Access Denied: Women in Blue States Struggle to Obtain Abortion Services

Think that just because you live in a state that puts progressives in office you've got relatively unfettered access to abortion and other reproductive health services? Time to think again.

To prove just how restrictive some so-called "Blue states" continue to be when it comes to our reproductive rights, RH Reality Check and the ACLU have teamed up for a "Reproductive Justice Roadtrip" across the state of Illinois, documenting the barriers and challenges women face when trying to access reproductive health services in the Prairie State.

Today's first-person entry into this debate comes from Amy S., a resident of the Chicago suburbs who learned at 25 weeks gestation that her fetus had a "catastrophic brain malformation" -- one that would result, if the fetus was carried to term, in a short life filled with excruciating pain. Amy chose to end her pregnancy, but finding a facility that would comply with her wishes within the state of Illinois turned out to be impossible:

What I had to do [to terminate this pregnancy] shocked and astounded me. In a "blue" state, I never imagined that I would be told my OBs could not induce labor at my local hospital... UIC, Rush, U of C, Evanston, Northwestern, Lutheran General, and my local hospital, Delnor, all said no. I was too far along at 25 weeks. At least at Lutheran General, it got before the ethics committee, but they said no because I was not "their" patient. Where did that leave me? Dr. Tiller's clinic in Wichita, Kansas. Dr. Tiller who was killed last year.
The fee had to be paid in cash, up front. All told, including travel, it cost us $6000. Blue Cross denied my claim as out of network. I appealed and they denied it again.

Amy and her family had the means to ensure that she could indeed end her pregnancy as she wished. Many, if not most, women would have been denied that opportunity because they simply couldn't have afforded it. The notion that any woman should have to go to such extreme means -- financial, logistical and emotional -- to defend her own right to choose strikes us as simply unacceptable, and offensive, so many years after Roe vs. Wade became the law of the land.

We applaud RH Reality Check and the ACLU for shining a light on the many, complex ways the fight for reproductive justice impacts women's lives -- and we urge you to learn more about the laws in your own state and how the debate is unfurling at the federal level. As we speak, there is legislation winding its way through Congress that would seek to make permanent the provisions of the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding of abortion services (currently the amendment has to be reaffirmed by a congressional vote every year; this new bill would set the law in stone). Measures like these make accessing reproductive health services more difficult for all women, but they have an undue and disproportionate impact on low-income women and women of color -- who are literally trapped by the economic barriers that stand between them and their right to decide the fate of their own bodies.

We're so glad Amy was able to make the decision that was right for her. Here's to the day when every woman in America has access to the same set of choices.

The Ms. Foundation for Women has been working to support reproductive rights, health, and justice since our inception -- and together with our grantee partners, we are dedicated to ensuring that stories like Amy's are increasingly rare. To see some of our grantees' work in action, check out Family Planning Advocates' website, or visit the National Women's Law Center's "Reproductive Choices" page.

Help support these organizations and programs today! Donate now and a special matching grant will double your support -- dollar-for-dollar -- for reproductive justice organizations led by women of color.

Social Justice in the Garden: A Huge Success!

On Wednesday, July 28, the Ms. Foundation for Women hosted an exciting event for young professionals in New York City. "Social Justice in the Garden" drew approximately 50 friends and supporters to La Plaza Cultural, a community garden that is one of Manhattan’s hidden treasures. Together, we mixed, mingled and learned that:

• Fierce and powerful advocates like Domestic Workers United can convince Albany to do the right thing -- in July 2010, their multi-year campaign succeeded and they celebrated the passage of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights;
  
  
• "If you can't slap 'em, snap 'em": Hollaback makes it possible to fight street harassment with cell phones, by providing a platform that collects pictures of street harassers in action;
  
  
• Legal Momentum provides security to women at risk of losing their homes because of domestic violence;
  
  
• The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum elevate the voices of women and girls who, all too often, are invisible in political conversations.

The evening concluded with an electric performance by spoken-word duo, Climbing PoeTree.

Thank you to everyone who came out and made the evening engaging and inspiring!

Read here  for information on preserving vital, grassroots-run community gardens like La Plaza Cultural and its peers, which are at risk of losing the legal protections that guard against using the land for development purposes.



If you missed the event, but would like to be added to the growing number of young professionals supporting the Foundation, email Irene Xanthoudakis at IXanthoudakis@Ms.Foundation.org and Join Us on Facebook.

Van Jones Keeps Hope Alive

If you need a little jolt of something electric to get you rolling today, take a look at the remarkable speech Van Jones delivered at Netroots Nation just a few days back.

Jones, who is the co-founder of Ms. Foundation grantee Green for All, addressed the crowd at Netroots on the topic of "Hope and Heartbreak," outlining how a green economy can save America's future and urging progressives to "keep hope alive" even in the midst of the many challenges we face.

We kid you not: you probably haven't heard a speech this inspiring since the presidential campaign of 2008. What an excellent way to start the week. [See video below.]

Urge Congress to Pass the Child First Act!

Ms. Foundation grantee The National Women's Law Center wants you to ask your member of Congress to support the Child First Act of 2010 -- and so do we!

What is the Child First Act? According to NWLC's Womenstake blog, it's a crucial piece of legislation that would,

...increase child care funding through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF) by $800 million a year over five years, with an adjustment for inflation. The increased funding would allow approximately 117,500 more children to have access to safe and affordable child care.

In addition, the Act would ensure that the minimum child care health and safety standards required for providers receiving Child Care and Development Block Grant funding also apply to providers receiving funding through TANF.

Finally, the Act would ensure that states could not withhold or reduce cash assistance to a single parent with children under age 13 who does not meet TANF work requirements because of the unavailability of appropriate, affordable child care arrangements. Currently, this provision only applies to parents with children under six, despite the importance of safe care for school-age children.

The act was introduced by Senators John Kerry and Blanche Lincoln and Congressman Joseph Crowley on Wednesday -- but if it's going to pass, it needs the support of many more members of Congress. Reach out to your representatives and senators today and urge them to support this important piece of legislation for America's children!

Check out how another Ms. Foundation grantee, The Mississippi Low-Income Child Care Initiative, is working to provide quality childcare for children across the state of Mississippi.

VIDEO: National Women and Children's Advocacy Day

Video still: A girl testifies about
her mother's arrest

As protesters around the country -- and around the world -- continue to speak out against Arizona's divisive immigration law, we wanted to offer you the opportunity to hear some first-person testimony about the law's potential impact on women and families in Arizona, and beyond.

On July 15, National Women and Children's Advocacy Day, immigrant women and children gathered in Washington DC to testify at a special hearing on the impact of immigration enforcement policies on children and families. Sponsored by Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and organized in part by the Mother's Day Delegation, the event gave a voice to the fears of millions of children of immigrants, who -- thanks to SB1070 and other measures -- now worry more than ever that their families will be torn apart overnight.


Nat'l Women & Children's Advocacy Day - Ad Hoc Immigration Hearing (1 of 5) from ManSee Kong on Vimeo.

The entire hearing is captured on 5 separate videos. To see compelling photos from the July 29th protests, visit AltoArizona.com.

Tribal Women Score Major Win on Capitol Hill

Nationwide, Native American and Alaska Native women are 2.5 times more likely to experience sexual violence and rape than non-native women. Yet, historically, the path to bringing their attackers to justice has been so complicated that the majority of perpetrators avoid punishment. Now, all of that is about to change.

On July 20, the House of Representatives followed their colleagues in the Senate in passing H.R. 725, the Tribal Law and Order Act, "a long overdue effort to address public safety issues in Indian Country," according to Amnesty International. The law seeks to "enhance the criminal justice system by improving coordination and communication between federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies," while also empowering "tribal governments to take more direct action in cases of violent crime." The goal is to ensure that perpetrators of sexual violence can no longer slip through the cracks in a system that previously left the line determining jurisdiction (federal? tribal?) over these cases dangerously blurry.

In addition to the law's attempt to reestablish tribal authority, it also provides for an increase and standardization of the collection of data in sexual assault cases. As Charon Asetoyer, Executive Director of the Native American Community Board (a Ms. Foundation grantee), noted:

Currently there are no standardized sexual assault protocols within Indian Health Service, meaning that victims of sexually violent crimes may not be given rape kits that obtain critical evidence to prosecute perpetrators. The Tribal Law and Order Act will remedy this, and underscore the importance of the need for medical staff that collect forensic evidence to testify in a court of law. It is a critical step toward ensuring that Native women’s human rights are recognized.

Now all that awaits is the President's signature. We're thrilled to congratulate Charon -- a 1991 Gloria Award winner -- and NACB on their successful efforts to ensure the safety of Native women across America. This is a win well worth cheering about!

[Update (3:00pm EDT): The President is scheduled to sign the bill into law at 4:50 this afternoon. Second Update The President's remarks at the signing.]

Arizona Judge Orders Hold on Controversial Immigration Law

Just one day before Arizona's divisive new immigration policy was set to go into effect, a federal judge issued a ruling that put many of the most contentious aspects of the law on hold -- if only temporarily.

Finding in favor of the federal government's case against the state of Arizona, Judge Bolton's ruling has prevented a number of the law's key provisions from taking effect while she finishes hearing the case. According to AZCentral.com, the following elements of SB1070 will be stayed while Judge Bolton continues to hear arguments:

• The portion that requires an officer make a reasonable attempt to determine the immigration status of a person stopped, detained or arrested if there's reasonable suspicion they're in the country illegally.
• The portion that creates a crime of failure to apply for or carry "alien-registration papers."
• The portion that makes it a crime for illegal immigrants to solicit, apply for or perform work. (This does not include the section on day laborers.)
• The portion that allows for a warrantless arrest of a person where there is probable cause to believe they have committed a public offense that makes them removable from the United States.
  

Though the rulings are only temporary, and though eight other provisions of the law were allowed to go into effect, the New York Times suggests that this is a clear "preview" of what Judge Bolton's final ruling is likely to be, predicting that the federal government is poised to win in the end. However, top officials in Arizona are vowing to appeal the findings immediately -- so expect the fight on this one to last for quite some time.

Meanwhile, all over the state of Arizona, opponents (including Alto Arizona) of SB1070 continue to speak out about the dangers the law poses to immigrant families -- even in its newer, less drastic form. Today, July 29, has been named a National Day of Non-Compliance, with protests and other actions planned across the state, and across the country. If you, too, feel that Judge Bolton's ruling is a good start but ultimately not enough, take action: it's not too late to tell the president how you feel about immigration reform.

Photo: by Elizabeth Rappaport. (detail) Immigration Reform March in Washington, DC, 21 March 2010.