The First Women’s Rights Convention lives on in spirit

The following article in the Examiner is a good quick summary of the first Women's Rights Convention in 1848.

The First Women’s Rights Convention lives on in spirit

NOW is part the "spirit" mentioned at the end of the article. This statement is referring to the five chapters in Allegheny County:
First Pittsburgh NOW pwetherby@aol.com
East End NOW pmacfish@aol.com
North Hills NOW sylkip@comcast.net
South Hills NOW flogaskill@verizon.net
Squirrel Hill NOW jeannekcc@aol.com

Pennsylvania NOW Education Fund to Participate in Governor's Conference for Women

This year's annual PA Governor's Conference for Women will be held October 14, 2010 at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA.  The PA NOW Education Fund (our educational outreach arm of NOW) will have an exhibit table at the conference.  Please come by and see us.

Meanwhile, here's some information on the conference speakers along with a link to register.

Keynotes announced for 10-14 PA Governor’s Conference for Women



The dynamic keynote lineup for the 7th annual Pennsylvania Governor’s Conference for Women, October 14 in Pittsburgh includes: 



—Ellen Alemany, chairman and CEO of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and RBS Americas. In 2009, Forbes magazine named her one of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

—Eve Ensler, playwright, performer and activist, is the author of the highly successful play, “The Vagina Monologues” and creator of V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls.


—Mae Jemison, M.D., blasted into orbit aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in 1992 as the world’s first woman of color to go into space. She also founded and chairs The Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence.


—Tory Johnson, founder of Women For Hire and workplace contributor on ABC’s “Good Morning America


**Register with a friend for $250!




Individual tickets are $135, and tables of ten are $1250—an incredible value for companies looking to provide professional and personal development for employees. 




Learn more and REGISTER at http://pagovernorsconferenceforwomen.org

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/

Shackling and Tasering of Incarcerated Pregnant Women in Pennsylvania and Centre County: New Changes in State Law and County Policy

New State Law

On March 17, 2010, the Pennsylvania Senate unanimously passed SB 1074 that prohibits the shackling of pregnant women except in "extraordinary circumstances" in the second or third trimester of pregnancy and immediately postpartum.  The Pennsylvania House of Representatives then followed by unanimously passing the bill on June 29, 2010.  And Governor Rendell signed the bill into law on July 2, 2010.  This new law goes into effect statewide on August 31, 2010. 

The new law states:

1. [A] correctional institution shall not apply restraints to a prisoner or detainee known to be pregnant during any stage of labor, any pregnancy-related medical distress, any period of delivery, any period of postpartum,...or transport to a medical facility as a result of any of the preceding conditions or transport to a medical facility after the beginning of the second trimester of pregnancy.


(2) Paragraph (1) shall not bar reasonable restraint provided the correctional institution staff assigned to the prisoner or detainee makes an individualized determination that the prisoner or detainee presents a substantial risk of imminent flight or some other extraordinary medical or security circumstance dictates that the prisoner or detainee be restrained to ensure the safety and security of the prisoner or detainee, the staff of the correctional institution or medical facility, other prisoners or detainees or the public.

If an "extraordinary circumstance" occurs that results in restraint of the pregnant woman, the prison must NOT leave the inmate unattended so that these restraints can be removed immediately should the removal become "medically necessary."  It also requires that the "least restrictive" type of restraint be used should this become necessary.  And the correctional facility must then report this incidence of restraint in a report to the PA Department of Public Welfare.  County jails must include these incidences in their "County Extraordinary Occurrence Monthly Report" to the Secretary of the Department of Public Welfare.
 
New Centre County Policy
 
Meanwhile, the Centre County Prison Board has been working on this issue since January when Pennsylvania NOW called upon the Board and the Warden to compassionately use their power to not shackle a woman who went into labor two days after we received a call from the woman's mother about this situation.  The warden agreed and the woman was not shackled during her labor and delivery. 
 
Five days later at their monthly prison board meeting, the Prison Board agreed to add this issue to the review of their entire "Inmate Transport"  policy.  Today at 8:25 am, the Prison Board unanimously passed their revised "Inmate Transport" policy. 
 
The newly revised  policy, which goes into effect immediately, covers the protocol for transporting inmates incarcerated at the Centre County Correctional Center.  This policy is designed to "ensure the security and safety of inmates, officers, and the community during the course of inmate transports."  This includes how prisoners are handled when they are transported by the prison and by ambulance as well as what happens when they are take to a doctor's office or hospital.

This new policy follows the new state law and goes several steps further.  The first difference is that any pregnant woman - no matter age of gestation - is covered. The second difference is that, unlike the new state law, the Shift Commander, not the correctional officer,  makes the determination if an extraordinary situation allowing limited shackling is present and will be allowed.. Third, only handcuffs are allowed if restraint is required.  Forth, under no circumstance will a pregnant woman ever be tasered!  In fact, correctional officers are not allowed to carry a taser if the inmate is pregnant. And finally, if only one correctional officer is assigned for the transportation of the pregnant female inmate, that officer must be a woman.  If two officers are assigned, the second one can be either male or female.

Pennsylvania NOW would like to thank the General Assembly and Governor Rendell for passage of this new, compassionate law.  We also thank the Centre County Prison Board for taking the issue of tasering and shackling pregnant women seriously and creating an even stronger policy on shackling and for completely prohibiting the tasering of all pregnant women. 

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU ALL!

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Save Our State: Teach In on State Budget Crisis Scheduled for July 17

It looks like, once again, the PA General Assembly will be unable to pass the state budget by the June 30th deadline.  Currently, the House is calling for a combination of revenue "enhancers" and cuts to critical programs that support our most vulnerable citizens and our communities.  The Senate is calling for cuts alone.  Activists and organizations concerned about the effect of these cuts must For years, be involved in the search for a common sense solution to our state’s financial crisis. Our legislators

must make smart choices.

 

In light of this pending crisis, Health Care for All PA is organizing a state budgetary crisis teach-in on Saturday, July 17 from 1-4 pm at the ABC Brew Pub, 50 N. Cameron St, Harrisburg.  Individuals and organizations across the state are invited to the Save Our State Teach-In to effect positive and lasting change in Harrisburg through sharing your concerns and suggestions.

 
Here is the flyer for the Teach-In.  Please spread the word.
 

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.