Sign up here and on Facebook to join us on Jan. 26, 2013, in San Francisco at Justin Herman Plaza, from 10 a.m. to Noon, to Celebrate Women, Life and Liberty.
Celebrate Women, Life and Liberty on Jan. 26, 2013, for the 40th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade
The third and final presidentail debate is scheduled for Monday, October 22, with a focus on foreign policy.
Please click here to ask moderator Bob Scheiffer to address women’s rights issues, by asking the candidates about the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Women’s Rights Treaty.
Presidential Debate Moderator: Ask About the Women’s Rights Treaty/CEDAW
While our nation has made undeniable progress in advancing women’s rights in recent decades, we still have a long way to go. One significant milestone on our way to equality will be the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Women’s Rights Treaty.Women continue to be targets of sexual and domestic violence — at home and abroad. We are discriminated against in the workplace and elsewhere. Women in the U.S. and every other nation suffer from more poverty, less access to health care, less access to a livable wage, and barriers to equal education. The Women’s Rights Treaty/CEDAW is a valuable instrument for combating these wrongs. It embodies the basic democratic values of fairness and equal opportunity. Ratification does not require any federal appropriations. Moreover, women across the political spectrum support CEDAW’s ratification.
Thank you!
Trust Women issued this statement today:
Trust Women is pleased to confirm the recent purchase of Dr. Tiller’s former office building. This represents one step closer to goal of providing full-spectrum health services for area women, including abortion services. Currently, local women must travel upwards of three hours to obtain this simple medical procedure. This reestablishment of local services will alleviate burden and expense of travel.
While this is a big step, we still have a long way to go. We will continue our work to improve access and reduce the stigma associated with abortion. This is not about politics or ideology for us. It is about serving the needs of women and community.
(Trust Women is a separate organization from the Trust Women/Silver Ribbon Campaign; TW is one of the many organizational partners of the Campaign.)
For a report in the media http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Slain-doctor-s-abortion-clinic-to-reopen-3897688.php?cmpid=emailarticle&cmpid=emailarticle
Trust Women/Silver RibbonCampaign
Infographics – Please post on Facebook! And Like Us on our Facebook page.
INFO
Commentary on Contraceptive Insurance Mandate – by the Medical Care Section of the American Public Health Association by Ellen R. Shaffer, Arlene Ash, Mona Sarfaty, Medical Care, Volume 50, Number 7, July 2012. Excerpt:
Contraception is a fundamental health care service and a basic public health measure. The ability to plan, start, space, and discontinue bearing children has transformed everyday life for women, families, and communities. It has vastly enhanced women’s autonomy, professional and educational achievement, and emotional satisfaction and helped extend their life span.
Click here for Contraceptive Insurance by Shaffer et al.
Challenges in Congress and in the Courts
The House of Representatives continues to challenge contraceptive coverage: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/the-war-on-contraception-is-back/2012/07/19/gJQAwCzMwW_blog.html
A federal court in Colorado may issue a temporary injunction on the contraception benefit for a single private, for-profit company: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/28/a-federal-court-ruled-against-the-contraceptive-mandate-heres-what-happens-next/
Non-grandfathered plans and issuers are required to provide coverage without cost sharing for these services in the first plan year (in the individual market, policy year) that begins on or after August 1, 2012.
|
Type of Preventive Service |
HHS Guideline for Health Insurance Coverage |
Frequency |
| Contraceptive methods and counseling.** | All Food and Drug Administration approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity. | As prescribed. |
| Well-woman visits. | Well-woman preventive care visit annually for adult women to obtain the recommended preventive services that are age and developmentally appropriate, including preconception and prenatal care. | Annual |
| Screening for gestational diabetes. | Screening for gestational diabetes. | In pregnant women between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation and at the first prenatal visit for pregnant women at high risk for diabetes. |
| Human papillomavirus testing. | High-risk human papillomavirusDNAtesting in women with normal cytology results. | Screening should begin at 30 years of age. Then no more frequently than every 3 years. |
| Counseling for sexually transmitted infections. | Counseling on sexually transmitted infections for all sexually active women. | Annual. |
| Counseling and screening for human immune-deficiency virus. | Counseling and screening for human immune-deficiency virus infection for all sexually active women. | Annual. |
| Breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling. | Comprehensive lactation support and counseling, by a trained provider during pregnancy and/or in the postpartum period, and costs for renting breastfeeding equipment. | In conjunction with each birth. |
| Screening and counseling for interpersonal and domestic violence. | Screening and counseling for interpersonal and domestic violence. | Annual. |
* Refer to recommendations listed in the July 2011 IOM report titled Clinical Preventive Services for Women: Closing the Gaps concerning individual preventive services that may be obtained during a well-woman preventive service visit.
** Group health plans sponsored by certain religious employers, and group health insurance coverage in connection with such plans, are exempt from the requirement to cover contraceptive services. A religious employer is one that: (1) has the inculcation of religious values as its purpose; (2) primarily employs persons who share its religious tenets; (3) primarily serves persons who share its religious tenets; and (4) is a non-profit organization under Internal Revenue Code section 6033(a)(1) and section 6033(a)(3)(A)(i) or (iii). 45 C.F.R. §147.130(a)(1)(iv)(B).
http://www.healthcare.gov/law/resources/regulations/womensprevention.html
This preventive services provision applies only to people enrolled in job-related health plans or individual health insurance policies created after March 23, 2010. If you are in such a health plan, this provision will affect you as soon as your plan begins its first new “plan year” or “policy year” on or after September 23, 2010.
Top things to know about preventive care and services:
http://www.healthcare.gov/law/features/rights/preventive-care/index.html
What is a Grandfathered Health Plan?
http://www.healthreform.gov/newsroom/keeping_the_health_plan_you_have.html
Health Reform.Gov explains that some health plans were “grandfathered” when the ACA was passed in on March 23, 2010, to accommodate people who wanted to keep the health care they had. A federal regulation allows plans that existed on March 23, 2010 to innovate and contain costs by allowing insurers and employers to make routine changes without losing grandfather status. Plans will lose their “grandfather” status if they choose to significantly cut benefits or increase out-of-pocket spending for consumers – and consumers in plans that make such changes will gain new consumer protections. This Fact Sheet describes the changes that would cause plans to lose their grandfathered status. It is estimated that 90% of plans eventually will convert by 2014.
NWLC Fact Sheet: “Contraceptive Coverage in the Health Care Law: What Happens on August 1, 2012?” http://bit.ly/LO2IDG
NWLC Resource: “How To Find Out If and When Your Health Plan Will Begin Covering Women’s Preventive Services with No Co-Pay” http://bit.ly/MmyCnV
Brochure: How the Health Care Law is Helping Women and Their Families http://bit.ly/N37Sas
Poll: By Hart Research for Planned Parenthood and National Women’s Law Center about attitudes towards contraceptive coverage. http://bit.ly/N37SXW
CAMPAIGNS
Recommended Twitter hashtags: #trstwmn #NoCoPay #Aug1 If there’s space: #herhealth #worryfreesex #mybodymyvote
Sample Tweets:
#worryfreesex No birth control co-pays starting Aug 1, just get the right partner http://bit.ly/MJfQvg #trstwmn
Your life, your decision: plan/start/space/stop having children. No more contraceptive co-pays Aug 1http://bit.ly/MJfQvg #NoCoPay
Contraception: basic & necessary for public health, free Aug 1 http://bit.ly/MJfQvg #herhealth Contraception: basic & necessary for women’s health, free Aug 1 http://bit.ly/MJfQvg #trstwmn #herhealth Decide it, live it: contraception free from co-pays Aug1 http://bit.ly/MJfQvg #Aug1 Women’s work, life, schooling, & happiness are tied to contraception — free > Aug 1 http://bit.ly/MJfQvg #trstwmn
Contraception: covered by insurance & co-pay free starting Aug 1http://bit.ly/MJfQvg #trstwmn #herhealth
Reproductive rights & contraception go together. No co-pays starting Aug 1 http://bit.ly/MJfQvg #trstwmn #herhealth
We fought for this: no co-pays on contraception starting Aug 1 http://bit.ly/MJfQvg #trstwmn #herhealth
Bishops hate it, women love it: co-pay free contraception on Aug 1 http://bit.ly/MJfQvg #trstwmn #herhealth
Contraception coverage in health insurance IS health care. No co-pays start on Aug 1 http://bit.ly/MJfQvg #trstwmn #herhealth
Time to double down the fight for women’s health and reproductive rights #trstwmn #herhealth Full coverage for contraceptive health care: good for women, good for families #trstwmn #herhealth When we fight we win: No co-pays starting Aug 1 #trstwmn #herhealth http://on.fb.me/MgCJXa I trust women & I vote http://on.fb.me/T1A1DY #2012 or #GOTV2012 #trstwmn #herhealth I trust women & I will vote http://on.fb.me/PhtQHn #2012 #trstwmn #herhealth
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Rights – I’m a Fan of Birth Control! Support the reliigious freedom of women who use birth control. Help show that religion in America is gloriously diverse and no one set of beliefs about contraception or anything else can dominate our laws and policies. http://www.fanofbc.org/
Center for American Progress: Go to our Twibbon page and add your Free the Pill icon to your profiles: http://twibbon.com/join/Free-the-Pill
Sample tweet:#FreeThePill: Birth control is covered w/no co-pay! TY #Obamacare. Add your #Twibbon: http://twibbon.com/join/Free-the-Pill. @CAPcongress #fem2
National Council for Jewish Women(NCJW): Questions? Contact Amy Cotton, Amy@ncjwdc.org
Coalition to Protect Women’s Health Like Us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/TheCPWH Follow us on Twitterhttp://www.twitter.com/TheCPWH
Turns out, women are a key voting bloc in the upcoming election. It’s up to us to demand credible commitments that address our concerns, as we get each other engaged and voting.
While this election offers women a clear choice, polls show the 2 parties running neck in neck. Here’s the picture heading into the political conventions:
The Republican Party is fueled with unprecedented gushers of corporate cash, and draws political life support from the medieval wing of several fundamentalist religions, whose fantastical beliefs about women’s biology are rooted in their ironclad devotion to patriarchy. The Republican platform would make criminals of the 30% of American women who’ve had an abortion (including me, once because of a fetal anomaly diagnosed in my second trimester).
But the Democratic Party is also overly dependent on funding fron the parasitic finance sector. It is reaching back to the Lily Ledbetter Equal Pay Act of 2009 to symbolize its commitment to women’s economic empowerment. It depends for political fuel in no small part on the indisputable fact that the Republicans are profoundly scary.
It’s not enough to debunk the lies of opponents of reproductive rights, or to point out that they rely on stoking fear and anger. Some recent polls of women who are not politically active show that they do react viscerally to the demeaning insults slung by decision-makers who snatch away their birth control and penalize them for their reproductive decisions. But many are living difficult lives, bounded by pressing financial hardship. One quote: “I’m happy this month that I haven’t had to sell plasma to feed my children.”
So here are some things to call for, starting in Charlotte:
1. An ironclad commitment to protecting and improving Social Security and Medicare. These two programs form the bedrock of women’s financial security as we age. They are under attack explicitly by the Republicans. And too frequently for comfort, some prominent Dems also slide periodically into lip synching lies about the need to reform these “entitlements.” In fact, Social Security faces no problems. The Affordable Care Act, which Rep. Paul Ryan has voted repeatedly to repeal, extends Medicare’s financial health, in contrast to Ryan’s proposal to privatize it. Let’s hear Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid and future House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (always a stalwart) confirm that the programs are solvent, and that they will not compromise on preserving and improving these programs.
2. It’s great that Nancy Keenan of NARAL and Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood will speak. Women’s rights to make their own decisions about their reproductive health are fundamental to our economic and personal wellbeing, including access to legal, affordable birth control and abortion. Words of support from the occasionally equivocal Dept. of Health and Human Services and the Surgeon General would be significant.
3. Finally: Lots of women. On the podium, speaking, in charge, active, visible, and vocal. Women of all races, and for that matter, women contesting for many races. We know who the top ticket nominees are. Let’s call for a boost to the EMILY’s List all-star roster of pro-choice women running for governor, Congress and Senate, people like Maggie Hassan, Grace Meng, Christie Vilsack, Val Demings, and Tammy Duckworth, Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Baldwin, and of course, incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill. Since Canadian-born former governor Jennifer Granholm can’t run for president, nominate her now for a Cabinet post, if she wants one, and give her air time.
Women will make the difference in this election. We are going to write checks, emails and op eds, as well as getting out the vote. We have power. Let’s recognize and exercise it.
On August 1, a coalition of women’s organizations is coming together to publish a blog carnival on the preventive care package of the Affordable Care Act which goes into effect for new health insurance plans on August 1st without copays or deductibles. Our goal is to mobilize women voters around key issues in 2012. We will post all the articles here.
by Ellen R. Shaffer, Arlene Ash, Mona Sarfaty, Medical Care, Volume 50, Number 7, July 2012. Excerpt:
Contraception is a fundamental health care service and a basic public health measure. The ability to plan, start, space, and discontinue bearing children has transformed everyday life for women, families, and communities. It has vastly enhanced women’s autonomy, professional and educational achievement, and emotional satisfaction and helped extend their life span.
Contraceptive coverage has become increasingly standard. However, powerful opponents have attempted to blur the role of contraception as an essential element of comprehensive health care. By the same token, women themselves as well as particular women’s health care services have been excluded from coverage and in some cases stigmatized, to the detriment of health outcomes.
Federal policy on funding for reproductive health has real consequences on the lives of women, men, children, and families. It is time for those who care about these consequences to stand up and fight for women’s health and reproductive rights, including full coverage for contraceptive health care, a health service of fundamental personal and public health significance.
Click here for Contraceptive Insurance by Shaffer et al.
Medical Care Journal:
http://journals.lww.com/lww-medicalcare/pages/currenttoc.aspx
The Virginia woman’s hand-made sign summed it up: “I Can’t
Believe I’m Still Having to Protest This Shit!” The pro-choice majority is
astounded by the tidal wave of vitriolic attacks on reproductive health,
rights, justice, and on women’s dignity, that constitute the War on Women.
These include legislative proposals mandating intrusive and humiliating vaginal
ultrasounds with no therapeutic justification before permitting abortion; Rick
Santorum’s advice that rape victims should celebrate a resulting pregnancy as a
blessing; and debates on covering contraception, which is used almost
universally. Transforming outrage into decisive policy and political victories
requires understanding what is coming at us (and why), and new approaches to
seizing the initiative.
Right-wing corporate interests provide generous financial
support to organizations and candidates that advance their minority views
through powerful institutions, from judicial appointments to gerrymandered
state and federal legislative districts. The policy goal is to undermine the ability
of government and popular movements to constrain corporate power and profits.
Campaigns on so-called “social issues” divide people into competing and
hostile constituencies by gender or religion, although they may, in fact, share
economic interests. The campaigns also recast as “tyranny” government
actions that protect human rights and challenge corporate power. Fundamentalist
religious groups, allied with the Catholic Church, provide an institutional
base for crafting and disseminating policies that advance these divisive views,
which find fertile territory during economic and social transition.
Demonizing abortion has been a winning card for the
right, which has stated its intention to use abortion as a wedge issue in the
2012 election. Until now, mainstream women’s groups and progressive politicians
have struggled to find a winning constituency and effective messages, since
most voters say they care more about the economy than reproductive rights.
Changing the discourse will require intentional solidarity across age, class,
and race. Generations have come of age assuming the legal right to birth
control and abortion, and the related rights to self-determination, while
attacks on access have targeted vulnerable and disenfranchised women, who are
less likely voters. Absent an affirmative strategy, attacks on abortion from
strident opponents like the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have achieved
incremental erosions in access to abortion. The 2010 Affordable Care Act was
both an example and a wake-up call. While offering women many benefits,
coverage for reproductive health care was compromised.
The Trust Women/Silver Ribbon Campaign (TW/SR) is one of
several groups that have emerged to increase the visibility and voice of
advocates for reproductive health, rights, and justice. TW/SR organized a
display of banners with pro-choice messages that flew proudly along San
Francisco’s main street in January, 2012, designed to project solidarity and
power through visibility, and to commemorate Roe v. Wade’s anniversary. TW/SR
also brought together 81 groups (including NWHN) to send pro-choice messages to
Congress via a massive online virtual “march” from January 20-27. The
banner messages ranged in tone and generational appeal and included: San Francisco
is Pro-Choice, Her Health Her Decision, Fix the
Economy, Support My Autonomy, and US Out of My Uterus.
Online messages with links to background information included: I trust women
and I vote, Contraception Is Prevention, Keep abortion safe and legal,
and make it accessible and affordable, and We are the
99%. Fix the economy, and stop the war on women.
The base-building has burst into action. In January,
Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) revealed that the Susan G.
Komen Foundation would no longer fund PPFA’s breast cancer services, due to
Komen officials’ opposition to PPFA’s abortion services. The dam broke, as
women erupted in outrage. Finally, women elected officials are now campaigning
openly for and with women. While the bewildered right wing continues to march
backwards on auto-pilot, we stand a good chance of hastening its path to
oblivion.
Online and virtual advocacy are proving to be powerful
tools for spreading news, articulating opinions, and generating unity. We’re
still exploring how to use these tools to create and sustain connectedness and
engagement among organizations and their members, and to motivate effective
action. Recognizing that organizations will continue to compete for media,
resources, and policy influence, we must aim to develop better collaborative
models.
Going forward, we can claim our democratic heritage of
freedom from religious persecution. The Bishops are campaigning for the power
of Catholic-owned corporations to deny contraceptive coverage to millions of
employees in its hospitals, schools, and charities. Giving the Church and state
legislatures the right to invade couples’ privacy and women’s bodies is
offensive to many. The link to oppressive and anti-democratic maneuvers like
voter suppression rules is notable, including by its intended victims.
Mississippi’s fetal personhood ballot initiative lost decisively by 42% to 58%,
and the highest percent of “no” votes came from Black men and
pro-choice voters at 80%, followed by Black women at 70%. This suggests the
possibilities for cross-cutting alliances in the interest of freedom.
While the opposition has a game plan, it’s the wrong one.
It doesn’t represent the majority, and it’s on the wrong side of history. As
younger generations shed social prejudices and constraints, the influence of
attack dogs like Limbaugh is destined to shrivel. In response, pro-choice
advocates can build power by increasing our ability to mobilize our majority
base and collaborate with allies for social and economic justice.
Ellen Shaffer is the Co-Director of the Trust
Women/Silver Ribbon campaign, which is building
towards the 40th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade in January 2013. The banners and
related information can be viewed at www.oursilverribbon.org
See this article
also in The Women’s Health Activist, May 2012: http://nwhn.org/newsletter/node/1397
Announcing 2012 Summer Fellowships for Lisa Kernan Social Justice Fellows Program
Uniting research, analysis, and advocacy to change the world!
We are currently accepting applications for the Lisa Kernan Social Justice Fellows Program to honor the life and work of Lisa Devereux Kernan. Fellowships will be provided for a four week Program in early Summer 2011 to one or two outstanding students with a demonstrated commitment to social justice. Due date for application: May 4, 2012.
Eligibility: Open to graduate students in law, public health, health care professions, public policy or related subjects, or to exceptional undergraduate Seniors and Juniors aspiring to these careers, and who are dedicated to improving the health of individuals and communities and promoting social justice in the United States and globally.
Fellows will receive a stipend of $1,000 for the Program.
The Lisa Kernan Social Justice Fellows Program is coordinated by the Center for Policy Analysis, a nonprofit research, education, and advocacy center dedicated to protecting and improving health, promoting social justice, and sustaining access to health care and other vital human services, and located in the Presidio, inSan Francisco,California.
Lisa Kernan Social Justice Fellows will participate in a four week Program in late Spring – early Summer 2012 that will involve work on a project for one of the programs listed below, Fellowship mentoring, and graduate level instruction. Fellows will work directly on projects of the Center for Policy Analysis, and may participate in conducting workshops and briefings with and for advocacy groups, health professionals, and legislators.
Examples of projects on which Kernan Fellows may work include the:
To be eligible for consideration, applicants must complete the application linked here and submit the completed application with 1-2 letters of reference by May 4, 2012, by email to: ershaffer@gmail.com (subject: Lisa Kernan Social Justice Fellows Program).
Women’s History Month Rally Celebrating the 2nd Anniversary of the Affordable Care Act with Honored Guest Leader Nancy Pelosi
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and women’s health leaders celebrated the 2nd anniversary of the Affordable Care Act at a rally at the San Francisco Women’s Building on March 23. See a short clip here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Speakers: Amiee Allison, SF Dept. on the Status of Women; Ellen R. Shaffer, PhD, Co-Director, EQUAL Health Network; Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, Founder, Center for Youth Wellness, Janet Clyde, Owner, Vesuvio & past San Francisco Small Business Commission member; Amanda Selich, Student, City College of San Francisco
Affordable Care Act benefits available NOW:
« Preventive care without co-pays or deductibles.
« End of lifetime limits on insurance coverage.
« Covers children with pre-existing conditions.
« Young adults under age 26 remain on parents’ health insurance policy.
« Rebate from Medicare for prescription drugs’ “doughnut hole”.
« Tax break for small business owners buying health insurance.
BEGINNING AUGUST 2012
« Contraception and well-woman visits.
« Screening counseling for HIV, domestic violence, sexually-transmitted infections & breastfeeding.
BEGINNING 2014
« Coverage for over 8 million uninsured women through expanded Medicaid.
« 11 million women with family income to $88,000/yr eligible for substantial health insurance subsidies.
« Women can’t be turned away for pre-existing conditions or charged more because they are women.
Her editorial on the topic appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle last Friday. Click here to read it.
Event Sponsors: EQUAL Health Network, Access/Raising Women’s Voices, Alliance for Retired Americans, Breast Cancer Action, CA Family Health Council, CA Pan Ethnic Health Network, CPHA-N, CA Women’s Agenda, Children Now, City College of SF/Women’s Studies, Democratic Women’s Forum, Glide Health Services, Health Access, Healthy SF, Hospital Council of Northern & Central CA, Mission Neighborhood Health Center, MomsRising, National Physicians Alliance, National Women’s Law Center, Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, Planning for Elders, Planned Parenthood Shasta Pacific, SF Breastfeeding Promotion Coalition, SF Community Clinic Consortium, SF Democratic Women in Action, SF Dept. of Public Health, SF Dept. on the Status of Women, SF Health Plan, SF NOW, SF Older Women’s League, SF Small Business Commission, SF Women’s Political Committee, Senior Action Network, Silver Ribbon Campaign to Trust Women, Women’s Intercultural Network, U.S. Positive Women’s Network/WORLD, Women’s Building of SF Contact: ershaffer@equalhealth.info