Pro-Choice Friday News Rundown

Posted on May 12, 2017 by Stacey S.

Remember the bill the 45th President signed last month giving states the right to withhold federal Title X funds for family planning services from clinics that also provide abortions? Well, that wasn’t going to affect the state of Arizona because our state does not directly distribute funds to health-care providers. Title X funds have long been distributed by the Arizona Family Health Partnership and they never discriminated based on whether or not a provider performed abortions.

WELP, GUESS WHAT? The despicable, forced-birth advocates in our Legislature (the House and the Senate — NOT A COINCIDENCE but a coordinated attack!) launched bills last week seeking to change who controls the distribution of Title X finds. They want that money now to be distributed by the Arizona Department of Health Services — a state-run entity that is prohibited from contracting with health-care providers who perform abortions.

Again, the timing of this is not a coincidence and this is a GOP-coordinated attack on Planned Parenthood and clinics that provide abortions.

Now that No. 45 has given other states the right to withhold those funds from us, Arizona wants in. (Phoenix New Times)

Obviously poor women and women in rural areas are going to suffer as a result if these harmful bills pass. (AZ Central)

By nominating Charmaine Yoest to be assistant secretary for public affairs of the Department of Health and Human Services, No. 45 continues his administration’s coordinated effort to destroy reproductive health care. Ms. Yoest has personally had a hand in harmful legislation nationwide to restrict women’s access to abortion. She has publicized the lie that abortion raises the risk of breast cancer. This is not rooted in science. She is a dangerous zealot and fear-monger hoping to scare women out of making a medically sound decision about their bodies. This is scary. (Rewire)

To all my friends in Blue states: If Trumpcare passes, it’s going to jack up your lives, too! (Slate)

Why does the GOP want to make women pay more for health insurance? I’m sure misogyny has nothing to do with it! (NY Mag)

Are Republicans accidentally paving the way for single-payer health care? Let’s hope so. (WaPo)

Bernie Sanders and Tom Perez, the de facto “leaders” of the Democratic party, threw women under the bus. (NY Mag)

Alabama Governor Signs Law Allowing Faith-Based Adoption Agencies to Bar Gay Couples From Adopting. I could find no evidence that he himself has adopted any children. Apparently his concern for them is limited to keeping them out of potentially loving homes based on whom their parents have consensual sex with. Seems legit. #NOT (Slate)

From the looks of HB 3859, Texas is on board with this practice as well. This terrible bill would allow state contractors who provide child welfare services to discriminate against qualified same-sex couples who want to adopt. (HRC)

Actually, it’s even worse than that. While Texas foster kids — including LGBTQ foster kids who got kicked out of their homes of origin — are being “protected” from same-sex foster parents, they’re also being “protected” from vaccinations. (The Stranger)

Nancy Pelosi says abortion is “fading” as an issue for Democrats. The opposite is true for conservatives. (WaPo)

Trump’s Annual Child-Care Tax Break Would Give Average American Families Less Than $20. Try not to spend it all in one place! (Slate)

A piece of good news … A bill that could ban conversion therapy nationwide could be passed. YES! (WaPo)

In the United States, black women are three to four times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related causes. It’s worse in places like New York City, where black women are 12 times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related causes. Rewire asks, “Could Increasing the Number of Black Health-Care Providers Fix Our Maternal Health Problem?” (Rewire)

Meet Our Candidates: Stefanie Mach for State Representative, LD 10

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Marcy

The Arizona primary election will be held on August 26, 2014, with early voting beginning on July 31. Reproductive health care access has been under attack, both nationally and statewide, but Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona has endorsed candidates who have shown strong commitment to reproductive justice. To acquaint you with our endorsed candidates, we are running a series called “Meet Our Candidates.” Make your voice heard in 2014!

[S]tefanie Mach is the incumbent for Legislative District 10 state representative and running for re-election. Considered a swing district, LD 10 comprises the east side of the Tucson metropolitan area. It encompasses neighborhoods from Campbell Avenue to Tanque Verde Ranch and the Catalina Mountains to Valencia Road.

On July 14, 2014, Mach spoke via telephone with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, and emphasized the need for accessible education programs and health care, including comprehensive sex education, to help ensure that everyone has access to both information and choices that promote quality of life.

“Making abortion illegal … does not … eliminate abortions. It just eliminates safe abortions.”

Tell us a little about your background.

I grew up as a military kid. My dad was in the Air Force until I was in high school, and he retired to his home state of Wisconsin. Then I ended up settling there for a while. I went to undergrad. I was the first in my family to get a college degree from a four-year university, and then I went on to get a master’s degree in public policy after working in nonprofits for several years.

So, I think I just kind of talked about why I was involved in service. I ended up, after undergrad, going into AmeriCorps. I served a year as a volunteer with them, and I was just involved in service.

And I think the other thing that played a part in developing who I was as a person – I had an accident when I was 17 where I was severely burned over 55 percent of my body. I had a lot of extensive hospital care, and so health care issues are pretty important to me because of it. And education is also personally important because of my own personal experiences. Continue reading →

Celebrating Motherhood — and Reproductive Freedom

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Matt

Two months ago, a single mother’s ordeal was grabbing headlines. Shanesha Taylor, homeless and desperate for a job, landed an interview at a Scottsdale insurance office. But the 35-year-old mother of two faced a difficult dilemma when she went to her interview on March 21. She couldn’t find child care, but she also couldn’t afford to cancel.

Short on options, Taylor let her two boys, ages 6 months and 2 years, wait alone in her car for 45 minutes while she tried to secure a source of income for her family. Taylor was subsequently arrested for child abuse for leaving her sons unattended in a hot car. Her children were examined at an area hospital and released as uninjured, but Taylor nevertheless faced two felony counts.

The best gift to mothers would be the ability to choose motherhood without suffering tremendous financial blows.

Taylor endangered her children, but she did it because she faced a tough dilemma — a choice between what was best for them in the short term and what was best for them in the long term. She faced this dilemma in the richest nation in the world — a nation that is nonetheless the worst among rich nations in terms of family-friendly policies. Taylor’s unemployment didn’t help matters, but even for the employed, social programs are lacking. As Stephanie Coontz summarized in her interview with us last year, “We are the only rich, industrial country in the world that doesn’t have subsidized parental leave, limits on the work week, some form of national health insurance, and/or strong investments in child care and preschool.”

Consequently, parenting is an almost insurmountable expense for many. In the last 20 years, the cost of maternity care and delivery has swelled in the United States — in fact, tripling in the case of delivery. Pregnancy, delivery, and newborn care now come to $30,000 on average. Add another $20,000 if the delivery is by C-section. It’s far more than what people in other developed nations pay. Americans pay more than twice what people in Switzerland pay for childbirth, and more than three time what people in Britain pay. Continue reading →