Planned Parenthood Advocate

Join us on November 2nd to Celebrate Planned Parenthood!

Every fall, Planned Parenthood supporters gather to celebrate Planned Parenthood’s work throughout our region. Our theme this year is “The Politics of Truth” and we are excited to announce that our keynote speaker is Valerie Plame Wilson, the “outed” CIA Operations Officer & Best-Selling Author of Fair Game.

After a twenty-year covert career with the CIA, Wilson's identity was published in a newspaper column in 2003. An investigation traced the leak all the way to the White House and it became apparent this was no ordinary spy story.

As we stand at a juncture where the truth is more important than ever, Wilson will share her thoughts on what she views as unprecedented abuse of public trust and subverting the right of citizens to exercise free speech. Since her covert identity was compromised, Wilson has become a public advocate and respected authority on issues of national security and politics.

[VIDEO] Valerie shares her thoughts on the impact of being “outed”



The event will be emceed by Jearlyn Steel, host of WCCO Radio show, Steele Talkin’, and an entertainment reporter for TPT’s Almanac. She is also a frequent guest on the prestigious radio broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion.

Additionally, this event will feature a fabulous silent auction featuring items like dinner for 6 with Governor Dayton at The Bachelor Farmer, a private suite at the XCEL Energy Center for a Minnesota Wild Game, Lunch with Mayor Chris Coleman at Brasa Rotisserie, and many other wonderful items.

Register today and Celebrate with us on November 2nd!

House votes to allow hospitals to deny lifesaving care

On Thursday, October 13th the House of Representatives passed the bill HR 358, the “Protect Life Act.” The bill is an attempt to alter the current law, which legally compels hospitals to provide emergency care to anyone in need, regardless of his or her ability to pay. However, in an attempt to divorce abortion procedures from federal funds, the bill would allow federally-funded hospitals (those that received support from Medicare and Medicaid) to deny life-saving procedures to women in need of emergency abortion, a measure which Nancy Pelosi argued would let women “die on the floor.” Pelosi was one of several outspoken opponents to the bill.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) shared her own story:

“I was pregnant, I was miscarrying, I was bleeding. . . If I had to go from one hospital to the next trying to find one emergency room that would take me in, who knows if I would even be here today. What my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are trying to do is misogynist.”

The bill, received and read by the Senate on Monday October 17th, is unlikely to pass. The White House has also issued an official statement saying that should the bill reach the Oval Office, Obama will veto it because “the legislation intrudes on women’s reproductive freedom and access to health care.”

The issue has been covered, among many other news vendors, by the International Business Times, The Huffington Post and Politico

 

 

-by Kalie Caetano, Web Correspondent, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota Action Fund 

 

House votes to allow hospitals to deny lifesaving care

On Thursday, October 13th the House of Representatives passed the bill HR 358, the “Protect Life Act.” The bill is an attempt to alter the current law, which legally compels hospitals to provide emergency care to anyone in need, regardless of his or her ability to pay. However, in an attempt to divorce abortion procedures from federal funds, the bill would allow federally-funded hospitals (those that received support from Medicare and Medicaid) to deny life-saving procedures to women in need of emergency abortion, a measure which Nancy Pelosi argued would let women “die on the floor.” Pelosi was one of several outspoken opponents to the bill.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) shared her own story:

“I was pregnant, I was miscarrying, I was bleeding. . . If I had to go from one hospital to the next trying to find one emergency room that would take me in, who knows if I would even be here today. What my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are trying to do is misogynist.”

The bill, received and read by the Senate on Monday October 17th, is unlikely to pass. The White House has also issued an official statement saying that should the bill reach the Oval Office, Obama will veto it because “the legislation intrudes on women’s reproductive freedom and access to health care.”

The issue has been covered, among many other news vendors, by the International Business Times, The Huffington Post and Politico

 

 

-by Kalie Caetano, Web Correspondent, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota Action Fund 

 

Standing with ALL families at the Big Gay Race

Last Saturday, 1500 people turned out to the Big Gay Race, a fundraiser to defeat the proposed amendment to ban marriage between same-sex couples. Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota strongly opposes this amendment, and was a proud sponsor of the race. Our Planned Parenthood team of runners was 60 people strong and we were so thrilled to be a part of powerful display of opposition to the constitutional amendment.

Big thanks go the Planned Parenthood Team Captain, Senator Scott Dibble, for firing up our team and leading us to the finish line.

Defeating this amendment won’t be easy—building partnerships among progressive voters will be critical to spreading the word about this damaging amendment. Planned Parenthood stands for ALL Minnesota families. All people regardless of sexual orientation should be free to make their own choices about love, commitment and relationships.

Thank you so much to everyone who participated on Saturday, and a special thanks to those that ran on our Planned Parenthood team. Together we will send a strong message that Minnesotans will not tolerate discrimination being written into our constitution.

-by Karina, Web Editor, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota Action Fund

Planned Parenthood Condemns House Passage of H.R. 358 Bill Severely Undermines Women’s Access to Care

Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS) strongly criticized the House of Representatives for passing H.R. 358, a dangerous bill that undermines women’s access to care, including eliminating protections for women seeking care in emergency situations.

“This bill is an egregious attack on women’s access to health care,” said Sarah Stoesz, PPMNS President and CEO. “Most devastating, the bill eliminates protections for patients seeking care in emergency circumstances, and would allow a hospital to deny lifesaving abortion care to a woman, even if a doctor deems it necessary.”

Bachmann introduces intrusive anti-choice bill

Representative Bachmann has been a busy Congresswoman. So busy, in fact, that she hasn’t voted on a bill since August 1st. With her chances for winning the Republican nomination for President looking particularly grim, she’s trying to save her campaign by appealing to her strongest base: anti-choicers. 

Bachmann recently introduced a bill that would force a woman seeking an abortion to not only undergo a sonogram, but force doctors to “make the unborn child’s heartbeat visible through ultrasound, describe the cardiac activity, and make the baby’s heartbeat audible, if the child is old enough for it to be detectable.”

SlutWalk mobilizes people on sexuality and sexual violence issues

It’s a movement that began in Toronto, Canada, last April and has since gone global.  The first SlutWalk was a response to comments made by a Toronto police officer at a university safety forum that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.”  The police officer did later apologize for the remark, but the movement was already underway. There have been more than 75 SlutWalks around the world so far, and more are in the works. 

Reproductive rights have come a long way, but the backsliding must stop

This past month marked both the birth date and death of a woman to whom most who have ever given a thought to contraception may owe a moment of homage. In September 1879, Margaret Sanger was born into an Irish working-class family, witnessing her mother's slow death, worn out after 18 pregnancies and 11 live births. While working as a nurse and midwife in the poorest neighborhoods of New York City in the years before World War I, Sanger saw women deprived of their health, sexuality and ability to care for their children that were already born. Contraceptive information at that time was suppressed by religious leaders, and laws passed prohibiting its commerce. The poor had no access to control their own bodies.

[INFOGRAPHIC] Chlamydia in Minnesota

One of the leading causes of infertility in women, chlamydia trachomatis affects millions each year without symptoms and it has reached epidemic levels in Minnesota.  Get the facts, stay healthy, and get tested. Share this infographic with your friends.

The amendent to ban same-sex marriage: a student’s perspective

At this point, maybe I should be used to Minnesota’s legislature disregarding the views of young people. Slashing state funding for the U of M, striking out funding for low-income healthcare providers—standard moves this year by our legislature showing a complete lack of interest in the wellbeing of young Minnesotans.

But now that the legislature has put an amendment on the 2012 ballot that could make discrimination a part of our constitution, we need to tell them that they’ve gone too far, and we won’t sit quietly and watch it happen.

On the 2012 ballot, every voting Minnesotan will be able to choose whether they want our state constitution to include a ban of same sex marriage. The fact that this question is on the ballot at all is horrifying enough—can you imagine if it passed? Same sex marriage is already against the law in Minnesota; this amendment would just make it harder for that to change in the future.