Posts Tagged ‘planned parenthood’

By now, you’ve likely heard about the Apex Town Council’s January 19^th decision to strip abortion coverage from their town employees’ health plan.

What you may not have heard about was their follow up meeting last week.

The Apex vote in January was unanimous because Mayor Keith Weatherly presented it as settled legal matter. (Check out our previous post for background on Mayor Weatherly.)

Of course, the truth came out immediately following the vote.  Within days, lawyers from the ACLU, the NC League of Municipalities and the NC Association of County Commissioners all issued statements or opinions defending a county or town’s authority to determine which benefits are appropriate for their employees.

As soon as Apex Town Council Member Bill Jensen found out the issue was driven by politics rather than settled law, he called on the Apex Town Council to take it up again. Last week at their February meeting, Councilman Jensen moved to have abortion coverage placed on the agenda. The lone Democrat couldn’t get a second to his motion. Not a single other Apex Town Council member had the courage to debate the merits of taking comprehensive healthcare coverage away from town employees.  

During the meeting, Mayor Weatherly admitted publicly that Apex has the authority to provide abortion coverage to its employees. He also admitted it was a moral issue rather than a legal one.

The truth is the Apex decision was purely political.

Mayor Keith Weatherly is the legislative assistant to NC Representative Paul Stam who filed the original court case being trotted out as the rationale for denying women reproductive health coverage.

Back in the late 80s when Stam first served in the NC House, he was referred to as the “prince of pelvic politics” because of his relentless crusade against reproductive freedom.

When Mayor Weatherly told the Town Council this was a legal decision, he must have known he had the backing of Apex Town Attorney Hank Fordham–Paul Stam’s law partner.

It would be bad enough if the small town politics of Apex were confined to Apex. But since the Apex vote, several counties have moved to deny their employees abortion coverage because they fell for the settled law ruse.

It’s hard to believe its 2010 when an all-male town council led by a politically-connected mayor can deny thousands of women reproductive health coverage and get away with it. It’s hard to believe but it’s happening right here in North Carolina.  Please help us fight back.

We’ve written twice about the anti-choice ad that CBS will air during Sunday’s Super Bowl that is being bankrolled by the ultra-conservative evangelical organization, Focus on the Family. The ad will feature University of Florida player Tim Tebow and his mom, Pam. If you’ve managed to miss the background on the controversy so far, get caught up here and here.

It’s too bad that so many people are missing the point when it comes to the content of this ad and the difficult situation that Pam Tebow found herself in. In fact, her story is a powerful one, and it rests on the fact that a woman, Pam Tebow, made an important personal and medical decision on her own, after receiving counsel from medical professionals. She made the right decision for herself and her family.

The Tebows’ story is compelling, and central to it is the fact that we must respect the ability of each woman to make important medical decisions for herself and her family.  Fortunately, this point has not been lost on everyone.

This week, a powerful video produced by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America was release on Youtube featuring college and pro football player, Sean James, and Olympic Gold Medalist, Al Joyner.

I consider this a “must-see” because it’s just so powerful to hear these two amazing athletes talk about the world they want to see for their daughters. That world is a place where everyone’s decisions are respected and where everyone believes that (to quote Sean James) “women are strong and wise” and that “only women can make the best decisions about their health and their future.” Am I the only one tearing up?

In a just a little over a minute James and Joyner really sum up the major reasons that so many of us are pro-choice. When (or if) you see the Tim Tebow ad this Super Bowl Sunday just think back to this video and remember that Pam Tebow had the ability to make the best decision for her and her family… and so too should the rest of us.

In other news, I think the Saints have won over my support in this Super Bowl. Not being a big sports fan, here’s why.

The Apex Town Council unanimously decided to eliminate insurance coverage for abortion from all town employees’ Blue Cross Blue Shield benefit plans. The change went into effect yesterday.

If you’ve been paying attention to any discussion around Health Care Reform at the federal level recently (Change Fail post), you won’t be surprised to learn that media coverage and comments from public officials have made it painfully clear that this is about far more than what benefits are or are not in a particular health insurance plan.

The politicization of women’s personal reproductive lives definitely didn’t stop with Stupak and  now we have found it at our own back door.

Media coverage of the issue thus far points very directly to the problems. WRAL’s sensationalized coverage could have you thinking the Apex employee’s health insurance plan was covering illegal drug use rather than a safe and legal medial procedure. Meanwhile, the story in the Cary News quotes Councilman Mike Jones saying very candidly that the underlying issue for him is the moral issue of abortion. (emphasis mine)

I’m not sure at what point our society decided that it was okay for one elected official’s moral beliefs to be the deciding factor in what an entire group of people (*ahem* women) can or cannot have access to. What’s next? Fertility treatment? Birth control? How about (as Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said so astutely) erectile dysfunction medication and vasectomy coverage?

The fact is that elected officials shouldn’t be able to cherry pick what reproductive health care coverage they’re okay with and what they’re not and force those decisions and the beliefs that motivated them on everyone else. Abortion care is basic reproductive health care for women and 87% of insurance plans currently cover abortion care. The reason for this is simple (allow me to repeat): Abortion is a safe and legal medical procedure. In fact, it is a procedure that one out of every three women will experience in her lifetime.

Unfortunately, politically motivated single-issue attacks like this one have a tendency to snowball and it’s looking like Wake County employees’ benefits could be up next on the chopping block when the County Commissioners meet later in the month. We know you’ll want to help so plans are in the making! Stay tuned to facebook.com/ppcnc and twitter.com/ppcnc to find out how you can be part of the campaign to protect women’s health in your community!

In the midst of holiday travels and last-minute gift buying it was easy to miss the latest devastating blow to women’s health in the US Senate. It came late the Saturday before Christmas when the “Nelson Check Provision” was added to the Senate version of the Health Care Reform bill.

You’ll remember Senator Ben Nelson (D- Nebraska) from his sponsorship of the anti-choice amendment to the Senate bill that contained the same restrictive abortion language as the Stupak Amendment in the House. Nelson’s amendment failed to pass the Senate but that did not stop him from continuing his quest to litigate abortion and restrict reproductive health care access in the Health Care Reform bill.

Nelson basically held his Democratic colleagues hostage for several weeks of December refusing to complete the 60 vote filibuster-proof majority unless restrictive and damaging abortion language was added to the health care bill. In the end, Senate leadership was forced to agree to his demands given the choice between passing a bill or not.

Nelson ended up with fiscal perks for the state of Nebraska written into the bill (the tab will be picked up by the tax-payers of the 49 other states) asa well as what he wanted all along—a provision that creates an unworkable system for women seeking to have abortion care included as part of their health care coverage.

The “Nelson Abortion Check Provision” effectively creates an abortion rider system because individuals purchasing their health care coverage will be forced to write two premiums checks—one for their abortion coverage and one for everything else. This includes coverage of any abortion that is medically necessary. If you want abortion coverage, the Nelson provision requires you pay for it separately from all other components of your health care coverage.

It’s not hard to envision how this will end up playing out. First, women will not choose plans that include abortion coverage because they have to pay for that coverage separately and who plans an unplanned pregnancy? Second, the complicated system the Nelson provision puts in place will create such an administrative burden for insurances that it is likely that many of them will stop offering abortion coverage at all.

So where does this leave us? The Nelson provision goes way beyond any restrictions in the current insurance marketplace today and imposes significant obstacles for women attempting to access comprehensive reproductive health care coverage.

Due to the unworkable and system set up by the Nelson provision and the fact that the Stupak Amendment that passed in House bill is even more restrictive of abortion coverage, Planned Parenthood has been forced to oppose the Health Care Reform bill currently under consideration.

In spite of all the blows women’s health has taken over the past two months, there is still hope that Congressional leaders can find a more workable compromise in the final bill that will come out of conference committee early next year. Please contact Senator Kay Hagan at (202) 224-6342 and ask her to let Senate leadership know that she does NOT want restrictive abortion language in the final bill and that she will vote for reform without it included. While you’re at it, contact your US Congress member and deliver the same message! You can find out who represents you by entering your zip code here: http://www.house.gov/zip/ZIP2Rep.html

It’s easy to get distracted by the fights and struggles that take place within our country. It’s logical, really… after all, the effort to pass or block laws that help or hurt Americans are the ones that most obviously impact our lives. And so it’s easy to forget, with our limited time and energy, that people in other countries can have it much worse. I was recently reminded of this by news of a proposed law in Uganda that’s expected to pass soon. The bill’s title? The “Anti-Homosexual Bill.” The bill would do several things. First, it states that anyone who is aware of a gay man and fails to report him to the authorities can face a prison term of three years. Second, it makes it a crime to speak in defense of gays and lesbians in public, with the penalty being a jail term of seven years. Finally, it proscribes a punishment to gay men who are HIV positive and men who are found to be “repeat offenders” of acting on the gay: the death penalty.

Yep. Uganda is proposing to put to death people with HIV and gays, simply because they have HIV or are gay. Again, this legislation is expected to pass.

Now, what does this have to do with hypocrisy in the pro-life movement? Well…

A religious fundamentalist organization called the Family (aka the Fellowship) has been in the news a bit lately. If you’ve never heard of it, you’re not alone… the Family generally tries to keep itself under wraps. Among its current and former members are dozens of high ranking government officials, including Senators, Representatives, military brass, and yes… even Presidents. (Some current members of the family, such as Rep. Heath Shuler of NC, even live at one of the Family’s buildings.)

In case you haven’t guessed yet, the Family has been a huge supporter of the current president of Uganda (a strong proponent of the legislation), funneling money and other resources to the government. The writer of the Anti-Homosexual Bill is even rumored to be a member of the Family. In other words, these powerful politicians in Washington are both directly and indirectly helping to pass a bill in Uganda that seeks to execute gays and lesbians.

So who are the members of the Family? Perhaps surprisingly, it’s not just comprised of evangelical Republicans. Several Democrats are members, including the aforementioned Shuler, Rep. Michael Doyle (D-PA), and the now-infamous Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI). Perhaps unsurprisingly, members tend to be virulently anti-choice.

Because I don’t wish to bore you by running through every member of the Family, I’m just going to focus on two. Two men who have achieved fairly prominent political careers, in part by dialing up the anti-choice, “pro-life,” rhetoric… and who are helping to pass a bill to murder people because of HIV status and because of who they love. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), often called the most conservative member of the Senate, has been an outspoken critic of abortion rights. Earlier this year, on the 36th anniversary of Roe v Wade, he had this to say:”Each year on this day, hundreds of thousands of Americans who support the sanctity of life gather to fight for a culture of life in America.” DeMint values the sanctity of life so much that he thinks people should be put to death because of who they are. If that’s not placing a premium on the value of life, I’m not sure what is.

And then there’s Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), who unsuccessfully tried to secure the 2008 Republican nomination for President. During the campaign, he lambasted Mitt Romney for refusing to call abortion murder. Well, in my admittedly biased opinion, people can argue for decades over whether abortion is murder, Senator Brownback… but you know what is murder? MURDER, you $%#$!.

Again, some of you may feel like I’m being unfair on some of these politicians. Just because they belong to a group doesn’t mean they support everything the group does… and yes. I admit that. But this isn’t some small thing… we’re talking about exterminating of people because of who they are (not to mention further marginalizing, and pushing underground, people with HIV/AIDS… a troubling situation for a country where HIV/AIDS rates appear to be rising). And if any of these men really valued life as much as they claim to, they’d speak out. They’d have to.

But none of them are, which can only lead me to conclude that it’s just an act, a sham. These men don’t really value life. They value rhetoric. They value divisiveness and incitement. These are some of the heroes of the anti-choice movement… and they can’t even come close to believing what they espouse.

I mean, if you’re going to place a premium on the value of life, do it. Don’t just talk about it. Do it. I may not agree with everything you’d stand for, but at least I could respect you. But for these men, it won’t happen… because it’s not politically expedient for them. I find it somewhat ironic that pro-choicers, who are so often labeled murderers or are said to have a complete disregard for life… they’re the ones who seem to care most about it. Who seem to care most about the safety, the treatment, and the well-being of fellow humans. Who don’t use incendiary language to incite violence against others. And who don’t completely disregard the supposed beliefs that are most important to them in a cynical ploy to divide people and garner support.

And they call pro-choicers the immoral ones.

What do you think? Any more examples of overt hypocrisy within the anti-choice crowd? Share in the comments!

The day was a long one but very rewarding. The group of NC activists met with Congressmen Butterfield, Price, and Kissell. A contingency of brave activists even took on a drop-by meeting at Senator Burr’s office! Our activists also had the opportunity to take part in a noon rally that included 14 members of Congress who spoke. The rally grew so large that a group of 200 people had to be moved into an overflow room!

The day also included a very important meeting with Congressman Etheridge’s staff who represents part of Fayetteville and voted in favor of the Stupak amendment. We had six of the Congressman’s constituents in the room at this meeting all who shared their perspectives and stories in a very moving and poignant way.

Cecile Richards and Planned Parenthood citizen lobbyists meet with Senator Kay Hagan

Throughout the day there was a remarkable energy that could be felt on Capitol Hill. Everywhere you turned, there was a group of people wearing their hot pink t-shirts and Stop Stupak stickers. Our group was especially rewarded by the comments we received from security guards, cafeteria staff, and professional lobbyists who recognized our cause us and thanked us for our efforts.

We finished off the day with an exciting meeting of all 40 North Carolinians with Senator Kay Hagan. We were fortunate to also be joined by PPFA President, Cecile Richards. Both Cecile and Senator Hagan lauded NC’s amazing turnout on the Hill and Senator Hagan reaffirmed her commitment to protect women’s health care services in the health care reform debate.

I know that, while writing some of these posts, I can get a bit repetitive in some of my thoughts. You’ll see me talk a great deal about how opponents of reproductive and other rights have a tendency to make stuff up and pass it off as the truth. I have a bad habit of reading far right-wing websites and so I can sometimes fixate on the activities of the more “out there” (to use the best euphemism I can) members of society. But what probably bothers me the most, what infuriates me every time, is hypocrisy. And unfortunately for me (and my blood pressure), it often seems that politicians most opposed to issues I care deeply about are the most hypocritical.

Take, for example, Mike Huckabee. Huckabee (former governor of Arkansas and Republican Presidential hopeful, current Fox “News” host) recently spoke at a pro-life banquet at Purdue University in Indiana. In front of over 650 attendees, Huckabee said the following:

“We cannot allow our country to get to the point where we decide that one life is expendable and another is valuable. We need to recognize the worth of all human beings, not only in politics, but in culture.”

This sounds innocuous enough, as it’s fairly standard rhetoric. It’s an argument that one could hear from just about any member of the anti-choice crowd. But Huckabee’s famous enough that many of his other comments are in the public sphere and, as we’ll see, it’s fairly easy to ascertain that Mike Huckabee doesn’t recognize the worth of all humans… just the ones he can manipulate for political advantages.

Shortly after Barack Obama’s election, Huckabee went on the televised battle royale known as The View. While there, he talked about the significance of America’s first black president and was questioned about his stance on LGBT rights (the video from the link’s been disabled, but the article has the transcript of the appearance, plus a brilliant deconstruction of what Huckabee’s really saying between the lines). In a nutshell, Huckabee basically states that he doesn’t believe that LGBT rights is a civil rights issue and that, because of this fact, laws shouldn’t be passed to protect LGBT citizens. His rationale for this belief? The fact that not enough gays have been beaten or killed. Yes, seriously.

In other words, in Huckabee’s eyes, for LGBT Americans to be worthy of equal protection under the law, more of them need to be hate crimed (on a side note, I’ve often wondered what the magic number of beatings/killings is to reach civil rights status. Huckabee’s never explicitly stated). That doesn’t really jibe with the whole “respecting the worth of all humans” belief, does it? After all, it seems that if gays are to meet Huckabee’s litmus test for civil rights, more need to die tragically… which indicates that Huckabee does, in fact, find some lives worthy of being sacrificed.

And this is the rub with the anti-choice crowd. They tend to go on and on about the sanctity of life, the worth of every life, of the unborn… but it’s only talk. In reality, it masks what’s really at stake: an attempt to impose a supposed level of morality on others. Anti-choicers like Huckabee don’t have any interest in the sanctity of human life. If they did, they would actively fight to protect every human being… gay, straight… African-American, white… Christian, Muslim… from harm. But they don’t even come close. Instead, it’s just about making others believe what they do… and even worse, it’s about controlling the decisions of others through rhetoric, deception, and a false sense of morality.

Now, some of you may be thinking that I’m being a little too hard on Huckabee or that I’m unfairly jumping to conclusions. But honestly… I don’t see how you can have it both ways. You either mean what you say… or you don’t. And it seems pretty clear that Huckabee just doesn’t.

Sadly, Huckabee’s just the tip of the hypocrisy iceberg. Because, as you’ll see in the second half of my posting (Galling Pro-”Life” Hypocrites II: Electric Boogaloo)… things can get much, much worse.

Health care reform is about expanding access to health care—not taking coverage away.    Our CEO, Janet Colm, had an oped “Healthcare reform without abortion coverage is unfair”  published in the Durham Herald.  Here’s an excerpt:

The Stupak Ban is not about public funding for abortion. It’s certainly not about improving health care for women or any other group. It is about undermining women’s reproductive health care options in order to push a broader anti-choice agenda.

We are doing everything in our power to ensure that the Stupak Amendment does not make it into the final bill. But we can’t do it without your help.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

SIGN THE PETITION
If there has ever been a petition to sign, this is the one. Please sign Planned Parenthood’s petition asking President Obama, Majority Leader Reid, and Speaker Pelosi to make sure that this insidious amendment does not make it into the final health care reform bill.

When you’re done signing, please use the “tell-a-friend tool” to ask 10 of your friends to join you in signing.

FACEBOOK
Donate your facebook status to the cause. Use the following message:

Health care reform is about expanding access to health care—not taking coverage away. If you agree, please join me in signing the petition to make sure that the Stupak Amendment does not make it into the final health care reform bill. Then copy this message and donate your status to the cause. http://tinyurl.com/ykco9zo
 

TWITTER
Share this post on twitter. Use the following message:

I’m doing my part to STOP STUPAK—are you? http://tinyurl.com/ykco9zo
 #stopstupak

Thank you for your support.

Check out this excellent video put together by Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota.

Getting Lucky night out in Chapel Hill

The UNC VOX (Voices for Planned Parenthood) group passed out condoms on the late night bus that loops from campus to downtown.  One of the co-chairs, Lee, wrote about their experience for the blog Amplify. 

“It’s remarkable what people will share when we as individuals give our friends and peers the opportunity to engage in dialogue about their sex lives, health, and desire to protect themselves. Sometimes all it takes is giving a stranger a smile and a condom.”

Read the post here.

If you ever have a friend in need, remember to tell them to come to Planned Parenthood- we are here to help.

As you may have heard, the Republican National Committee (RNC) recently came under fire because they included elective abortion coverage in the health care plan they offer to employees. In light of these revelations, the RNC has announced that it will “fix” the “problem” and cease this coverage option.

Before the RNC announced their decision, a right-leaning blog, redstate.com, called for heads to roll, in no uncertain terms. They say:

“In order for the RNC to regain the trust of their donors, they must disclose the names of all people involved in any way of the selection of their health care plan. And those people must be summarily fired. No severance packages, no golden parachutes; fired. For cause.”

While the RNC seems to be in the midst of appeasing a portion of its base, no one’s been fired yet, at least as of this writing. Since the policy’s been in use since 1991, it seems unlikely that whomever signed up for the plan is still with the RNC, a fact that seems lost on the writer of the redstate.com blog. Also lost on most of the commentators (though pointed out in this Politico blog) is that the only individuals commentating on the RNC’s insurance plan thus far are men… RNC chairman Michael Steele, RNC member James Bopp, Jr., RNC Chief of Staff Ken McKay, Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA)… in fact, going through the above links, the only quoted woman is Gail Gitcho, an RNC spokesperson… and all she had to offer was the official party line. No personal thoughts or opinions (unlike the aforementioned men). I’m trying to decide if this decided lack of input from women is a failing of the media or the RNC… if it’s the former, it’s a glaring oversight and if it’s the latter, it’s an example of rampant paternalism at best, glaring misogyny at worst. How do Republican women feel about having this debated in the media? And, perhaps more importantly, how do they feel about having their insurance decided by whomever screams the loudest? I’d kind of like to know, though I’m not holding my breath for an answer.

Taken directly from the RNC website:

“The Republican Party, like our nation’s founders, believes that government must be limited so that it never becomes powerful enough to infringe on the rights of individuals.”

I’m including this quote for a reason: namely, it’s indicative of something that I just can’t wrap my head around with the right and the far-right. How can people claim to be pro-limited government, yet in favor of laws deciding what a woman can or cannot do with her body? (Or, for that matter, whether two consenting adults of the same-sex can get married?) Isn’t that, in its most basic form, a government that’s beyond “limited?” By the same token, how can one be for “the rights of individuals” and feel that it’s ok to restrict what medical procedures a woman can have? Individual rights are important to the RNC, until they clash with the beliefs of evangelicals.

I’ve said it before and said it again… health care and the right to access to legal medical procedures should not be determined by politics. The RNC, by coming out so vehemently against abortion (and by allowing a small segment of their constituency to affect that decision) has painted itself into a corner. By listening to this part of their base, they’re disregarding one of the fundamental tenets of their party. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like anyone there really cares. Nor do they seem to care about tossing the women in their party under the bus.

After all, what’s a little hypocrisy when Michael Steele and the other heads of the RNC can get some good press coverage… right?