of these four bills we anticipate at least one gubernatorial veto that will be sustained by the General Assembly and are very optimistic that our legal battle(s) will ultimately be successful.

And on that note, THANK YOU, friends of Planned Parenthood, for standing behind us! We couldn’t do this work without your support! There’s a long road ahead still to come this year but together we can make a difference and protect women’s health!

I remember well as a 15 year old young man riding with my father to pick up a girl from my school.  We were going to the movies and this was my first date ever.  I was nervous about everything; my clothes, my sweaty palms, the old Ford pick-up truck we were riding in, and I was wondering if she really liked me.  And I can still hear my father’s advice as we pulled up to her house, he said, “Treat her with respect” and that was all he said.

It was and is a very simple and very profound statement.  I wish he was still around to hand out little nuggets like that, but sadly he passed away nearly ten years ago.

As I look forward to this Father’s Day, I wish more men would have received the advice my father gave me.  I wish more men would treat women with respect, knowing that they are just as worthy and just as capable as any man.

I wish a Happy Father’s Day to all the men who get it, who know that being a good father is often about saying little, but still being sure to pass on values like treating women with respect.

For Immediate Release

June 16, 2011

Contacts:        Paige Johnson (919) 618-3899

                        Melissa Reed (919) 924-1520

Planned Parenthood in North Carolina Calls on Governor Perdue to Veto Intrusive Anti-Abortion Bill

RALEIGH-Last night in a vote of 29 to 20, the NC Senate passed legislation that would, for the first time in North Carolina’s history, impose a mandatory waiting period and state-directed counseling on women seeking abortion care. Referred to as, “The Woman’s Right to Know,” HB 854 inserts government into the exam room and confidential relationship between doctor and patient.

While proponents of this bill referred to it as “informed consent,” the reality is that informed consent is already state law. “In fact,” as Melissa Reed, Vice President of Public Policy for Planned Parenthood Health Systems said, “everything reasonable in this legislation is already required for physicians providing abortion care. On the other hand, arbitrary waiting periods for women seeking health care and state-directed counseling intended to guilt women are not law nor should they ever be law in our state.”

All women seeking abortion care would be subjected to state-mandated “counseling” with no exceptions for victims of rape or incest or even in cases where a much wanted pregnancy goes tragically wrong.

The NC Senate vote last night follows a similar vote along party lines in the NC House. The legislation now heads to Governor Bev Perdue. Planned Parenthood in North Carolina is calling on the Governor to veto this intrusive measure. “We are confident Governor Perdue will veto this bill because she knows that women are fully capable of making personal and private health care decisions without government intrusion,” said Paige Johnson, Vice President of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina.

Proponents of this measure failed in both chambers to get the votes necessary to override a gubernatorial veto.

#######

Most major newspapers across the state have editorialized against HB 854:

Wilmington Star

News and Observer

Greensboro News-Record

Winston-Salem Journal

Charlotte Observer

Durham Herald-Sun

US Senator Jon Kyle, who famously lied about Planned Parenthood on the floor of the US Senate, has some good company right here in North Carolina, NC Representative Pat McElraft.

During House debate this week on HB 854, which seeks to impose mandatory waiting periods and politician-scripted counseling on any woman in NC seeking an abortion, Rep McElraft told a story about an unintended pregnancy faced in her family.  In her emotional testimony on the house floor, she told members that her nephew and future niece were into drugs when they found out they were pregnant and went to Planned Parenthood.

“So he went with her to what she describes as a very dark house. In that very dark house, a nurse attended to her. My nephew asked the nurse if she could at least see the ultrasound, and the nurse said, ‘I can’t show you that, I’ll get fired.’” They insisted and eventually were able to see the ultrasound and choose not to have an abortion.

Turns out, her nephew and neice didn’t go to Planned Parenthood for their abortion and they weren’t even in North Carolina.  

Thank you to Rep. Alma Adams, who rebutted McElraft’s testimony in a letter to the House. Read full letter, here’s an excerpt: 

In the recitation of her story, Rep. McElraft neglected to tell the members that this story happened in the state of Georgia, not North Carolina. 

She also frequently mentioned Planned Parenthood in her story. In fact, her niece and nephew went to a Planned Parenthood in Augusta. Since they did not provide abortion care at that time, they referred her to another provider, not affiliated with Planned Parenthood in Atlanta.

Because Planned Parenthood has been continuously defamed during this session, I wanted to make sure that in Rep. McElraft’s telling of such an emotional story, that the members were not misled into believing that a Planned Parenthood facility would ever operate in such a manner.

Bravo to Rep Adams for concluding:
“Also, I think it is extremely unfortunate that Rep. McElraft would use a story that happened in another state over a decade ago to conclude that changes must be made in North Carolina in 2011.”

If you would like to contact Rep McElraft, her email is pat.mcelraft@ncleg.net and phone is 919-733-6275.

If you would like to thank Rep Adams, her email is alma.adams@ncleg.net and phone is 919-733-5902.

Many people wrongly assume that Planned Parenthood is just for women.  In reality though Planned Parenthood is here to provide sexual health care for every person regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

As the old saying goes ”it takes two to tango” and men need to get their equipment checked out just like the ladies.  If you’ve got something going on downstairs, we can help, whether it’s jock itch, a urinary tract infection, or something more serious.  We offer STD testing and treatment and screen for testicular cancer.  We offer no-scalpel vasectomy.

Man Up logo

June is a great time to talk about it because for the past 17 years June has been Men’s Health month.  According to Men’s Health Month website, the purpose of Men’s Health Month is to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys. This month gives health care providers, public policy makers, the media, and individuals an opportunity to encourage men and boys to seek regular medical advice and early treatment for disease and injury.

We’ve been working on ways to get men to “Man Up.”   We’re working in partnership with the Cumberland County health department to educate men on their role in family planning.   If you live in the Fayetteville community, you’ve probably seen our billboard campaign.   

Chris Bowen, our “Man Up” man, works closely with Planned Parenthood and the Cumberland County health department.

Chris has been able to host dorm programs at Fayetteville State University, Boys & Girls Club, and the Juvenile Detention Center. (Programs include classes on  birth control, healthy relationships, men’s health, self esteem, and HIV/AIDs & STI’s) Also he is able to table all around Cumberland County to recruit more men for the Man Up! program. May 21, 2011 was the Man Up!community event. On this day men and teen boys were able to come together and learn about men’s health, money management, and making positive choices.

Chris leads efforts to get young men talking about and taking responsibility for their sexuality and their health.  The Man Up! partnership is a great example of what Men’s Health Month is all about and a perfect example of Planned Parenthood doing its part to take care of the dudes.

You already know that these are scary time for those of us that support reproductive freedom and basic commonsense measures like preventative health care for low-income women. But did you know that the NC Legislature has actually introduced 12 anti-choice bills this session? Read about the “Dirty Dozen.”

A couple of “highlights” will sound familiar. The “special provision” to defund Planned Parenthood from the House budget was introduced in an identical form in the NC Senate budget this week. Catch up on what those shenanigans would mean here  and here. You’ll also recall HB 854– best known these days as the “Women Know Nothing” bill– that requires state-scripted “counseling” and mandatory delays for women seeking abortion care in North Carolina.

Conscientious activists that you are we know that you are just as outraged by these attacks on women’s health as we are! That’s why we’re hosting a Day of Action for Women’s Health this week, Wednesday, June 1!

No matter where you live or how much time you have there are ways you can help! Join us and Stand for Women’s Health on June 1^st and beyond!

How can I help?

1)      Volunteer to pick up the phone! We’re holding a marathon phone bank in Raleigh from 10:00am-8:00pm to get constituents across the state on the phones and calling their legislators to express their outrage that the state is prioritizing restricting access to reproductive health care rather than focusing on creating jobs and improving the economy! Do your part by signing up for a two-hour shift. Email alison.kiser@ppcentralnc.org to RSVP and for more details. Snacks, drinks and meals will be provided!

2)      Rally for Women’s Health! We’ll take a break from phone banking from 12:00-2:00pm to hold a HOT PINK demonstration in support of women’s health at the NC Legislature! Join us at 1:00pm on the Halifax Mall—that’s the grassy area behind the Legislative Building (16 W. Jones St.). We’ll provide the t-shirts and signs, all you have to do is show up! Check out a map of downtown parking here.

3)       Contact your Legislators! We’ll send out an email alert to make it easy for you to let your legislators know that their constituents want them to stand up for women’s health! Make sure you receive that email by signing up here and make sure you take action on the email you’ll receive tomorrow!

4)      Donate your status! “Like” us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ppcnc) and “follow” us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ppcnc) to donate your status in support of women’s health. Then stand in solidarity and help us get the word out by changing your profile picture in support of the Day of Action!

Yes, these are scary times but together we can make a difference! The Day of Action is tomorrow so sign-up to volunteer and tell your friends! It’s never been more important that we stand together and FIGHT!

George Orwell's 1984 cover- Penguin Publishing

Every time I go into the NC Legislature this session I am reminded of George Orwell’s 1984.   If you’re not familiar with this book, it was written in 1948 and described a dystopian future with endless war, mind control and misinformation provided by the state.  The protagonist struggles within that system and he finally begins to question Big Brother.

George Orwell’s novel, 1984, brought into everyday language terms like Orwellian, Newspeak and Big Brother, which are often used as synonyms for privacy lost to the state.    

Last week in committee hearing for HB 854, Representative Ruth Samuelson told us all that she majored in communications.  It seems fitting that a communications major would decide to call a bill that seeks to replace medical informed consent with state-scripted “counseling” and add in 28 hours of mandatory waiting as “A Woman’s Right to Know.”  They must teach courses in Newspeak in that communications department. 

 But it was young Representative Justin Burr who really took the cake by declaring the bill “pro-choice.”  Pro-choice because? 
Oh, because the woman has the choice to hear or not hear state-scripted counseling intended to shame her? NO. she has to do that. 
Oh pro-choice because she can schedule the appointment when she’s ready and it is convenient?  NO, she has to wait 24 hours after the counseling. 
Oh, pro-choice because she can.…  How exactly is this pro-choice?

Representative Bordsen rightly claimed that “from a quick read of this bill, one could draw one of two conclusions, that the bill sponsors believe that women are really stupid, and two, that women lack moral compass.” But be careful not to question it too much or you’ll be declared a “drama major” as Rep. Burr insinuated of Rep. Bordsen. 

All this reminds me of 1984’s Ministry of Love’s reeducation which the protagonist was put through to “cure” him. Thanks to Burr, Samuelson and the new majority in the NC Legislature, 2011 is feeling a lot like George Orwell’s 1984.  Their draconian measures, accompanied by newspeak, like state-scripted counseling and mandatory waiting periods as “A Woman’s Right to Know”, restricting voting rights as a way to fight the [non-existent] voter fraud problem, and major cuts to education which according to Senator Berger will lead us to smaller class sizes, leads one to question – what’s a freedom loving, pro-choice activist to do?

Sign up, Show up, Speak up, and Pay up. 

Links: Sign our petition; Show up in Raleigh; Speak up to your friends, family, neighbors; and Help Fund this fight.

Welcome back to Planned Parenthood funding—what the heck is going on?! Here is part two of your frequently asked questions in our quest to understand why any of this is happening and what kind of sense it makes to do this in North Carolina (hint: not much). Get caught up with part one.

Q. So if Planned Parenthood can’t provide affordable preventative services anymore, who will?

A. In a perfect world there would always be a good alternative for people to turn to in uncertain times like these. Unfortunately, especially for low-income people, this is not always the case. North Carolina is suffering from a provider shortage. We rank 7^th in the nation for the greatest shortage of health care providers. Public health departments across North Carolina are overwhelmed as it is and things won’t look any better with an influx of patients who are cut off from the community provider they’ve been seeing for years at Planned Parenthood. In Cumberland County (Fayetteville) there is a 10 week wait for a family planning visit. The wait extends to 12 weeks in Wake County (Raleigh) and 14 weeks in Forsyth County (Winston-Salem) just to name a few.

The bottom line is that Planned Parenthood is a trusted provider in the community and truly a safety net provider for low-income women who should have just as much right to go to their provider of choice as anyone else. This special provision threatens that basic right.

Q.  If this isn’t a cost-saving measure why do it at all?

A. The short answer is that the only people who can say for sure aren’t telling. Rep. Mike Pence who pushed the federal non-budgetary rider that this state provision mimics was very clear that his political agenda is about the fact that he does not like Planned Parenthood and the fact that about 3% of our services nationally go to providing compassionate abortion care to women.

No one is being that straight-forward in North Carolina. Rep. Nelson Dollar who is co-chair of the House Health and Human Services (HHS) Appropriations committee states over and over again that state funding is a small percentage of Planned Parenthood’s funding and that other groups are sustaining larger cuts. This in no way answers the question of why do it because this provision does not save the state a dime. In the long-run it will actually cost the state money because every dollar put into family planning services results in almost $4 in savings to the state.

Majority leader Stam is not nearly so evasive but makes even less sense when he speaks about this measure. Watch him here going on about eugenics on the House floor a practice that Planned Parenthood has never, ever participated in. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlQjC2lQKBk&feature=related

Also take note of our fantastic legislative champions standing with Planned Parenthood! So if we can believe Stam’s motivations if not his words, it seems the new majority is doing this because they don’t like Planned Parenthood, they don’t care about low-income women or teens and, maybe, just because they can. Armed with all this information we encourage you to call Speaker of the House, Thom Tillis, and ask him why his majority is pursuing this provision to defund Planned Parenthood. Let him know you support Planned Parenthood and oppose this funding ban. His office number is 919-733-3451.

Q. Let’s say this budget passes and is either a) not vetoed or b) there aren’t enough votes to sustain the Governor’s veto. What then for Planned Parenthood?

A. The bottom line is that Planned Parenthood has been around for almost 100 years. The Central NC affiliate alone is almost 30 years old. Those who would be overjoyed if Planned Parenthood shut our doors for good tomorrow will be disappointed. We aren’t going anywhere.

While these funding cuts won’t close our doors, it would make it impossible for us to provide low-income women with their preventative health care services at the affordable rate that they rely on. For example, the cost to a patient of our best-selling birth control pill would triple to $69 per month. Our teen pregnancy prevention programs which have served more than 240 teens in a county where 16 teenagers become pregnant every week would also be on the chopping block.

Ultimately, this budget provision, much like the House budget in its entirety, will end up hurting women and children. This makes it all the more important that, together, we fight this special provision as hard as we can.

Q. What can I do to help?

A. Great question! There are several steps you can take. First sign our petition to Stand with your local Planned Parenthood right here in NC!  Make sure to check the box to opt-in to receiving updates from PPCNC as this budget fight continues. Please continue to take action as we learn more!

Then, visit our funding home page to place your call to the Speaker’s office, sign-up to volunteer and make your secure donation to help us in this fight!

Thank you for your support of Planned Parenthood! We need your support now more than ever!