FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 25, 2011

Middle District Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Preventing Key Measures of Intrusive and Biased Law from Going into Effect Tomorrow; Court Says Plaintiffs ‘Are Likely to Succeed on the Merits of the First Amendment Challenge’

GREENSBORO, NC – U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles granted in part a preliminary injunction today that will block enforcement of intrusive measures in the new North Carolina law requiring abortion providers to show women an ultrasound and describe the images in detail four hours before having an abortion, even if the woman objects.

Civil liberties advocates, including the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the Middle District of North Carolina on September 29 challenging the constitutionality of the law, arguing that it violates the rights of health care providers and women seeking abortion care.

“We are extremely pleased that the court has blocked this clear attack on the fundamental rights of health care providers providing abortions in North Carolina,” said Bebe Anderson, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “The part of the law that the court blocked not only forces doctors to go against their medical judgment to deliver an ideological message to their patients, but also forces women to lie down and just take it. It’s hard to imagine a more extreme example of government intrusion into the private matters of individual citizens.”

After hearing arguments from both sides on October 17, Judge Eagles issued her order to ensure that key provisions of the law would not go into effect as scheduled on October 26 during ongoing litigation of the underlying constitutional questions. In granting the preliminary injunction, Judge Eagles concluded that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their First Amendment claims that key provisions of the law violate doctors’ free speech rights and that allowing the law to go into effect would inflict irreparable harm on health care providers.

“If the ultrasound requirements were put into effect, this law would place doctors in a murky legal situation and inflict unnecessary harm on women,” said Katy Parker, Legal Director for the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation. “The state should not be using women’s bodies as political pawns, as this law clearly seeks to do. We look forward to continuing our arguments and hope that the court sides with the rights of women and their doctors over the ideological agenda of lawmakers.”

The new law, which the North Carolina General Assembly passed in July over the veto of Governor Bev Perdue, would require abortion providers to perform an ultrasound and place the image in the woman’s line of sight. The provider would then be required to describe the embryo or fetus in detail and to offer the woman the opportunity to hear the “fetal heart tone.” While the law would allow the woman to avert her eyes and to “refuse to hear,” the provider would still be required to place the images in front of her and describe them in detail. The measure would make no exceptions for women under any circumstances, including cases of rape, incest, or those who receive a tragic diagnosis during pregnancy.

“The bottom line is, this law would prevent licensed health care providers from providing patients with the highest quality and most compassionate health care based on their individual needs,” said Melissa Reed, Vice President for Public Policy at Planned Parenthood Health Systems, Inc., one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “Today the court stood on the side of women and health care providers who are faced with personal, private and very complicated medical decisions every day.”

The court’s ruling is available online at www.acluofnc.org and www.reproductiverights.org.

Planned Parenthood of Central NC’s statement on today’s injunction:

“We are deeply gratified that the court has granted a temporary injunction to stop enforcement of key provisions of a law that treats all women seeking abortion care as if their circumstances were the same and undermines our physicians’ ability to provide care based on the individual needs of our patients.

Women rely on Planned Parenthood to provide care based on their needs, not based on the whims of politicians who oppose abortion under all circumstances. We will continue providing compassionate, high quality reproductive health care while this matter is ultimately settled in court.” 

—Janet Colm, CEO & President, Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina

I love this: What’s Your Story, Let’s Talk.   The online flipbook, which was published in conjunction with Let’s Talk Month, shares eighteen people’s stories of learning about sex and “the talk” with parents and kids.  Some of the stories will make you cringe and others will have you rolling  (check out Reshma’s story about her aunt.) 

Want to share your six answers? Put them in the comments and win a Planned Parenthood t-shirt. 

I learned about sex

Talking with my parent(s) about sexuality

Talking with my kid(s) about sexuality

My most awkard parent moment

My best parent moment

The last time I talked about sex and sexuality was

As you may know from your own experience or from what you read in What’s Your Story, parents and kids don’t always have an easy time of it when it comes to talking about sex. 

We’re Here to help!  Join us as we celebrate Let’s Talk Month by holding a FREE class for Parents called Talking with Your Teen.  Click the title for the 411 on the class.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, September 29, 2011

Health Care Providers File Lawsuit to Challenge
Demeaning and Intrusive North Carolina Ultrasound Law

Groups Say State Violates Free Speech by Forcing Doctors
To Give Patients Unwanted, Non-Essential Information

CONTACT:

• Katy Parker, Legal Director, ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation, (919) 834-3466
• Dionne Scott, Senior Press Officer, Center for Reproductive Rights, (917) 733-4357
• Melissa Reed, VP for Public Policy, Planned Parenthood Health Systems, Inc., (919) 924-1520
• Dr. Donna Burkett, Medical Director, Planned Parenthood Health Systems, Inc., (828) 231-1213

RALEIGH – The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation, Planned Parenthood Health Systems, Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina, and the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit today challenging the constitutionality of a new North Carolina law that requires abortion providers to show women an ultrasound and describe the images in detail four hours before having an abortion, even if the woman objects. The lawsuit, filed in the federal district court for the Middle District of North Carolina, alleges that the new law violates the rights of health care providers and women seeking abortions.

 “Politicians have no business forcing health care providers to push a political agenda on their patients,” said Bebe Anderson, senior counsel for the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Two courts in Oklahoma and Texas have already blocked enforcement of these kinds of ultrasound requirements because they radically intrude on women’s private lives and violate basic constitutional rights.”

The new law, which the North Carolina General Assembly passed in July over the veto of Governor Bev Perdue, requires abortion providers to perform an ultrasound and place the image in the woman’s line of sight. The provider is then required to describe the embryo or fetus in detail and to offer the woman the opportunity to hear the “fetal heart tone.” While the statute allows the woman to avert her eyes and to “refuse to listen,” the provider must still place the images in front of her and describe them in detail. The bill makes no exceptions for women in any circumstances.

“This law forces a doctor, while performing an ultrasound, to describe the embryo or fetus and put pictures in front of the woman’s face even if the woman says she doesn’t want to see them,” said Katy Parker, Legal Director for the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation. “Imagine the pain this causes a woman who is forced to end a wanted pregnancy because of a catastrophic health emergency – or the additional trauma this unnecessary requirement will cause victims of rape or incest. No doctor should be forced to put a patient through that unnecessary trauma.”

The organizations involved in bringing this legal challenge on behalf of several North Carolina physicians are the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The lawsuit asks the court to declare that the new law is unconstitutional and to issue an injunction that would prevent it from being enforced.

“We believe – and work hard to ensure – that every woman has the information she needs to make the best decision for her and her circumstances,” said Melissa Reed, Vice President for Public Policy of Planned Parenthood Health Systems. “But doctors shouldn’t be forced to subject their patients to information that they don’t want or need for the purpose of trying to shame them. This law violates the most basic principles of medical ethics.”

A copy of the complaint and relevant legal papers can be found online at www.acluofnc.org.

MEDIA ADVISORY

September 29, 2011

Health Care Providers File Lawsuit to Challenge Demeaning and Intrusive North Carolina Ultrasound Law

Groups Say State Violates Free Speech by Forcing Doctors to Give Patients Unwanted, Nonessential Information

RALEIGH- Today the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation, Planned Parenthood Health Systems, Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina, and the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a new North Carolina law that requires abortion providers to force women to undergo an ultrasound and forces doctors to describe the embryo or fetus to the women in detail prior to having an abortion, even if the woman objects. The lawsuit, filed in the federal district court for the Middle District of North Carolina, alleges that the new law violates the rights of health care providers and women seeking abortions.

The new law, which was passed by the North Carolina General Assembly despite a veto by the governor, requires that every woman, regardless of her circumstances, undergo state-directed biased counseling and endure two state-imposed waiting periods before she can have an abortion in North Carolina.

Contact: Mike Meno, office (919) 834-3466, cell phone (919) 247-5456, mmeno@acluofnc.org

If you’re on facebook, then like me, you’ve been receiving reminders of posts you did a year ago today.  Kinda cool, kinda creepy, but still kinda cool.

One I got this week reminded me of how much I love NC Rep. Rick Glazier.  Rep Glazier spoke at a fundraiser last year and said this about LGBT rights; “We”re all good enough for God, maybe one day we’ll all be good enough for each other.”

Brilliant.

We all need to remember this as the NC Legislature meets this coming week to consider the anti-LGBT Amendment.  Never mind that there’s already a law against same sex marriage, the Republicans in control can’t help themselves but to cement their bigotry by writing discrimination into the constitution.

Equality NC is fighting hard to block the amendment. Click on the amendment link to see what you can do to help fight the amendment.  And be sure to join me and hundreds of others this coming week for candlelight vigils Monday night and for  a gigantic rally on Tuesday at high noon on the State Capital grounds.

And now for something completely different…

Just kidding! Did you actually think that anti-choice legislators would take a break from their attacks on your reproductive freedoms (not to mention a side trip to deny you cancer screenings and birth control) to actually do the business of the people? How silly!

As we wrote yesterday, the House GOP hosted a press conference on Tuesday to make the case for their anti-LGBT constitutional amendment that will be debated during the General Assembly’s “special session” later this month. Not surprisingly, it was led by Representative Dale Folwell and Majority Leader Skip Stam who has become quite the familiar face on this blog. (He’s not called the “Prince of Pelvic Politics” for nothing.) Stam is now dedicating a portion of his questionable talents to bigotry and defending our state from polygamy, adult incest, and protecting “the children of the next generation.”

Not only has this Won’t Someone Think of the Children sentiment been the rallying cry against everything from rock and roll to the integration of public schools (in addition to making pretty much zero sense in this context), the American Academy of Pediatrics has said that, “There is ample evidence to show that children raised by same-gender parents fare as well as those raised by heterosexual parents.”

It’s also important to note here that same sex marriage is currently illegal in North Carolina and always has been. This proposed amendment would be placed on the 2012 general election ballot and, if passed, would write this same discrimination directly into our state’s constitution. But that’s not all. It would also prohibit any kind of civil union between same sex partners and could effectively nullify domestic partner benefits.

The goals of proponents of this amendment are two-fold. Writing discrimination into the state constitution will mean that it will be extremely difficult to ever change that language (it also can’t be vetoed) but their real aim is to secure another big win for their party in 2012. Republican Representative Mark Hilton accidentally went on the record (thanks to a live mike in a closed committee room) saying just that– this amendment is needed to help conservative groups “get their ground game working.” Meaning that this amendment is a means to an end of making sure a certain sector of the Republican Party’s base shows up to vote on Election Day.

Of course Stam and Folwell deny these ulterior motives—didn’t you believe them when they said they’re only thinking of the children? But Tuesday’s press conference did give Stam a platform to go on the record with gems like, “In countries around the world where they have legitimized same-sex marriage, marriage itself is de-legitimized. About a fourth of the world allows polygamy. Polygamy would be next.”

Stam went on to say that a philosophical argument for same-sex marriage could not be established without also accepting polygamy and “adult incest”. He may be way off base but at least we know now what Stam thinks about in his free time!

So what’s next? On September 12 the General Assembly will return for a “special session” (and spend $50,000 of taxpayer dollars a day) to consider this very issue of whether this anti-LGBT amendment should be placed on the ballot and to see if they can wrangle a budget provision that will defund Planned Parenthood’s preventative health care services in spite of a federal judge’s injunction.

If you think this is exactly what we DON’T need from our elected officials in the worst economy in 80 years, join Equality NC and other pro-equality partners (like us!) for an anti-amendment rally on Tuesday, September 13 at noon on the Halifax Mall behind the Legislative Building in Raleigh. Our friends at Equality NC have more on this important event as well as information on the candlelight vigil for those that would be impacted by this hateful amendment on September 12.

Do it for yourself, your friends, your state or—what the heck—do it for the kids. We should all grow up in a world free from this kind of hate.

All you have to do is look at today’s front-page story in the N&O to know that North Carolina faces some pretty hefty challenges.  Hurricane Irene destroyed more than 1,100 homes and damage from the storm has reached $71 million and still climbing.

The same front page details how today is the final day of a federal program to help laid-off workers pay for health insurance while looking for work. With an unemployment rate topping 10%, this news will undoubtedly make worse the situation facing so many North Carolinians.

And yet, tucked in the Triangle section, aptly under political news is the headline, “GOP pushes same-sex marriage amendment.” That’s right. According to our new legislative majority, altering our state’s Constitution to deny couples the right to make a lifelong commitment to each other is pressing business.

Majority Leader Paul “Skip” Stam and House Speaker Pro Tem Dale Folwell held a press conference yesterday in Winston-Salem where they attempted to justify why the NC General Assembly is going back for a Special Session to vote on putting marriage discrimination on the ballot in 2012.

It’s not even worth detailing all of Stam’s egregious comments filled as they were with his typical bigotries and downright lies. I mean one of his milder comments was to suggest that biology demands that we deny same-sex couples the right to marry.

Of course, we know where he’s going with this. Marriage is all about procreation so, obviously, any couple that can’t procreate should be denied the right to marry. Aside from being absurd, Stam’s comment really just betrays his usual fixation on women’s reproductive lives, which leads to the New Majority’s next pressing issue.

Last week Speaker Thom Tillis said that the legislature might once again take up the ban they imposed on Planned Parenthood receiving state and federal funds to provide basic health care.  Tillis suggested they might tinker with the language to prevent additional lawsuits. If he wants to prevent lawsuits and save taxpayer money, he should simply lift the ban.

Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina went to court because the legislature banned us from receiving state and federal funds to provide lifesaving cancer screening, birth control, treatment of STDs and teen pregnancy prevention services. Remember, this was a ban, not a cut.

We went to court to protect our patients’ right to continue to see their established health care provider at Planned Parenthood. We went to court because NC faces a shortage of providers willing to care for patients like ours—mostly low-income women and men with little or no health insurance.

We went to court because the new legislative majority would rather play politics with women’s lives than focus on today’s real pressing issues.

Unfortunately, the upcoming Special Session just promises more of the same. It will cost taxpayers roughly $50,000 a day for the legislature to debate whether citizens of North Carolina should be able to vote on people’s marriage or whether low-income women should be able to see their trusted provider for birth control.—clearly, some of today’s most pressing issues.

I can just imagine all those unemployed North Carolinians out there, all those left homeless after Hurricane Irene breathing a collective sigh of relief.

Speaker Thom Tillis pictured with his gavel "Ray" on the first day of the 2011 session. It was apparently so named for his father.

Today is Women’s Equality Day commemorating the anniversary of the 19^th amendment which granted women the right to vote in 1920.

 It’s true that we’ve come a long way since those days but I have to wonder if we haven’t come so far just to start moving backward. I watched HBO’s fascinating documentary on Gloria Steinem last week  and couldn’t help but notice many of the same battles “second wave” feminists were fighting in the 1960’s and 70’s are the same ones we’re fighting today. Reproductive freedom, access to better, higher paying jobs, equal pay for equal work, the ability to care for our families and our children without sacrificing our livelihoods… or our sanity.

If you’ve been paying attention to politics in North Carolina recently there’s no way you can ignore the fact that we are watching women’s rights moving backward. From the passage of HB 854 the “women know nothing” bill in spite of the Governor’s veto to the widening gender gap of people living in poverty in our state. no facet of women’s lives was spared this legislative session, including our access to health care. (Check out NC Policy Watch’s “Women and the Economy” series for much more.)

Judge James Beaty handed down an injunction on August 19 that barred the special provision in the state budget that defunded Planned Parenthood (and banned us from doing any business with the state) from going into effect. In these difficult times when everyone, especially women, are struggling to make ends meet and to find low-cost, quality health care, you would think that would be the end of it.

Not so. This Republican Legislature, led on the House side by Speak Thom Tillis, has their priorities and are going to stick to them, gosh darn it, no matter who it hurts (aka, women). Just last week Tillis was on the record stating that the Legislature will consider rewriting the special provision to “avoid further litigation” and maintain their desired impact (that Planned Parenthood is unable to receive funding to provide preventative care to low-income women or teen pregnancy prevention programs to at-risk teens).

Clearly Tillis and his army of ideologues refuse to accept the injunction as an indication that legislators have no business spending the state’s money playing out their personal agendas against an organization that does more to provide preventative care to women and actually prevent the need for abortion more than any other.

It’s also clear that they are not interested in the fact that many North Carolinians are struggling financially now more than ever and that the state has bigger concerns (Hurricane Irene anyone?) than how many ways we can deny women health care. And everyday the Legislature spends in session debating such topics is costing us, the taxpayers, $50,000 per day. But like I said, they have their priorities.

That’s the state we find things in this Women’s Equality Day. But now is not the time to despair. Tillis and his fellow ring-wingers may have their misguided priorities but we have never had more clarity on our own. If they believe that “rewriting” this harmful provision is going to “avoid further litigation” they have underestimated us. We will always protect our patients and their right to access affordable health care. And if they think North Carolina women are going to quietly step aside and watch our rights, livelihoods and our families trampled upon, they are sorely mistaken.

You can help us send this message loud and clear. The Legislature reconvenes September 12. Join us for a phone bank on September 8 to get voters on the phone with Thom Tillis to tell him that we will NOT back down.

RSVP alison.kiser@ppcentralnc.org in Chapel Hill or patricia.dillon@pphsinc.org in Raleigh to volunteer.

What a welcome relief and wonderful victory for our patients!

Late Friday, U.S. District Judge James A. Beaty Jr. issued a preliminary injunction against the funding ban enacted by the Republican controlled NC Legislature.

We argued that the ban is unconstitutional for four reasons;  violation of the Supremacy Clause, violation of the First Amendment,  violation of the Equal Protection Clause, and violation of the prohibition against Bills of Attainder.

“Indeed, at the hearing..counsel for the Defendant acknowledged that PPCNC had been approved for these grants prior to the passage of Section 10.19 [the funding ban] and that the funding was available to Defendant Cansler for distribution.”

The judge found that we substainally proved our likely success on all four points.  You can read the full 35 page decision by Judge Beatty, which includes references to previous relevant cases and an in-depth analysis of each point. 

One thing is clear, the court expects the state to restore Planned Parenthood’s funding immediately,  ”If Defendant Cansler takes action that is still a result of reliance on or enforcement of Section 10.19 (the ban), either explicitly or implicitly, further proceedings would be appropriate..”

As the Durham Herald Sun stated in their editorial, NC’s Poor Planning,

We are relieved, but we are also disturbed that the people drafting law in North Carolina are either so short-sighted that they couldn’t see the probable outcome of their actions or so obsessed with their position on reproductive freedom that they would rather go to court (wasting taxpayer dollars with what seems to be an unwinnable case) than focus on the biggest issues confronting the state: jobs, tax reform and how to pay for education.