By Becca Cadoff, Reproductive Freedom Project at 4:18pm
Over the weekend extremist politicians continued their onslaught on restricting abortion care. What happened? Well, the saying goes "three's a crowd," and when it comes to interfering in personal decisions best left to a woman, her doctor and her family, that's especially true.
On Friday, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed a sweeping anti-abortion bill that threatens women's access to care in a multitude of ways.
Due to onerous regulations approved last week by the Virginia Board of Health, Hillcrest Clinic was forced on Saturday to shut its doors to women seeking care.
A Thursday debate about an abortion bill in the Florida House of Representatives became so insulting that five Representatives had to leave the debate.
Three is, indeed, a crowd – especially when our privacy and our health are at stake. Tell your elected officials to leave us alone.
By Becca Cadoff, Reproductive Freedom Project at 1:01pm
After her adventures in Oz, Dorothy couldn’t wait to get back to Kansas. But if she lived there now, she might not be so eager to return. Governor Sam Brownback has just signed yet another bill that makes it more difficult for Kansas women to get the health care they need.
This behemoth 70-page sweeping anti-abortion bill attacks women’s health care from a variety of angles. It could impose new taxes on a woman who obtains an abortion and on the health center where she obtained it, and it could require doctors to inform patients about a supposed link between abortion and breast cancer — a risk that the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, and other medical experts roundly reject. The law also includes language about the legal rights of fertilized eggs, which lays the groundwork for even more extreme measures blocking access to reproductive health care.
By Becca Cadoff, Reproductive Freedom Project at 4:44pm
Yesterday, we filed a lawsuit in Arkansas to challenge what was, for a short time, the most extreme abortion ban in the nation. Don't be mistaken though, the Arkansas law is still outrageous - banning most abortions just a few weeks after a woman finds out she is pregnant. By passing this law, politicians are preventing a woman and her family from being able to make the most personal decision they might ever make.
By Hayley Smith, Advocacy and Policy Associate, ACLU at 2:17pm
Today we filed litigation challenging a new law in Arkansas that bans abortion starting at 12 weeks – a law that is a clear violation of state legislators' duties to preserve, protect and defend the state and federal constitutions. Our lawsuit asks the court to block this blatantly unconstitutional ban, which violates numerous Supreme Court decisions dating back 40 years. A stubborn group of legislators insisted on rushing the bill through the legislature, refusing to listen to admonitions by doctors and even the Governor himself.
After considerable arm twisting by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, today the Virginia Board of Health approved medically unnecessary regulations designed to force many women's health care centers in Virginia to shut their doors. These costly and unprecedented regulations require many women's centers to meet the building requirements as if they were newly constructed mini-hospitals. The retroactive application of these guidelines to existing health centers is excessive and inappropriate.
President Obama yesterday released his proposed budget for fiscal year 2014. Here are five things you should know about how it affects reproductive rights:
Home Rule for the District of Columbia
As he has each year of his presidency, President Obama removed the D.C. abortion ban from his budget proposal. That ban prohibits the District of Columbia from using its own locally raised funds to pay for abortion care for low-income D.C. residents. By contrast, all other states are permitted to use non-federal revenues to pay for abortion care if they so choose.
By Becca Cadoff, Reproductive Freedom Project at 12:11pm
In the latest affront to women's health, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley signed into law a bill that could force health centers in the state to close their doors if they provide abortion care. We may not all see eye-to-eye about abortion, but most people agree that we all need access to health care without politicians getting in the way.
Isn't it time we are allowed to make our own decisions about our health care?
This bill is just another example of political attacks on women's health, following on the heels of North Dakota, Arkansas, and other state efforts to block access to abortion care. The trend of attacking women is snowballing out of control, and we need to stop it.
By Meghan Groob, Media Relations Associate, ACLU at 4:55pm
Imagine looking at your bank statement and seeing $11,000 more than you expected. If you're anything like me, you would immediately start planning how to spend your newfound riches. Should I be responsible and pay off my debt? Or should I finally take that dream vacation to Paris?
This situation isn't hypothetical. Fifty years after President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, women, on average, still make just 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. That adds up to nearly $11,000 in lost wages every year.
We've said it before and we'll say it again: the Obama administration's contraceptive coverage rule is a breakthrough for women's health, ensuring that millions of women will have access to affordable, effective contraception. But anti-family planning forces are waging an all-out campaign to prevent women from getting affordable access to this basic health care. They're claiming that your boss should be able to control your health care decisions.
Over the last five decades, women have broken many barriers in education, business, and government. We need look no further than Congress to see the progress women have made: in 1963, Congress had only 14 women. In contrast, the new 113th Congress seated 97 women, the highest representation of women in United States history. The progress of women is also evident across the workforce. Today, women make up half of all workers in the United States and are increasingly becoming co- or primary breadwinners for their families.
