October 3, 2017

Federal judge blocks Florida law requiring anyone offering abortion advice to register with state

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The decision in Florida is one of several wins for reproductive rights activists in recent weeks.

The law, which was signed by Gov. Rick Scott last year, would have required abortion “advisers” to pay a $200 fee and offer a “full and complete” definition of abortion and its benefits and drawbacks. What that definition needed to include was not made clear under the law.

“This case presents a challenge to a state law that (1) imposes a content- and viewpoint-based requirement to register and pay a fee to engage in speech protected by the First Amendment and (2) makes it a crime not to simultaneously engage in compelled speech that the law describes so vaguely that even the state’s Attorney General does not know what is required,” Judge Robert L. Hinkle explained upon granting the preliminary injunction Friday.

The decision is a win for the group that challenged the law, which included the American Civil Liberties Union, a minister, two rabbis, and the Palm Beach chapter of the National Organization for Women. Hinkle said he issued the injunction because the group challenging the law would likely succeed at trial.

The state argued that the group had not been harmed by the law, that the law wasn’t being enforced, and that there was no penalty for not registering.

Hinkle, when issuing the injunction, called provision “hopelessly vague.”

“A woman’s trusted advisors, whom she turns to for personal and private conversations when considering abortion, should be free to provide compassionate support without the threat of criminal charges,” Talcott Camp, deputy director of the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project, said in a statement. “We are very pleased that the court has blocked these dangerous requirements from causing further harm.”

Hinkle’s injunction is the latest in a line of recent victories for reproductive rights and abortion activists at the state level.

Two weeks ago, a federal judge in Indiana blocked an anti-abortion law signed by Vice President Mike Pence, then governor of Indiana, that would have prohibited anyone from seeking an abortion specifically because the fetus may be disabled. Additionally, the law would have required aborted fetuses be buried or cremated and that abortion providers notify patients seeking abortions that doing do because the fetus may be disabled was illegal in the state.

Last week, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, also reversed course and announced he would sign into law a bill that will expand taxpayer subsidized abortions for those covered by Medicaid and state employee insurance.

Additionally, on the national level, Senate Republicans conceded last week that their latest attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare, which would have defunded Planned Parenthood, did not have the votes and would not come to the floor.

https://thinkprogress.org/florida-abortion-law-5a64f956ff72/

 

October 2, 2017

Almost half of all abortions happening around the world every year are unsafe

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Of the 55.7 million abortions that take place worldwide every year, 25.5 million are unsafe.

Image: Kishivan via Shutterstock

NEARLY HALF OF all abortions that happen around the world every year are unsafe, a new study estimates.

Every year, of the 55.7 million abortions that take place worldwide, 25.5 million are unsafe, according to the study published in The Lancet.

The vast majority of these (97%) are taking place in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

In the study, the authors classified abortion safety as safe, less safe and least safe.

Globally, around 55% of all abortions (30.6 million each year between 2010 and 2014) were safe, meaning they were done through a medical abortion, vacuum aspiration, or dilatation and evacuation, and were provided or supported by a trained individual. All of these methods have been recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Meanwhile, 30.7% of all abortions (12.1 million) were put into the less safe category. These were abortions that were done by a trained provider but with an outdated method, or it was done with a safe method without the support of a trained person.

A stark 14.4% (8 million) were classified as least safe. These were provided by untrained individuals using dangerous or invasive methods.

Around the world

About 87% of all abortions in developed countries were safe.

The exception was Eastern Europe, where the proportion of unsafe abortions was slightly higher at 14.2%, compared to 6.5% in Western Europe.

Eastern Asia had similar safety statistics to Europe and North America.

Less than 25% of abortions in most regions of Africa and Latin America were considered safe.

The vast majority of unsafe abortions in Africa were considered least safe and were associated with higher death rates. The study suggests this is likely linked to serious complications and poor health infrastructure.

Restrictive laws

Differing laws around the world had an impact on abortion safety in different jurisdictions, according to the study.

It suggested that countries with high proportions of safe abortions were more likely to have less restrictive laws, which might provide a more accommodating environment for trained professionals and access to safe methods.

In the 57 countries where abortion was available on request, 87.4% of all abortions were safe, compared with 25.2% in the 62 countries where abortion was banned or allowed only to save a woman’s life or to preserve her physical health.

In countries with restrictive laws, 31.3% of abortions were considered least safe.

“Our findings call for the need to ensure access to safe abortions to the full extent of the law, particularly in low-income regions of the world, and efforts are needed to replace the use of unsafe methods with safe methods,” Bela Ganatra, lead author of the study said.

Increasing the availability, accessibility and affordability of contraception can reduce the incidence of unintended pregnancies, and therefore, abortions, but it is essential to combine this strategy with interventions to ensure access to safe abortions.

Ireland’s current stance

In April of this year, the Citizens’ Assembly voted to recommend radical changes to Ireland’s abortion regime.

Crucially, its members voted to replace or amend the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution which, except in very limited cases, effectively bans abortion in Ireland.

In its place, the assembly’s members recommended that the Constitution makes it clear that Ireland’s abortion regime should be decided by legislation – worked out by Ireland’s elected public representatives.

The committee has until Christmas to complete its work and deliver a report to the Oireachtas, with a June/July date for a referendum flagged by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

In June, the UN Human Rights Committee found that Ireland’s abortion legislation violated the human rights of a woman.

The finding was made in relation to the case of Siobhán Whelan, who was denied an abortion in 2010 after the diagnosis of a fatal foetal abnormality. It echoes the same committee’s June 2016 decision in the case of Amanda Mellet, who traveled to the UK to have a termination. In November, the State offered to pay her €30,000 in compensation.

The sixth annual March for Choice is set to take in Dublin this Saturday, organised by the Abortion Rights Campaign (ARC).

Yesterday, the campaign said that it will support nothing less than a full repeal.

“We will reserve judgement on the announcement of a stand-alone referendum on the Eighth Amendment until we know the question that will be put to the people of Ireland,” ARC spokesperson Linda Kavanagh said.

http://www.dailyedge.ie/unsafe-abortions-worldwide-3618232-Sep2017/?r_dir_d=1

 

October 2, 2017

Illegal Abortion Is a Maternal Health Crisis

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On Monday, the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion, we at Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands (PPGNHI) are reminded that legal abortion is critical to improving maternal health and reducing maternal mortality around the world.

On Monday, the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion, we at Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands (PPGNHI) are reminded that legal abortion is critical to improving maternal health and reducing maternal mortality around the world.
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Texas has seen some of the nation’s most regressive abortion restrictions in recent years. This series chronicles the fall-out of those laws, and the litigation that has followed.

Unsafe abortion is a maternal health crisis in countries where abortion is illegal or difficult to access, leading to 47,000 preventable deaths each year, according to the World Health Organization. Women and adolescents with unplanned pregnancies are risking their lives and health to access what should be a routine procedure. On Monday, the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion, we at Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands (PPGNHI) are reminded that legal abortion is critical to improving maternal health and reducing maternal mortality around the world.

Women who lack access to legal abortion are often forced to continue with unwanted pregnancies. Recently in Ireland, a survivor of sexual assault and attempted suicide who was denied the right to a legal abortion was hospitalized in psychiatric care until her baby could be delivered by cesarean section at 26 weeks’ gestation. Last year in Senegal, an 11-year-old rape survivor gave birth to twins and is now unable to continue her education. Her mother, according to reports, asked the Senegalese women lawyers’ association for financial support so the girl could continue her education, but also stressed that the girl would need to switch schools to avoid being bullied.

Without access to legal abortion, women seeking to terminate a pregnancy face dire options, particularly women with limited resources.

Each year there are 85 million unintended pregnancies globally, with 3.4 million in the United States alone, according to the Guttmacher Institute. In most countries, women with financial resources can obtain a safe procedure; however, where abortion is illegal, women without resources risk unsafe methods, such as seeking care from an unqualified provider; self-medicating; drinking toxic fluids; and self-injury. Such abortion procedures lead to 13 percent of global maternal deaths annually, or eight maternal deaths every hour. Millions of women who survive these unsafe procedures suffer serious—if not permanent—injuries.

In addition to the immediate health impacts, unsafe abortion makes a negative impact on society. The Guttmacher Institute reports that unsafe abortion reduces women’s productivity, increasing economic burdens for poor families; causes maternal deaths that leave 220,000 children motherless annually; and creates long-term health problems.

Recent changes in abortion laws in several countries have irrefutably demonstrated that access to legal abortion improves health outcomes. Since legalizing abortion in 2002, Nepal has nearly halved its maternal mortality ratio. In South Africa, the annual number of abortion-related deaths fell by 91 percentafter abortion laws were liberalized in 1997. And a 2005 decriminalization of abortion in Ethiopia has “had a huge impact on saving lives of girls and mothers,” according to Addis Tamire Woldemariam, general director for the Ministry of Health.

In recent months in El Salvador, two local organizations, La Colectiva Feminista para el Desarrollo Local and La Agrupación Ciudadana para la Despenalización del Aborto Terapéutico, Ético y Eugenésico have called for the Salvadoran media and government to cease their public defamation. These actions, including hate speeches by public officials, as well as by non-state actors, such as religious and community leaders, or fundamentalist groups and news outlets, intend to impede their work to advance sexual and reproductive rights as human rights, the organizations say. Abortion is criminalized in all cases in El Salvador, including when the woman’s life or health is at risk, or in cases of rape or incest.

The World Health Organization states that “ending the silent pandemic of unsafe abortion is an urgent public-health and human-rights imperative” and calls safe, legal abortion a “fundamental right of women, irrespective of where they live.”

We know that some of the lowest abortion rates in the world are in countries where safe abortion is legal and available, along with quality family planning services that enable women to prevent unintended pregnancies. Providing contraception to the estimated 222 million women who want to avoid pregnancy in the developing world would decrease the need for abortion services; however, even when quality contraceptive services are widely available, there will always be a need for abortion. Through our global programs, PPGNHI is working to increase access to contraception, provide sexual and reproductive health education, and advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Next month, PPGNHI is a proud co-sponsor of the Human Right to Family Planning Conference, held October 9-11 at the University of Washington campus in Seattle. This conference is the first of its kind to be sponsored by a U.S. university in collaboration with community organizations and it will explore the relationship between the right to health and family planning, including abortion, and improving universal access—globally and locally.

The numbers and stories are horrifying indeed, and at the same time make a strong argument for legalized abortion. Surveys suggest people can agree on abortions in cases of rape, but why should we stop there? We as a society, from Seattle to Dubai, must eliminate restrictions on a woman’s ability to decide when and if she has children, because no woman should die from an unsafe abortion.

https://rewire.news/article/2015/09/28/illegal-abortion-maternal-health-crisis/

 

October 1, 2017

Illinois Just Expanded Government-Funded Abortion Access

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Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner today signed into law a bill that expands Medicaid and state employee insurance to cover abortion and enshrines a woman’s constitutional right to abortion in the state of Illinois. His decision marks the first time in over two decades that a state has voluntarily provided Medicaid-funded abortion care for low-income and disabled women.

HB 40—championed by state Representative Sara Feigenholtz (D) and Senator Heather A. Steans (D) in the legislature—lifts restrictions in state law on Medicaid coverage for abortion, repeals a current “trigger law” put into place in 1975 in the state that would have made abortion illegal if Roe v. Wade was overturned and allows state employees to negotiate for abortion coverage in their health insurance plans. The legislation passed the House in April and the Senate in May, but wasn’t sent to Rauner’s desk until Monday.

“The Governor’s decision is a game-changer in the fight for reproductive justice,” Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority, said in a statement today. “It is all the more monumental that this legislation was passed essentially along party lines by a Democratic majority state senate and house, but will now be signed into law by a Republican governor.”

Rauner campaigned on expanding Medicaid coverage to abortion leading up to his 2014 election, declaring that laws restricting Medicaid funds from covering abortion were unfair because they constrained access based on income. His wife, Diana, helped fund a full-page ad during his campaign against Democrat Pat Quinn touting that “both candidates for Illinois Governor… are pro-choice.”

557,000 women of reproductive age are enrolled in Medicaid in Illinois, and so are one-in-five women of reproductive age nationwide. But under the Hyde Amendment—a discriminatory ban on federal funding for abortions in place since 1976—the low-income women, Native American women, disabled women and government employees who rely on Medicaid and other government-funded healthcare programs have been unable to access comprehensive reproductive healthcare. At the federal level, lawmakers are trying to pass the EACH Woman Act to repeal the ban.

Although the Hyde Amendment makes some room for abortion care in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest, women with cancer or other serious illnesses can still be denied funding for the procedure under the law. As it stands, only 14 states—excluding Illinois—provide Medicaid funding for abortion beyond Hyde restrictions. Until today, state employees could be and had been denied coverage for reproductive health care, including for medically necessary abortions, with no exceptions for rape and incest—and a court mandate ruling that Illinois use government funds to cover medically necessary abortions went largely unenforced.

“Governor Rauner demonstrated through his announcement that Medicaid-funded abortions should not be a partisan issue, but rather a matter of economic justice,” Smeal said. “Abortion is not a constitutionally protected right for only wealthy women. Making decisions about what happens to one’s own body is a constitutionally protected right for everyone. Poor women, just like women of greater means, deserve access to comprehensive, constitutionally-protected reproductive healthcare, which includes abortion. Medicaid isn’t supposed to be wielded as a weapon to punish poor women. But that is exactly what it becomes when we use women’s bodies as a battleground for a draconian agenda that the majority of Americans do not support.”

Today marks International Safe Abortion Day, a global day of action for access to safe and legal abortion. In two days, the Hyde Amendment will turn 41. Next week, lawmakers in the House plan to vote on a nationwide 20-week abortion ban. (A 20-week ban is also one of two laws restricting abortion proposed in Illinois this year.) In the midst of a political climate where lawmakers at all levels have been seeking to erode abortion access and attack women’s healthcare, Rauner’s signature on HB 40 sends a firm message—in Illinois and to the entire country—that abortion access shouldn’t be defined by income or location.

“This is a great victory for all women, for reproductive freedom as a human right and for the return of the Republican party to its original tradition of individual rights,” Ms. co-founder Gloria Steinem said in a statement. “I applaud Governor Rauner for his leadership and for putting the state of Illinois into the forefront of human rights.”

http://msmagazine.com/blog/2017/09/28/newsflash-illinois-governor-decide-whether-state-will-fund-abortions/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=SocialWarfare

 

October 1, 2017

Tens of thousands march for abortion rights in Ireland

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DUBLIN (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of people marched in Dublin on Saturday to demand the loosening of some of the strictest abortion laws in the world ahead of a 2018 referendum on the issue.

Abortion remains a divisive issue in once stridently Catholic Ireland, where a complete ban on the procedure was only lifted in 2013 to allow terminations in cases where the mother’s life was in danger.

In 2016 over 3,000 Irish women traveled to England for abortions, according to the British Department of Health, but activists say the real number is far higher.

The government has promised to hold a referendum next May or June, but it has yet to decide exactly what question to put to the Irish people.

The human rights arms of the United Nations and Council of Europe have pressed the government to decriminalize abortion and widen the law to allow for the procedure in cases of fatal fetal abnormality, rape or incest.

But pro-choice activists want a more liberal regime, closer to that of England, which allows terminations to be carried out up to 24 weeks after conception. Opinion polls show a large majority of voters want some change.

“Government ministers have suggested only the most restrictive terms will pass, but I think the people want more than that,” said Sarah Murphy, a 26-year-old recruitment professional.

“Ireland is changing. I don’t think you would have seen a march like this a few years ago,” she said.

Like many at the march she was wearing a black jumper with the word Repeal in white, a reference to a campaign to repeal the eighth amendment of the Irish constitution, which gives the unborn child equal rights to those of the mother.

A panel of citizens called together to advise government on the issue voted overwhelmingly that the eighth amendment should be changed.

An all-party committee in parliament is now considering those recommendations and is due to report to parliament by the end of the year.

Some of the crowd, which marched across the city before assembling outside the office of Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, chanted “Get your rosaries off our ovaries” in reference to the influence the Catholic Church has long had on social policy in Ireland, while others held posters demanding “Repeal now.”

The growing pro-choice movement is seen as a sign that the Catholic church, which has dominated Irish life for centuries, is continuing to lose influence.

Ireland was the first country to adopt gay marriage by popular vote in 2015, approving it by 62 percent to 38 percent despite the opposition of the church.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ireland-abortion/tens-of-thousands-march-for-abortion-rights-in-ireland-idUSKCN1C50LZ

 

September 30, 2017

Tom Price Is Out, But His Replacement Will Be Just as Anti-Choice

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The candidates for the top spot at the Department of Health and Human Services presumably would pick up where Price left off in his quest to blow up the Affordable Care Act’s birth control benefit.

Price tendered his resignation to the White House as the reported price tag for his taxpayer-funded travels exceeded $1 million.
 Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Tom Price, the public health chief who believes “there’s not one” woman who can’t afford birth control, is out at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as other virulently anti-choice candidates are reportedly in the running to take over the job.

The Trump administration is considering Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator (CMS) Seema Verma, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, and former Louisiana GOP Gov. Bobby Jindal, according to a Friday morning Axiosreport.

The candidates would presumably pick up where Price left off in his quest to blow up the Affordable Care Act’s popular birth control benefit guaranteeing contraception without co-pay to some 62.4 million cisgender women and an untold number of transgender and gender nonconforming people.

Verma stood by Trump’s side as he signed off on congressional Republicans’ plan to undermine Obama-era Title X safeguards intended to stop state-level interference in the federal funding stream for family planning clinics. A leaked draft obtained by Vox listed CMS as one of the government arms involved in the unraveling of the benefit.

Gottlieb has attempted to stoke fears about the birth control benefit, falsely claiming that under President Obama’s signature health-care law, women “risk losing far more than they’ll gain.” And Jindal falsely claimed the Obama administration limited, rather than expanded, access to birth control, according to a 2012 report by journalist Irin Carmon for Salon. Two years later, Jindal signed an omnibus anti-abortion bill in Louisiana.

By late Friday afternoon, Price tendered his resignation to the White House as the reported price tag for his taxpayer-funded travels exceeded $1 million. Politico first uncovered that Price had taken more than $400,000 worth of charter flights, rather than readily available commercial flights, then found that the outgoing secretary traveled abroad, with the White House’s approval and with his wife by his side, on military jets that cost taxpayers another $500,000–plus. Price offered to reimburse the federal government for a mere fraction of the charter flights only.

Price was a budget hawk during his time in the U.S. Congress. He gave up a plum House Budget Committee chairmanship for the HHS top spot. Charmaine Yoest, the former Americans United for Life president charged with overseeing the agency’s messaging, had the job of defending Price in the news as the scandal unfolded.

With Price’s ouster, Yoest remains one of the most high-profile anti-choice extremists in an agency stacked with officials who tout failed abstinence-only education and distort or deny the scientifically proven efficacy of birth control. Teresa Manning, the notorious birth control foe nevertheless charged with administering Title X funds to ensure people with low incomes can access family planning services, claims that “family planning is something that occurs between a husband and a wife and God” and isn’t a matter for the federal government.

https://rewire.news/article/2017/09/29/price-ouster-isnt-end-anti-choice-hhs-leadership/

 

September 30, 2017

Would you force someone to stay pregnant against their will?

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On International Safe Abortion Day pro-choice campaigner Tara Flynn explores what it means to be pro choice

Pro-choice campaigner Tara Flynn at the March for Choice, which was organised by the Abortion Rights Campaign, in Dublin city centre. Photograph: Eric Luke/ The Irish Times

Pro-choice campaigner Tara Flynn at the March for Choice, which was organised by the Abortion Rights Campaign, in Dublin city centre. Photograph: Eric Luke/ The Irish Times

I once cried when our old washing machine was taken away. Obviously, I quickly cheered up when I realised the replacement didn’t need a crowbar to unlock it or a bucket at the door when you did prise it open. But we’d always had that old machine and it had somehow managed to do more or less what it was supposed to. Until it didn’t. It was broken, not even good for the clothes. Still, its presence gave me something, I’m not sure what. Stability. Continuity. Change is often frightening, challenging, but there comes a moment when you realise it’s the only way.

Even conversationally broaching the repeal of the Eighth Amendment can cause consternation here in Ireland. I understand: talking openly and frankly about reproductive rights is brand new to us. Personally, I’ve had a lot of reading to do; I realised I didn’t have the facts, even the words. We’re not taught them.

You can be strongly morally opposed to abortion and still be pro choice

Until now, the narrative has been weighted towards only one set of beliefs. It doesn’t help when such a nuanced issue is crudely framed as binary debate, yet the media love of a bunfight (not solely an Irish concern) and multitude of commentators seemingly bent on obfuscation shape it as such. So often, this leads to the wrong question being asked:

“Are you for or against abortion?” It’s a fine question if you’re faced with making the decision. It’s something you should know. But it has no place when talking about other people’s bodies and their right to determine their own lives and futures. That’s none of our business. No two pro-choice people will have the same response to that question. Attitude to abortion is not what makes a person pro choice.

Pro-choice people come from wildly varying backgrounds and positions on when life begins, or whether we’d ever have an abortion ourselves. What unifies us is the firm belief that the pregnant person knows what’s best for them. We trust them. We believe them.

In the two years since I came out about having an abortion, I’ve found most people to be supportive. Even those who find the topic unpleasant will say “That’s your business.” They might not realise it, but they’re pro choice. You can be strongly morally opposed to abortion and still be pro choice. It’s the “that’s your business” part that’s key.

I, for one, wouldn’t want to put grieving families through legal hoops at such a time

That we all need rounded, balanced education on this issue is an understatement. We need to assess what’s already happening in our country and ask more useful questions. Like, why would people ask for later gestational limits, if the mantra is “as early as possible”? (The majority of abortions take place prior to 12 weeks.) Well, the vast majority of later cases are wanted pregnancies gone tragically wrong. I, for one, wouldn’t want to put grieving families through legal hoops at such a time. I’d prefer them to be able to access the appropriate medical care for them. I believe most people would.

Tara Flynn. “Why do we say that the stance that abortion is acceptable only on grounds of rape or incest is not a moderate one?” Photograph: Cyril Byrne/ The Irish Times
Tara Flynn. “Why do we say that the stance that abortion is acceptable only on grounds of rape or incest is not a moderate one?” Photograph: Cyril Byrne/ The Irish Times

Why do we say that the stance that abortion is acceptable only on grounds of rape or incest is not a moderate one? Because the procedure in those cases is the same as for an abortion for any other reason. So it’s not the procedure people oppose; it’s the circumstances under which the person got pregnant, and whether they’re deemed to have suffered enough. That’s quite extreme, when you think about it. Not to mention legally and practically unworkable.

However, asking for broad access, I’m sometimes told, is “scaring people”. That’s what’s scary? What about people being forced to continue pregnancies with which they can’t cope? Or harming themselves? Or risking a 14-year sentence? Or for those lucky enough to have means, being forced to travel for the medical care they need?

It seems, for some, there’s comfort in denial. They may like the idea of Ireland being abortion-free, but it’s not. Nowhere is. Our rates are comparable with countries where it is legal, the only difference is the hardship we inflict on pregnant people trying to access it.

Change can be frightening, but it’s not as frightening as the status quo

And on that point, good news: should the Eighth Amendment be repealed and our laws made more compassionate, the landscape would not change. Rain would still fall. Buses would still arrive two at a time. Washing machines would still break down. If we get safe abortion access here, those who don’t want to think about it can go back to pretending it’s not happening.

There are plenty of questions to be asked about this issue, but only one truly pertinent one: “would you force someone to remain pregnant against their will?” And, if “yes”, “what would you do to enforce that?” I believe most people’s answer is, “that’s your business”. I thank them for their compassion. Change can be frightening, but it’s not as frightening as the status quo.

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/would-you-force-someone-to-stay-pregnant-against-their-will-1.3236840

 

September 28, 2017

Rauner pulls trigger: Signs bill to ensure abortion remains legal

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Flanked by supporters, Gov. Bruce Rauner announces he will sign abortion legislation HB40. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Gov. Bruce Rauner on Thursday signed into law a controversial abortion bill — expanding insurance coverage for the procedure and seeking to ensure abortion remains legal in Illinois even if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

The governor signed the bill minutes after announcing his long-awaited decision on the deeply divisive issue.  His action drew praise from abortion rights supporters and damning indictments from abortion opponents — with one leading GOP legislator saying he no longer supports the governor.

The governor acknowledged  the divide but said he sought to make a decision “consistent with my views”

“I personally am pro-choice. I always have been,” Rauner told reporters. “A woman should have the right to decide.”

Flanked by supporters, including Former Lt. Gov. Corinnne Wood (right), Gov. Bruce Rauner announces he will sign abortion legislation HB40. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

The governor said he spoke to people on both sides of the issue and sought to find “common ground” between abortion rights supporters and those who want the procedure outlawed.

“We were unable to do that,” Rauner said. “The passions run too deep. As a result, today I am announcing that I am signing House Bill 40.”

Rauner made the announcement at a Thompson Center news conference, flanked by women, including former Lt. Gov. Corinne Wood, an abortion rights supporter who has battled breast cancer.

“I’m here as someone who has been fighting for women’s health issues for decades, and not just women’s health issue across the board but also women’s reproductive health issues,” Wood said. “And I can tell you it is a challenging issue, and that is why today is so important. Because we have a governor who is standing up for the right thing for all the women of Illinois.”

Former Lt. Gov. Corinnne Wood speaks at Thursday’s news conference. Sun-Times Media.

“He’s standing up for women’s health. He’s standing up to putting an end to this partisan bickering.”

The governor has given mixed signals on what he plans to do on the bill, and that was reflected in the reaction to his final decision.

Cardinal Blase Cupich tweeted that “Gov. Rauner has signed into law a very disturbing bill he once promised to veto.”

Rauner’s own lieutenant governor issued a statement saying “as a pro-life Republican” she disagrees with the governor’s decision.

“I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for a 15-year-old refugee who chose to have me and keep me,” Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti said. “I realize this bill is a political ploy to divide the people of Illinois. While I disagree with the Governor on this, we must focus on our areas of agreement – enacting real reforms we need to turn Illinois around.”

The bill’s chief House sponsor, state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz issued a statement that was far from congratulatory.

“I am grateful that Governor Rauner has finally realized how important this legislation is to women in the current political climate,” the North Side Democrat said. “Governor Rauner has decided to stick to his original promise, and his decision will help ensure women continue to have access to all reproductive care.”

First lady Diana Rauner smiles and applauds from the back of the room as Gov. Bruce Rauner announces he will sign abortion legislation HB40. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Republican abortion opponents were even harsher.

House Republican Floor Leader Peter issued a scathing statement, saying he can no longer support the governor because of his failure to stand up to Democratic Speaker Mike Madigan, “badly botch negotiations with the General Assembly on a variety of subjects” and now ‘flat out lies.”

“I’ve heard Rauner promise the people of Illinois that he had ‘no social agenda’ and as such firmly commit to legislators, the public, and even to Chicago’s Cardinal, Blaise Cupich, that he would veto taxpayer funding of abortions,” Breen said.

“But he has now broken that commitment, signing a bill that puts taxpayers on the hook to pay for an expected 20,000-30,000 aborted lives per year. … Now, I’ve come to expect politicians to shade the truth, but what’s clear today is that Rauner’s promises were just flat out lies.”

State Rep. David McSweeney echoed that sentiment.

“Bruce Rauner is a failed Governor who lied to the people of Illinois,” the Barrington Hills Republican said. “On April 14th, he announced that he would veto HB 40. Rauner looked the other way on the 32% increase in the income tax rate, made Illinois a sanctuary state and is primarily responsible for Illinois’ $16 billion backlog of unpaid bills.”

A source who has close knowledge of the legislation said the governor made his final decision Thursday to sign the bill.

The governor participated in meetings with prominent Republicans on Wednesday, but told them they he had not yet made a decision. First lady Diana Rauner was involved in those meetings, the source said.

The governor was sent HB40 on Monday. In April he said he didn’t support one of two parts of the measure and would issue an amendatory veto. But last week Rauner said he was “assessing” the measure and speaking with both proponents and opponents.

Rauner has put himself between a rock and hard place over House Bill 40, which would ensure abortion remains legal in Illinois even if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. It would remove a “trigger provision” in Illinois law that would outlaw abortion if the landmark court decision is overturned.

But The bill would also expand insurance coverage of abortion, allowing women with Medicaid and state-employee health insurance to use their coverage for abortions. And Rauner has said that provision is the deal killer for him.

In April, Rauner said he didn’t support the bill because of “sharp divisions of opinion of taxpayer funding of abortion. ” That prompted the abortion rights organization Personal PAC to release a candidate questionnaire from the 2014 governor’s raceshowing Rauner’s support for abortion rights — including Medicaid funding.

In the questionnaire, Rauner wrote: “I dislike the Illinois law that restricts abortion coverage under the state Medicaid plan and state employees’ health insurance because I believe it unfairly restricts access based on income. I would support a legislative effort to reverse that law.”

But last week, Rauner told reporters he’s “assessing” the bill: “I am meeting with advocates and legislators on both sides, both who support the bill and who are against the bill. And we’re assessing,” Rauner said.

And the governor refused to say which way he is leaning until he sees the bill.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-politics/rauner-to-announce-decision-thursday-on-abortion-trigger-bill/

 

September 28, 2017

Kentucky’s pre-abortion ultrasound requirement struck down

Posted by laurasmith20200 under Abortion Information | Tags: , , |
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Story highlights

  • Kentucky HB2 required ultrasounds for pregnant women seeking an abortion
  • The state ordered the last open abortion clinic to close in March but a judge intervened

(CNN)A federal judge struck down a Kentucky anti-abortion law that required women to receive an ultrasound before they can legally have an abortion.

Western District of Kentucky Judge David Hale ruled Wednesday that the bill violates First Amendment rights and “appears to inflict psychological harm on abortion patients.”
“Requiring physicians to force upon their patients the information mandated by HB2 has more potential to harm the psychological well-being of the patient than to further the legitimate interests of the Commonwealth,” Judge Hale said in the ruling.
House Bill 2, enacted in January, required a physician or technician to perform an ultrasound, describe and display the ultrasound images to the mother, and provide audio of the fetal heartbeat to the mother before she could have an abortion. Its text said a pregnant woman may choose to avert her eyes from the images, and request the volume of the heartbeat be turned down or off.

ACLU lawsuit filed

The American Civil Liberties Union immediately filed a federal lawsuit over the ultrasound measure on behalf of Kentucky’s sole licensed outpatient abortion facility, EMW Women’s Surgical Center, three physicians, and their patients.
“HB2 requires physicians to subject their patients to these images, descriptions, and sounds, when the patient is in a particularly vulnerable and exposed position,” the complaint argued.
The bill was one of two anti-abortion measures signed into law in early 2017. It stipulated that physicians who violated the requirements would be subject to fines up to $250,000.
The second measure, Senate Bill 5, prohibits abortions in the state at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy. That law does not apply in cases where an abortion is required to save the life of the mother or prevent serious risk of bodily harm to the mother. It does not contain exceptions for cases involving rape or incest.
In a statement, Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards said the 20-week ban “is not just shameful — it’s dangerous for women.”
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin supported the anti-abortion laws — which were pushed by the Republican-majority Senate.
“This is truly a new day in Kentucky,” Bevin said in a press release after signing the two bills.
Ingrid Duran, director of state legislation for the National Right to Life Committee, was quoted on the organization’s website saying the legislation “sets a tone for the 2017 session in all states: that the unborn child deserves protection.”
Judge Hale wrote in his decision memorandum, that HB2 “overtly trumpet[s]” the anti-abortion preference of the legislature and is ideological in nature.”

One abortion clinic in the state

One of the plaintiffs in the case, EMW Women’s Surgical Center, had its license revoked in March for what the state cited as a deficiency in its agreements. EMW is the only abortion clinic operating in Kentucky. After its license was revoked, the center filed a lawsuit against the governor’s administration, which resulted in a trial.
The clinic was granted a temporary restraining order so it could remain open until a judge ruled in the case, but after a three-day trial earlier this month, the fate of the clinic still hangs in the balance.
Attorneys agreed to submit final written arguments to US District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky Greg Stivers within 60 days of the trial’s conclusion, and the judge’s verdict will follow in the weeks or months after that. There is no timeline for when Stivers plans to deliver a verdict.
Bevin’s general counsel and defense attorney in the trial, Steve Pitt, said the statute was adopted to “protect the health and safety of women.”
 

September 27, 2017

A Q&A With One of the Men Calling Bullshit on Anti-Choice Legislation in Illinois

Posted by laurasmith20200 under Abortion Information | Tags: , , |
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“When a man chooses to be silent on reproductive rights, he is choosing complacency with inequity,” says Blake Kelley, a Men4Choice board member.

Oren Jacobson, co-founder of Men4Choice, speaking at the launch party for the #CallBullshit campaign. Oren spoke about Men4Choice’s mission and vision and how men could get involved with the campaign by volunteering to knock on doors and host house parties.
 Men4Choice

People across the country are banding together to fight against anti-choice legislation, and Illinoisians are no exception. As Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) is set to decide the fate of a bill that would expand abortion coverage to Medicaid users and state employees, his male constituents are helping sound the alarm about his apparent abandonment of pro-choice promises.

Men4Choice, a concerned group of pro-choice allies, and the Illinois-based Personal PAC have launched a regional campaign, aptly titled #CallBullshit, to engage men on reproductive rights issues. As the campaign’s website says, “Men don’t have to put up with this bullshit. Why should women?”

In addition to putting pressure on Gov. Rauner to sign HB 40, the campaign aims to get men actively involved in a variety of abortion-related concerns, including a judge’s decision to halt an Illinois abortion notification law and the dearth of clinics in the middle of the country.

Rewire spoke with Blake Kelley, a Men4Choice board member, about the campaign, how men can be better allies and activists, and more.

Rewire: Reproductive rights have long been under attack, both nationally and in Illinois, where the #CallBullshit campaign is focused. Was there a specific incident that led Men4Choice and Personal PAC to galvanize and launch this campaign?

Blake Kelley: It’s no secret that historically, men haven’t been there to help women in the fight for their bodily autonomy. That hasn’t changed in the age of social media activism. It seemed whenever there was an attack on reproductive rights, women were the only ones talking about it, despite the fact that 75 percent of men in Illinois say they’re pro-choice. #CallBullshit is meant to specifically target these men, to encourage them to get educated and use their privilege to #CallBullshit on anti-choice policies.

Rewire: Why it is important for men to be involved in reproductive rights activism? And what role should they play as they get involved in this work (to avoid mansplaining an issue women have been working on for centuries)?

BK: Men need to get involved because bodily autonomy is a human right. When a man chooses to be silent on reproductive rights, he is choosing complacency with inequity. Silence is being comfortable with the privilege of not having to be concerned about the government regulating their bodies or the health risks of pregnancy.

Men need to understand foremost that their role in this fight is to be the support. This starts by listening; cis men [men who were assigned male at birth] will never have the same experiences women have when it comes to reproductive rights. But men can use their privilege to maximize women’s experiences and elevate their voices.

Rewire: What do you suggest to those men who are new to this space and want to create change under an aggressively anti-woman regime without perpetuating that same sexist, misogynistic ideology?

BK: Listen, get educated, and show up. Men can’t just show up one day and think they have the answers. We need to realize that we are new to this fight and there’s work we need to do: Educate ourselves, do our homework, and show up to support. Men can be supportive of women leaders and women-led organizations in this movement by showing up to knock on doors, being an abortion clinic escort, donating, sharing women’s voices on social media, and engaging with their male friends on why it’s important to be actively pro-choice. This also means calling out their buddies when they make a comment that is sexist or misogynistic.

Finally, chances are, men are going to make mistakes as they get involved. It’s going to happen and men need to learn to acknowledge mistakes, listen to the women who lead this movement, and learn to be better allies.

Rewire: What has the community’s response been to the campaign? Are men proactively and enthusiastically participating, or do you find it difficult to rally men on the issue?

BK: We’ve been blown away by the support. Men and women from all walks of life, including a lot of people we weren’t expecting, have come out to join the effort. We were excited to see roughly 100 people attend our #CallBullshit campaign launch in August. We’ve had over 12,000 one-on-one conversations with voters about reproductive rights. We’ve seen millions of impressions on social media and we’re just getting started.

Rewire: The campaign website lists several ways for men to #CallBullshit, such as by hosting parties and signing petitions. Are there specific actions that seem to engage men more than others? Why do you think this is?

BK: We all have different strengths. Some men are more comfortable talking about reproductive rights with their pro-choice buddies and some are comfortable talking about it with strangers when they go door to door. I think what’s important is creating multiple avenues to get men involved, to allow people to engage the way they think they can utilize their strengths. Once they get involved, people usually branch out and grow as activists.

Rewire: In your experience—with the #CallBullshit campaign or otherwise—what are the best ways to engage male allies in fighting for abortion access?

BK: In my experience, men aren’t engaging because they aren’t knowledgeable about the recent attacks on reproductive rights, and they don’t understand how to talk about the issue as a partner and an ally.

When I tell guys about the current trigger law in Illinois—which could make abortion and contraceptives illegal [and which HB 40 would overturn]—they almost always want to know more and how they can help. There are a lot of progressive, pro-choice men out there who don’t know what’s going on and don’t know the right way to engage as allies. Unfortunately, it’s not commonplace for a group of men to talk about abortion. But when one guy brings it up, it allows them to ask the questions they might have otherwise been uncomfortable asking before. We are here to instigate those conversations and teach men how to engage in those conversations the right way.

Rewire: Are there any plans to expand the campaign, perhaps regionally or nationally?

BK: Men4Choice is currently an Illinois-focused organization, but obviously, we’re not the only state where choice is in jeopardy or under attack. Men4Choice is just one small niche part of this giant pro-choice movement that we are seeing across the country. We know there are men in other states that care about these issues and would love to get them engaged, too.

Rewire: You have an event, called “Ma’am Up,” on Thursday. Tell us all about it!

BK: As someone who is queer, I’m really excited about our “Ma’am Up” event, focused on getting the LGBTQ community engaged. The event is in the heart [of] Boystown, the first officially recognized gay neighborhood in the United States. We will have speakers from LGBTQ-focused organizations there to show community support. The reality is LGBTQ rights and reproductive rights are not exclusive. This is a great opportunity to talk about the intersection of those identities, how it affects different people, and how we can work to bring both communities together.

https://rewire.news/article/2017/09/27/qa-one-men-calling-bullshit-anti-choice-legislation-illinois/

 

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