More protests at Aurora Health Center

This weekend the anti-choice protesters were at it again - this past Saturday protesters were shuttled over to the lot across from our Aurora Health Center. While anti-choicers billed this as one of their biggest protests, the turnout was much less than expected. Maybe some of these folks have finally come to their senses.

It's a real shame that our patients have to deal with ongoing harassment from anti-choice protesters - while simply trying to access health care. However, we are extremely grateful for our wonderful volunteer greeters. They play a crucial role in helping to make our patients as comfortable as possible while they are getting yelled at and harassed from protesters across the street.

Here's what one of our escorts had to say about Saturday:

This Saturday I answered the call to help out at the Planned Parenthood in Aurora, despite having an already packed schedule. I started my day at 5:00 a.m. to be at the clinic at 7:00 a.m., to help the women and families inside past the protesters waiting across the street.

Vans starting dropping people off in the field [across from the Aurora Health Center], and things started to take motion. Several men wore coats in the same color as our vests, in order to confuse the women and harass them more easily. They began erecting the 6 foot tall graphic signs... the shouters also arrived at the same time, and boy were they out in force!!

They even told a mother with her 4-year-old not go in because we murder children. When not harassing patients they turned to judging the escorts, telling us what God would think of us and how we should feel shame for what we were doing...

You can read more on Mary's blog.

Protesters ended their event with a balloon release - which happens to be horrible for the environment, by the way (check out this website for more info on the environmental harm of mass balloon releases). Each balloon was tagged with the name of an imaginary "child."

Yeah.

Anyway, hopefully the dwindling number of attendees at these massive protests means that the anti-choicers - who are at our health center every day - are getting tired of their ongoing harassment of women seeking health care. I know it’s a stretch, but one can hope.

Technorati tags: Aurora Health Center, Anti-choice protest, Planned Parenthood Action Illinois

New Grey's Anatomy Tonight!

This post comes from our wonderful e-outreach intern, Aviva:

For those eagerly awaiting the return of Grey’s Anatomy tonight, here is one more reason to be excited: Kate Walsh. Walsh, who played Addison, the ex-wife of Patrick Dempsey’s character, now stars in her own spin off called Private Practice and will be guest-starring on Grey’s Anatomy next week. She also is a huge supporter of Planned Parenthood. Last month, Walsh joined the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in testifying before Congress about the need for comprehensive sex education.

“Congress has yet to make the health and safety of our teens a priority, so it is left up to providers and educators like Planned Parenthood to fill in the gap,” Walsh said at the hearing. “As a public figure, I can continue to be a vocal advocate and carry the message of the importance of comprehensive sex education, but organizations like Planned Parenthood, which boasts the largest network of sex education providers, are doing the real work of providing direct services to ensure teens remain safe and healthy.”

You can join Kate Walsh in calling for an end to ineffective and inaccurate abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. Tell Governor Blagojevich to make Illinois the 18th state to reject abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and enjoy the return of everyone’s favorite medical soap opera!

Technorati tags: Kate Walsh, Grey's Anatomy, Planned Parenthood, sex education,

Urge Gov. Blagojevich to Reject Abstinence-only Funds!

Governors of 17 states, including Wisconsin, Iowa, New Mexico, and Virginia have now rejected federal Title V funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. Abstinence-only programs have proven to be ineffective and inaccurate and they deprive students of basic medical information.

A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control found that 1 in 4 teenage girls in the U.S. has a sexually transmitted infection (STI). In addition, the U.S. has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the Western world. We can't afford to continue to put young people at risk by denying them the medically-accurate information they need to protect themselves from STIs and unplanned pregnancy.

Take action! Tell Governor Blagojevich to make Illinois the 18th state to reject abstinence-only-until-marriage!

Technorati tags: abstinence-only, title V, sex education

Intern with Planned Parenthood this Summer

Planned Parenthood of Illinois has several internship positions open for this summer ranging from Advocacy Coordinator to Latina Outreach.

As a current intern, I can attest to the fact that Planned Parenthood is a great place to work. Located right in the Loop, Planned Parenthood offers a lot of flexibility to its interns to set their own schedules and propose projects that interest them. And unlike some places where students might spend the entire summer answering phones and filing papers, Planned Parenthood interns spend most of their time engaged in substantive projects. Interns might be engaged in organizing volunteers, writing grants, coordinating between staff, or planning events. With the upcoming elections and the beginnings of the campaign for Reproductive Justice, this summer promises to be especially exciting.

Internships include:

-Referral and Information Intern
-Reproductive Justice Outreach Team
-E-Publicist Intern
-Advocacy Coordinator Intern
-Development Initiatives Intern
-Latina Outreach Intern

If you're interested, you can contact the Volunteer Coordinator at 312-592-6800 or send an e-mail to volunteer@ppca.org to receive an application and full descriptions of each position.

Technorati tags: internship, Planned Parenthood of Illinois

Kansas Supreme Court Considers Fight Over Accesss to Medical Records

Today, the Kansas Supreme Court heard arguments on a grand jury’s request for medical records from the Women’s Health Care Services in Wichita, Kansas.

The move is part of a growing trend by anti-choice activists to gain access to private medical records. In January, a court in Ohio shot down a request for records on all abortions performed on minors by a Planned Parenthood clinic. This was an important decision by the courts to protect patient privacy. However last month the Ohio Supreme Court agreed to reconsider the case. Read more about that case here.

Now the group Kansans for Life is going after abortion provider Dr. George Tiller by using an outdated 1887 law that allows citizens to convene a grand jury if 2% of the population signs a petition. After submitting 7,857 signatures in September, the grand jury issued a subpoena for records of more than 2,000 women who have come to the clinic 22 or more weeks pregnant.

The problem is that even with patients’ names and addresses removed, there is still a real chance that women listed who have received abortions at the clinic could be identified.

It’s easy to imagine how acquaintances or simply strangers with access to Google could put two and two together and figure out who these women are. That’s why the government has comprehensive legislation protecting medical records and why Planned Parenthood works so hard to protect the privacy of our patients.

I think most people would agree that the ability to attain confidential health care is a fundamental right and personal medical records should not be used as a means for advancing a political agenda.

Emily Bazelon at Slate.com has a sharp analysis of the case:

Abortion opponents understand the sensitivity of medical privacy. Which is why they’ve repeatedly tried to subpoena the records of patients who visit abortion providers. In their hands, the power to request documents in the course of a lawsuit or a potential prosecution is a tool: It’s a way of challenging doctors who perform late-term abortions and, perhaps, of scaring patients away from clinics.

At the same time, a Newsweek article published this week by Adam Hamilton illustrates how far these abortion opponents are from the mainstream, even in their own state. Hamilton describes an evangelical megachurch pastor in Kansas who says his job is to “support people no matter what decision they make.” Hamilton describes him as part of a growing trend of moderate evangelicals who reject the radical rhetoric and techniques of groups like Kansans for Life, and instead hope to work together with pro-choice advocates to find common ground.


Technorati tags: Patient Privacy, Medical Records, abortion, Planned Parenthood Action Illinois