Migration Category: National Old Site

Rapidly increasing rates of chlamydia in Minnesota have led the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS), in conjunction with other state public health groups, to form the Minnesota Chlamydia Partnership, which aims to reduce chlamydia rates through prevention and education efforts.

According to a state health report released last week, the number of reported chlamydia cases in Minnesota are at an all-time high. Peter Carr, director of the STI and HIV section of the MDH, stated, “Chlamydia reached a record level of 15,294 cases this past year. Not only does this total represent a 6 percent increase from the previous year, it’s the highest number of cases ever recorded in Minnesota in a single year since we began tracking chlamydia back in 1986.”

“We have a preventable public health problem in Minnesota,” said Ellen Young, PPMNS Director of Government Relations and Education and Outreach. “Planned Parenthood is committed to working toward a solution to stem this epidemic.”

The chlamydia epidemic is disproportionately affecting African Americans and young people. Fifteen to twenty-four year olds comprise 70 percent of all cases. Surprisingly, only a small percentage (less than one percent) of students at the University of Minnesota was diagnosed with chlamydia.

Planned Parenthood health centers across the country provide testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. In Minnesota, Planned Parenthood provides primary and preventive health care for some 64,000 women and men.

On Wednesday, Representatives Mike Turner (R-OH) and Niki Tsongas (D-MA) introduced the Defense STRONG (Sexual Trauma Response, Oversight and Good Governance) Act that would increase the legal rights and protections for service members who have experienced sexual assault during their military service. The bill would provide victims with the right to legal counsel and would allow them to relocate to another military base. Moreover, the bill would require increased training for troops and would ensure the confidentiality for service members who choose to speak with advocates.

The Pentagon’s “Fiscal Year 2010 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military” indicated that approximately 3,000 women experienced sexual assault in fiscal year 2008, which is a 9 percent increase from the previous year. For women in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan, the rate of sexual assaults by US military personnel increased by 25 percent.

According to a 2003 study by the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, at least one-third of all women veterans have experienced rape or sexual assault by fellow US military members frequently of higher rank during their service, and thirty percent of military women experience domestic violence. Moreover, rape occurs in the military nearly twice as often as in the civilian world.

The STRONG Act was proposed during the 111th session of Congress in May 2010 but did not pass. Although it is a bipartisan bill, advocates of the bill are concerned that it will not be supported by a Republican-majority House.

In Minnesota, the state Senate Health and Human Services Committee passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act that would prohibit women from obtaining abortions after 20 weeks gestation period even through medical evidence does not support the claim of fetal pain. The bill, introduced by Senator Gretchen Hoffman (R-Vergas), makes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest, although it would permit a woman to obtain an abortion in cases when her life is endangered.

Linnea House, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota told Minnesota Public Radio, “Women facing difficult and sometimes tragic complications in their pregnancies need to be able to make the best decision for this based on their medical condition, the recommendation of their doctor and the beliefs of their family. I trust women to make these decisions, and you should too.”

The American College of Gynecology disputes assertions that a fetus can feel pain at the 20 weeks gestation period, stating that there is “no legitimate evidence that fetuses can experience pain.” Governor Mark Dayton (D), a supporter of women’s rights to abortion services, will likely not sign the bill.

Currently, four states – Nebraska, Oklahoma, Idaho and Kansas – have passed similar legislation. Late last week, the Alabama House passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act and at the end of March, the Idaho Senate voted to approve the Unborn Child Protection Act, both of which would ban abortions after 20 weeks, unless the woman’s life is endangered.

Yesterday Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (R) signed a bill requiring that medical providers obtain a written and notarized indication of consent from both parents prior to offering abortion services to minors. Proponents say the two parent notification requirement would only apply in cases in which the nuclear family was intact; however, such consent laws are extremely harmful to young girls, especially victims of abuse. The change would alter current Kansas law, in which the minor needs the consent of only one parent to have an abortion.

Peter Brownlie, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and mid-Missouri, stated, “We are disappointed the Kansas Legislature and Gov. Brownback are putting the health and safety of Kansas women and families at risk for purposes of political posturing.”

These provisions in the bill had previously been passed by both chambers of the Republican-controlled Kansas legislature but were vetoed by then Democratic Governors Kathleen Sebelius and Mark Parkinson. Although twenty-four other states have parental consent laws, only Mississippi and North Dakota currently require the consent of both parents.

On Monday, the Pennsylvania House Health Committee approved a bill that would require clinics that provide abortions to meet the standards of outpatient surgery centers, which are far more stringent than the regulations on physician’s offices and would impose new restrictions on hallway and parking lot dimensions. The bill, approved by the state House committee by a vote of 19 to 4, will now go to the state House for a vote.

The American Civil Liberties Union opposes the bill and stated that Pennsylvania law already offers regulations on equipment, staff, counseling, and reporting by abortion clinics. The ACLU also indicated that “This will particularly impact poor women and women who reside in rural areas.” The regulations will significantly and unnecessarily increase the cost of early abortions and will make it more difficult for women to get an abortion.

At the end of March, Republican Governor Bob McDonnell signed a bill requiring that clinics that perform first trimester abortions meet the Board of Health regulations on hospitals. The Virginia Senate and House voted to pass the bill in February.

Today is the anniversary of Equal Pay Day, which marks how many days into the present year that women must work to equal men’s earnings in the previous year. In other words, women must work 15 weeks into 2011, or an extra 600 hours, in order to match what men earn in 2010.

In the United States, women make on the average 77 cents to a man’s dollar, despite women’s greater likelihood of attending college and earning a degree. Since women comprise over half of the workforce and are the primary or co-breadwinners in over 66 percent of families, the wage gap harms not only women, but also families that suffer from lost wages, decreased pensions, and reduced Social Security benefits.

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis stated, “Almost 50 years after enactment of the Equal Pay Act, equal pay for equal work remains elusive for millions of working women. In fact, over the past 10 years, the pay gap has remained virtually unchanged….The pay gap is even larger for women of color, with black women earning about 70 cents, and Latinas about 60 cents, of every dollar paid to all men.”

Women’s movement groups have been working on the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act for over a dozen years. The Paycheck Fairness Act strengthens the Equal Pay Act and will help women fight wage discrimination. Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority, stated, “Feminists are determined to pass not only the Paycheck Fairness Act but also the Fair Pay Act that strengthens Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to protect women workers from sex discrimination in hiring, firing, promotion, pay, and harassment on the job.” The gap between men’s and women’s pay is still significant and increases with age.

Yesterday U.S Capitol police officers arrested Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray (D) for protesting the Congressional budget deal that would place restrictive riders on the city budget. DC Council Chairman Kwame Brown (D) and council members Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7), Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) and Michael Brown (I-At Large), as well as 41 other protestors who blocked Constitution Avenue next to the Dirksen Senate Office Building were also arrested for unlawful assembly.

As a result of the Congressional 2011 budget deal, DC will be prohibited from using its tax dollars on abortion services for low income women, and the school voucher program would be reinstated. Moreover, the city will be unable to fund needle exchange programs to reduce the spread of HIV. Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, stated the budget deal is “a blow to women in the District of Columbia….The budget agreement strips tens of thousands of women of access to the full range of reproductive health services that they need. Every state has the authority to spend its own local tax dollars to serve its constituents – including paying for women’s abortion services. But last night’s deal takes that power from the District.”

Prior to his arrest, Mayor Grey stated, “If this isn’t taxation without representation, I don’t know what is.”

Yesterday the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit decided to uphold US District Judge Susan Bolton’s ruling to block portions of Arizona’s immigration law. The three judge panel ruled that Judge Bolton “did not abuse” her power in her decision to block portions of the law. However, the court did not rule on the constitutionality of the Arizona law. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) continues to defend the immigration law and stated that she is considering whether to take the case to the US Supreme Court.

Omar Jadwat, staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) Immigrants’ Rights Project, stated “Today’s decision rightly rejects SB 1070’s assault on the core American values of fairness and equality. Legislators in other states should pay close attention to today’s ringing condemnation of Arizona’s racial profiling law and refrain from going down the same unconstitutional path.”

In July, Judge Bolton ruled against multiple sections of the Arizona law, including a requirement that police check the immigration status of criminal suspects that they had stopped while enforcing other laws and a provision that would make it a crime not to carry immigration papers. She also ruled against a section that would make it a crime for undocumented workers to seek a job.

Following the Pentagon’s March 17 release of its latest sexual assault statistics, Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) delivered a speech on the floor of the US House of Representatives decrying rape in the military. Congresswoman Speier stated, “Read my lips, the military must end rape in this country. And those who commit such crimes must be brought to justice, the fact that women are being raped and our government is turning a blind eye is disturbing enough….We have a military culture that condones and sometimes rewards this kind of abusive and violent behavior against female soldiers, who are now more likely to be raped by fellow soldiers than killed by enemy fire.” Congresswoman Speier also vowed, “beginning today I’m going to tell these women’s stories on the House floor, and I’m going to keep telling them and keep telling them until something is done about it.”

The Pentagon’s “Fiscal Year 2010 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military” indicated that approximately 3,000 women experienced sexual assaulted in fiscal year 2008, which is a 9 percent increase from the previous year. For women in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan, the rate of sexual assaults increased by 25 percent.

In February, attorney Susan Burke filed a lawsuit in the Eastern Virginia federal court against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates for failing to prevent, investigate, and prosecute the sexual assault and rape of the 17 plaintiffs. The plaintiffs in the case are veteran and active-duty service members from the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, and Reserves who were sexually assaulted, raped, or harassed by active duty military members.

According to a 2003 study by the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, at least one-third of all women veterans have experienced rape or sexual assault during their service, and thirty percent of military women experience domestic violence. Moreover, rape occurs in the military nearly twice as often as in the civilian world. Members of the US House of Representatives, including Susan Davis (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Louise Slaughter (D-NY), and former Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA) have pressed the military to address sexualized violence, working on task forces and proposing legislation.

The Alabama Republican-controlled House passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act late last week that would ban abortions after 20 weeks. The bill, sponsored by Representative Kerry Rich (R-AL) passed by a vote of 69-19, which was largely along party lines. The bill will now goes to the state Senate for a vote.

Representative Rich stated that he chose the 20 week period based on the belief that fetuses are able to feel pain at that time. However, the American College of Gynecology disputes this assertion, stating that there is “no legitimate evidence that fetuses can experience pain.”

Currently, four states – Nebraska, Oklahoma, Idaho and Kansas – have passed similar legislation. At the end of March, the Idaho Senate voted to approve the Unborn Child Protection Act, a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks, unless the woman’s life is endangered. The governor is expected to sign the bill, which makes it a felony for abortion providers to conduct the procedure after 20 weeks.

Anti-abortion forces in 28 states are pressuring state lawmakers to pass legislation restricting private health insurance plans from covering abortion services. Currently, under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, private insurance companies that participate in public exchanges are allowed to provide abortion coverage. However, women seeking abortion coverage must make two separation payments – the first for abortion coverage and the second for the remaining cost of coverage.

Adam Sonfield, a public policy expert at the Guttmacher Institute stated, “Every additional restriction is adding to the probability that insurance companies will throw up their hands and say, ‘This isn’t worth our time anymore.'” According to the Guttmacher Institute, “87% of typical employer-based insurance policies in 2002 covered medically necessary or appropriate abortions.”

Eight states – Virginia, Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and Utah have passed laws banning private health plans that participate in public health exchanges from covering abortions. Last week, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) added an amendment to a bill passed by the state’s general assembly that would prohibit private health insurance companies that participate in the state health exchange from covering abortions, except in cases of rape, incest, and when the woman’s life is endangered. The amendment would also ban women from using their own money to buy separate policy riders for abortion services.

President Obama named Florida Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) to replace former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) as the chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for the 2012 election cycle. Congresswoman Wasserman Shultz will be the first woman chair of the DNC since Debra DeLee, who served from 1994 to 1995.

Wasserman Shultz is in her fourth term in the House of Representatives and has announced that she will continue in this position while also serving as DNC chair. Currently, she is the chief deputy whip and serves on the Budget and Judiciary committees.

Former Governor Kaine announced yesterday that he will be running for the Virginia Senate.

Forty-one senators, composed of thirty-nine Democrats and two Independents led by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), announced that they will filibuster any spending bill blocking funding to Planned Parenthood. Following the Senate vote to approve another short-term spending measure in mid-March, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced that an amendment to defund Planned Parenthood will not be included in the Continuing Resolution (CR) budget deal for 2011.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the forty-one senators requested that the Senate leaders “stand with us against extreme proposals by some members of the House to eliminate support for women’s health and family planning programs and providers that service millions of women and families.” The senators stated that “Without access to these services, many of these women will be unable to get preventive screenings, be at far greater risk for diseases such as cancer and will face more unintended pregnancies.”

In February, House Republicans, led by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), voted for a Continuing Resolution that prohibited any federal funds from going to Planned Parenthood, even in reimbursement for services rendered. In spite of Republican claims that the Pence amendment would prohibit taxpayer funding of abortions, such spending is already prohibited. The Continuing Resolution would also eliminate all of Title X funding, the only federal family planning program dedicated solely to reproductive health. Title X provides reproductive health services to millions of women yearly. Title X funds some 4,500 clinics, including community health centers, public health clinics and about 900 Planned Parenthood clinics.

Planned Parenthood health centers across the country conduct over one million cervical cancer screenings and 830,000 breast exams yearly. Its clinics also provide contraception, basic health care, including family planning, cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, to approximately 2.5 million women per year.

On Sunday, the Texas Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted 98-49 to approve a two-year budget proposal that would cut family planning funding, as well as funding for public schools, nursing homes, and college financial aid. The bill proposes to transfer $40 million of state funds previously allocated for family planning services to other programs, including those that promote abortion alternatives and represents a 60 percent cut in family planning services.

Representative Dawnna Dukes (D) predicted that the cuts would cause the majority of the state’s family planning clinics to close. Moreover, Representative Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) stated, “Eighty thousand kids are not going to get their scholarships and grant money because of this bill. Forty-three thousand people are going to get kicked out of nursing homes or denied nursing home entrance because of this bill; 335,000 Texas jobs are going to go away because of this bill.”

The budget proposal would cut state spending by $23 billion and will now go to the state Senate for a vote. Texas senators announced that they will restore some of the cuts to family planning funding.

Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will announce a new national sexual assault awareness campaign for colleges and K-12 schools at the University of New Hampshire today. The campaign aims to educate schools about their responsibilities in preventing and responding to sexual assaults under Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sexual discrimination, violence, and harassment.

The schools will receive materials outlining their obligations to file complaints, assist victims, and pursue disciplinary action against students accused of sexual violence. Vice President Biden stated, “Students across the country deserve the safest possible environment in which to learn. That’s why we’re taking new steps to help our nation’s schools, universities and colleges end the cycle of sexual violence on campus.”

According to a report from the Department of Education, approximately 20 percent of women in college will be victims of sexual assault. Moreover, in 2009, nearly 3,300 forcible sexual offenses were documented on college campuses.

On Saturday, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) signed a bill, sponsored by Representative Kimberly Yee (R-Phoenix) and Senator Nancy Barto (R), requiring that doctors offer every woman considering an abortion an ultrasound and the option to hear the fetal heartbeat, if detected. The bill also prohibits medical providers from prescribing mifepristone, also known as RU-486 or the abortion pill, remotely through telemedicine.

Michelle Steinberg, public policy manager and lobbyist for Planned Parenthood Arizona, stated that the telemedicine provision will place increased and unnecessary restrictions on low-income women and women in rural areas who seek abortions. Steinberg clarified, “This will make [abortion] unavailable in any place but Phoenix and Tucson. This isn’t going to make it any safer for women.”

The bill signing occurred at a fundraiser for the Center for Arizona Policy, a nonprofit organization that supported the ultrasound legislation. Brewer described her “consistent track record of support for pro-life legislation” at the event.

Two anti-abortion groups, Operation Rescue of Wichita, Kansas and Maryland Coalition for Life, have rented the building across the street from the Reproductive Health Services Clinic in Germantown, MD to open what appears to be a crisis pregnancy center (CPC). Both groups have focused on this clinic ever since Dr. Carhart, who worked with the murdered Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kansas, announced in December 2010 that he would be offering abortions there.

Since December, Operation Rescue has staged demonstrations and indicated their intent to pursue anti-abortion legislation to shut down the clinic and restrict abortion in the state. The opening of a facility right across the street from the Germantown Clinic has pro-choice advocates concerned. Scott Roeder, who was convicted of murdering Dr. Tiller testified at his trial that he tried to steer abortion patients away from Tiller’s clinic to the CPC next door.

Troy Newman, president of Wichita-based Operation Rescue, stated, “We wanted to do more than just ask women not to abort their babies. We wanted to provide them with practical assistance, spiritual guidance, and true friendship so that abortion would no longer be an option.” Operation Rescue launched targeted demonstrations and so-called “street counseling” at Dr. Carhart’s Bellevue, Nebraska clinic in August 2009. Troy Newman of Operation Rescue has led a multi-group campaign called “Keep it Closed” that aimed to ensure Dr. Carhart did not open a late abortion clinic in Kansas or Nebraska.

A Feminist Majority Foundation Survey found that 32.7 percent of clinics located near a CPC experience one or more incidence of severe violence, compared to only 11.3 percent of clinics not near a CPC.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) added an amendment to a bill passed by the state’s general assembly that would prohibit private health insurance companies that participate in the state health exchange from covering abortion services, except in cases of rape, incest, and when the woman’s life is endangered. The amendment would also ban women from using their own money to buy separate policy riders for abortion services.

Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, stated, “Banning abortion coverage will only result in dangerous outcomes for Virginia women in need of serious medical care resulting from complex and sometimes life-threatening pregnancies. Such a devastating ban goes against the very purpose of insurance…when unforeseen and dangerous circumstances arise, every woman deserves to have all options available to them when making these difficult and life-saving decision.”

The Virginia General Assembly will consider McDonnell’s amendments on Wednesday of next week. According to the Guttmacher Institute, “87% of typical employer-based insurance policies in 2002 covered medically necessary or appropriate abortions.”

Yesterday, the Ohio House Health and Aging Committee voted 12 to 11 on the “Heartbeat Bill” (HB 125) that would require women seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound and prevent them from obtaining abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected. The bill does not make an exception for cases of rape or incest.

Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, stated, “It’s obvious this committee is a lot more interested in making headlines than in giving women better access to health care or doing something to bring jobs to the state or trying to fix the state’s budget mess.”

Although the bill received the necessary votes to move to the Ohio House floor, House Speaker William Batchelder (R-Medina) stated that he wanted consult with medical experts before the bill proceeds.

Yesterday, a bill restricting the collective bargaining rights of unions passed in the Ohio House by a vote of 53 to 44 and the Ohio Senate by a vote of 17 to 16, with six Republican senators voting against the bill. Republican Governor John Kasich stated that he will sign the bill by the end of the week.

The bill will take away the rights from over 360,000 public employees, including teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters, safety workers and other government workers, to negotiate their health care, sick time, and pension benefits. Public workers will also be prohibited from striking and permitted to decline to pay union dues. The bill’s intent is to squash public worker’s unions and to deny public workers the opportunity to negotiate for vital benefits such as paid sick lead and paid family medical leave.

Approximately 700 protestors attended the Ohio Statehouse Rotunda for the House vote and chanted, “Shame on you!” Former Governor Ted Strickland and unions announced that they will develop a campaign to repeal the anti-union law through a referendum in the November.