NARAL Newsletter: Write a letter to your governer!

The worst has happened: South Dakota has banned abortion.

What does the law do? South Dakota's criminal ban outlaws abortion in almost all cases and does not protect a woman in cases of rape or incest or even when her health is in danger. Doctors who violate the ban could face up to five years in prison.

This is the second time that South Dakota has pushed to ban abortion, and the governor is so anti-choice that he has stated, "[a]bortion…should always be illegal." Even as we see increasing restrictions across the country, it is still a shock to hear that any state has actually passed a law to deny women their constitutional right to choose altogether.

The law is part of a larger anti-choice strategy to overturn Roe v. Wade altogether. To quote the South Dakota House Speaker Matthew Michels, "I think the stars are aligned." [Los Angeles Times, 2/25/06]

According to Governor Rounds, who was just in Washington, DC for a national governors' meeting, he is getting support from his peers: "A lot of governors [are] expressing support and wishing us good luck and saying they may have similar proposals that may be favorably looked upon across the United States." [Keloland TV, 2/26/06]Alabama, Georgia,\nIndiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Rhode Island,\nSouth Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia, all with the\nintent of ending the right to choose through the\ncourts.

\nOur opponents may be fired up over this latest victory, but\nwe can\’t let them achieve their goal of overturning Roe v.\nWade.

\nPlease join us in sending a message to U.S. governors asking\nthem to hold the line on a woman\’s right to choose. Click here to send your governor a message\ntoday.

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\nYou can also help shape the debate on a woman\’s right to\nchoose by writing a letter to the editor of your\nnewspaper. Help educate members of your community\nabout this major threat to a woman\’s right to choose and why\nthey need to care about it. Click here for some key media outlets in your\nstate. Here are some points to keep in mind as you write your\nletter:

\n

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• Passage of this ban is an outrageous attack on women\’s\nhealth and represents a monumental step backward for personal\nprivacy.

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• Anti-choice South Dakota lawmakers are using the law to\nchallenge Roe v. Wade, so women in all 50 states have\nreason to pay attention and speak up.South Dakota\’s criminal ban\noutlaws abortion in almost all cases and does not protect a\nwoman in cases of rape or incest or even when her health is in\ndanger. Doctors who violate the ban could face up to five\nyears in prison.

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• Several states are following South Dakota\’s lead by\nintroducing similar bans on abortion, including Alabama,\nGeorgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Rhode\nIsland, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.”,1] ); //–>

  He's right – this legal strategy isn't just happening in South Dakota. Anti-choice lawmakers are pushing similar unconstitutional legislation in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia, all with the intent of ending the right to choose through the courts.

  Our opponents may be fired up over this latest victory, but we can't let them achieve their goal of overturning Roe v. Wade.

  Please join us in sending a message to U.S. governors asking them to hold the line on a woman's right to choose. Click here to send your governor a message today.

  You can also help shape the debate on a woman's right to choose by writing a letter to the editor of your newspaper. Help educate members of your community about this major threat to a woman's right to choose and why they need to care about it. Click here for some key media outlets in your state. Here are some points to keep in mind as you write your letter:

  • Passage of this ban is an outrageous attack on women's health and represents a monumental step backward for personal privacy.
  • Anti-choice South Dakota lawmakers are using the law to challenge Roe v. Wade, so women in all 50 states have reason to pay attention and speak up.South Dakota's criminal ban outlaws abortion in almost all cases and does not protect a woman in cases of rape or incest or even when her health is in danger. Doctors who violate the ban could face up to five years in prison.
  • Several states are following South Dakota's lead by introducing similar bans on abortion, including Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

Daily Feminist Newsource: 6 March 2006

Wal-Mart To Carry EC But Not Require All Pharmacists to Dispense It

3/6/2006 – In a partial victory for women, Wal-Mart has announced that it will now carry emergency contraception (EC) in all of its pharmacies, complying with a February 14 ruling of the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy that forced the company to do so in that state. However, Wal-Mart’s policy will allow individual pharmacists to refuse to dispense the medication, leaving open the possibility that women will still not have access to a drug that has been prescribed for them.

The February 14 ruling in Massachusetts came after three women, Katrina McCarty, Julia Battel, and Dr. Rebekah Gee, sued Wal-Mart after attempting to purchase emergency contraception at suburban locations and were told that the store did not sell it and it could not be ordered. Announcing the decision to stock Plan B, a brand of EC, the vice president of Wal-Mart’s Pharmacy, Ron Chomiuk, stated, “We feel it is difficult to justify being the country’s only major pharmacy chain not selling it.”

However, as Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, stated, “In many communities, Wal-Mart is the only pharmacy, so timely access is critical” and the decision to excuse pharmacists from filling prescriptions for EC means that the company is “placing the burden on women.”

Wal-Mart currently faces the largest sex discrimination lawsuit in history and has a history of anti-women practices.

LEARN MORE Read about The Plan B Saga in the current issue of Ms. magazine, available on newsstands nationaide

JOIN Ms. and receive the premier feminist magazine delivered to your door

Feminist.org: Your daily source for the feminist perspective on national and global events. Media Resources: Feminist Daily News Wire 2/3/06, 2/15/06, PPFA press release 3/3/06; Wal-Mart press release 3/3/06

Parental Notification Laws Do Not Lower Abortion Rates

3/6/2006 – A recent analysis of states that enacted parental notification or consent laws has shown that the addition of these requirements did not lead to a decline in the abortion rate among teenagers. The study was conducted by the New York Times, which released its findings today. Arizona, Idaho, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia were studied, as they enacted parental involvement laws between 1995 and 2004, allowing researchers to track changes in teenage pregnancy and abortion rates over the past decade. The study found that these laws did not cause decreases in pregnancies or abortions, and could not be used to predict any changes in the abortion rate. In fact, abortions among teenagers rose slightly in Arizona, Idaho, and Tennessee.

According to the New York Times, the lack of a traceable effect from parental notification laws may be explained by the simple idea that most teenagers would tell their parents about a pregnancy whether there was a legal requirement or not. This made the reality of these laws irrelevant to many young women, although the laws negatively affected young women who faced unstable or abusive family relationships and had to obtain a judicial bypass before getting an abortion.

Furthermore, the laws may have the unintended consequence of leading to unsafe home abortions. Renee Chelian, director of Northland Family Planning Centers told the Times, “When we tell them they need to go to court or tell their parents, that's when they tell us there's a Web site,” that claims to tell users how to induce an abortion.

LEARN MORE Read a personal account about the process of getting a judicial bypass in the current issue of Ms. magazine, on newsstands nationwide

original source: feminist.org