| Catherine Hislop has just left a comment on Catherine Hislop's network update:
"There is so mush to do to awaken poeple from the control that they have been supressed under for so long"
|
Today marks the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the court decision that recognized the right of women to make personal, private medical decisions and control their bodies and their reproductive health. Thirty-eight years seems like a long time, and lots of young women today don’t remember a time when abortion was banned outright in states across the country, forcing women to seek dangerous and sometimes deadly illegal abortions.
But 38 years is no time at all when it comes to women’s health and the right to choose, and this week we had a harsh reminder that the fight to protect our access to reproductive health care is not over — not by a long shot.
Two days ago, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) introduced a bill that marks a new attack on women’s health. Rep. Smith and the new Republican leadership campaigned on a promise to focus on jobs and the economy — but now that they’re in power, their first order of business is taking away health insurance benefits that the majority of women currently have access to.
It’s a sign of just how focused our opponents are on undermining women’s access to care. Rep. Smith’s bill is intended to end insurance coverage for virtually all abortions, including private insurance coverage that women pay for themselves.
With the help of Planned Parenthood supporters like you, we’ve been able to defeat anti-choice legislation like this in the past, but we’ve never seen anything like this. Smith’s bill goes far beyond any other proposal ever introduced in Congress to take health care coverage away from women. If it passes, it will put the lives of women with life-threatening pregnancies in danger, and even threaten abortion coverage for many women who are raped and become pregnant.
The anniversary of Roe v. Wade is a reminder that advances for women’s health and rights do not come easily. We have to speak out and stand up together to make progress — and we have to do whatever it takes to protect the gains we’ve made from people like Rep. Smith who want to turn back the clock.
Today, I celebrate what we achieved 38 years ago with Roe v. Wade, and I rededicate myself to protecting women’s right to make their own private, personal medical decisions. With anti-choice politicians newly empowered in Congress and statehouses across the country, Rep. Smith’s bill is just the first in what is sure to be a long string of attacks on women’s health. We’ll be counting on you to help defeat the Smith bill over the coming weeks — and then to stand with us as we continue to protect and promote women’s health.
Thank you for your ongoing support of Planned Parenthood and the women, men, and teens who rely on us.  |  |  | | Sincerely,
Cecile Richards, President
Planned Parenthood Federation of America |
|
|
January 18, 2011 — The U.S. has not made enough progress in curbing most health care disparities, according to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, The Hill's "Healthwatch" reports (Millman, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 1/13).
The report, which primarily focused on racial differences, detailed several disparities related to reproductive health. It found that infant mortality among children born to black women is as much three times higher than among other races. Although the teenage pregnancy rate is steady or declining for all ethnic groups, the Hispanic teen pregnancy rate is three times as high as that of whites and the rate for blacks is twice as high as that of whites. American Indians, blacks and Hispanics have higher rates of new HIV infections than whites, while Asians have the lowest HIV rate overall. HIV rates are worsening for American Indians and blacks, CDC said (McNeil, New York Times, 1/13). The agency noted that researchers have not collected enough evidence on the effectiveness of possible solutions for reducing the disparities. In addition, there are significant gaps in national data on disparities by disability and sexual orientation. The report said, "Standard reporting of sexual identity/orientation or sexual behavior on national health surveys is necessary if these health inequities are to be observed and attenuated among population groups." The report recommended that future national and state surveys consistently study sexual identity, orientation and behavior ("Healthwatch," The Hill, 1/13).
|
|
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment