Women make up almost half the workforce today, and, if they become pregnant, most will work throughout their pregnancy. Given this reality, you probably think the stories below are works of a bygone era. Well, you’d be wrong.
A woman was 16 weeks pregnant and worked as a cashier at a large retailer in New York City. One day she fainted and was taken to the emergency room. Despite doctor’s orders that she remain vigilant about drinking water, she was severely dehydrated. When the physician asked why she was not drinking enough fluids, she said that her boss would not allow her to drink water while working at the cash register.
When Shelly (not her real name) became pregnant, she was working two jobs in Indiana to support her family: the overnight shift stocking shelves for a major national retail chain and the day shift packing items to ship for a medical supply company. Her doctor advised her not to lift more than 20 pounds. The medical supply company immediately accommodated these restrictions, but the major national retailer refused to modify her duties. She experienced a lot of pain while doing the heavy lifting and miscarried shortly thereafter.
An airline ticket agent in Louisiana was told by her doctor not to lift anything heavy at work. Her employer refused to provide her with a “light duty” assignment and told her that she would be placed on unpaid leave if she brought a doctor’s note. Not having an income wasn’t an option, so throughout her pregnancy, she continued to lift heavy bags and spent 10- and 12-hour days on her feet. Toward the end of her pregnancy, she suffered stress-induced toxemia and went into labor prematurely. Her child suffered numerous health complications.
Julie worked as a full-time driver at UPS. During some months, the size and weight of the packages explode and the work can be physically exhausting. When she became pregnant, she requested a light duty position, just as she had done when she had been injured on the job. But UPS refused to accommodate her and put her on unpaid leave for the rest of her pregnancy.
Stories like these are all too common, and that’s why we need the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which was introduced in Congress today.
By Vania Leveille, Washington Legislative Office & Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office at 3:01pm
Enactment of last year's National Defense Authorization Act brought about a long overdue and welcome change on the military health care front by allowing military women and dependents to receive insurance coverage for abortion in cases of rape or incest. But the work to ensure that servicewomen's reproductive health needs are met is not nearly complete.
That's why we applaud the introduction in the Senate of the Military Access to Reproductive Care and Health (MARCH) for Military Women Act. Sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and 14 other stalwart supporters of our military women and families, the bill would allow servicewomen to use their own private funds to access abortion care on military treatment facilities. Earlier in the month, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) introduced a House companion bill, cosponsored by 40 representatives.
Less than three months after the Pentagon announced that it was loosening the rules that bar women from being assigned to ground combat units, the Marine Corps followed suit, taking important steps to open up previously restricted opportunities to women. Last week, the Marines announced that women volunteers would be allowed to attend the Infantry Officers Course in Quantico, Va., for the first time, and that enlisted Marine women would also soon gain access to infantry training. This week, Marine Corps General James F. Amos sent a message to all Marines explaining that the Corps would begin assigning women to a number of positions from which they had previously been restricted, including in artillery, tank, assault amphibian, and other staffs, for purposes of "research" on integrating women into the force. He also announced that the Marines will conduct quantitative research on how men and women Marines perform in tests such as marching with a heavy load and lifting a heavy machine gun.
Last week, Pentagon officials got a few steps closer to recognizing what those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have known for years: servicewomen fight on the battlefield alongside their male counterparts, despite a longstanding rule barring them from being assigned to units that engage in direct ground combat. The Defense Department didn't altogether scrap the rules officially banning women from being assigned to such units, but it did loosen them. Under the new rules, women will be allowed to serve in some jobs — though not infantry, armor, or special operations forces — at the battalion level — that is, closer to combat than had previously been permitted. To the Pentagon's credit, it scrapped the infamous ban on women serving in units that are physically "co-located" with ground combat units, recognizing that the policy has become "irrelevant" on the modern battlefield. Now, 14,000 new jobs and assignment opportunities are open to servicewomen, though 238,000 positions still remain closed across all the armed services.
This Veterans' Day, we thank our service men and women for their dedication, and we celebrate the strides our country has made towards greater equality in the armed forces.
The attacks on common sense have begun again. The recently introduced House Labor and Health and Human Services FY12 spending bill makes massive cuts to the teen pregnancy prevention initiative (TPPI). It cuts the program by $85 million and, if that wasn’t bad enough, the bill allocates $20 million for abstinence-only programs. Adding insult to injury, the drafters of the bill cut research funding that could lead to more effective programs. Although teen pregnancy rates have decreased in the last couple of years, the U.S. still has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the developed world. There’s no denying the need for medically accurate and age-appropriate sex education.
By Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office & Vania Leveille, Washington Legislative Office at 11:55am
We're happy to report that last Wednesday, the Obama administration criticized a provision in a bill that bans the District of Columbia from using its own local funds to pay for abortion care for low-income women. The White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy, in which it stated that this provision "undermines the principle of states' rights and of D.C. home rule."
We Won The Big Fight For Planned Parenthood! There is cause for celebration! The President of the United States and the Senate Majority Leader were unwavering in their support and stood strong against a hard push by extremists in the House who tried to deny Planned Parenthood any and all federal funding.
It came down to the wire but Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Obama did not falter. As a result of their steadfastness, the support of dozens of senators and members of the House pro-choice caucus — and especially YOU — millions of men and women will continue to have access to basic health care services including family planning and life-saving screenings for breast and cervical cancer. This tremendous victory is a testament to the power of voices — our voices -- raised against extremists. This is a moment to savor, when President Obama said, simply and emphatically, "No" to abortion opponents.
We Won The Big Fight For Planned Parenthood! There is cause for celebration! The President of the United States and the Senate Majority Leader were unwavering in their support and stood strong against a hard push by extremists in the House who tried to deny Planned Parenthood any and all federal funding.
It came down to the wire but Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Obama did not falter. As a result of their steadfastness, the support of dozens of senators and members of the House pro-choice caucus — and especially YOU — millions of men and women will continue to have access to basic health care services including family planning and life-saving screenings for breast and cervical cancer. This tremendous victory is a testament to the power of voices — our voices -- raised against extremists. This is a moment to savor, when President Obama said, simply and emphatically, "No" to abortion opponents.
