Urgent! Anti-birth control radical put in charge of our birth control

In case you're not in the action network:
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What's wrong with this statement:

Late yesterday, the Bush administration announced the appointment of a staunchly anti-birth control extremist to a leadership role in the Office of Population Affairs.

You read that correctly — we simply couldn't make up something this outrageous. Please, take a moment right now to oppose the appointment of Susan Orr as the acting deputy assistant secretary for population affairs.

Orr's anti-reproductive health stance is clear. She applauded President Bush's reinstatement of the global gag rule and urged him to revoke approval for mifepristone (formerly known as RU-486) — both while working for the notoriously anti-choice, anti-birth control, anti-sex education organization, the Family Research Council.

It is hard to imagine a more mismatched role for Orr than one in the Office of Population Affairs, the department that advises the secretary of health on policies concerning reproductive health. And Orr's new role? Why, it's to run the family planning program, of course.

The family planning program that Orr will run plays a critical role in ensuring that low-income families have access to contraceptive services.

In other words, a virulently anti-family planning radical is in charge of family planning. Appointments don't get more egregious than this — please, take action now.

If this situation sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve been here before. Less than a year ago, the Bush administration also tried to put Eric Keroack, whose anti-birth control stance rivals that of Susan Orr, in charge of family planning. After an outpouring of opposition, he stepped down from office – but the Bush administration is continuing its efforts to put ideology over science. Susan Orr’s appointment and an emerging crisis in the federal government’s birth control program make that clear (we'll be letting you know how you can help on this issue, as well).

Thank you for standing up for women who need reproductive health services by taking action today.

Sincerely,


Cecile Richards
President, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

P.S. Susan Orr's appointment is yet another obstacle to women seeking reproductive and other health services at Planned Parenthood health centers and elsewhere. See what else we're up against here.

technorati tags: birth control, Planned Parenthood Aurora, Orr, anti-choice

Why is Safeway/Dominick’s hosting anti-choice protesters?

At yesterday’s press conference there was a lot of controversy over a vacant lot that anti-choice protesters are using as a base to harass Planned Parenthood staff and patients. The city’s attorney made it clear that the vacant lot is private property and it’s up to the owner of the property to determine whether or not protesters are allowed to be there. A number of people at the press conference overheard Eric Scheidler shout that the lot belongs to Safeway (parent company to the Dominick’s right next door to our center). So our question is why is Safeway/Dominick’s allowing anti-choice protesters to use their land to harass patients seeking health care?

To find out yourself, contact Dominick's at:

1-877-SAFEWAY(1-877-723-3929)

Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m, Local Time
Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Local Time

Or visit the store at 3025 E. New York St, Aurora.



And let us know what you hear!

30 Years

Today marks thirty years since Rosaura “Rosie” Jiménez died, she is the first known victim of the Hyde Amendment in the United States.

What is the Hyde Amendment you ask? It was the first real victory for the anti's in cutting off abortion as a health care option to the millions of poor women in this country. The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health is co-sponsor of a year old campaign to end the Hyde Amendement.

The Hyde Amendment particularly affects low-income women and women of color. Abortion is an important option for Latinas, research shows that they represent 17-20% of women having abortions. Approximately 25% of pregnancies among Latinas end in abortion, compared to 18% of white women.

Despite what the opposition may think, Rosie is a prime example that women will seek out abortion services if that is what they want. Keeping legal clinics out will not end abortion, it will only make women drive farther, wait longer, or seek out unsafe abortions.

Rosie Jimenez: A single mother with a 5-year-old daughter, Rosie Jimenez of McAllen, Texas, was a scholarship student six months away from her teaching credential. She was the first known victim of the Hyde Amendment, which cut off Medicaid funding for abortion to women on public assistance — women who by the government's own definition cannot afford health care. Too poor to pay for the procedure at a private clinic, she died in agony from a botched illegal abortion. [link]

HT to Girl With Pen

In the Aurora City Council Meeting

Daily Kos’s Got a Grip has posted about their experience inside the Aurora City Council meeting. They do a great job examining the major arguments and falsehoods the anti-choice side kept spouting and takes them down one by one.

They also express frustration that Planned Parenthood did not have more people in the city council meeting itself to counter these claims.

We are extremely grateful for Got a Grip’s participation in the city council process. As you can see we were able to turn out hundreds in support of our clinic. While the pro-choice citizens of Aurora have mobilized and become engaged in this issue, in many cases it was too late for them to get on the list to speak for this meeting. We did encourage our supporters to sign up a head of time so they could make a statement. It seems that many choose not to and we can only speculate as to why that is – it’s clear from our turn out that it’s not for a lack of support.

In the meantime we will do everything we can to make it more clear to Aurora citizen’s that they must sign up to make a statement ahead of time and to support the Aurora resident’s who choose to do this. We hope we can count on Got a Grip’s support in getting the word out to more Aurora residents about the city council process and the need for residents to sign up ahead of time and comment on this issue. We’re working right now on finding out what the procedure will be for the next city council meeting and we will post that information as soon as we find out.

Got A Grip also expresses their frustration that there are not more people are not fully mobilized and aware that a woman’s right to access abortion services is not set in stone. If you are tired of the anti-choice people having their say at the expense of ours, join our email action network. We’ll keep you updated on how you can become involved.