Migration Category: news-10001-15000-national

Thirty Senate Democrats issued a letter late last week to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius requesting that HHS officials advise Medicaid directors not to implement measures to prevent Medicaid or Title X funding from going to clinics that offer abortion services. The letter stated, “The restrictions threatened by state legislatures blatantly contradict the spirit and letter of well-established and long-accepted law. We write not to ask support for new law, but for vigorous, prompt enforcement of existing law.”

The letter comes in response to an Indiana law, signed by Governor Mitch Daniels (R) on May 10, that prohibits state agencies from contracting with clinics offering abortions and would therefore require the state to alter its Medicaid plan. In April, the state Senate and House voted to cut about $2 million in federal money that goes to Planned Parenthood, much of which is for Medicaid services. The bill also calls for a ban on all abortions after 20 weeks, which would dramatically restrict women’s access to abortion services.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have jointly filed a lawsuit against the law.

Attorneys from Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Sioux Falls against a new South Dakota law requiring that women undergo a 72 hour waiting period and mandatory counseling from a crisis pregnancy center (CPC) before obtaining an abortion. South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard (R) signed the bill into law in March, and it is scheduled to go into effect July 1.

Planned Parenthood attorney Mimi Liu stated, “The Act has both the purpose and the effect of severely restricting access to health care, and violates patients’ and physicians’ First Amendment rights against compelled speech and patients’ right to privacy in their personal and medical information.”

South Dakota is the first state in the country to mandate a 72 hour waiting period, although 25 states currently require a 24 hour waiting period. After the law takes effect, women seeking abortions could have to make multiple trips to South Dakota’s only abortion provider in Sioux Falls.

Currently, there are an estimated 3,500 CPCs nationwide, most of which are affiliated with one or more national umbrella organizations. CPCs often pose as comprehensive health centers and offer “free” pregnancy tests. Some CPCs coerce and intimidate women out of considering abortion as an option, and do not offer women neutral or comprehensive medical advice. Often CPCs are run by anti-abortion zealots who are not licensed medical professionals.

Last week, Representative Susan Davis introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have allowed military health care plans to cover abortion services for service women who had been raped. Currently, Department of Defense policy does not permit military health insurance to cover abortions, even in cases of rape. The House Rules Committee, however, did not permit the amendment to be brought to the House floor for debate.

Representative Davis clarified, “While the military has made strides to address sexual assault in the ranks, victims still report a lack of confidentiality, protection, support, and access to legal counsel once an incident is reported. My amendments address many of these shortcomings with current DOD policy and I look forward to the day that they become law.”

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 primarily from US service personnel, 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.

On Wednesday night, Ralph Lang was arrested in his hotel room for plotting to kill doctors and medical personnel at a Madison, Wisconsin Planned Parenthood clinic. Hotel staff notified the police after Lang expressed his concern that someone might have been injured after he accidentally fired his gun in his room. When questioned about the gun, Lang indicated that he had traveled over 100 miles to Wisconsin in order to shoot the abortion doctor at the local Planned Parenthood “right in the head.”

Lisa Subeck, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, remarked “It’s clearly shocking anytime you hear anything like this. It’s outrageous that abortion providers constantly have to live with harassment and threats of violence, and when one hits so close to home, I think it’s quite shocking.”

Investigators discovered anti-abortion documents, 35 bullets, and a 38-caliber handgun in Lang’s hotel room. Lang has been charged with planning to injure, intimidate, and interfere with persons providing abortion services and is slated to appear in US District Court today. In 2007, Lang was arrested and received a citation for disorderly conduct for standing outside of a Madison Planned Parenthood and announcing that everyone inside should be executed.

The Feminist Majority Foundation conducts the National Clinic Access Project (NCAP), which is the oldest and largest national clinic defense project in the nation. NCAP’s team of experts has been working diligently to stop anti-abortion extremists’ attacks against abortion providers who work to save women’s lives and health.

Yesterday Dane County, Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi struck down a state law limiting the collective bargaining power of public sector unions to negotiate for benefits, hours, and working conditions. On March 18, Judge Sumi issued a temporarily blocked soon after the bill became law.

Sumi stated in her decision that Republican lawmakers violated the Wisconsin Open Public Meetings Law requiring that 24 hours’ notice be given prior to a meeting. At the time, the Republican senators voted in conference to strip the House bill of its spending measures to bypass the Senate 60 percent quorum. The Republican senators then voted 18-1, with only Republicans voting because, in protest, the Democrat senators left the state in an effort to prevent the vote .

The case is scheduled to be heard by the Wisconsin state Supreme Court on June 6.

Yesterday the US Senate voted 57 to 40 against a budget plan, written by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), which would end Medicare as we know it and turn it into a voucher program to buy private insurance as if any company would sell such a policy to an elderly person who is ill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), stated that the budget plan “would turn over seniors’ health to profit-hungry insurance companies. It would let bureaucrats decide what tests and treatments seniors get. And it would ask seniors to pay more for their health care in exchange for fewer benefits. That’s a bad deal all around.”

Republican Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Scott Brown of Massachusetts voted with Democrats to reject the budget plan. Rand Paul (R-KY) also opposed the plan, calling for greater budget cuts. Last month, the US House voted to pass the budget plan.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stated, “House and Senate Republicans are on record: they want to break the bedrock promise that this country made to our seniors-that after a lifetime of hard work, they would be able to depend on Medicare-at the same time that Republicans are giving tax breaks to Big Oil. On the other hand, Democrats are committed to preserving and strengthening Medicare while creating jobs, responsibly reducing the deficit, and growing our economy.”

Yesterday the New Hampshire state Senate passed a bill by a vote of 17 to 7 requiring at least one parent of a minor seeking an abortion receive written notification at least 48 hours prior to the procedure. The Senate voted against an amendment to the bill that would have allowed minors to forgo parental notification if “notice to the parent or guardian may lead to physical or emotional abuse of the minor.” If the young woman does not wish to notify her parents, she can appear before a judge, who will decide whether she is “mature and capable of giving informed consent to the proposed abortion.”

The bill passed the state House by a vote of 256 to 102 and will go to Governor John Lynch (D), who has not indicated whether he will sign it into law. Jennifer Frizzell, senior policy adviser for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, stated, “We know the governor cares deeply about young women’s health and safety. We’ll take him at his word.”

Last week, US Senator John Boozman (R-AR) introduced a bill that would require that the parents of minors seeking abortion services be notified by certified mail and that doctors wait at least four days before performing an abortion. Doctors who do not abide by the requirement could be fined up to $1 million and have to serve up to 10 years in prison.

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde officially announced her candidacy for the director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) late Tuesday at a special press conference in Paris. After the IMF’s director Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned last Sunday, the search for a new manager has led to speculation surrounding Lagarde’s potential bid, and she has quickly gained the support of the United Kingdom and major European figures. John Lipsky, acting managing director of the IMF, said she would “make an excellent leader” of the IMF.

Strauss-Kahn resigned last week as head of the IMF after being arrested and charged with sexual assault. Since his resignation, much controversy has emerged regarding the treatment of women within the IMF. The New York Times ran an article last week that received much attention, depicting the treatment of women at the IMF as a place in which sexual abuse, harassment, and gender discrimination are commonplace.

Some employees of the fund have voiced that placing a woman in charge at the IMF would be a welcome change, saying that it has largely been a male-dominated workplace. The IMF told CNN on Monday that it aims to increase the number of women in senior roles by 10% over the next three years.

Lagarde joins other possible candidates from Mexico, Brazil, and Kazakhstan, but remains the most likely candidate as the IMF has traditionally been led by Europeans. The selection process will be complete by June 30.

Yesterday Democrat Kathy Hochul defeated Republican Assemblywoman Jane Corwin in a special election in the 26th Congressional district of New York. Hochul captured 48 percent of the vote, while Corwin had 42 percent and independent Jack Davis had 9 percent. The district in western New York, held by Republicans since 1960, became vacant when Republican Congressman Chris Lee resigned after shirtless pictures of him appeared on Craigslist.

Hochul, a former Erie County clerk, stressed her opposition to the House Republican budget plan, written by Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI), which turn Medicare into a voucher program. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stated, “Kathy Hochul’s victory tonight is a tribute to Democrats’ commitment to preserve and strengthen Medicare, create jobs, and grow our economy.”

During her campaign, Hochul pledged to work to improve women’s access to safe and adequate health services. Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, remarked, “New York voters made a clear stand against Speaker Boehner’s extreme and divisive anti-choice agenda by sending Kathy Hochul, a champion of the fundamental values of freedom and privacy, to Congress. Rep.-elect Hochul represents the district’s mainstream views, and she knows that voters want Washington focusing on creating jobs and protecting Medicare, not attacking a woman’s right to choose.”

In Nebraska, state Senators voted 38-9 yesterday on a bill banning the use of telemedicine to provide women with abortion services. The bill requires that a doctor be physically present with the patient when she takes mifepristone, also known as RU-486 or the abortion pill, to induce an abortion. The bill has already passed the Nebraska House and Governor Dave Heineman (R) is expected to sign it into law.

The bill aims to prevent Planned Parenthood of the Heartland from replicating its Iowa program, which enables mifepristone to be administered to patients while videoconferencing with their doctors in 16, in Nebraska. By using telemedicine, Planned Parenthood aims to provide women living in remote and rural areas of with greater access to abortion services.

Under current Iowa law, in order for a woman to receive mifepristone via videoconference, she must first go to her local Planned Parenthood and undergo the required physical exam, blood test, medical history report, ultrasound, and counseling session, all administered in-person by a nurse. Women must also watch an eight-minute video describing the procedure and all possible side effects. If the woman decides to continue with the process, the doctor then clicks a button on his computer that releases a drawer containing the medicine in front of the patient. Still in the company of the clinic nurse, the patient then takes the mifepristone with her doctor watching and receives the follow-up drug, misoprostol, to take later.

Yesterday the New Jersey Senate passed a bill by a vote of 26 to 13 that would restore $7.5 million to the state’s 58 women’s health clinics. Last year, Governor Chris Christie (R) cut all family planning funding from the state’s budget and vetoed the attempts of the state Senate and Assembly to restore it. The Senate bill will now move to the state Assembly for a vote.

Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), who is sponsoring the bill, stated that six clinics have closed since Governor Chris Christie (R) cut funding last year. Weinberg stated, “Either you are for underserved women having access to proper health care, primary care physicians and yes, birth control, (or you’re not). We are in the second decade of the 21st century. The fight over poor women’s access to birth control I thought was finished a few generations ago.”

Governor Christie said that he believes that Weinberg “is mischaracterizing women’s access to health care,” claiming that since women already have access to federally funded clinics, state funding is not necessary. Nevertheless, Christie announced that he would consider the bill as part of a larger budget deal.

A proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage will be decided by Minnesota voters next year after the Minnesota House on Saturday approved placing the amendment on the state ballot in November 2012. Minnesota already prohibits same-sex marriage, but backers say this amendment will prevent any legalization in the future. The amendment, if approved by voters, would define marriage as only between one man and one woman. The House voted mostly along party lines, with only four Republicans voting against it.

Opponents of the amendment say that the constitution should be used to expand rights, not limit them. Rep. Tina Liebling (D) called the amendment un-American, saying the civil rights of the gay minority should not be up to a vote by the straight majority. She predicted a long and divisive public debate in Minnesota leading up to November.

Saturday’s legislative debate drew hundreds of people to the Capitol in protest. Minnesota legislator John Kriesel (R), a veteran who lost his legs while fighting in Iraq, saluted a fellow gay soldier who lost his life there. He closed his emotional argument by saying, “This amendment is not what I fought for over there. Those people out there,” he said, referring to the protesters outside, “That’s what I fought for and I’m proud of it.”

The New Jersey state Senate is scheduled to vote today on a bill that would restore $7.5 to the state’s 58 women’s health clinics. Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), who is sponsoring the bill, stated that six clinics have closed since Governor Chris Christie (R) cut funding last year.

Governor Christie said that he believes that Weinberg “is mischaracterizing women’s access to health care,” claiming that since women already have access to federally funded clinics, state funding is not necessary. Nevertheless, Christie announced that he would consider the bill as part of a larger budget deal.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana has received thousands of dollars in donations after a bill signed early last week by Governor Mitch Daniels made Indiana the first state in the nation to cut state and federal funding for the organization. Over $50,000 has been donated by people in 44 states and countries such as Belgium and the United Kingdom.

The organization says it serves over 9,000 Medicaid patients at its 28 clinics in Indiana. Donations are expected to enable centers to serve Medicaid patients through the end of May.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana (PPIN) said in a statement that the donations are being used for pap tests, breast exams, STI testing and treatment, and birth control. Betty Cockrum, president of PPIN, said “Let’s be clear: this is a temporary fix, and these one-time donations will not continue indefinitely. We’re getting donations because people are outraged – as they should be.”

In addition to prohibiting the organization from receiving reimbursement from Medicaid for services provided to Medicaid patients, the bill bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy unless a woman’s life or health is substantially threatened. PPIN has filed an injunction stating that the legislation is unconstitutional and violates federal law, and is expected to be heard by the U.S. District Court in Indianapolis in June.

Studies released Thursday by the Guttmacher Institute and the Brookings Institution show that unintended pregnancies in the U.S. cost taxpayers roughly $11 billion per year. The Guttmacher Institute notes that this estimate is conservative, as it is only considers public insurance costs for pregnancy and first-year infant care. The studies also find that government programs could save billions by preventing unintended pregnancies.

The Guttmacher study found that 64% of births resulting from unintended pregnancies were to women enrolled in publicly funded health care programs, while only 35% of intended births were publicly funded. Adam Sonfield, one of the study’s authors, remarked, “At a time when policymakers everywhere are looking for ways to cut costs under Medicaid, these findings point clearly to a way to achieve that goal by expanding access to health care, not cutting it.”

Adam Thomas, an author of the Brookings Institution’s study, said “Like Sonfield and colleagues, we find that the potential public savings from preventing unintended pregnancy are enormous.” The Brookings study found that taxpayers could save about $5.6 billion annually through efforts to prevent those pregnancies.

The study comes at a time when a number of states are considering legislation to cut family planning. Earlier this month, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels signed a bill making Indiana the first state to defund Planned Parenthood. Lawmakers in Kansas and North Carolina are attempting to pass similar legislation.

On Tuesday, Yale University Dean Mary Miller announced that the university’s chapter of the Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) fraternity will be suspended after its pledged chanted “no means yes, yes means anal” at an initiation event last fall. DKE will be barred from holding any activities on Yale’s campus for five years. Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush are both former members of this DKE chapter.

Dean of Student Affairs Marichal Gentry filed an initial complaint to the Yale Executive Committee, claiming that the fraternity had engaged in “sexual harassment” and had “imperil[ed] the integrity and values of the University community.” Dean Miller indicated that Yale will also impose penalties on individual fraternities.

Yale University is also currently under federal investigation for violating Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sexual discrimination, violence, and harassment, based on the claims filed by 16 Yale students claiming that the university is a sexually hostile environment.

The report of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics which found that former Nevada Senator John Ensign violated Senate ethics, rules and federal law, also revealed that Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) was involved in the cover-up of Ensign’s affair. The report, released last week, raises questions about whether Senator Coburn violated Senate rules and law by possibly aiding Ensign in covering up his sexual relationship with Cindy Hamilton, Ensign’s former employee and the wife of his former Chief of Staff.

In October 2009, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which filed the initial complaint against Ensign, also filed a complaint to the Ethics Committee against Senator Coburn for his possible role in the scandal. During a November 2009 interview, Coburn, an ob-gyn, claimed that he acted as a medical doctor and a church deacon in aiding Ensign, making his conversations privileged.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, stated, “Although CREW filed a complaint against Sen. Coburn regarding his role, the committee did not comment on the clear inconsistencies between Sen. Coburn’s version of events and those of other witnesses. CREW hopes the Ethics Committee will release its report as to Sen. Coburn’s conduct as it did with the report on Sen. Ensign. This is all the more necessary given that Sen. Coburn is still in office.”

Both Senators Ensign and Coburn were residents at C-Street, a right wing so-called religious organization where several Republican leaders were revealed to be in sexual scandals.

Send a letter: release the findings on Coburn!

On Monday, Senator John Boozman (R-AR) introduced a bill that would require that the parents of minors seeking abortion services be notified by certified mail and that doctors wait at least four days before performing an abortion. Doctors who do not abide by the requirement could be fined up to $1 million and have to serve up to 10 years in prison.

Senator Boozman stated that although some states have parental notification laws, a federal parental notification law would prevent minors from crossing state lines to obtain abortion services. Such parental consent laws are extremely harmful to young girls, especially victims of abuse.

Dorothy Parvaz, 39, an Iranian-born US citizen and Al-Jazeera reporter who went missing while covering the uprisings against Syrian President Bashar Assad, was released after begin detained in Syria and deported and held in Tehran for 19 days. Parvaz arrived in Qatar yesterday and will soon fly to Vancouver BC to reunite with her fiance and family.

A spokesman from Al-Jazeera stated, “I’m delighted to let you know that Dorothy Parvaz has been released and is safe and well and back with us in Doha. She has been in contact with her family, and we are with her now to find out more about her ordeal over the last nineteen days.”

Parvaz attended the University of British Columbia and earned a masters from the University of Arizona. She has completed fellowships in journalism from both Harvard and Cambridge.

Yesterday, the Iowa Senate voted along party lines 26-23 to pass a bill that seeks to prohibit Dr. LeRoy Carhart from opening a clinic in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The bill mandates that clinics offering abortion services after 20 weeks, which would include Dr. Carhart’s proposed clinic, be located near a hospital with an intensive care unit. Since there is not a hospital in Council Bluffs that meets the standards specified in the bill, Dr. Carhart’s clinic would not be able to open there if the bill passes. The bill will now go to the Iowa House of Representatives, where it likely will not pass.

In November, Dr. LeRoy Carhart of Bellevue, Nebraska announced plans to open three new comprehensive reproductive health clinics in Maryland, Iowa, and Indiana. Dr. Carhart began practicing at the Reproductive Health Services clinic in Germantown, Maryland in December. The clinics will offer comprehensive family planning, male sexual health care, education programs, and abortion services, including specialized care in late abortion cases. Carhart cites current Nebraska law, which prohibits abortions after 20 weeks gestation, as the reason he must travel beyond his home state to provide this specialized care.

Currently, Iowa law allows women to have an abortion after 24 weeks if her life is endangered.