Protest Attacks on Women's Health on Thursday, February 17

Women's health is under attack in Harrisburg and Washington, DC. Fight back this Thursday at protest rallies in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

In Philadelphia:

When: 11:30 AM, Thursday 2/17

Where: Thomas Paine Plaza in front of the Municipal Services Building across from City Hall, 1417 John F Kennedy Boulevard

RSVP Here

In Pittsburgh:

When: 4:30 PM, Thursday 2/17

Where: Old Allegheny County Morgue, 542 Fourth Avenue at the corner of Fourth and Ross

RSVP Here

Why Are We Protesting?

Legislation in both Harrisburg and Washington DC aims to stop women from using their own money to purchase health insurance that covers abortion.

Legislators were sent to Washington and Harrisburg to create jobs but since taking office, newly elected lawmakers have instead been appeasing their extreme right wing base who want to roll back the advances women made in the last forty years.

These same lawmakers have also been busy trying to block implementation of the health care legislation passed last year even though support for it is rising as citizens come to understand how the law protects them from insurance company abuses.

Meanwhile, some members of Congress are proposing to entirely eliminate all federal funding for family planning and reproductive health services which will lead to more unintended pregnancies.  Congressional leadership in Washington will propose a budget for this fiscal year that would in addition:

• Entirely eliminate all federal funding for family planning and reproductive health. In other words, Republicans who oppose abortion are doing everything they can to encourage more unwanted pregnancies while attacking Planned Parenthood, the most respected provider of women’s health care in the country.
• Chop $1.1 billion cut from Head Start.
• Cut $758 million from the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), a program created by the Nixon administration that provides supplemental food to infants as well as health care referrals and nutrition education for low-income pregnant and postpartum women.
•  Reduce the Maternal and Child Health Block Grants by $210 million. This program, a descendant of one created during the Harding Administration, supports children with special needs, provides newborn screening and genetic services, and funds lead poisoning and injury prevention.
• Slash $1.3 billion from Community Health Centers that provide affordable health care to low income women, men and their children. Last year, Republicans claimed we didn’t need health care reform because Community Health Centers provide care to people with low incomes. This year, they are ready to slash funding for them.

And a vote is expected this Thursday in the US House to eliminate many of these programs through HR 1 - the Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government through the end of September!  So before coming out to either of the protest rallies, call your US Representative and tell him/her to stop these attacks.  You can obtain their contact information by going to http://www.house.gov/ and filling in your zip code in the top left corner of the page.  This will take you to your Representative's web page where you can then get the information needed to call and/or email him/her.

And meanwhile,  please sign our petition at http://PAForWomensHealth.org/ now! Raising Women's Voices, a coalition of organizations concerned about these attacks on women's health care will be delivering signatures to our lawmakers next week.

What’s at stake? Women’s lives! Please join us Thursday. Call your legislators. And sign our petition.

We hope to see you there!