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
My name is Stefani
and I am a student at CCSF, as well as a bartender/server at a fast paced
restaurant. I am 25 years old, and I have been living on my own since I was
barely 18. I soon as I graduated high school, I was sent on my way (with a very
poor paying job) and continued receiving medical care until I was 19. In the
process of living on my own, I quickly discovered I knew very little about how
much medical care actually was after I was no longer covered by my parents
insurance. Not knowing even the first step to being able to set up medical
insurance on my own, and most certainly not being able to afford medical on my
own, or how to seek out affordable coverage,
I was forced on many occasions to wait out serious illnesses that needed
medical attention until I could save up enough money to visit a doctor. Since
the cost of doctors visits and medicine was so insanely expensive w/o insurance
and on a teenager’s income, I would ignore everything from sinus infections so
bad I was coughing up blood to bladder infections so painful I couldn’t stand
up straight and made me run high fevers. Going to the doctor literally meant
that I would have to give up necessities such as food and money towards
utilities. When I saw a doctor for a
bladder infection so bad I was urinating blood, I was not able to pay for
utilities later on and because of this my electricity was shut off for two
days. There have been times I felt so lost and unable to do anything to get
well.
Then,
4 years later (at the age of 23), I received amazing news: my parent’s
insurance covered me until I was 26. Upon receiving this information, I
scheduled an appointment with a doctor for a physical I was long over due for.
Being on my parents insurance has saved me money I didn’t have when I needed to
see a doctor.
Now
with free contraception being proposed for women who need it, I feel that a
huge step is being made in the right direction. Unplanned pregnancies not only
can be worrisome for women and their partners, but unplanned pregnancy can be
detrimental to children born to unprepared parents. There is nothing to lose by
offering more support to family planning, but so much can be gained. I, too,
will benefit from easier access to contraception as a sexually active woman in
a long-term, monogamous relationship.
Amanda Selich: The Affordable Care Act Has Given Me My Life
Back
My story started in the weeks leading up to my 19th birthday. During
that time I was undergoing several doctors’ visits and tests to uncover the
cause of my sudden and extreme abdominal pain. It was a slow process but I was
assured that progress was being made towards reaching a diagnosis.
Unfortunately, for me time shortly ran out and after I turned 19 I was
immediately kicked off my dad’s insurance policy. My 19th birthday
was here but what I thought would be a memorable and amazing day actually
marked the beginning of a two year journey full of pain, despair, and
hopelessness. I was 19 had no insurance and was in desperate need of a doctor.
Not being able to afford hospital bills I was left to my own devices. I started
self-medicating, and now I was using the internet as my doctor. Taking any information
I could find and prescribing myself the herbs, vitamins, and over the counter
pain relievers that I thought would work. It was a dangerous game of hit or
miss and I took that risk without ever knowing what I was attempting to treat.
During those two years my health had rapidly deteriorated, I couldn’t go to school, I
was missing work, and slowly I became a prisoner to my home and of my body. It wouldn’t be until I was 22 that I would be able to step into a hospital again.
The Affordable Care Act gave me that privilege. It felt like a miracle. It was my
dream come true. And this time it didn’t take long for the doctors to come back
and tell me the heartbreaking news that I had endometriosis. After enduring my
first surgery my doctors again delivered upsetting news, they told me it’s everywhere,
my entire pelvic region was covered with adhesions and cysts they also made it
very clear that the possibility of me ever having the chance to become a mother
was extremely unlikely. It was my
devastating reality that if only I was under doctor’s care for those 2 years my
endometriosis would have never evolved to this extent.
I am 24 now and today I am happy to say that my endometriosis is almost
completely symptom free but as the days pass on my overwhelming desire to start
a family grows stronger. Ironically my path to motherhood will depend almost
entirely on birth control. Currently this is the only treatment available to me
that stops my disease progression and preserves my fertility simultaneously. It’s
a great relief that this August I will no longer have the stress on my
shoulders of trying to afford this medicine and still be able to pay for necessities
every month. Thank you Leader Pelosi and everyone who made the Affordable Care Act
possible. It truly has given me my life back.
The Trust Women/Silver Ribbon Campaign initiated a collaboration with MoveOn to conduct an online campaign during Jan. 20-27, 2012, to build solidarity and momentum for reproductive health, rights and justice.
The majority of Americans believe that women should have access to basic health care services and that decisions about reproductive health care including family planning and abortion should be left to each person. But in 2011, rather than addressing the public’s pressing concerns about the economy, Congress and state legislatures declared a “War on Women.”
36 states enacted 135 provisions limiting access to reproductive health care, including 92 measures restricting abortion.1 The U.S. House of Representatives held eight votes to limit reproductive health care. H.R.358 gives hospitals the right to refuse to provide a woman with emergency, lifesaving abortion care – even if she will die without it.
These measures restrict life choices for all women and families, with the most severe consequences for the most vulnerable. Low income women, younger women and women of color experience the highest rates of unintended pregnancies.
The National Online March aimed to begin 2012 with a powerful event that builds solidarity and momentum for reproductive justice.
We aimed to turn the tide on these policies in 2012.
Trust Women Week launched an affirmative campaign that marshalled support across the boundaries of age, ethnicity/race, and geography; that linked concerns about the economy and politics with issues of reproductive health; and that challenged mainstream thinking on these issues with a range of messages and approaches.
I trust women and I vote.
Reproductive rights are human rights.
Keep abortion safe and legal, and make it accessible and affordable.
Stand up and be counted for reproductive justice.
We are the 99%. Fix the economy, and stop the attacks on women’s health.
Contraception Is Prevention
War Against Women Translates into Votes for DemocratsNew Polling in Battleground Senate States
By EMILY’s List and Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Shows Birth Control Debate Helps Democratic Candidates; Hurts Candidates Who Join In War Against Women’s Health & Privacy
WASHINGTON D.C. – A new national poll of battleground Senate states shows that the assault on women’s access to birth control that Republicans have waged in congress and through their mouthpieces on the airwaves has provided a significant boost to Democratic candidates who support birth control access.
Foster Friess, the mega donor behind the pro-Rick Santorum Super PAC, dismissed questions about his patron’s controversial views on women in combat, contraception and gay marriage.
“On this contraceptive thing, my Gosh it’s such [sic] inexpensive,” he added. “You know, back in my days, they used Bayer aspirin for contraception. The gals put it between their knees, and it wasn’t that costly.”
Host Andrea Mitchell interjected, “Excuse me, I’m just trying to catch my breath from that, Mr. Friess, frankly,” she said after a long pause. “Let’s change the subject.”
