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.

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

PA NOW PAC Primary Election Endorsements

Pennsylvania NOW PAC Endorsements

Primary Election Day is Tuesday, May 17, 2011. The following recommendations by the state NOW Political Action Committee  (PA NOW PAC) are presented here for your information. These endorsements are current as of April 26.

 

The Pennsylvania NOW PAC makes endorsements for statewide and local races. At the state level, there is one opening for Justice on the PA Superior Court and one openings for  Justice on the PA Commonwealth Court. At the County level, all County Commissioners or County Executive (Allegheny County) plus all  Row Offices are up for election. In addition, some counties have openings for the county-level Court of Common Pleas. At the local and district level, people are running for District Court Justice, Borough and City Councils, Township Supervisors, and Mayors.

The PA NOW PAC has two levels of approval for candidates. "Endorsement" is the highest level of endorsement and is given only to those candidates who support all of our issues and will take a leadership position on those issues if elected. "Support" is given to those candidates who are good on most of our issues but have a problem with one or two and we believe that these candidates are significantly better than their opposition. As of April 26, all listed candidates have received full endorsement.

Statewide

Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court  (note: you can only vote for one person in this race)

   Kathryn Boockvar (D) http://www.boockvar.com

        Barbara Behrend Ernsberger (D) http://www.ernsbergerforjudge.com
 

Allegheny County

Controller

Valerie McDonald Roberts (D) http://allieswithvalerie.com

County Executive

Rich Fitzgerald (D) http://www.voterichfitzgerald.com

Pittsburgh City Council, District 9

       Phyllis Copeland-Mitchell (D)  http://mitchell4citycouncil.org

Wilkinsburg Borough Council, 1st Ward

Paige Trice (D)

Wilkinsburg Borough Council, 2nd Ward

       Beverly McCoy (D)

Bucks County

Commissioners (vote for two)

Det Ansinn (D) http://www.bucksvictory.com

Diane Marseglia (D) http://www.bucksvictory.com

Dauphin County

Clerk of Courts

Shamaine Daniels (D) http://www.shamainedaniels.com or http://espanol.shamainedaniels.com

 Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans’ Court

Rogette Harris (D) www.voterogette.com

Lancaster County

Manheim Township Commissioner

Doreen Kreiner (D) http://www.kreinerforcommissioner.com

Montgomery County

Clerk of Courts

Ann Thornburg Weiss (D) http://voteweiss.com

Controller

       Diane B. Morgan (D) http://dianemorgancontroller.com

    Recorder of Deeds

Linda M. Hee (D) http://heefordeeds.com

 

The PA NOW PAC needs your help.

In order to put out a voter’s guide and to assist NOW endorsed candidates for statewide and local office, we need funds donated directly to the PA NOW PAC.  If you are interested in electing public officials who support full equality of women, then please consider donating to the PA NOW PAC. Mail your donation to the PA NOW PAC, P.O. Box 8614, Wilkinsburg, PA 15221.  You can also donate online to the PAC via credit card at http://panow.org/PAC_file/PANOWPAC.htm. Thank you!

Two More Seeds and One More Weed

Just a quick update to the blog posting I made two days ago.

We now have results of the three "Too Close to Call"  races.  We planted two seeds and had another weed pop up.

There has been one more weed that has appeared after absentee ballots were counted in Chester County.  Barbara McIllvaine Smith (D-156) lost her seat once all of the absentee ballots were counted.  She conceded the race to Dan Truitt (R) this morning.  We will sorely miss Barbara in the legislature.  She was one of the most progressive, caring, and transparent Representatives in the state.  We wish her well and hope she can plant more seeds of her refreshing vision in her future endeavors.

On the up side, we also planted two more seeds for progress and equality.  Our newest winners are both in the PA House of Representatives.  They are Steve Santarsiero (D) who currently represents the 31st HD (part of Bucks County) and Tina Davis (D) who will be the new Representative from the 141st HD (also part of Bucks County).  We welcome Steve's return to the General Assembly and look forward to the work that Tina will do as the newest member of the legislature.

Planting Seeds in the Weeds of the Fall Elections

The General Election was held on November 2, 2010. We unfortunately lost many of the races that we had targeted, including that of the PA Senate Seat, which was won by Pat Toomey (R). Of the 22 targeted races, we won 5, lost 14, and 3 more are TOO CLOSE TO CALL!

What does this mean? More Tea Party legislators who oppose fairness and equality for women, people of color, immigrants, and lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgendered people. More efforts by a new, conservatively-empowered majority in both the Federal and State House of Representatives. Attempts at both the state and federal level to overturn health care reform for everyone and reverse reproductive rights for women. And we’ll see continued, if not even greater gridlock, on passing legislation that creates holes in our safety net here in PA and across the country.

That means that at least for the next two, if not more years, our garden of rights may become filled with weeds. Cracks in our canopy of safety are likely to appear. And we will need to plant more seeds in our efforts to ensure that the fruit of our work isn’t pulled out of this garden.

Meanwhile, Here’s How Our Candidates Faired

The following lists all of the races that we targeted and lets you know how each of our candidates faired in their individual races.

National NOW/PAC

U.S. Senate

• JOE SESTAK (D) Lost

U.S. Congress

• BOB BRADY (D) 1st CD WON. RETURNS TO CONGRESS
• CHAKA FATTAH (D) 2nd CD WON. RETURNS TO CONGRESS
• ALLYSON SCHWARTZ (D) 13th CD WON. RETURNS TO CONGRESS
• MANAN TREVEDI (D) 6th CD Lost
• BRYAN LENTZ (D) 7th CD Lost
• LOIS HERR (D) 16th CD Lost
• DAN CONNOLLY (D) 18th CD Lost

Pennsylvania NOW PAC

The Pennsylvania NOW PAC makes endorsements for all statewide and local races. The PA NOW PAC has two levels of approval for candidates. "Endorsement" is the highest level of approval and is given only to those candidates who support all of our issues and will take a leadership position on those issues if elected. "Support" is given to those candidates who are good on most of our issues but have a problem with one or two; we believe that these candidates are significantly better than their opposition. “Endorsed” candidates names are CAPITALIZED and BOLDED. Candidates receiving “Support” have their names printed in upper and lower-case letters. The results of these races are as follows:

Pennsylvania Senate Endorsed Candidates

• RUTH DAMSKER (D) 12th SD Lost
• BILL WALLACE (D) 24th SD Lost 

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Endorsed: 

• PHYLLIS MUNDY (D) 120th HD WON! RETURNS TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
• BABETTE JOSEPHS (D) 182nd HD WON! RETURNS TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
• STEVE SANTARSIARO (D) 31st HD TOO CLOSE TO CALL! Steve is leading by 189 votes as of 11:30 am November 3; they need to count the absentee ballots before declaring a winner.
• TINA DAVIS (D) 141st HD TOO CLOSE TO CALL! Tina is leading by 241 votes as of 11:30 am November 3; they need to count the 500 +/- absentee ballots before declaring a winner.
• BARBARA MCILLVAINE SMITH 156TH HD TOO CLOSE TO CALL! Barbara is trailing by 214 votes as of 11:30 am November 3. Barb hasn’t yet conceded. Hopefully she’ll pull this one out just like she did in the squeaker in 2006 when she won by 28 votes upon a recount.
• GERALD PRICE (D) 4th HD Lost
• SHARON BROWN (D) 28th HD Lost
• GERALD E. POLICOFF (D) 41st HD Lost
• JO ELLEN BOWMAN (D) 60th HD Lost
• TREY CASIMIR (D) 85th HD Lost

Supported:

• Angela West (D) 87th HD Lost
• Mark Painter (D) 146th HD Lost
• Andrea Baptiste (D) 150th HD Lost

Even with These Large Loses (Weeds) and Limited Wins (Planted Seeds), We Can’t and Won’t Turn Back

We must continue to fight and stand up for our rights. Terry O’Neill, National President of NOW, put it this way in an article that appeared in the Huffington Post on November 2:

Throughout the history of the women's movement in this country, our progress has often been painfully slow. I've lost count of the number of women who have told me how frustrated they are when the changes they voted for mysteriously stall out in the legislative process, or are compromised away too quickly. I've felt that frustration myself over the past couple years….This is one of those times, when we must reach deep into ourselves and return again to the struggle for equality and justice.

We will continue to monitor attacks on women’s rights. We will continue to work for economic justice. We will continue to work towards ending discrimination no matter your gender, race, sexual orientation, disability, or gender identity. We will continue to advocate for ending violence against women and children.

So, “Don’t Agonize! Organize!”

Plant and grow our seeds of Equality for All

• Join NOW! 
• Get active in your local NOW Chapter; if there isn’t a local chapter in your area, start one! Email us at panow@panow.org or call us at 814-280-2571 to find out how to contact or start a local NOW chapter in your community.
• Make a donation (or a recurring monthly donation) to NOW! If you want to make a recurring donation, email our Treasurer, Pamela Macklin at pmacfish@aol.com.  She'll send you the necessary paperwork to turn a one-time donation into a monthly donation.
• Write letters to the editor about the issues that concern you.
• And tell your federal and state legislators that you will be watching their federal-level or state-level votes.

We’ll continue to advocate for you. And with your advocacy, our efforts eventually will bear fruit. Thank you!

Feminist Voting – One Woman’s Opinion By Jeanne Clark

Like most active feminists, I regard voting as a serious responsibility. I know that elections have consequences and that electing the wrong people to public office can have either good or very, very bad consequences for women.

Sometimes voting is easier than others. When candidates apply for and receive the endorsement of Pennsylvania NOW PAC or National NOW PAC, I know I can vote for those candidates with my whole heart and soul, knowing the candidate will not only be a vote for women’s rights, but will be an advocate for women’s rights as well.

That’s why I am so delighted that Joe Sestak is on the ballot for U.S. Senator. This election, I will proudly cast my vote for Joe. Joe will fight for women’s lives and women’s rights in the Senate and will be a great champion for us. And we have many great candidates running in Congressional Districts and for the General Assembly across the state who have the PAC endorsements. So feminists can vote for those candidates with no qualms.

But in too many races, we have no perfect endorsed candidate. One of those races is the race for Governor. Both candidates are opposed to abortion and have previously received the endorsement of the antiabortion forces. On the surface, this looks like a choice between a rock and hard place.

But a little involvement in the political process and talking to friends, as well as my own history, makes this decision actually pretty easy.

Because even though Dan Onorato says he is personally opposed to abortion, he has pledged that he will support the law, and oppose any more encroachment on our right to choose birth control and abortion. He has also promised not to use his appointment power to advance the antiabortion cause.

He made these promises to my friend Barbara Hafer, former state Treasurer and state Auditor General. He made the promises when he asked Barbara for her support for his first race for Allegheny County Executive and reiterated the same promises when he asked for her support for Governor.

So, how good is the promise? While there are no guarantees, Dan Onorato has kept his promise through his service as Allegheny County Executive. And with Barbara’s agreement to go public on the promise, it’s certainly not a secret – there are lots of us to keep his feet to the fire.

And Dan has become less conservative on social issues – if it didn’t sound so paternalistic, I would say he’s grown. He proudly signed the county legislation to create a county human relations commission which includes sexual orientation as a class protected from discrimination, and he appointed an LGBT attorney as chair. He is, I believe, listening and learning from the feminists around him.

So my decision to vote for Dan Onorato for governor turns out to be pretty easy.

And as to the rest of the ballot, that’s pretty easy this time, too. Because, in my forty years of voting, I’ve watched one party go from mild hostility to women rights to actually incorporating women rights into the basic DNA of the party beliefs, and the other party become the nation’s biggest opponent to women’s rights. I’ve seen the first women Speaker of the House incorporate feminist beliefs into the structure of the U.S. House of Representatives, and the current U.S. Secretary of State make women’s rights a basic, human right in our foreign policy and dealings with other nations – and I’ve seen the other party demonize those women for sport, and do everything they can to keep sexism alive.

As a public relations professional, I once represented the National Republican Coalition for Choice, and loved it. Those wonderful women warriors for women’s lives have now, by and large, been run out of the Republican Party.

I spent years of my life trying to start a new national political party – the 21st Century Party – which would have feminism and equality as bedrock principles and would require that the party nominate and support women in equal numbers to men. But after the Republicans were able to steal the presidential election from Al Gore, with clear evidence that well-meaning women and men inadvertently helped by voting for third party candidates with no hope of winning, I realized that the stakes are way too high to throw a vote away for a cause. Real women suffered as a result.

So – for the first time in my life I’m voting straight Democratic, with no office omitted. I invite other NOW members to join me.

- FYI, Jeanne Clark is a member of NOW and President of Squirrel Hill NOW in Pittsburgh, PA.  She also regularly blogs for Ms. Magazine at http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/author/jeanneclark/.

Fall Pennsylvania NOW Times and Voters' Guide

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

• Our Voters' Guide
• Legislative Updates - what passed and what didn't during the 2009-2010 Pennsylvania General Assembly session.
• Unshackeled - story about Pennsylvania outlawing the shackling of incarcerated pregant women.
• Anti-Abortion Bill Condemned - article about a bill introduced by Senator Don White that would outlaw abortion coverage, even when medically necessary, in the new health care insurance exchanges.
• Police Failure to Investigate Rape - story about what happens when police fail to properly investigate allegations of rape.
• Chapter Exchange

Dan Connelly Endorsed by National NOW PAC

The Pennsylvania NOW PAC just received word that Dan Connelly (D) has received the full endorsement of the National NOW PAC.  He is running for Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District. This brings us to seven federal candidates who have received the national endorsement for the fall election.  This includes 6 Congressional candidates and 1 US Senate candidate.  And here they are with links to their websites:

US Senate

Joe Sestak http://joesestak.com/

US House of Representatives

Bob Brady PA-1 http://bobbrady.us/
Chaka Fattah PA-2 http://chakafattah.com/
Manan Trivedi PA-6 http://www.trivediforcongress.com/
Bryan Lentz PA-7 http://votelentz.com/
Lois Herr PA-16 www.herr2010.com/
Dan Connelly PA-18 http://voteconnolly.com/

Funds Needed for Our Work for Equality

The Primary Election of 2010 has finished with several great wins – Joe Sestak for US Senate; Lois Herr, Bryan Lentz, and Manan Trivedi for Congress; Tina Davis and Babette Josephs for the PA House of Representative; and Ruth Damsker for State Senate. We will continue working for these candidates as well as additional ones across the state with PAC endorsements. We are now in the state budgetary month in the General Assembly. Which means that we must monitor and advocate on two fronts – first to maintain funding for critical women’s and children’s programs in the budget and second to continue advocating for passage of bills to improve the status of women in PA; bills such as the prohibition on shackling pregnant women and bills to add gender identity, sexual orientation, and marital and familial status protections to our state’s anti-discrimination law

All of these efforts require funds to pay for our advocacy. Your financial support is vital to keeping the office open and to help us get the word out for equality.

There are three entities that you can join/donate to NOW in Pennsylvania:

1. Join and/or Donate to Pennsylvania NOW, Inc. This is the advocacy arm of NOW. It is also where you can become a member of NOW and join in local, state and national actions for women’s equality in your community, in PA, and across the US. To join online, go to http://panow.org/pages/members.htm. To make an on-line non-tax deductible contribution Pennsylvania NOW, go to http://panow.org/contribution.htm.

2. Donate to the PA NOW PAC. This is the political action committee arm of NOW that reviews and endorses candidates for local and state office. We also make recommendations to the National NOW PAC for endorsements in federal races. Our Voters’ Guide as well as assistance to endorsed candidates comes from this fund. To make an on-line non-tax deductible contribution to the PA NOW PAC, go to http://panow.org/PAC_file/PANOWPAC.htm.

3. Donate to the Pennsylvania NOW Education Fund. All contributions to the Education Fund are used to educate the public about issues important to women and to promote women's equality. To make an on-line tax-deductible contribution to the Pennsylvania NOW Education Fund, go to http://panow.org/edfund.htm.

If you prefer to donate by check, email panow@panow.org and request a pledge form.  Put "Need NOW pledge form" in subject line.  If you prefer calling in your credit card donation, call us at 814-280-8571.

Thank you for your support.

Pennsylvania Election Results from the National & PA NOW PACs Perspective

Thanks to everyone who worked for all of our National and state's NOW PAC endorsed candidates. Yesterday we won most but not all of the races in which we (either the National NOW PAC or the PA NOW PAC) made an endorsement. Here's a rundown of the winners. Of the 18 candidates endorsed, 15 won, 2 lost, and 1 (the Lt. Governor race) is going for a full state-wide recount.

Here are our winners.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!

US Senate
Joe Sestak (D) http://joesestak.com/

U.S. Congress
Bryan Lentz (D) 7th CD http://votelentz.com/
Lois Herr (D) 16th CD http://herr2010.com/
Manan Trivedi (D) 6th CD http://www.trivediforcongress.com/

Governor - lost this one

Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Tina Davis (D) 141st HD http://votetinadavis.com/
Babette Josephs (D) 182nd HD http://www.reelectbabette.com/

Pennsylvania Senate
Ruth Damsker (D) 12th SD http://www.voteruth.com/

Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee
Pamela Macklin (D) Allegheny County, 38th Senatorial District
Barbara Ernsberger (D) Allegheny County, 43rd Senatorial District
Stephanie Fineman (D) Bucks County
Karen Cochran (D) Bucks County
Joanne Tosti-Vasey (D) Centre County
Ruth Damsker (D) Montgomery County
Karen Bojar (D) Philadelphia County, 4th Senatorial District

AND TO BE DETERMINED...
Lieutenant Governor - too close to call

In the Lieutenant Governor's race, only 4,654 votes separate the top two candidates - Jonathan Saidel (D) and Scott Conklin (D). Since this is less than 1/2 of one percent of the total vote, state law triggers an automatic recount in all 67 counties of every vote in the state.

The Pennsylvania Department of State Bureau of Commissions, Elections, and Legislation will be doing a full state-wide recount of ballots between PA NOW PAC endorsed candidate Jonathan Saidel (D)  and his opponent Scott Conklin (D) . See the Philadelphia Inquirer (newspaper from Saidel's home county) and the Centre Daily Times (newspaper from Conklin's home county) for information so far on the expected recount.

I believe that this process will include a hand recount in those counties that have paper ballots and, in my opinion, a cursory repeat of reading the electronic chips in the counties with electronic voting machines that don't have a backup record.. This will be, FYI, the second statewide recount that Pennsylvania has held since the Help America Vote Act was passed. The first statewide recount occurred last year when Anne Lazarus, another PA NOW PAC endorsed candidate, was confirmed for the third position on Pennsylvania's Superior Court of Appeals.

Primary Election Day and Joe Hoeffel for Governor

Thanks to Caryn Hunt, President of Philadelphia NOW and member of the PA NOW PAC for speaking out on behalf of Joe Hoeffel for Governor of Pennsylvania.

Primary Election Day is Tuesday May 18.  Joe is the PA NOW PAC endorsed candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania.  The following is Caryn's statement.

Remember - get out and vote on Tuesday May 18.  Polls open at 7 am and close at 8 pm.  For a full listing of the Pennsylvania NOW PAC and National NOW PAC candidates that have been endorsed in Pennsylvania, go to the PA NOW PAC web page.

Stand with Joe Hoeffel

by Caryn Hunt

The National Organization for Women in PA enthusiastically supports Joe Hoeffel for Governor. He's got experience. He's got a record on our issues. But most exciting, he's got a backbone. He's a progressive, feminist candidate and proud of it.

He's also the smartest guy in the race with solid plans to grow Pennsylvania's economy, to keep money in the state, and to create 21st century, family-sustaining jobs. He recommends a sensible approach to the Marcellus Shale, and supports a moratorium to drilling in the Delaware watershed so potential harms to our drinking water can be evaluated. He proposes local control over handgun laws, which would give urban areas the legal foundation they need to drive down homicides, while leaving rural gun issues alone. He is a staunch advocate for women's rights: equal pay for equal work, equal access to health care, and reproductive rights. He supports gay marriage.

Dan Onorato, by contrast, does not support marriage equality. Onorato is also anti-abortion. He has stated he will support the status quo on abortion, but the status quo is harmful to women. His refusal to deal head-on with the reproductive issues so central to women's lives is a refusal seen at every level of government. It leads to chronic underfunding of access to family planning education, allows insurance companies to refuse to cover birth control, and has, by neglect, created broad negative consequences for maternity care. At the national level we saw that reproductive rights are vulnerable because they are not important enough to a majority of legislators to defend- they are viewed as 'chips' in the 'game'. Meanwhile women suffer. This attitude creates the conditions for back alley operations: it begets misery. Onorato is the Party-anointed front runner, which begs the question, how serious can the Democratic Party be about women's issues? Onorato's attitude, reflective of the Party stance, is to put reproductive rights on the back burner. Again.

Extremists nationwide come up with novel assaults on women's reproductive rights every day. Recently Oklahoma's state legislature passed a law allowing doctors to withhold information from women about their baby's birth defect, apparently to prevent abortions. Oklahoma and other states are pushing reproductive rights as far backwards as they can. They know there's a reactionary Supreme Court just waiting for the right case. Now is the time to move reproductive rights to the frontburner.

The basis of a woman's freedom is her ability to decide for herself when she will become a parent. Joe Hoeffel understands that. He also happens to be good on the economy, labor, government reform, and the environment. He's the total package. All along he's been direct and clear about his plans for Pennsylvania and on the issues. All along Joe Hoeffel has stood right up and championed women's rights, worker's rights, LGBT rights. But the ultimate decision will be made by voters on May 18th. With Joe a close second in polls, your vote is crucial. Now it's time for us to stand up with Joe Hoeffel.

Spring Pennsylvania NOW Times and Voters Guide

Our semi-annual newsletter, the Pennsylvania NOW Times is now available.  Included in the newsletter are the following articles:

• New Executive Board Elected
• Voters' Guide
• Legislative Updates
• Fundraising Update
• National NOW PAC Endorses Lois Herr for 16th CD

To view the newsletter in pdf format, click here.

Joe Pitts Says "NO" to Women Again!

Rep. Joe Pitts - the representative who only knows how to say "No,"  can't take "No" for an answer.  He continues to attempt to control women's lives and bodies.

His Stupak-Pitts amendment to the health insurance reform bill was taken out of the final health care bill before it was passed in March.  It was replaced by the Obama-Stupak Executive Order. This Executive Order expands the misogynistic Hyde amendment to any health insurance plan that is included in any of the health exchange programs. This expansion effectively denies reproductive health care coverage to women.  This will happen as soon as insurance companies decide to drop all plans that cover abortions and reproductive health care that the right wing believes leads to abortion (e.g., emergency contraction and birth control).

But this wasn't enough for Joe Pitts.  As the Lancaster Intelligencer states at Lancaster Online about Pitts, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.".  On Thursday, April 22, Joe Pitts introduced the "Protect Life Act."  The measure has 50 cosponsors, 32 of whom are Republicans.  This bill would turn the Hyde amendment into permanent law by permanently banning the use of any federal funds (like Medicaid)  for abortions.  But it goes far beyond that.  It makes it illegal for individuals and companies who purchase health insurance through the exchanges from including abortion coverage in their basic plan.  And coverage for abortions under the this law would only be allowed if the woman is in imminent danger of death or in the cases of rape or incest.  This is what the exception says,

except in the case where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, or unless the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest.

This bill also creates a one-way conscience clause that allows individuals and hospitals and any other health care provider to deny services with impunity to women when they refuse to participate in what they believe to be an abortion service.  It does not in contrast provide protections for individuals who believe that full reproductive health care is the gold standard of care.  

This is Pitts third attempt to throw women under the bus.  The first was in 1988/1989 when he successfully helped steer revisions to Pennsylvania's Abortion Control Act through the state House of Representatives; he highlights this on his official Congressional website, stating,

[Pitts]was a key player behind the 1990 [sic] Abortion Control Act.

The second was his failed Stupak-Pitts amendment last November.  And now this attempt.  Let's throw this bill -- rather than women -- under the bus. Tell your legislators to kill the bill in committee.  It's currently in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce; let it stay their permanently.

And while we are at it, let's tell Pitts "NO" one more time and vote him out of office in November.  We need a Representative who says "YES" to women.  We need Lois Herr for the PA 16th Congressional District.

Women thrown under the bus

This afternoon at 4 pm, Bart Stupak announced that he had made a deal with President Obama to deny women access to reporductve health care abortion services through an Executive Order that will be signed when Obama signs the health insurance (not health care) reform bill.  Here's National NOW's President's statement on this decision by mostly white men to control the lives, bodies, and health of women.

President Obama Breaks Faith with Women

Statement of NOW President Terry O'Neill
March 21, 2010


The National Organization for Women is incensed that President Barack Obama agreed today to issue an executive order designed to appease a handful of anti-choice Democrats who have held up health care reform in an effort to restrict women's access to abortion. Through this order, the president has announced he will lend the weight of his office and the entire executive branch to the anti-abortion measures included in the Senate bill, which the House is now prepared to pass.

President Obama campaigned as a pro-choice president, but his actions today suggest that his commitment to reproductive health care is shaky at best. Contrary to language in the draft of the executive order and repeated assertions in the news, the Hyde Amendment is not settled law -- it is an illegitimate tack-on to an annual must-pass appropriations bill. NOW has a longstanding objection to Hyde and, in fact, was looking forward to working with this president and Congress to bring an end to these restrictions. We see now that we have our work cut out for us far beyond what we ever anticipated. The message we have received today is that it is acceptable to negotiate health care on the backs of women, and we couldn't disagree more.

We need to give Bart Stupak and Joe Pitts their pink slips.  They need to be fired for crafting the Stupak-Pitts amendment.  This is the amendment that was in the House version of the bill that that resulted in today's Executive Order announcement in order to get the anti-choice Representatives to vote for the bill.  With this so-called compromise, women have now been thrown under the bus and into the back alleys.

You can help do that.  The National NOW PAC has endorsed Connie Saltonstall against Bart Stupak in his  primary in Michigan because of his anti-choice zealotry. The NOW PAC also endorsed Lois Herr against Joe Pitts here in Pennsylvania for similar reasons. You can donate to their campaigns at http://actblue.com/page/feminist  (Saltonstall) and at http://actblue.com/page/elect-herr-NOW (Herr).

Lois Herr (PA-16)	$

Connie Saltonstall (MI-01)	$

. Joe Sestak For US Senate: National NOW PAC Endorsement Announcement by Joanne Tosti-Vasey, President Of Pennsylvania NOW, Inc.

This is the speech I gave in Pittsburgh today announcing that the National NOW PAC has endorsed Joe Sestak for the US Senate.

As the President of Pennsylvania’s National Organization for Women, I am pleased to support the National Organization for Women Political Action Committee’s endorsement of Joe Sestak as a candidate for the United States’ Senate from the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Sestak currently serves in the United States House of Representatives for southeastern Pennsylvania and is a strong advocate for equality in our nation’s capital. The NOW/PAC was proud to endorse Mr. Sestak the past two times he ran for United States Representative and is very excited to stand by his side during his campaign for the United States Senate.

Mr. Sestak is a strong supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment and full rights and privileges for all civil marriages. He has previously voted against the ban on gay marriage and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell while in the House.

In regards to abortion, Mr. Sestak is pro-choice, opposes parental notification and supports Medicaid coverage for abortions. We applaud his courage when, on November 7, 2009, he was one of only five Representatives from Pennsylvania to vote against the restrictive Stupak-Pitts Amendment to the Health Care Reform bill.

Mr. Sestak also supports safe, accurate and appropriate sex education to encourage healthy behavior in a truthful manner. He co-sponsored many bills that support women’s health from the Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act to the Mammogram and MRI Availability Act of 2009.

Mr. Sestak supports allowing for paid and unpaid leave for victims of domestic violence and for increasng the resources available to these women.

In the business sector, Mr. Sestak supports small business lending programs for women and strongly opposes wage-based sex discrimination. In the House he was an original co-sponsor for the Paycheck Fairness Act as well as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The Paycheck Fairness Act has passed in the House but has yet to be passed in the Senate.  The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was the first bill that President Obama signed into law after his inauguration in January 2009. Sestak has also voted in favor of the SBA Women’s Business Programs Act and introduced multiple bills supporting women entrepreneurs.

The National Organization for Women Political Action Committee is proud and excited to endorse such a strong candidate for the United States Senate and I am proud to support that endorsement. He ha s been a leader in the struggle to achieve full equality for women and girls and we are looking forward to working with him both in this campaign and then in the US Senate.

Press Conference regarding Joe Sestak for US Senate

FYI,
I will be participating in a press conference on Friday, March 5, 2010 regarding Joe Sestak for the US. Senate.

Who: Joanne Tosti-Vasey, Phyllis Wetherby, Kathleen Wilson, and others
What: Press Conference
Where:  4326 Butler St., Pittsburgh, PA 15201
When: Noon, Friday March 5, 2010

I'll post my speech on Friday.  :-)

National NOW PAC Endorses Lois Herr for the PA 16th Congressional District

This morning (November 21, 2009) Pennsylvania NOW, National NOW, and Planned Parenthood PA Advocates held a protest rally against Rep. Joe Pitts for co-authoring the Stupak-Pitts amendment to the health care reform bill that passed in the US House of Representatives on Nov. 7, 2009.  During the rally, the National NOW PAC announced their endorsement of Lois Herr for this seat.  The following are the speeches/statements made by Joanne Tosti-Vasey, President of Pennsylvania NOW, Inc. and Terry O'Neill, Chair of the National NOW PAC at this protest/endorsement rally.

But first, check out the Lancaster News video to see parts of Terry's and Lois' speeches. Note: I'm new at embedding videos into blogs. This one may not immediately start. Once you click on the video you may see a message that says, "This video is a duplicate of a previously loaded video." If you see this message,go to the thumbnails at the bottom of the video and click on the thumbnail entitled "Tense Time at Protest Against Stupak-Pitts". Then you will be able to see the speeches.

Now here's Joanne Tosti-Vasey's speech...

WEST CHESTER, PA, NOVEMBER 21, 2009: We are here today to express our outrage and anger at Joe Pitts for co-authoring an amendment to the health care reform. Rather than expanding health care coverage to all, Pitts’ amendment is clearly designed to deny full, lawful reproductive health care to half of the population.


On November 7th, the US House of Representatives passed HR 3962, their weakened version of health care reform. This bill took three blows against true health care reform prior to final passage. First, they weakened the public option to a public exchange program. Then they eliminated the Kucinich amendment that allows states to craft their own single-payer health care plans (which PA is now considering). Finally, the House trashed health care for women by including the Stupak-Pitts amendment.
The Stupak-Pitts amendment was co-authored by one the members of the PA Congressional delegation – Joe Pitts – who lives here in Chester County. This amendment denies access to abortion services to most women in the United States. Under this amendment, a woman will be denied abortion coverage in her health insurance plan if she either uses the "public option" OR if she receives any subsidy whatsoever to purchase health insurance from private insurers.

In addition, even if just one woman in the group plan uses a subsidy, every woman in that private health care insurance plan will be denied abortion coverage. Why? Because this amendment states that no plan can include abortion services if any one person receives a subsidy.


So now ALL lower- and middle-class women will be completely denied access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care. BTW, this restriction may also include access to emergency contraception and other forms of birth control because of how the right wing defines abortion.


Unfortunately 13 of Joe Pitt’s colleagues from Pennsylvania also voted for this amendment. The votes of these 14 Representatives are, in our opinion, a vote to once again send women to the back alleys for an abortion.


There were only five PA Representatives who voted against this amendment. Pennsylvania NOW would like to publicly thank these five members of Congress for standing up for comprehensive health care and for the lives of women. They are:


Rep. Bob Brady (D) PA 1
Rep. Chaka Fattah (D) PA 2
Rep. Patrick Murphy (D) PA 8
Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D) PA 13
Rep. Joe Sestak (D) PA 7


We are outraged at this attempt by Joe Pitts to deny women full, lawful, and comprehensive health care.


Joe Pitts, you are out of touch with reality. You are continuing to use your religion and voting power to hurt women and families throughout the 16th Congressional District as well as people across the entire country.


We will remember in November 2010! Joe Pitts, one of these ways that we will remember is by working very hard to replace you in Congress. With the help of all of the people present here today as well as with the help of NOW and people throughout the district, we will hand you your pink slip on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 when the voters in the 16th Congressional District hire my friend and mentor, Lois Herr to replace you.
And for more on this, I’d like to now introduce Terry O’Neill, the national president of the National Organization for Women.

And here's Terry O'Neill's endorsement statement...
 
The National Organization for Women Political Action Committee is proud to announce our endorsement of Lois Herr for Congress in Pennsylvania's 16th District. Lois is taking on the all-important challenge of unseating Rep. Joe Pitts, co-author of the outrageous Stupak-Pitts Amendment. Lois rightly called this amendment "a direct attack on the freedom and privacy of American women."



Thanks in large part to Pitts' efforts, the House's version of health care reform now stands as the greatest threat to women's fundamental right to abortion in decades. That's why we're here today on Joe Pitts' home turf -- not only to express outrage at his actions but also to demonstrate our commitment to getting Lois Herr elected in this district next November.


Lois is dedicated to providing affordable health care to every person in the United States, but not at the expense of women's access to reproductive health services. She is a longtime NOW member and a strong supporter of constitutional equality, equal pay, affirmative action, equal marriage rights and the full range of feminist issues. Lois understands the hurdles that women face every day in this country, and when we send her to Capitol Hill, she will work to improve the lives of women and girls.


We have a battle ahead of us, but I am confident that the people of Pennsylvania's 16th District will see the light. The current health care debate has revealed the cynical side of law-making and exposed those legislators who are only too willing to throw women overboard for the sake of political expediency. To those like Joe Pitts, I say: if women's rights aren't safe when you're in office, then we'll just have to replace you. And I can't think of a better candidate to take your seat than Lois Herr.