Migration Category: news-1-5000-national

Medicaid programs in New York and California will cover mifepristone, the early abortion pill, according to Reuters Health News. These are the first two states to offer Medicaid coverage for mifepristone beyond cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment to the woman. The US Department of Health and Human Services has yet to decide whether state Medicaid programs should fund the drug, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on September 28. Debate centers around whether mifepristone will be treated as a drug or as a “service” in a pill form. Once application for the drug’s other potential uses as a treatment for certain progestin-dependent tumors and conditions are submitted and receive FDA-approval, Medicaid will have to cover those uses as well, widening access for women with fibroid tumors, ovarian cancers, and other serious diseases.

Currently, the Hyde Amendment limits federal funds for abortion for poor women to cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment, although states can expand Medicaid funding for abortion if no federal funds are used. The NY Department of Health noted that federal Medicaid rules require any new drug approved by the FDA to be included under Medicaid rolls. Other state health departments agree, but say that, because mifepristone is sold directly to physicians (not pharmacists) for abortion, the ruling is unclear. Many states, like Florida and Arkansas, will cover mifepristone only in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment.

From her hospital bed, Feminist Majority Foundation Board Member and United Farm Workers (UFW) co-founder Dolores Huerta urged feminists and labor rights activists to vote in tomorrow’s presidential election. Huerta has been hospitalized since October 30 when exploratory surgery showed a rare opening of the aortic artery in her intestines and has been in critical condition. Since September, Huerta has been running a Get Out the Vote campaign for Vice President Al Gore. Family members told the Associated Press that Huerta has been eager to hear news of the Get Out the Vote Campaign. When asked if supporters should “honor her” by urging Californians to vote Democratic on Nov. 7, Huerta smiled broadly and shook her fist as a sign of approval.

Cards and flowers may be sent to Dolores Huerta at this address: Bakersfield Heart Hospital

3001 Sillect Ave.

Bakersfield, CA 93308

Actress and activist Jane Fonda personally donated $11.7 million dollars to Pro Choice Vote, an election campaign to educate voters on what is at stake for abortion rights this November. Conservative and progressive groups alike are taking advantage of a special IRS classification for political groups that has been gaining popularity this election year. Fonda’s donation made Pro Choice Vote’s extensive education and ad campaign possible. The group aired radio ads and produced video segments for the Internet featuring actresses Whoopi Goldberg and Sarah Jessica Parker that focus on the consequences for abortion rights and the US Supreme Court in the next presidency.

The Feminist Majority Foundation and its campaign to bring Mifepristone, the early abortion pill, to the United States has been featured in major television shows and newspapers since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug on September 28. With the abortion debate surrounding mifepristone quieted, public debate is finally focusing on the other possible uses of mifepristone – treating brain tumors, ovarian cancer, a severe form of depression, fibroid tumors and endometriosis, all conditions that primarily affect women. In fact, 30 percent of women over 40 years of age suffer from uterine fibroid tumors, which are the cause of 1/3 of hysterectomies. Research on these potential uses was blocked by anti-abortion politics for years, with very few patients having access to the drug. The Feminist Majority Foundation’s compassionate use program and a handful of studies in the United States allowed patients like Dr. Doris Laird, who suffers from a brain tumor, to take mifepristone to shrink her tumor.

Recent articles in the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and the Los Angeles Times chronicled the long battle to bring mifepristone to the U.S., acknowledging the impact of FMF’s campaign since 1988. All highlight the possibilities of mifepristone as a treatment for various progestin-dependent tumors and conditions, and discuss the impact of an abortion pill that will de-centralize abortion in the U.S., providing wider access and making it harder for violent anti-abortion extremists to target abortion providers.

Read the LA Times article chronicling the struggle to bring mifepristone to the United States, featuring comments by FMF Board Chair Peg Yorkin and President Eleanor Smeal.

On October 31, the National Council of Women’s Organizations and the National Women’s Political Caucus hosted a press conference to announce the Women’s Appointment Project, an effort to “identify, recruit, train, and support women seeking elected and appointed office.” The Project sought responses from the two major party candidates in the presidential election. Vice President Al Gore responded with a letter saying his Cabinet will “look like America.” Texas Governor George W. Bush did not respond.

The Project reported that only 22 women have held cabinet or cabinet-level positions in the entire history of the U.S., and the heads of the Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Energy, and Veterans Affairs Offices have never been women. While the number of women appointed has gone up over the past two decades, Senate approval of women appointees continues to lag, and the numbers of women appointed remain small. Under the Bush administration, only 3 women were nominated. Clinton appointed 11 women to prominent positions.

The Women’s Appointment Project “will establish a talent-bank of women qualified for senior-level government positions.” The issue of women’s appointments is highlighted by the Senate’s stalling on approval of Bonnie Campbell’s nomination for a seat on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. While Campbell’s nomination has been held up by the Senate Judiciary Committee for 246 days, the Senate recently voted to confirm four male nominees. Currently, only 20 percent of the Federal Judiciary are women. All four of the recently approved nominations were made after Campbell’s name was submitted and included one nomination that was made on July 21, 2000. Cambell heads the Violence Against Women Office and was Iowa State Attorney General.

Take action on this issue and tell the Senate to Move Cambell’s Nomination to the Floor for an Approval Vote.

A federal judge struck down a “set-aside” measure in Cook County that required at least 40 percent of county construction contracts go to women- and minority-owned businesses. The judge ruled that the law was unconstitutional, violating the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. The judge stated that he found no evidence of discrimination in construction contracts in Chicago. Similar programs intended to bring more women and minorities into male- and white-dominated contracts have been struck down in Miami, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia and Denver.

A 1997 lawsuit charging 11 Orlando, Florida, high schools with violating Title IX, a 1972 law that prohibits discrimination against girls and women in federally funded education, including athletics programs, will return to court this week with two of the 11 high schools still breaking the law. The suit arose in 1997 after complaints by students that the girls’ softball teams at 11 Orlando high schools had to play on off-campus fields peppered with litter, and in facilities that offered dirty bathrooms and sub-standard dugouts, while the boys’ baseball teams enjoyed fields on-campus with water coolers and lights for night games. The judge’s ruling in 1997 required the schools to improve girls’ sports facilities, providing clean bathrooms, sturdy bleachers and lights on the field. After three years, Titusville High School and Astronaut High School have yet to comply with the judge’s ruling. The same judge, Justice Anne C. Conway, will rule in the case this week and could require the two high schools to spend as much as $250,000 to improve girls’ sports facilities.

Dolores C. Huerta, 70, one of the founding board members of the Feminist Majority Foundation and co-founder of the United Farm Worker Movement is in critical condition today after exploratory surgery showed a rare opening of the aortic artery in her intestines. Huerta was treated for a bleeding ulcer last week, and was hospitalized shortly after for internal bleeding.

Huerta, a pioneer of the Latino, labor and women’s movements, joined Cesar Chavez in 1962 to form the National Farm Workers Association, which became the United Farm Workers union in 1996. She served as the union’s secretary-treasurer until 1996, when she stepped down to devote her time to other issues, including supporting Vice President Al Gore’s campaign for the presidency. For more information about Huerta’s involvement in the Farm Workers Movement and Feminist Majority Foundation, visit http://www.ufw.org and https://feministmajori.wpenginepowered.com.

Cards and flowers for Dolores Huerta can be sent to:

Bakersfield Heart Hospital

3001 Sillect Ave.

Bakersfield, CA 93308

Mavis Leno, national chair of the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid, was the keynote speaker at the opening ceremonies of American Medical Women’s Association’s annual meeting. This year’s AMWA meeting (November 1 _ 5, 2000) will focus on human rights’ impact on women’s health and universal health care. The AMWA strongly opposes the Taliban militia’s violations of Afghan women’s rights. The terrorist regime restricts women’s access to healthcare and prohibits women from working outside the home, pursuing an education or leaving her home without a male relative escort. To learn more about the Taliban’s oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan, please visit the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan Campaign.

The Census Bureau shows that 2/3 of Americans aged 55 and over living in poverty are women. This figure increases in older age brackets. Women’s organizations are not surprised by this figure, as the wage gap in America continues to economically disadvantage women. Women are paid less, and have less in retirement funds. Therefore, more women are forced to rely on social security as their sole means of income in their senior years. The National Council of Women’s Organizations as well as most major women’s organizations in DC oppose the privitization of social security in the interest of protecting impoverished older women who are dependent on this form of income.

Last night on CNN’s “Spin Room with Bill Press,” Gloria Steinem debated the Green Party, questioning Ralph Nader’s bid for the presidency because of his recent statements on legal abortion. Nader said a reversal of Roe v. Wade would not mean an end to legal abortion in America, but would leave the issue to the individual states to decide. Steinem criticized Nader’s analysis, saying that overturning Roe would be catastrophic for reproductive choice. The Supreme Court has been in focus throughout the presidential campaign, as the next president will appoint between 3-4 Justices, presenting a very real threat to the razor-thin pro-choice majority currently on the Court.

Steve Allen, considered one of the foremost wits of the entertainment industry and founder of the Tonight Show, died Monday, October 30. Allen, along with his wife Jane Meadows, was a supporter of the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF). “He was a great supporter of human rights causes,” said Peg Yorkin, Chair of the Board of FMF. Allen and Meadows emceed the Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan Gala Event in New York City in October of 1999, an event to raise awareness about the human rights abuses committed by the Taliban.

In Maine, voters have the opportunity to ratify a gay and lesbian rights measure passed by the state legislature. Measure 6 would extend protection against discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodation and credit to “all citizens regardless of their sexual orientation.” In 1997, after an intense right wing campaign, Maine voters vetoed an anti-discrimination law, but recent polls show Measure 6 has widespread voter support: 66 percent favor the measure, with 22 percent opposed and 12 percent undecided.

Colorado voters will face another anti-abortion ballot measure this year: Amendment 25, misleadingly dubbed the “Women’s Health Information Act.” The measure, supported by the far-right group Focus on the Family, would require a 24-hour waiting period for all abortions, would require the state to produce and provide to doctors specific information to be offered to women seeking abortions that outline “an abortion’s risks, what a fetus might feel, local adoption agencies, the father’s financial responsibilities, and much more.” Doctors would also be required to provide statistics on how many women watched or read these materials, and how many then decided to have an abortion; doctors who did not comply would be committing a felony.

A recent poll of likely voters in Colorado shows 49 percent opposing the restrictions and 48 percent in support _ a change from a September poll that showed 56 percent of voters supported Amendment 25 and only 35 percent opposed it. This tight race mirrors the 1998 elections, when Colorado voters narrowly rejected a ban on late term abortions 52 percent to 48 percent. Colorado is the only state facing an anti-abortion ballot measure after successful pro-choice defeats of anti-abortion measures in Washington State and Oregon. Be sure to visit Women’s Election Central, an online election night watch at www.feminist.org. Women’s Election Central will track emerging results of women’s races around the country and provide analysis of the gender gap.

Jean Carnahan, widow of the recently deceased Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan (D), announced Monday that she will fill her husband’s seat in the US Senate if voters elect Carnahan over incumbent John Ashcroft (R-MO). Jean Carnahan has vowed to support the same issues as her late husband, including abortion rights, women’s rights, and gun control. According to a Zogby International poll, Mel Carnahan leads Ashcroft 49 percent to 43 percent„a shift from polls before Carnahan’s death which showed the Governor and Senator tied.

With Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush still running neck and neck in national polls, pro-choice groups are turning their attention to Green Party Candidate Ralph Nader, fearing that he may swing the election in favor of Bush. Planned Parenthood raised $2 million in just two days, and will use the funds for additional television advertising in an attempt to sway voters in key states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Oregon. Planned Parenthood’s pro-Gore push includes a total of $8 million in television ads, 2.7 million voter guides, 500,000 get-out-the-vote calls, emails to 250,000 supporters, and full-page newspaper ads in 11 states. NARAL is also devoting money to the presidential campaign in key states, with television ads highlighting Bush’s anti-choice stance. Their “Think” ad urges voters to consider the stakes in this election, with the US Supreme Court hanging in the balance, and suggests that “voting for Ralph Nader helps elect George W. Bush.” Both NARAL and Planned Parenthood cite the recent Supreme Court decision in Stenberg v. Carhart protecting abortion rights, decided by a razor-thin 5-4 margin. Polls show Nader with as much as 5 percent of the vote, and most show Bush leading Gore by between 1 and 7 points.

Abortion is an important issue not only in the presidential race this year but in statewide elections as well, with pro-choice candidates facing anti-choice opponents in California, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Virginia, New York, Washington, Montana, Colorado, Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

In the Michigan US Senate race, polls show pro-choice Democratic candidate Debbie Stabenow leading anti-choice Republican candidate Spencer Abraham 50 to 44. Michigan’s Congressional District 8 race shows pro-choice Democratic candidate Dianne Byrum in a dead heat with Republican Mike Rogers. Byrum was trailing in earlier polls. Rogers is endorsed by Michigan Right to Life, and has stated that, if elected, he would stand by his belief “that abortion should be allowed only to protect the life of the mother.”

Polls show New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen (D) is leading in her race against Republican Gordon Humphrey, a former US Senator 49 to 41. In a recent debate, Shaheen criticized Humphrey’s position on civil rights, citing his opposition to the Americans with Disabilities Act and his past statement that people who lead “moral lives” do not contract AIDS. Shaheen also criticized Humphrey’s 1998 campaigning on behalf of Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry, who advocated the murder of abortion doctors. The Concord Monitor reported that Shaheen’s assertion, “I’m pro-choice,” garnered one of the loudest and longest applauses of the debate.

A recent survey conducted by students at Hamilton College and by the Zogby International polling organization shows that 76.9 percent of people aged 18-24 plan to vote this year, challenging the stereotype of young people as apathetic. The Political Attitudes of Young Americans Poll came out of a Hamilton College website, NY2K, designed to educate college students about the New York Senate race between Hillary Clinton and Rick Lazio. The poll suggests that young people are more involved in politics than popularly assumed, and that they care about substantive issues. Those polled said their top issues included education, social security, and abortion. A recent poll by the Pro-Choice Education Project (PEP) confirms the importance of abortion for young voters. PEP revealed that women aged 18-24 are more likely than the general population to call themselves pro-choice — 64 percent embrace the term. However, 66 percent do not believe that reproductive rights are under threat, or that abortion rights could be taken away. The Feminist Majority Foundation’s Campus Program launched a Get Out HER Vote Campaign tour on campuses nationwide to mobilize this strong pro-choice base and to educate students that their votes do matter. The tour hit key states Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Washington this week. The Campus Program has the largest pro-choice feminist campus network in the country, with Feminist Majority Leadership Alliances on over 100 campuses.

On Campus? Learn about Get Out HER Vote!

Visit the Feminist Majority Foundation’s online campus activist community.

A poll sponsored by the Associated Press and conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press show that, among the 25 percent of registered voters who are undecided on a candidate, Democratic candidate Al Gore is taking the lead. Swing voters are impressed by Gore’s experience, his mastery on the issues, and his personality, and doubt Republican candidate George W. Bush’s qualifications. Because these voters are less likely to vote than those who have already chosen their candidate, political analysts argue that it is not the candidate’s traits or particular issues that will ultimately decide this close race, but the get-out-the-vote efforts being conducted by both the Democratic and Republican National Parties as well as various activist groups.

Abortion rights activists are among those campaigning to mobilize votes. NARAL and Planned Parenthood, for example, have launched ad campaigns in various key states to make it clear to voters that abortion rights hand in the balance with this election. While Bush has attempted to mask his anti-abortion position, both anti-abortion extremists and pro-choice activists are confident that Bush will support legislation to restrict women’s access to mifepristone, the safe and effective early abortion pill; cut funding from comprehensive sex education programs; and appoint Supreme Court Justices who would be likely to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Increasing numbers of colleges and universities are announcing that their campus health centers will not prescribe mifepristone, the abortion pill recently approved by the FDA. Currently, most university health centers do not perform surgical abortions; mifepristone could greatly improve young women’s access to abortion, since it does not have to be administered by a doctor trained in surgical abortion. The FDA requires that any facility prescribing mifepristone be able to make arrangements for surgical back-up referral in the few instances when the drug fails to complete an abortion. Many college health centers could meet those requirements. However, colleges and universities are rejecting mifepristone not only because of the lack of medical facilities that meet FDA requirements, but simply because the pill offers a form of abortion. The decision has prompted strong responses from pro-choice student activists, who are pushing for access to this breakthrough drug.

Last night, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) stood on the Senate floor for 30 minutes and quoted verbatim statements made by Texas Governor and Republican Presidential Candidate George W. Bush. Sen. Reid prefaced his statements by highlighting the importance of ideas in the presidential campaign, urging voters to pay close attention to the “policies being advocated” by each candidate. Reid began with a statement Bush made just last Monday: “I don’t want nations feeling like that they can bully ourselves and our allies. I want to have a ballistic defense system so that we can make the world more peaceful, and at the same time I want to reduce out own nuclear capacities to the level commiserate [sic] with keeping the peace.” Reid repeatedly reminded those on the Senate floor that these statements were direct quotes from Bush. At the end of his testimony, Reid concluded, “these statements should lead some to think” about their decision to elect a man who will control public policy not only in the U.S. but around the world, and asserted that a president must be “clear on the issues.” He quoted Bush as saying, “If affirmative action means what I just described, what I’m for, then I’m for it.” Bush also stated, “I think if you know what you believe, it makes it a lot easier to answer questions. I can’t answer your question.” Reid concluded by saying, “I think these quotes speak for themselves.”