Once Again: Call Governor Corbett and Tell Him to VETO SB 732.

The PA Senate just concurred with the House on Senate Bill 732.  The vote was 32 yeas and 18 nays.  That's not enough yea votes to override a veto by Governor Corbett. 

As stated in our previous post earlier today, this is the bill that could shut down ALL 22 stand-alone abortion clinics here in Pennsylvania. 

Senate Bill 732 will force abortion providers to have the same construction guidelines as outpatient surgery centers. These changes have nothing to do with the safety of women and will force safe providers to either close their doors or pass the enormous increase in cost on to patients. This will cause a public health crisis in Pennsylvania.

Governor Corbett is our last chance to protect women's lives from back-alley, unsafe abortions.  If he vetos this bill, then it goes back to both houses for a veto override vote.  There were enough NO votes in the PA Senate to stop this bill from becoming law. 

So... 

Please call Mr. Corbett at 717-787-2500 and give him the following message: First tell him your name and that you are a constituent. Then say (in your own words) that you:

 Appreciate his moderate approach to abortion regulation thus far, but you are very concerned with Senate Bill 732 and the impact it will have on access to safe and legal abortion in Pennsylvania. Ask him to oppose  and VETO SB 732 and any effort to shut down abortion providers in the state.

Urgent - Tell Governor Corbett to VETO SB 732

Last night, the PA House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed SB 732. This is the bill that could shut down ALL 22 stand-alone abortion clinics here in Pennsylvania. It now goes back to the Senate for concurrence.  The Senate Rules Committee has scheduled a full floor vote for this afternoon, Wednesday December 14.  This bill threatening women's lives could be on Governor Corbett's desk by tonight! 

Please call the Governor TODAY and urge him to veto SB 732, and remind him that advocates for victims of domestic violence and rape vehemently oppose the bill as being devastating and dangerous for victims who require safe, legal health services. We do not ask this of you in vain; we know that the Governor pays attention to Pennsylvania voters and that these calls – both in quantity and quality – get through to him.

If you make one call this year to an elected official, let this be the call you make.

Call Governor Tom Corbett TODAY at 717-787-2500. It may take a few tries to get through as the lines are busy.

 

Your Message (in your own words): I’m calling to urge Governor Corbett to stop Senate Bill 732 from becoming law. Both the domestic violence and rape crisis organizations in Pennsylvania oppose Senate Bill 732 as dangerous and unnecessary. There is not a single medical group in support. On behalf of the victims, PLEASE stop this political attack on access to safe medical care.

Thank you.

Action Alert: TRAP Bill Vote Expected TODAY!

The PA House is expected to vote on SB 732 TODAY! This is Pennsylvania's Targeted Regulations on Abortion Providers (TRAP) bill that will likely shut down many of the 22 stand-alone abortion / reproductive health clinics in Pennsylvania.

We've Had Enough!

Please call your representative this morning and tell him/her to vote NO on SB 732. You can locate your legislator’s contact info at http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/.

SB 732 passed out of the House Health Committee in the early summer after being amended to look exactly like HB 574 which had earlier passed the House. All of the Senate language from the original bill was stripped out, and the content of HB 574 was substituted. Therefore, SB 732 now applies to all surgical abortion procedures, even very early ones. It is not limited to abortions after nine weeks. SB 732/HB 574 would regulate Pennsylvania’s freestanding abortion providers as ambulatory surgical facilities (ASF), subject to both the ambulatory surgical facility regulations and the ambulatory gynecological surgery in hospitals and clinics regulations. Instead of preventing another atrocity like the Gosnell “house of horrors,”this bill will hurt women.

Senate Bill 732 (SB 732)

SB 732 would force free-standing abortion providers to be regulated as Ambulatory Surgical Facilities (ASF) which require burdensome and unnecessary structural and staffing changes.

SB 732 could cause a public health crisis by making abortion care in Pennsylvania inaccessible.

· ASF regulations could cause the cost of an abortion to rise significantly and could force providers to close their doors.

· Women need safe, reputable providers to trust when seeking an abortion.

More information about HB 574 and SB 732:

· These bills will increase the financial hurdles to abortion care for patients. Women will not be able to afford safe abortion care and may seek out a substandard illegal provider or be forced to delay their abortions while they try to raise money to pay for higher-cost procedures. The increased costs of complying with these bills will be passed along to patients. Many patients struggle to pay $350 for an early abortion procedure. With increased regulation and increased fees, the cost may double and therefore become inaccessible to many women.

· Poor women and rural women will have even less access to safe abortion care. Only 22% of PA counties have an abortion provider. The enactment of either bill would force some of these providers to close. Women who need abortions will then leave the state where Pennsylvania can no longer regulate their safety.

· Abortion providers are already well-regulated. Current law provides for required equipment and medical supplies, hospital transfer agreements for emergency services, equipment required for anesthesia, clinical staff licensing requirements, mandatory counseling and informed consent requirements, laboratory and pathology requirements, required blood tests specific to abortion care, extensive reporting requirements for each abortion, parental consent requirements, abortion facility requirements, and complications reporting. Women don’t need more regulations. They need accessible care and better enforcement of existing regulations.

More detail and talking points can be found in the pdf file from Pennsylvanians for Choice (PFC)which is located at our We've Had Enough website. PFC, fyi, is the statewide reproductive rights coalition working to ensure full reproductive justice and rights for women here in Pennsylvania.

Thanks for making the call. Again here’s the link to find your legislator’s contact info - http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/. Make that call today and tell your Representative to vote NO on SB 732.

Event Registration Online for Pennsylvania NOW Convention

Online Ticketing for Pennsylvania NOW Convention powered by Eventbrite

Pennsylvania NOW Convention just 3 Weeks Away with TWO Featured Speakers: Terry O'Neill and Sioban "Sam" Bennett

The Pennsylvania NOW Convention “United We Rise” is just three weeks away.  It will be held on Saturday, October 1, 2011 at Crowne Plaza‐Bucks County ♦ 4700 Street Rd ♦ Trevose, PA 19053.
 
PA NOW 2011 Convention Invitation BIG NEWS!  We now have confirmed two GREAT featured speakers! Our Featured Speakers will be Terry O’Neill, National NOW President and Siobhan “Sam” Bennett, President and CEO Women's Campaign Forum & 2008 PA Congressional candidate.

Sam will be our featured speaker at the PAC luncheon that starts at 11:35 am.  Siobhan "Sam" Bennett, President/CEO has served as the President and CEO of the Women’s Campaign Fund (WCF) and its affiliated programs The She Should Run Foundation and WCF PAC since March 2009. Under Sam’s leadership, WCF’s combined budget has more than doubled and the organization’s programmatic reach has expanded to every state in the country and been featured in national syndications, including USA Today and over 200 AP newspapers. Sam has lent her unique perspective as a candidate at the local and federal levels to broaden WCF’s impact on women leaders at all levels of government who support reproductive choices and options, and women who may run for office in the future. Cost for the luncheon is a minimum of $50/person.

Terry will be our featured speaker during the afternoon plenary.  Terry O'Neill, President, National Organization for Women is a feminist attorney, former law professor, and an activist for social justice. O'Neill oversees NOW's multi-issue agenda, which includes: advancing reproductive freedom, promoting diversity and ending racism, stopping violence against women, winning lesbian rights, ensuring economic justice, ending sex discrimination and achieving constitutional equality for women.

We also have a great line-up of workshops that include the following topics:

• Voting Rights, Removing Barriers to Voting, and the Elections process
• Caregiving Care for Caregiver
• Health Care issues including single-payer health care and reproductive health and justice
• Collaborating with other feminist organizations
• School Vouchers and Violence in Schools.

Please spread the word!

Cost for NOW members to attend the Convention is $50 with a sliding scale down to $0.00.  Non-members can register for the Convention for $70.00, which includes a one-year membership in NOW.

To register, you can download this registration form (see below). After completing the form, either mail or email the form with your check/credit card number to our Treasurer, Pamela Macklin.  If you want to pay online for the PAC and/or the luncheon you can do so by credit card at our main website.  Go to http://panow.org and click on the "Donate" button.  Then send the completed registration form to our treasurer at pmacfish@aol.com.
Registration Form for PA NOW Convention and PAC Luncheon
Note two deadlines.  The guaranteed reduced rate for hotel reservations ends on September 15 ($99/night + tax); call the hotel at 1‐215‐364‐2000  to make your reservation. People interested in the PAC luncheon need to reserve their seat at the luncheon by Friday, September 23.  You can either pre-register or register on-site for the convention plenaries, workshops, and cocktail party.  If you are putting your check in the mail for the PAC luncheon, please email our Treasuer at pmacfish@aol.com and let her know that you put the check in the mail to ensure she adds your name to the PAC luncheon.

And here are the directions to the hotel.
Direction Card Crowne Plaza

Again…

Join us at Pennsylvania NOW’s 40^th anniversary convention ON OCTOBER 1 and Please spread the word!

Thank you and see you on October 1.

Fall Issue of the Pennsylvania NOW Times

The Fall 2011 issue of the Pennsylvania NOW Times is now available online. The newsletter includes:

• The PA NOW PAC Voters' Guide for the November 8, 2011 General Election
• Legislative Updates for the 2011-2012 legislative session in the Pennsylvania General Assembly
• "We've Had Enough!" Information on the September 27 rally at the Capitol in Harrisburg opposing the legislators' attacks on women's reproductive health
• United We Rise - article on the upcoming October 1, 2011 PA NOW Convention and PAC fundraising in Bucks County. There is a discount on registering for the convention if you register by Friday August 26, 2011 (Women's Equality Day). 
• Proposed By-Laws Amendment
• My First National Conference - a first-hand report of the June 2011 National NOW conference in Tampa, FL by Michelle Weisen, member of Ni-Ta-Nee NOW.
• What Can We Do? - tidbits on what you can do for women's equality
• Chapter Exchange - information of actions and programs of some of the local NOW chapters across the state.

Contraception is Prevention

From Raising Women's Voices...

Contraception is Prevention: Make Sure Health Reform Treats It That Way

The new health care reform law is lowering the cost of preventive health services by eliminating co-pays and deductibles for these services in all new insurance plans. Amazingly, however, contraception is not yet included in the list of preventive services exempt from this kind of “cost sharing” – even though birth control is one of the preventive services that’s most critical for protecting women’s health.

This summer, U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will decide whether contraception should be added to the list of preventive services that are exempt from co-pays and deductibles under health reform. She will receive a recommendation from medical experts at the Institute of Medicine in July and is expected to issue a ruling in August.

Take Action Today:

Tell HHS to add contraception to the list of preventive services exempt from insurance company co-pays and deductibles so that comprehensive contraceptive care will be available at no additional cost.

Sign our petition at http://www.raisingwomensvoices.net/contracpt-is-preventn-petition/

Mobilize your friends and neighbors to speak out on this issue!

Between now and when HHS announces its decision, you can help secure this women’s health victory by raising the visibility of this issue in your community. You can make sure that policy makers in Washington hear the message loud and clear– comprehensive contraceptive care should be exempt from cost-sharing, just like other medically proven preventive health care. Raise the topic at community meetings and educational forums on health reform and other places where women’s health is being discussed. Here are key points to make

• Women strongly support removing co-pays for preventive health care services.
• Contraception is essential preventive care for women, and better access to comprehensive contraceptive care leads to better health for women and their babies.

The Case for Having Contraception Exempt from Co-Pays and Deductibles

 Eliminating cost barriers to contraception will prevent health problems for women and families. Cost-sharing requirements, like co-payments, make people, especially low-income people, less likely to get health services, including preventive care and prescription drugs.1

In 2009, 30 percent of sexually active low- and middle-income women reported having put off a gynecology or birth control visit to save money; one-quarter of those who used the contraceptive pill reported saving money by using the method inconsistently.2

In states that made it easier for low-income women to afford contraception by extending Medicaid family planning coverage to more people, there was a dramatic drop in the incidence of short birth intervals (a year or less between babies) for women in the program. Shorter times between a birth and a subsequent pregnancy make preterm birth and low birth weight more likely, which has serious negative consequences for the babies’ health.3, 4

There is broad public support for making contraception available at no additional cost. Public opinion research shows that 84 percent of adults nationwide believe family planning services, including contraception, are important to basic preventive health care services. This strong support crosses many demographic lines: 5, 6

·         77 percent of Republicans, 88 percent of Independents and 93 percent of Democrats agree.

·         77 percent of Catholic women voters say insurance should cover the full cost of contraception

·         Latinas and African American women ages 18-34 are almost unanimous in their support for this policy (89% and 92%, respectively).

Medical and public health experts agree with the public – contraception is prevention.

There is a strong public health consensus that contraception is an essential tool in preventing bad health outcomes for women and children. The CDC cites family planning as one of the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th century, noting that access to contraceptive services and supplies is responsible for expanding intervals between births, “contribut[ing] to the better health of infants, children and women.”7

“Contraception is an essential and basic preventive health service; it reduces the number of unintended pregnancies and thus the need for abortion.”8

Association of Reproductive Health Professionals

References

1 Swartz K, Cost-sharing: effects on spending and outcomes, Research Synthesis Report, Princeton, NJ: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2010, no. 20

2 Guttmacher Institute, A Real-Time Look at the Impact of the Recession on Women’s Family Planning and Pregnancy Decisions, 2009. http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/RecessionFP.pdf

3 Conde-Aguedelo A, Rosas-Bermudez A and Kafury-Goeta AC, Birthspacing and risk of adverse perinatal outcomes: a meta-analysis, Journal of the American Medical Association, 2006, 295(15):1809-1823.

4 Zhu BP, Effect of interpregnancy interval on birth outcomes: findings from three recent US studies, International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 2005, 89(supplement 1):S25-S33.

5 Survey Findings on Public Support for Family Planning, Lake Research Partners, June 3, 2011

6 Fully Covering Rx Birth Control, June/July 2010, Hart Research for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

7 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Achievements in public health, 1900-1999: family planning, Morbidity and Mortality

Weekly Report, 1999, 48(47):1073-1080.

8 http://www.arhp.org/about-us/position-statements#11

Action Alert: Two Anti-Choice Bills Up for Vote on Monday May 23 in PA Senate

We have just been advised that the Pennsylvania Senate is scheduled to vote on two abortion-related measures on MONDAY AFTERNOON, MAY 23rd.
The first bill is SB 3 which would ban abortion coverage in any health care plan in the new health care exchanges created with the new Federal health care law. The second bill is SB 732. It would license abortion providers, create a consumer complaint system, and provide for unannounced Department of Health inspections prior to licensing and in response to any reported serious events.
Please contact your state Senator and tell him/her to vote NO on both SB 3 and SB 732. The message for each bill is slightly different. You can find your Senator's contact information at http://bit.ly/FindPaLeg. See below for details.

Messages to Give to Your Senator on SB 3

SB 3: This bill would ban abortion coverage in the insurance exchange to be set up by 2014 as part of health care reform, even if the insured pays for a separate policy with her own money. You can review our previous blogs on this bill here, here, and here. There are two sets of messages to tell your Senator:

MESSAGE 1:

SUPPORT the following amendments to Senate Bill 3

1. Complying with Federal Health Care Law Amendment:

Insurance coverage for abortion may be purchased through the health insurance exchange using private funds pursuant to the funding and segregation rules set forth in Section 1303 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

2. Insurance Choice Amendment:

An insurance plan shall neither be required to provide nor prohibited from providing insurance coverage for abortion services.

3. Health Exception Amendment:

In cases in which the woman became pregnant through an act of rape or incest, or where, in the good faith judgment of the physician, an abortion is medically necessary for reasons other than rape or incest.

Message 2:

VOTE NO on SB 3; Women need insurance coverage of abortions. Senate Bill 3 would:

• Prohibit any insurance company that contracts with the health care exchange from providing coverage for abortion services

• Prohibit this coverage except in cases of death or rape or incest that has been personally reported

• Prohibit a woman from using her own private money to purchase abortion coverage, though this separation is mandated by the Nelson amendment to the federal health care reform law – the Affordable Care Act.

Messages to Give to Your Senator on SB 732

SB 732: This bill would license abortion providers, create a consumer complaint system, and provide for unannounced Department of Health inspections prior to licensing and in response to any reported serious events. We have major concerns about the harassment potential SB 732 presents. It may be made even worse if Senator Mensch gets his way and  amends the bill to require abortion providers upgrade to ambulatory surgical facility standards; this amendment, just like HB 574, if passed, will likely cause most of our 20 free-standing clinics to close, curtail the services they provide, and/or increase the cost of a procedure beyond many women's reach.

MESSAGE 1:

VOTE NO on Mensch Amendment TO SB 732.

MESSAGE 2:

VOTE No on SB 732 due to its potential to harass clinics and invade women's right to privacy.

And finally, here is the overall message for both SB 3 and SB 732

Pennsylvania law should support the provision of safe, legal abortion and not stigmatize the procedure and push it into the hands of illegal, dangerous practitioners who threaten and endanger women’s lives and health. The situation in the Gosnell clinic happened because the PA Department of Health was not enforcing existing regulations. If we want to avoid more “clinics of horror” like the one in Philadelphia, then we need to urge our senators not to support these unreasonable proposals that will in turn hurt women rather than help them.

Allow women to continue their full reproductive health care coverage (NO on SB 3) and oppose onerous additional regulations that could send women to unsafe and unregulated or out-of-state providers (NO on SB 732).

HOUSE BILL 574: The WRONG Response for Abortion Services Care

We have been told that the Pennsylvania House of Representatives will likely start debate and possibly vote on the passage of House Bill 574 on Monday, May 9, 2011. This bill, if passed would regulate Pennsylvania’s freestanding abortion providers as ambulatory surgical facilities (ASF) in addition to regulating these clinics under Pennsylvania’s current Abortion Control Act.

As we stated in the blog on this bill a month ago, this is the wrong response to what allegedly happened at Gosnell’s clinic in Philadelphia. Instead of preventing another Gosnell “house of horrors,” this bill will hurt women.

·         It will not improve patient safety;

·         It will force safe providers to close;

·         It will increase the cost of an abortion by as much as $1,000;

·         It will force women to seek care in other states or from marginal or illegal practitioners;

·         It will create two overlapping sets of regulations that are in conflict with each other and in violation of the Abortion Control Act; and

·         It will have the harshest impact on the poor and rural women of Pennsylvania.

It’s now time for you to call, write, and/or email your Pennsylvania State Representative.  Contact information for your legislator can be found here.  Tell your legislator that this bill is wrong, will put more women in danger, and will likely shut down the safe providers.

And here are the talking points from Pennsylvanians for Choice you can use when you make this contact. FYI, Pennsylvanians for Choice is a coalition of organizations supporting full reproductive rights for women in Pennsylvania.  Pennsylvania NOW is part of this coalition.

HOUSE BILL 574: THE WRONG RESPONSE

The purpose of abortion regulation should be to make women safe, not to close safe providers. House Bill 574 would regulate Pennsylvania’s freestanding abortion providers as ambulatory surgical facilities (ASF), subject to both the ambulatory surgical facility regulations and the ambulatory gynecological surgery in hospitals and clinics regulations. Abortion is the only medical procedure with its own set of burdensome state regulations. Instead of improving patient care, HB574 will make it difficult or impossible for good safe providers to continue to provide care – opening the door for a disastrous public health crisis.
Women need accessible care and better enforcement of existing regulations, not additional, unnecessary regulations. HB 574 will force providers to alter their facilities and staffing in ways that will make their delivery of services expensive or impossible. Women in Pennsylvania need better access to affordable, high quality health care, not politically-motivated barriers.
If HB 574 is enacted,

Ø  Abortion providers would be required to increase the size of their procedure rooms by 3 or 4 times their current size. 

Ø  Providers would be required to employ a full-time registered nurse (RN) even when abortion procedures are not being performed.  Under current law, an RN or licensed practical nurse (LPN) must be on duty when abortions are performed.  HB 574 requires the presence of an RN anytime patients are present, requiring clinics to employ an additional staff position full-time on days when the clinic provides routine gynecological exams and family planning services. 

These are just two of multiple ways that HB 574 would create difficulties in delivery of services to patients.  The costs of HB 574 for a single health center would be hundreds of thousands of dollars, with no proven benefit to patients.

HB 574 will lead to more financial hurdles to abortion care for patients.  The increased costs of complying with HB 574 will likely result in higher fees for abortion services.  Some women who are not able to afford safe abortion care seek out substandard providers or are forced to delay their abortions, thereby increasing medical risk.  This legislation may double current medical fees and therefore make safe abortion care inaccessible to many women.

Rural and low-income women will have even less access to safe abortion care.  Only 22% of PA counties have an abortion provider. The enactment of HB 574 would force some of these providers to close. Women who need abortions will then leave the state where Pennsylvania can no longer regulate their safety.

Abortion facilities in Pennsylvania are currently subject to extensive regulations.   Current law provides for required equipment and medical supplies, hospital transfer agreements for emergency services, equipment required for anesthesia, clinical staff licensing requirements, mandatory counseling and informed consent requirements, laboratory and pathology requirements, required blood tests specific to abortion care, extensive reporting requirements for each abortion, parental consent requirements, abortion facility requirements, and complications reporting.  Safe, high-quality abortion care currently exists in Pennsylvania at freestanding facilities that abide by all current regulations. These facilities were praised in the Gosnell grand jury report for their excellent medical care and safety protocols and stated to be “more stringent and more protective of women's safety than the abortion regulations in Pennsylvania." Regulations that genuinely protect the health and safety of patients are critical, however politically motivated barriers to service put more women at risk.

Please take action Today!  Call, write, fax, and email your legislator. Tell your Representative that this bill is wrong, that it will put more women's lives in danger, and that it will likely shut down the safe providers. Thank you!

Spring 2011 Pennsylvania NOW Times

The Pennsylvania NOW Times Spring 2011 issue is now available online. The newsletter includes:

• Our Voters' Guide
• Legislative Updates of the 2011-2012 legislative session in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
• What Are They Thinking!? - article about the legislative attacks on women, children and people of color.
• United We Rise - article on the upcoming October 1, 2011 PA NOW Convention in Bucks County.
• Proposed By-Laws Amendment
• What Can We Do? - tidbits on what you can do for women's equality
• Chapter Exchange

Raising Women’s Voices of Western PA Call to Action

Raising Women's Voices of Western Pennsylvania

Call to Action

Speak out to oppose legislative attacks on

women's health care and Reproductive Justice!

 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2011, 4:30pm-5:30pm

The Old Allegheny County Morgue

542 4^th Avenue, Downtown

(Corner of 4^th Avenue and Ross Street)

Co-Organizers

ACLU of Pennsylvania

ACTION UNITED

Coalition of Labor Union Women

Beaver Valley Chapter, National Organization for Women (NOW)

East End Chapter, National Organization for Women (NOW)

First Pittsburgh Chapter, National Organization for Women (NOW)

New Voices Pittsburgh: Women of Color for Reproductive Justice

Pennsylvania National Organization for Women (NOW)

Squirrel Hill Chapter, National Organization for Women (NOW)

Women and Girls Foundation

Women's Law Project

For more info, email newvoicespgh@gmail.com or call 412.389.3081.

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!

Anti-Abortion Vote Scheduled TODAY February 7 in PA Senate. CALL NOW!

The Pennsylvania Senate has scheduled debate and first vote on SB 3 for 3 pm TODAY!  This is the bill that will deny access to abortion coverage in insurance in the new health care exchanges. 

Please take a moment and call or email you State Senator. Contact information for each Senator can be found here. Just fill in the information. When the second page pops up, click on the name of your Senator. This will take you to his/her contact page where you can find phone numbers and either an email address or a link to the Senator's web mail form.


As we stated on Saturday in our previous blog on February 5:

The passage of SB 3 will continue to marginalize abortion service from the regulation and oversight of the medical and insurance industry. Pennsylvania law should support the provision of safe, legal abortion and not stigmatize the procedure and push it into the hands of dangerous practitioners who threaten and endanger women’s lives and health.

This legislation is unnecessary.  On January 25th, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee rushed this bill out of committee (the very first vote of any Senate committee this session).  We said then:

This bill dramatically changes the status quo. If it becomes law, it will leave women worse off than before federal health care reform took place. Currently between 80 and 87% of all health-insurance plans cover abortions. Banning abortion coverage in the state health insurance exchange would leave women worse off than they were before health care reform began.

And now the PA Senate is rushing this to the floor as the VERY FIRST VOTE on an issue-based bill this session. And it will be the ONLY bill up for debate. I verified this by going to the PA Senate Roll Call history page. The Senate has only held five voting days this session. And what did they vote on prior to today?

• January 4, 2011 - QUORUM VOTE YEA=PRESENT
• January 18, 2011 - RESOLUTION (Resolution providing for the adoption of Financial Operating Rules of the Senate)
• January 19, 2011 - APPROVAL OF THE PREVIOUS DAYS JOURNAL JANUARY 4, 2011
• January 24, 2011 - RECESS RESOLUTION
• January 25, 2011 - APPROVAL OF THE PREVIOUS DAYS JOURNAL FOR JANUARY 18, 2011

We reiterate. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!?

This vote is a pandering, political statement. Senators should not be focusing on social, hot-button issues. As Senator Vance and Williams clearly stated, this vote is premature. Pennsylvania voters are not interested in reopening the debate around abortion. Our lawmakers should focus on improving our health care system and stop using women’s health as a divisive issue.

CALL NOW. Thank you!

Action Alert: Anti-Abortion Bill May Be Voted on in PA Senate on Monday, February 7

On January 19, 2011, Pennsylvania State Senator Don White (R-11) introduced Senate Bill 3 with 25 cosponsors. The bill would ban private insurance plans sold in the Pennsylvania health insurance exchange, created under health care reform and will begin operating by 2014, from covering even medically necessary abortion services. On January 25, 2011, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee passed SB 3.

It now appears that the full Senate will be voting on this bill on Monday, February 7.  Please take a moment and call or email you State Senator.  Contact information for each Senator can be found here.  Just fill in the information.  When the second page pops up, click on the name of your Senator.  This will take you to his/her contact page where you can find phone numbers and either an email address or a link to the Senator's web mail form.

Tell your Senator to urge postponement of consideration. Senators need to know there is a pro-choice majority in PA and that a vote for passage of this bill is both unnecessary and dangerous for women!! 

Additional background and talking points are listed below.

Background on SB 3
Senate Bill 3 will deny insurance plans participating in the insurance exchange from covering abortion services except in the cases where the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest, or where the life of the woman is in danger. These exceptions to receive abortion coverage are very narrow.

• Victims of rape must personally report the incident to the police and must identify the assailant, if known. Victims of incest must personally report the incident to law enforcement and identify the offender.

• There is no exception made for catastrophic health situations such as paralysis, organ failure and infertility.

Note that this legislation is not necessary. The question of whether abortion will be covered in federally subsidized insurance exchanges has already been settled. In response to concerns raised by US Senator Ben Nelson, a staunch opponent of abortion, women who want to use their own money to purchase a health insurance plan that covers abortion services must send a separate payment so the funding for abortion coverage is completely separate and paid entirely by the individual.

What are the consequences of this bill if it becomes law?

• The passage of SB 3 will continue to marginalize abortion service from the regulation and oversight of the medical and insurance industry. Pennsylvania law should support the provision of safe, legal abortion and not stigmatize the procedure and push it into the hands of dangerous practitioners who threaten and endanger women’s lives and health.

• An estimated 80% of private insurance plans currently cover abortion services. If legislation banning abortion coverage in the state insurance exchange passes, it will dramatically change the status quo for abortion services in Pennsylvania by taking coverage away from thousands of women who may enroll in the state insurance exchange

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Stories from Pennsylvania Women


These are some real-life stories of how women would be negatively affected if this ban becomes law (FYI, these stories that were provided by the Women’s Medical Fund to the Pennsylvanians for Choice Coalition). Under a ban like Senate Bill 3, these women would not be able to receive abortion services if participating in the Pennsylvania health insurance exchange.

H.D. is a young woman with two children. She makes $1,300 per month as a home health aide. Because the person whom she cares for has been hospitalized, she has had no income for a month. She was behind in her rent and feared eviction.


At age 2, Sarah underwent chemotherapy and surgery for bladder cancer. Now an adult woman with a wanted pregnancy, Sarah found out her bladder has a new lesion on it that can’t be treated while she is pregnant. She is also at risk for kidney conditions that pregnancy can worsen. She and her physicians reluctantly decided that she must terminate her pregnancy to save her health.


Q.M. is 30 years old and has two young children. She supports her family with welfare payments of $400 per month. Her fiancé just suffered a stroke and will need to be in rehab for many months. She contacted us from his bedside at the hospital. With sadness, Q.M. decided that this was not the right time to take on the responsibility of parenting another child.


G.L. is a sophomore at a suburban college living at home with her alcoholic and abusive mother and her little brother. Although her mother helps with college tuition, G.L. must cover her other expenses with savings from her summer job. She feared her mother would become violent if she turned to her for help with an abortion.


L.B. is a 30-year-old woman with a school-aged daughter. A few months ago, she was laid off from her job at a medical office. Since then, unable to find another job, she enrolled in SNAP (food stamps) and is spending down her savings account to pay her rent and other living expenses. L.B. had been using a hormonal contraceptive, so she was surprised to find herself pregnant.


R.B. is a 27-year-old woman who works as a community organizer. She suffered date rape at a party; someone slipped drugs into her drink and then assaulted her.

Once again, here's the link to your Senator's office.  Please act today! Thank you!