Debra Ness, President
On this day in 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade, which established a woman’s right to privacy and to make her own reproductive health decisions. 38 years later, that right – and women’s ability to access it – are at risk.
The November election put in place more federal and state lawmakers who oppose a woman’s right to choose. The extreme measures proposed by these lawmakers are at odds with the majority of Americans who do not want women to lose access to reproductive health services.
For the majority of Americans who do not want to return to the days when abortion was illegal, there is a lot of work ahead. We have opponents in Congress who are determined to undermine our right to choose and deny us access to reproductive health care. Our goal, quite simply, must be to ensure that all women — regardless of their income, where they live, whether they serve in the military — can access a full range of reproductive health services that includes abortion care.
We urge Congress to reject the outrageous “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” which would reduce the availability of abortion coverage in the private insurance market nationwide, narrow the already limited rape and incest provisions in the Hyde Amendment, and permanently deny low-income and military women access to health coverage that includes this essential care.
Lawmakers should end the divisive efforts to take away women’s right to choose and impede women’s access to basic health care, and instead focus on preventing unintended pregnancies. Today, half the pregnancies in our country are unintended and by age 45, about one-third of women will have had an abortion. Making family planning services available to everyone who needs them, and offering all youth unbiased and comprehensive sexuality education, are essential to effective efforts to reduce our nation’s staggering rates of unintended pregnancy. That should be a top priority.
Currently, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) is considering whether to include birth control services and supplies in the package of preventive services that health plans will be required to cover without deductibles or co-pays, as provided for in the Affordable Care Act. A decision to include birth control services without cost-sharing would be a welcome step in the work to reduce unintended pregnancy.
At the National Partnership, we will continue to work tirelessly to protect and expand common sense policies that improve women’s health by providing access to affordable, high quality reproductive health services – and there are ways you can help. Please start by telling your Senators to prioritize women’s health and ensure that women have access to the reproductive health services they need.
The Constitution states that Church and State are separate and that there will be no established Church. Somehow this gets ignored by the religious factions who want to impose their Church canons on everyone whether or not they are of that faith or not or simply want to excercise their be free of religion and its influence which was one of the original intentions of the founders of this country.
IF you look at who is advocating taking choice away —you will see that the majority of those who are doing so are doing so at the behest of their religion and tend to be extremist in it. They have no respect for the rights of others. This is why women, gay people, and many persons of color do not have the guaranteed rights that they are supposed to have because some fascists have seen that the oppressed and suppressed cannot excercise their rights often on the most illogical reasons or traditions that have no rational to exist such as the only place for a woman is at home birthing babies, raising them and doing housework.
We may not agree with each other but we must stand United in the cause of the freedoms that are guaranteed us and the right to excercise them in our pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. You may not like gay people, people of color or persons who are otherwise different but we must be supportive of other peoples rights that these others are being deprived of in order to conserve and preserve our own rights.
The Constitution states that Church and State are separate and that there will be no established Church. Somehow this gets ignored by the religious factions who want to impose their Church canons on everyone whether or not they are of that faith or not or simply want to excercise their right be free of religion and its influence which was one of the original intentions of the founders of this country.
IF you look at who is advocating taking choice away —you will see that the majority of those who are doing so are doing so at the behest of their religion and tend to be extremist in it. They have no respect for the rights of others. This is why women, gay people, and many persons of color do not have the guaranteed rights that they are supposed to have because some fascists have seen that the oppressed and suppressed cannot excercise their rights often on the most illogical reasons or traditions that have no rational to exist such as the only place for a woman is at home birthing babies, raising them and doing housework.
We may not agree with each other but we must stand United in the cause of the freedoms that are guaranteed us and the right to excercise them in our pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. You may not like gay people, people of color or persons who are otherwise different but we must be supportive of other peoples rights that these others are being deprived of in order to conserve and preserve our own rights.
We must remain vigilant lest anti-choicers get their way and deprive women of reproductive health services.
If legislators are really serious about eliminating abortions they have to include birth control services and supplies (without co-pays and deductibles) in health-care plans, as provided in the Affordable Care Act.
It is so interesting how the republicans and right-wing call any kind of interference in their agenda socialist, but that is exactly what they are trying to do. No one should have the right to dictate anyone else’s medical choices regardless what they are, they should be told to stay out of other people’s medical and religious choices.
It is time for the majority to stand up to these extreme minorities.
We should also be investigating these so called unbiased supreme court justices, it is wrong that they can do whatever they choose without consequence, they alone could destroy our country as we know it.