Info on Health Care Forums from our Friends at Ocean State Action

Please take a moment to read the following information regarding the Town Hall Meetings and health care reform from our friends at Ocean State Action. There is more information and a petition that you can sign on their website. I attended the Town Hall Meeting hosted by Jim Langevin last night, and I can assure you that the presence of pro-choice progressive citizens would be much appreciated. The RI Right to Life was there last night, and will likely make an appearance tonight. If you would like to meet me there or have any questions, please email me (prochoiceri@gmail.com) and I will respond from my phone immediately.


Come to a Town Hall Meeting this week with Senator Whitehouse or Representative Langevin to show your support for health care reform!

Congress is working on health care reform legislation that would limit the cost of care for everyone, and make sure we all have health insurance we can count on for fair, continuous coverage. While Congress is on vacation, our nation's elected officials are hosting Town Hall Meetings across the country to talk with constituents about the need for real reform, and what it should look like. This week, Senator Whitehouse and Representative Langevin are hosting Town Halls in Rhode Island, and we encourage you to attend to show your support for health care reform. Representative Langevin is hosting a Town Hall Meeting this Wednesday the 19th in Warwick at 6pm at Warwick City Hall (3725 Post Road)Senator Whitehouse is hosting a Community Dinner this Thursday the 20th in West Warwick at 5:30pm at the West Warwick Senior Center (145 Washington Street) Sign up here to attend either, or both, of these Town Halls.

Opponents of health care reform are trying to pack the rooms at Town Halls and drown out the voices of supporters of health care reform. This is why it is so important you attend to make sure our elected officials hear us: we need health care reform, and we need it now! We encourage you to get there as early as you can to ensure you get in. We recommend trying to be there 30 minutes before the Town Hall is scheduled to begin.

We're also looking for volunteers this Saturday the 22nd to hand out information about health care reform at Back-to-School celebrations across the state, which you can also sign up to do here. It's up to us to make the most of this historic opportunity to win health care reform that will lower costs, ensure quality care, provide a choice of a private or public insurance plan, and provide equal access to quality care.

Healthcare Reform Myths and Facts Regarding Abortion/ Abortion Pill Approved In Italy

Maybe this will clear things up a little.

1. MYTH: Health care reform would result in the greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade.
REALITY: Currently, the majority of plans already cover basic reproductive health care, including abortion care. In fact, more than 86 percent of employer-based insurance plans cover abortion care. That's why anti-choice groups are working so hard to strip reproductive health from health care reform — in order to strip women of coverage they currently have.

2. MYTH: Taxpayer money would be used to pay for abortions in the public plan.
REALITY: Opponents of reproductive health care are trying to confuse people into thinking that the public plan is a government-funded health plan like Medicaid or Medicare — it is not. The public health insurance plan would operate like any private insurance plan would. It would be funded and paid for by private individual premiums, in the same way a private insurance plan is. Therefore, there is no reason to treat any coverage issue, including abortion coverage, differently in the public health insurance plan than in private plans.

3. MYTH: Health care reform will "mandate" abortion coverage.
REALITY: Nothing in any of the current health care reform bills mandates abortion coverage — or any other type of health care service. Opponents of women's health and health care reform are trying to hijack health care reform to push for unprecedented prohibitions on abortion coverage in the private marketplace


From the Feminist Majority Foundation:

Medical Abortion Pill Mifepristone Approved in Italy

The Italian Pharmaceuticals Agency (AIFA) has approved mifepristone, also known as RU-486, for use through the seventh week of pregnancy. Last week's ruling stipulates that the drug can be administered by doctors in a hospital but can not be sold in pharmacies, according to the BBC. As the host country of the Vatican, Italy has long faced an especially contentious abortion debate. The Roman Catholic Church denounced AIFA's decision. Monsignor Elio Sgreccia, President Emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life, announced, "There will be excommunication for the doctor, the woman, and anyone who encourages [mifepristone's] use," reports Reuters. Accessibility of mifepristone remains unclear because about 70 percent of Italian doctors are "conscientious objectors" who will not provide abortion services, according to the health ministry.AIFA acknowledged the debate surrounding abortion in its report, noting that "the task of protecting the well-being of citizens...must take precedence over personal convictions," reports the AP. Mifepristone has been available on a limited, experimental basis in Italy since 2006, according to the Associated Press. Surgical abortion through the end of the first trimester, and in limited cases through 24 weeks of pregnancy, has been legal in Italy since 1978.

CONFIRMED!

Thank you to Emily's List for this great image.

NOW Outraged at House Vote on Abortion Coverage; Sonya Sotomayor on Roe; Buffer Zone Upheld in MA!!!!

NOW: Women's Rights Traded Away -- July 31, 2009

NOW is outraged to learn that the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed an amendment excluding abortion services from the "essential" health benefits package as defined by the government. Under this amendment, subsidies used to help pay insurance premiums for low-income people could not be used for abortion services. The New York Times reports that "insurers must use money from private sources to pay for any abortions.""Reproductive health care is a fundamental right. Any health care plan that does not cover the full range of reproductive services, including abortion, discriminates against women," said NOW President Terry O'Neill. "Once again, our representatives are giving in to the right wing by trading away women's rights. Well, I have a message for them, our reproductive rights are not theirs to give away."O'Neill noted that a majority of voters support coverage for abortion services, with only about a quarter opposed to using tax dollars to pay for abortion. In addition, a recent study found that most people in the U.S. with employer-based insurance currently have coverage for abortion. "Don't low-income people deserve the same level of coverage as other people in this country?" asked O'Neill. "Our lawmakers should be ashamed of themselves for perpetuating class-based and gender-based biases as they attempt to 'reform' our broken health care system."

Sonya Sotomayor says Roe is settled law..let's hope she means it.

In other amazing news, the 35 foot buffer zone law was upheld in nearby MA. This buffer zone was established in 2007 to ensure safe access to clinics and protect women and staff from harassment.

July 13, 2009

Law Protecting Clinic Buffer Zone Upheld
The US 1st Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Massachusetts law on Friday, allowing a 35-foot safety buffer zone between protestors and abortion clinic entrances. The law, established in 2007, protects clinic patients and staff from harassment.

Five anti-choice protesters originally filed the lawsuit on the grounds that the safety zones violate their right to free speech. In 2008, US District Judge Joseph Tauro rejected their request and they filed the most recent appeal.

The Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled that the law does not infringe on protestors' free speech rights and applies to all protestors no matter their viewpoint. The law is described as "content-neutral," reported the Boston Globe. The ruling also stated that the law "represents a permissible response by the Massachusetts Legislature to what it reasonably perceived as a significant threat to public safety."

"For too long, patients and staff had to endure in-your-face screaming and harassment just to get to doctor's appointments," Angus McQuilken, vice president of public affairs for the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, told the Boston Globe in 2008 after the original suit was filed. "This 35-foot zone is more than reasonable."

Media Resources: Boston Globe 2/21/08, 7/10/09; Feminist Daily Newswire 2/26/08