Due Protections: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act at 40

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Matt

Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1977. Photo: Lynn Gilbert

Today, Susan Struck’s political positions are nothing that would stick out in a red state like Arizona. A few years ago, she joined the chorus of support for the once-threatened A-10 fighter jet program at Tucson’s Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. In a 2010 article on immigration, a writer noted her concerns about automatic citizenship for U.S.-born children.

Despite the rightward tilt that would be assigned to her views today, Struck was once at the center of a fight for reproductive justice, a cause taken up by a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg, back when “The Notorious RBG” was still a lawyer for the ACLU. It was that fight that led to Ginsburg’s involvement in the writing of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, a landmark piece of legislation that turns 40 this month.

Despite 40 years of protections, pregnancy discrimination hasn’t gone away.

Now retired in an Arizona ranch community, Struck first arrived in the Copper State at the end of the 1960s, when she enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was stationed at Davis-Monthan. She told Elle in a 2014 interview that she reveled in her newfound independence from the family and church she left in Kentucky. “She went on the Pill and stopped attending confession,” the article recounts, and she spent her free time enjoying her sexual freedom and the chance to experience Tucson’s foothills in a newly acquired Camaro.

Still, Struck wanted more excitement, so she asked to be sent to Vietnam. She was assigned to Phù Cát Air Force Base, where she quickly hit it off with an F-4 pilot — and ended up pregnant. Struck understood that the Air Force gave officers in her situation two choices: get an abortion or be honorably discharged. It was 1970 then, still a few years before Roe v. Wade, but the armed forces had made abortion legal ahead of civilian society. Continue reading →

Meet Our Candidates: Jennifer Pawlik for State Representative, LD 17

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Matt

The time to fight back — and fight forward — for reproductive justice is fast approaching. The stakes are high in this year’s state election, with candidates for governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and other races on the ballot. The Arizona general election will be held November 6, 2018, with early voting beginning on October 10. Voters need to be registered by October 9 to cast their ballots. Reproductive health has been under attack, both nationally and statewide, but Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona has endorsed candidates who put our health and our rights first. Get to know them now in our series of “Meet Our Candidates” interviews, and make your voice heard in 2018!

[T]wo years ago, when Jennifer Pawlik first ran for a seat in the Arizona House, the voters she met often doubted her chances of winning in such a red district. Pawlik lives in Legislative District 17, which spans the communities of Chandler, Sun Lakes, and part of Gilbert. Republicans have controlled LD 17’s House seats since the mid-1960s — and they’ve had a longstanding hold on its Senate seat as well.

Pawlik lost in a close race, though, and in this year’s election — her second bid to represent her district — she has seen growing optimism among her supporters. What has motivated Pawlik in both elections has been a desire to stand up for education in the state’s Legislature. A veteran educator herself, her concerns over education cuts prompted her to run in 2016. After this year’s #RedForEd movement, her platform resonates even more strongly today.

“I am fighting for access to affordable health care and affordable college education.”

For Pawlik, education is the foundation for everything that matters in this state. As she told the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce, “a well-educated workforce and excellent schools” will help attract businesses to Arizona — and prepare Arizonans to develop “innovative solutions … to address issues of drought, solar power, air pollution, and mass transit.”

Pawlik also sees public health as a key foundation for a better Arizona. Addressing poverty and improving access to health care are additional priorities she would take to the Legislature. Her commitment to Arizona’s health is why Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona is included in the long list of endorsements she’s received. Pawlik generously took the time to tell us more about her background and her candidacy on September 13.

Please tell us a little about your background.

I am an Arizona native, and a product of Arizona’s public schools. I’m an educator who has taught in Arizona’s public elementary schools for 17 years, and I am now teaching individuals enrolled in Northern Arizona University’s College of Education. In my final years in the classroom, some of my colleagues broke their contracts and left the field of education because they couldn’t afford to continue teaching. Many of us who continued to teach picked up other jobs outside of our contract time so that we could pay our bills. I decided that I needed to do something rather than just complain. In 2016, I decided to run for the Arizona House so I can make a positive impact on the way we fund our public schools. Despite losing that race by only 2.5 percent, I consider our work to be a small victory for my district because we were finally close to a win after years and years of work. My team and I took off just six weeks after the election and got back to work in January 2017. We have been actively contacting as many voters as possible since that time. Continue reading →

Pro-Choice Friday News Rundown

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Stacey S.

Some Republicans are trying to circumvent the Affordable Care Act’s mandate for co-pay-free birth control by pushing for over-the-counter availability of the Pill. Even the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists thinks this is a horrible idea. Its president states, “Unfortunately, instead of improving access, this bill would actually make more women have to pay for their birth control, and for some women, the cost would be prohibitive.” (Care2)
Smoking is damaging, hazardous, and deadly enough on its own. Smoking while on the Pill? Not a good idea. If you’re doing this, please stop. (The Root)
Arizona congressional tool Trent Franks says all Democrats who refuse to enact legislation to force women to give birth against their will are doomed to have regrets in their golden years. Insert world’s biggest eye roll here. (Right Wing Watch)
Students at one Seattle high school can get IUDs inserted for free! (Grist)
A harsh 12-week abortion ban in Arkansas has been blocked by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals! Considering 12 weeks is well before a fetus is viable outside the womb, it would have been the strictest in the country. (Think Progress)
Are “hookup apps” like Tinder and Grindr behind an increase in sexually transmitted infections? (Time)
Race-baiting abortion opponents continue to be disingenuous, tone deaf, ignorant, and just plain The Worst. (RH Reality Check)
California is cracking the whip on the lying liars at “crisis pregnancy centers” who intentionally deceive women about abortion. Now if only we could get some federal legislation. (HuffPo)
Forced vaginal exams on students? Excuse me??? What the hell kind of shenanigans are going on at Valencia College in Florida? (CNN)
Five states worked on abortion restrictions over Memorial Day weekend and no one seemed to notice. (Fusion)
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is so embarrassingly stupid I can’t even take it. He referred to mandatory ultrasounds for women seeking abortions (some of which are transvaginal) “a cool thing” and said, “We just knew if we signed that law (requiring ultrasounds), if we provided the information, that more people if they saw that unborn child would make a decision to protect and keep the life of that unborn child.” What? Uh, NO. All available evidence shows that these ultrasounds do nothing to change women’s minds when they do not wish to continue a pregnancy. Women aren’t fools who need to physically see something to realize its significance. You can show them all the fetuses in the universe — if they’re confident in their choice not to give birth, it won’t make a difference. Stop forcing images upon women because you think it’s “cool.” It isn’t. (Talking Points Memo)

Are You a Republican Who Supports Women’s Health? Are You Feeling Left Out? Me Too.

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona

The following guest post comes to us via Cynde Cerf, director of communications and marketing for Planned Parenthood Arizona.

I am a registered Republican and I work at Planned Parenthood. With the way politics have been in our state, this statement seems contrary. But, there are a lot of Republicans who stand with the Planned Parenthood mission and I am just one of them. In fact, Planned Parenthood Arizona has been in our state for 80 years and was actually founded by some of the state’s most staunch and legendary Republicans (anyone ever heard of the Goldwaters?).

Our party will continue to leave us, until we voice our dissent through the ballot.

As someone who studied political science, I find that the Republican philosophy is very much in line with the Planned Parenthood mission. We are a nonprofit health care provider that wants citizens to have access to services and education so they can make their own, informed decisions about their reproductive health. Put simply: the personal freedom to make decisions without interference or intrusion from the government.

So, fast-forward to today. If you are like me, you may be feeling a bit left out when you see the long list of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona’s endorsed candidates. You might be thinking, where are the endorsed Republicans? And, what am I supposed to do with my primary ballot? Continue reading →

Thank You 2014 Luncheon Attendees!

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona

Dear 2014 Luncheon Attendees:

Thank you for supporting Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona’s 2014 I Stand luncheon. We are tremendously grateful for the wonderful feedback we have received about the event — as well as all the generous donations. Thank you for helping us “Make it Happen in 2014”!

This year’s event was unashamedly political. That focus, and our speakers’ urgency, is driven by today’s reality. For many of the 45,000 women, men, and young people who come to Planned Parenthood Arizona each year — and many thousands more like them across our state — the challenges to access accurate health information and medical services are real and increasingly insurmountable.

I want to address our Republican supporters who may feel personally criticized when Planned Parenthood Advocates and I take aim at Republican legislators who are leading the assault on women’s health care. This is not the Republican party of the past. I was raised in a Republican family. My 83-year-old mother was an elected Republican author of the modern Illinois state constitution when, in 1970, she successfully defeated a proposal to include an abortion ban. My hope is that we will again see a day when candidates on both sides of the ballot support Planned Parenthood’s vision and values.

Most of us who support Planned Parenthood are motivated by our interest in providing hands-on health care and education. When we think of Planned Parenthood, we think of hope-filled futures in which young women and men can complete educations, get jobs, and raise healthy families. The gritty reality of working in the political trenches wasn’t in our plans.

I am grateful that Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona has endorsed Felecia Rotellini, Terry Goddard, and Fred DuVal because these individuals clearly recognize the crossroads at which Arizona finds itself with respect to sexual and reproductive health and rights.

In my remarks at the opening of these events, I cited my profound concern for the health and futures of the 96,000 young Arizonans who will enter their teens in 2014. I know that you share my concern. Thank you for standing with Planned Parenthood.

Sincerely,

Bryan S. Howard
President

Pro-Choice Friday News Rundown

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Stacey S.

Arizona Republicans do a stellar job of making our beloved state seem like a haven for bigots. The current target? Members of the LGBT community. (AZ Central)
Here’s another shining example of this … (Raw Story)
And again! Can’t even give birth to your own baby the way you want to! Dammit, Arizona! (Care2)
If you are married to a person with genitalia that is the opposite of yours, I have some good news for you — Mike Huckabee approves of your intercourse. Congratulations. (Slate)
A mother who helped her 16-year-old daughter terminate an unwanted pregnancy could become a convicted felon for doing so … and remember, this is a world where others can kill unarmed born children and get off scot-free. (Care2)
After having had to abort her very wanted child at the end of the second trimester, Phoebe Day Danziger tells her sad story. (Slate)
We’re familiar with Plan B, but is there a Plan C on the horizon? (RH Reality Check)
The 10 suckiest anti-abortion bills of 2014 — and we’re not even in the third month of the damn year. (Think Progress)
Lack of Knowledge on Long-Term Contraception Is A Real Danger for Women (HuffPo)
The inventor of the HPV vaccine is working on a similar vaccine for herpes. Yay science! (Sydney Morning Herald)
Like everything else in medicine, the value of mammograms is being debated. Wouldn’t it be nice if doctors could be on the same page? (NY Times)

2013: A Retrospective

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Stacey S.

Well folks, 2013 has been quite the year when it comes to women’s issues and reproductive health. Anti-choice Republicans have made every attempt to strip us of our most basic human rights. We dealt with many a jackass. We won. We lost. We came, we saw, and sometimes we even conquered.

Let’s take a little stroll down memory lane, shall we?

Trent Franks (from our great state, naturally) told everyone that pregnancies attributed to rape were super low and thus insignificant and not even relevant to the abortion issue.
(The Daily Beast)
The Affordable Care Act made birth control available without a co-pay! (Planned Parenthood)
But that didn’t go unchallenged, of course. Domino’s Farms, Hobby Lobby, and a gang of other fools think the mandate to cover birth control for women in their insurance policies is a “violation” of their rights and values. That’s right. They believe the pills you take to exert control over what happens in your uterus is not only their business, but something they should have full control over! They also completely disregard the fact that birth control pills are often medically necessary. From PMS, PCOS, and endometriosis relief, birth control pills serve women’s health interests in many important ways. You think these a-holes give any sort of damn about that? NOPE. (RH Reality Check)
Plan B emergency contraception is finally available over the counter! (New Civil Rights Movement)
Texas pretty much went anti-choice nuts this year. But little-known State Sen. Wendy Davis put on her tennis shoes and went to battle for the women of Texas in an effort to kill SB 5, a craptacular proposal that would pretty much annihilate abortion access in the state. This pro-choice dynamo stood on her feet for 11 hours to filibuster the bill. While her efforts were ultimately thwarted by “pro-life” governor Rick Perry (who’s so pro-life he facilitated the execution of more than 200 people), she became a powerful symbol of the pro-choice movement in Texas, and the rest of America. (NYT)
A majority of Americans now support a woman’s right to safe, legal abortion! That’s the first time in the 10 years that NBC/WSJ has included the question in their poll. (NBC News)
Anti-choice legislators have latched onto “fetal pain” and “heartbeat” bills as their latest strategy to restrict women’s reproductive rights. Neither of those things can be proven as “real” by science, but they’re not going to let pesky facts get in the way of their women-hating mission. (The Atlantic)
Dr. Kermit Gosnell committed unspeakable horrors in his abortion clinic, the details of which are not only distressing, but almost physically painful to read. Despite that fact that this is astonishingly rare, he gave credence to to all of the anti-choice vultures and harmed the pro-choice movement in an immeasurable way. (Jezebel)
Mr. President had to lay the ultimate smack down on behalf of Planned Parenthood earlier this year. He told all of the anti-choice haters, “Planned Parenthood ain’t goin’ nowhere, chumps!” (OK, he didn’t say that exactly/verbatim, but kinda.) Anyway, thank you, President Obama, for being our advocate and BFF in Chief. (Salon)
Another big story this year: More women are purposely forgoing mommyhood and deducing that babies are better when they belong to someone else. It’s like a trend now. Childfree is the new black! (Fem2pt0)
2013: Another year in which abortion clinics got shut down at an alarming rate. Less access to safe abortion. Just what we need. (Think Progress)
Lastly, some good news. Four years after his tragic, heartbreaking murder, Dr. Tiller’s clinic reopened this year. His legacy lives on. (Mother Jones)

What will 2014 hold? We can’t predict the future, but one thing is for sure: We will continue to put everything on the line to make sure women have access to the reproductive health care they deserve and have a right to. If we have to be relentless and unyielding in this fight, so be it. The lives of women matter.

We’re here if you need us.