South Dakota Planned Parenthood Advocate

GUEST: Why Birth Control Matters

I have never read The Feminine Mystique. Nor did I think of myself as a feminist. Coming to age in the “otts,” my life experience has been limited to a post-60/70s first world – where equality between men and women has shifted into normality. My generation is accustomed to women in the work place, family planning, and careers before marriage. We, or at least I, saw the fervent feminism of our mothers as a thing of the past. The bra burning sexually liberated “hippies” felt as a lost age, a time that no longer applies to my present day life.

Then I came to Ecuador.

We Need More Women in (Every) Office

Two weeks ago SDSU hosted Richard Fox from Loyola Marymount University to present on his joint study, Men Rule.

The Fox and Lawless study found that of men and women, of being generally equal in experience and qualification, women were far less apt to consider themselves qualified to run for office.

This is bad news considering the need for more women in office. According to a recent CBS news report,

At a White House forum on women and the economy Friday, President Obama suggested more women are needed at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue on Capitol Hill.

"Fewer than 20 percent of the seats in Congress are occupied by women," he said. "Is it possible that Congress would get more done if there were more women in Congress? Is that fair to say?"

Low as the percentage cited by Mr. Obama may be, it still marks an increase over generations past, and there is hope that this fall's election may give those numbers a boost.

On a side note, according to the U.N., the United States ranks 71st in the world for the number of women in the legislature -- behind nations like Vietnam and Kazakhstan. Rwanda ranks number one.

Currently, there are 41 women running for the state legislature in South Dakota. These numbers may change based on the outcome of the June 5 primaries and the possibility of more women running as independents.

~ Carmen, Planned Parenthood Advocate

Women Vote 2012

Article, after article, after article discusses why women need to vote in November (and April and June). Women, especially young women largely stayed home in 2010 and look where that got us.

According to Ms. Magazine, “Women must mobilize, register, and flex our electoral might to hold onto our crucial health and economic rights. Join the effort by blogging, Tweeting under the hashtag #HERvotes, supporting efforts to register women to vote, and most of all, helping the highest number of women in history to vote in 2012.”

Locally, South Dakota State University is hosting Women’s Work: SDSU Conference on Political Empowerment to foster political empowerment among female under-graduate students.

To that end, Planned Parenthood MN, ND, SD has started Women Vote 2012. Women can take the pledge to vote in November, RSVP to vote in the election on Facebook and keep up with important updates.

This is it, ladies. We’ve worked too hard for too long to stay home and give up now. It’s time we think like a suffragist and GOWV (Get Out Women’s Votes).

~ Carmen, Planned Parenthood Advocate

2012 Team Roe Candidate Training

We have a huge opportunity and a huge responsibility to elect pro choice candidates to the South Dakota State Legislature in November. Today is the final deadline for candidates to file signatures run for office and by the looks of it, we have a pretty great selection!

Being a pro choice candidate can be difficult – even though a majority of South Dakotans are pro choice! We want to make sure these candidates are as prepared as possible to hit the campaign trail. That’s why Planned Parenthood MN, ND, SD Action Fund, NARAL Pro Choice South Dakota, and the SD Campaign for Healthy Families PAC are planning the first-ever Team Roe Candidate Training!

The training will include: Media Training, Talking About Choice, Fundraising from Start to Finish, New Media Basics, and Field 201 – Beyond the Basics. This training is for candidates and campaign workers, Democrats and Republicans, volunteers, and friends.

Did I mention the training is FREE? AND that lunch is included? What more could one ask for?

The training will be held at Bracco in Sioux Falls on Saturday, April 21 from 10am-5pm. You can RSVP to me at ctoft@ppmns.org or 605-695-1788. Please RSVP by Wednesday, April 18 so we can plan for meals and materials.

~Carmen, Planned Parenthood Advocate

Cupid's Basement at Northern State University

I spent Valentine’s Eve with some outstanding students at Northern State University at an event called Cupid’s Basement, co-sponsored by Residential Life and Planned Parenthood.

Like any good college event, there was free pizza and free condoms. Students watched MTV’s Top 10 Most Outrageous Sex Myths and then engaged in a hotly contested game of Sex Ed Trivia.

After the event I hung around and talked Federal and state legislation. Of particular interest was the “Good Samaritan” bill which would have granted limited immunity to people who attempt to help minors in need of emergency assis-tance, assumedly from drugs or alcohol. (SB 86 ultimately failed in the house judiciary committee.) I was impressed at the breadth of their knowledge and interest in politics. The next generation is in good hands.

~ Carmen, Planned Parenthood Advocate

Welcome to PPMNS’ new intern!

A hearty welcome to Sarah Conrad, the newest member of the PPMNS family! Sarah comes to us from SDSU where she is finishing her degree in Human Development and Family Studies. Sarah will be interning with us thru the end of the school year and during the summer at the health center in Sioux Falls. I am so excited that Sarah will finally get to the list I titled, “When I find the time…”

In her free time, Sarah loves to hang out and watch a movie with friends, but also enjoys being outside at football games, or just hanging out playing yard games in the summer. She loves swimming and is a lifeguard. Her favorite flavor of ice cream is Blue Goo (found only at the gas station in her hometown of Garretson, SD) or chocolate chips with sprinkles.

After she graduates, Sarah hopes to become social worker to eventually get her Masters in Social Work. Sarah was referred by a former intern of mine, so I’m certain she will be a good fit. Stop by the health center any time to say hello!

~ Carmen, Planned Parenthood Advocate

Sarah with her brother, who is a United States Marine

Unofficial TTRT Book Club - Any Mother's Daughter

One person who doesn’t need any persuading on the HPV vaccine issue is Bonnie Diraimondo, a Registered Nurse and longtime sufferer of vulvar, cervical and anal cancer linked to high-risk strains of HPV. In “Any Mother’s Daughter,” Diraimondo provides a brief history of the virus (jackalopes are involved!) and gets imprimatur in a forward from Dr. Harald zur Hausen, a 2008 Nobel Prize winner for his work in discovering HPV’s link to cervical cancer.

But the bulk of this book is not for the faint of heart, as Diraimondo describes the painful, grueling and endless series of treatments (surgery, radiation and chemotherapy) she receives for recurring and life-threatening lesions. Diraimondo also does not spare any detail as she is cast into the nine rings of the nation’s health-care system: there are mislabeled biopsies, insensitive and judgmental remarks, out-of-network-care nightmares and chemotherapy dosage errors.

Along the way, there are some knights in shining lab coats, but they are rare. As to whether or not to have your daughter vaccinated, Diraimondo poses a blunt question: If your daughter should develop an HPV-related cancer in the future, “Can you handle being accountable for a decision which could have prevented it?”

~ Sarah T. Williams, Planned Parenthood Advocate

The Team Roe Times March Issue!

We are excited to present to you the third issue of The Team Roe Times in 2012, a joint project between Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and NARAL Pro Choice South Dakota!

Packed inside this fabulous issue is a book review of "Any Mother's Daughter" about the HPV vaccine, a summary of the South Dakota Legislature, the Blunt Amendment vote, the debut of "Women Vote 2012", an introduction to our new intern, AND SO MUCH MORE! Please enjoy and share widely.

Download The Team Roe Times Vol 2 Issue 3

A High-Five, a Shout-Out, or a Thank You

By: Cecile Richards, President Planned Parenthood Federation of America

  Last week, the Senate rejected the Blunt amendment, a measure that would have allowed any employer to deny women who work for them insurance coverage for any essential health benefit, including birth control, for any moral or religious reason. After weeks of debate and an enormous outcry from Planned Parenthood supporters nationwide, the message is clear: birth control is basic health care, and your medical decisions should be between you and your doctor.

This is a huge victory for women's health, and I’m pleased to say that Senator Johnson voted to defend access to affordable birth control. Please take a moment to thank Senator Johnson for voting to protect women’s health and ask them to keep up the fight.

U.S. Senate Defeats Blunt Amendment 51-48

In an important victory, the U.S. Senate stood up today for women’s health and basic health care by defeating an extreme proposal sponsored by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) that would have allowed any corporation or health plan to refuse to cover any health care service they object to, such as cancer screenings, maternity care, HIV/AIDS treatments and others.