North Dakota Planned Parenthood Advocate

Week 2 - Reproductive Health Report from the Legislature

It is week two of our Planned Parenthood North Dakota Reproductive Health Reports! Our goal is to keep you up-to-date on happenings around women’s health during the 64^th legislative assembly in North Dakota.

The North Dakota legislature consists of 47 senators and 94 representatives- that's 1 senator and 2 representative from each legislative district. Do you know who your legislators are? Here is a handy site that helps you locate your state senator and representatives.

Bills
Abortion: As of today, January 16^th, no bills to ban or restrict abortion have been filed.

Reproductive Health: HB1295 is a bill sponsored by Rep. Kylie Oversen. The bill would allow more low income women in North Dakota to receive access to family planning services. The benefits to women and to the public health of our state include...

Obvious Child Movie Screening in Honor of Roe v. Wade!

Join us in celebrating the anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade!  If you’re in the F-M community next Thursday, January 22^nd we are screening the hit film “Obvious Child” starring Jenny Slate at North Dakota State University.

Thursday January 22^nd
NDSU VAN ES 101 Auditorium
6-8 pm  Discussion to follow the film.

Obvious Child  is a romantic comedy written and directed by Gillian Robespierre.  The film follows Donna (Jenny Slate), a stand-up comedian, who after a drunken one-night stand finds out she is pregnant and decides to have an abortion.

The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival where it won the Red Crown Producer’s Award . Planned Parenthood was proud to work with the directors and producers of this film to bring this subject to light.

“Tackling a sensitive subject with maturity, honesty, and wit, Obvious Child serves as a deeply promising debut for writer-director Gillian Robespierre.”- The Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus

“Uproariously and refreshingly honest.” -Variety

Watch the trailer!

            

January is Cervical Health Awareness Month!

How much do you know about HPV (human papillomavirus) and cervical cancer?   HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease- it’s also a major cause of cervical cancer.  Cervical cancer screenings can help detect abnormal (changed) cells early before they turn into cancer.  Cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer for women worldwide, but because it develops over time, it is also one of the most preventable types of cancer.

The good news is HPV can be prevented by the HPV vaccine.

What causes cervical cancer?

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is found in about 99% of cervical cancers. There are over 100 different types of HPV. Of these types, some can cause genital warts (“low-risk” HPV) while others may cause abnormal cell changes, most commonly of the cervix (“high-risk” HPV). It can take weeks, months, or even years after exposure to HPV before symptoms develop or the virus is detected. This is why it is usually impossible to determine when or from whom HPV may have been contracted.

HPV is estimated to be the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. In fact, by age 50 approximately 80% of women have been infected with some type of HPV. The majority of women infected with the HPV virus do NOT develop cervical cancer. For most women the HPV infection does not last long; 90% of HPV infections resolve on their own within 2 years.

New Report Showing Spike in Abortion Restrictions Underscores Urgent Need to Protect Access

New data released today, showing that in the last four years states have enacted 231 restrictions on abortion, underscores the urgent need to protect access to safe and legal abortion at the state and federal levels in 2015. According to the report, during the 2014 legislative session, lawmakers introduced 335 provisions aimed at restricting access to safe, legal abortion.

The report comes as many state legislatures, including North Dakota, gear up to start new sessions this month — and comes amid a growing national consensus that politicians should not interfere with access to safe and legal abortion. The restrictions passed by states in 2014 have significantly limited women’s ability to access abortion services, by enacting hurdles like mandatory waiting periods that have no medical basis and by forcing some health care providers to shut down completely, leaving women with nowhere to turn.

As we look ahead to what will surely be another tough year for women’s health, our focus is on making sure women have access to the care they need and are able to make their own health care decisions. In the months ahead, we’ll work alongside our supporters on the ground to defeat dangerous restrictions.

In the report, researchers found:

Our AMAAAZING Interns

Here comes 2015! As the New Year approaches we want to highlight our out of this world interns who served as community and campus ambassadors in cities across the state. They were fabulous and made a ENORMOUS difference by building community support for reproductive health and freedom in North Dakota this year. (Oh, they also played a big part in defeating Measure 1 in November too.)

We asked 4 interns the following questions:

1) Why did you want to intern with Planned Parenthood/ why are you interested in this work?

Sara at NDSU said: “I'm interested in this work because I feel that access to reproductive healthcare is essential for the health of women and their families. My internship at Planned Parenthood has helped me prepare for a future in the field of reproductive healthcare by giving me the tools to communicate effectively with a variety of populations, including those who may be apprehensive toward reproductive healthcare.”

Alyssa at MSUM wanted to get involved because: “The internship presented an opportunity to do something at a macro level as a social work major as well as spoke to my passion for activism.”

What will the 2015 ND Legislature have in store?

In 20 days, yes just 20 days, the North Dakota Legislature will convene for the 2015 legislative session. Legislators will be voting on laws that affect you and your health!

During the 2013 legislative session North Dakota lead the country in passing laws that restricted and even banned women’s access to reproductive health care.

Since that time North Dakota voters turned out in record numbers to vote NO on Measure 1 Personhood. The message to legislators was loud and clear- stop the attacks on women’s reproductive rights!

Together we must ensure that the message isn’t lost. Stay in touch with what is happening week by week and bill by bill. Sign up for the Planned Parenthood Action Network and we will keep you up to date!

What does signing up get you? You will receive…

• Weekly legislative updates delivered to your inbox
• Tools to ‘Take Action’ and contact your personal legislators
• Access to statewide media about reproductive health
• Invitation to community events and forums
• A community of North Dakotans who share the value of protecting women’s reproductive health and freedom.

 

 

Teens Need the Information Planned Parenthood Provides

Richard, a Planned Parenthood volunteer, tells us why he supports Planned Parenthood as a fearless voice of progress:

I came up in a time when it was still pretty hard for kids to get real, accurate information about sex, and too many people at that time didn’t have access to the health care and information they needed when they needed it. Preventing STDs and unintended pregnancies are very important issues, and being ignorant about the facts is a recipe for disaster in a young life.

I’m proud to have been a volunteer for Planned Parenthood for the past four years. Planned Parenthood is a fearless voice for health care and information. They work every day to reach young people who might not have access to other resources and to provide women and men with the health care and information they deserve, no matter who they are.

My grandchildren deserve a world with all the rights and resources my generation fought so hard for. That’s why I stand with Planned Parenthood as a fearless voice of progress.

Be fearless.

There's a lot to be thankful for

Thanksgiving is behind us but we still have a lot to be thankful for! We want to express our sincere gratitude for the many things we have to be thankful.

First: we're thankful for YOU! Our wonderful supporters, community advocates, activists and volunteers make this work and movement towards securing reproductive health and freedom possible.

Extremism guarantees divisiveness

By Rep. Kathy Hawken as printed in the Fargo Forum on Nov 29, 2014

Nineteen years ago, I began my first session in the North Dakota Legislature filled with enthusiasm and the desire to make positive decisions for the future of North Dakota. As I begin my last session representing District 46, I am still excited about the opportunities we have to ensure that future.

As a common-sense conservative, I am also hopeful that my fellow Republicans have learned something from this past election, as it certainly appears that voters told us they want common-sense conservatism across all levels of government. Republicans were elected governors in states President Barack Obama carried by double-digits; we expanded our majorities in state legislatures throughout the country and retook the majority in the U.S. Senate.

Measure 1 defeat shows voters have had enough

By Dina Butcher from Bismarck as printed in the Fargo Forum on Nov 29, 2014

A few weeks have passed since North Dakota made history and became the third state in the nation to decisively reject a “personhood” constitutional amendment. As the chairwoman of the North Dakotans Against Measure 1 campaign, which brought forward doctors, religious leaders, patients, families, judges, lawyers, and domestic violence advocates to defeat the measure, I’ve taken time to reflect on what this means for our state and our country.

The proponents of the measure made it clear from the beginning that their intent was to end access to safe and legal abortion – but Measure 1 would have gone much further. The IVF clinics in North Dakota would have closed their doors, families struggling with end-of-life decisions would have had to answer to the government and there would have been a total ban on abortion with no exceptions.

North Dakota voters said “no” by an almost 2 to 1 margin. All but two legislative districts defeated the measure and, in those two districts, it was only narrowly passed (53 percent and 51 percent). Voters also ousted the two most vocal anti-abortion legislators and the main proponents of Measure 1, Sen. Margaret Sitte, R-Bismarck, and Rep. Bette Grande, R-Fargo.