Planned Parenthood® Action Center

A large scale Utah anti-abortion bill, which was sent to Gov. Gary R. Herbert for review, has been sent back to the state legislature unsigned. This bill, which caused a lot of outrage across the country, would have allowed a woman to be sentenced up to life in prison if her fetus died from "reckless" or "intentional" behavior.

International Women's Day!

On this day, take a look at what Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is working on achieving for women all over the world. Since 1971, PPFA has been focused on winning reproductive health care for every woman, worldwide.

We can overcome the barriers to reproductive justice with your help!



Here is more information on PPFA's efforts and how you can get involved.

Technorati tags: PPFA, International Women's Day, reproductive justice

Lobby Day was a success!

Our activists spoke to a large number of state legislators and conveyed the importance of the Reproductive Health and Access Act (RHAA). Many of these representatives were receptive and willing to have constructive discussion with our advocates.

Here are some reactions from our wonderful supporters about their experience and why they decided to come out to Lobby Day today:

"I found a lot of support with the state rep I spoke with. My experience was great. I was able to really connect with my rep, and I am encouraged to continue doing work like this. " - Sandy, campaign supporter

"The bill is so important, because people need access and affordable health care. It was good to dialogue with these representatives, even the ones from conservative areas. As long as we are still talking, we are making headway." - Natalie, campaign supporter

Thank you so much to our wonderful volunteers and supporters that were willing to come to Springfield today, and help us make lobby day such a success!

Technorati tags: RHAA, Lobby Day

The Campaign for Reproductive Health and Access supporters have just descended on the Capitol building! Today is Lobby Day and campaign supporters are lobbying in support of HB6205, the Reproductive Health and Access Act.

Why do we need RHAA in Illinois? We must protect the right of all Illioisans to a continuum of choices throughout their reproductive lives - from honest sexual health education, to access to quality birth control, prenatal care, and the right to choose abortion.

Campaign supporters met here in Springfield for a brief overview of the bill, followed by a group lunch, and then they were off! The crowd was revved up and ready to speak to their legislators about why they support HB6205. You could feel the excitement in the air!

Check back with us again later to hear from some of our supporters who lobbied at the Capitol today.


Technorati tags: RHAA, lobby day

Planned Parenthood of Illinois and our coalition partners are in Springfield to motivate the General Assembly to vote YES on HB 6205, the Reproductive Health and Access Act (RHAA)!!!

We have an awesome group of just under 100 volunteers and activists in our capital right now, ready and raring to speak to their State Representatives!!!

RHAA has three main goals:

1) To prohibit government inference for a woman to have an abortion, access to birth control, or carry a pregnancy to term.

2) To ensure age appropriate comprehensive sex education in all public schools in the state, with the option for parents to opt-out if they so wish.

3) To guarantee equal access for all reproductive health services, including pre-natal care or abortion, under Medicaid. This will enable all women, of all socio-economic classes to have their full right to reproductive choice.

In just a short while, our activists will be heading over to speak to their representatives!

Check back soon, we will keep you posted!!!

Technorati tags: Planned Parenthood of Illinois, Reproductive Health and Access Act

It has been a week since VA State Representative, Bob Marshall, made statements linking abortion to the presence of disabilities in subsequent children. Since then, he has clarified his statements, but his message remains the same:

A woman's right to have an abortion should be outlawed, because it literally causes, as a punishment from God, health concerns for future children. Marshall's remarks were as follows:

"The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children."

To many, this line of thought is not only flawed, but highly offensive to any woman who chooses to take their reproductive health into their own hands.

One Feministing.com contributor, sharkfu, has a brother who was diagnosed with severe autism and therefore has a unique perspective on Marshall's theory:

"My mother didn't bring autism down upon my brother and our family through her reproductive health care choices or poor parenting.

As my brother's advocate and guardian, I reject the "punishment from God" rhetoric because it is insulting at best and it attempts to absolve society of our responsibility to respect difference at worst. Many of the same so-called family value politicians who spew that mess are the same fiends who turn around and vote against autism insurance legislation and reject funding social programs that benefit older autistic folks like my brother."

Read this moving post in its entirety.

Technorati tags: Bob Marshall, feministing.com

Today marks the first day of Women's History Month, which is celebrating its 30th Anniversary!

The National Women's History Project, the educational non-profit organization responsible for lobbying Congress to create this commemorative distinction, has named this year's theme to be "Writing Women Back into History."

Check out their website for more information, videos, posters, and even a women's history quiz!!

Also, in celebration of influential American women, take a look at this virtual exhibition called "Women of Our Time" that the National Portrait Gallery released to accompany a large scale traveling exhibition from 2002-2005. Among the women featured are Eleanor Roosevelt, Julia Child, Sylvia Plath, Ella Fitzgerald, and none other than Planned Parenthood founder, Margaret Sanger!!

Technorati tags: Women's History Month, Margaret Sanger, National Women's History Project

Tell us your story.

What was it like to participate in a rally? Have you had difficulties in obtaining affordable reproductive services? Why is safe reproductive health care important to you?

Your story will be shared with elected officials and our supporters online through this blog. As a dedicated supporter, your voice helps protect the reproductive rights of every woman in Illinois.

Here are some words from a couple dedicated supporters:

"PPIL has opened my eyes to a world that is often forgotten by middle class people, women's health! Without PPIL thousands of women every year would be left out of the health care system." - Anonymous, Sept 09

"... [W]omen need the right to an abortion, as well as sex education, and access to birth control. If abortions were illegal, women that were determined enough would still receive them... As for comprehensive sex education, if women are to [be] safe, they need to know all the facts. So many women and teenage girls have incomplete or incorrect knowledge about sex, pregnancy and abortion. This needs to be changed." - Ben, Age 16

Tell Your Story is a project is to collect personal stories from activists and volunteers. Confidentiality is important to us, so we will carefully protect it and use only the information that you are comfortable with.

Please contact mystory@ppil.org with your name, number and e-mail, if you are interested in participating!

Technorati tags: Tell Us Your Story, Planned Parenthood of Illinois, pro-choice

Unsurprisingly, the Jessica Valenti op-ed in Monday's Washington Post spurred some interesting comments from some pretty angry readers.

Her article, which focused on the ramifications of ingrained sexism within our country, was a call to action for women, as well as men, to recognize that mere representation does not make women equal. Jessica made it quite clear in her article, as well as in all of her other work, that her goal is not to cut men down, but rather to fight against the flagrant mistreatment of women within our culture. The only way to do that is to call out those who are perpetuating sexism.

As she states on her blog Monday evening, "The only kind of person who thinks hating sexism is the same thing as hating men is someone who thinks being a man is dependent on being sexist."

Read Valenti's reaction to what people had to say about her WaPo article.

Technorati tags: sexism, Jessica Valenti, anti-feminism

Let's face it, women in America are not equal. Jessica Valenti comments on this fact in her Washington Post article entitled "For women in America, equality is still an illusion."

Her main point: those who have the ability to look at the disparities within our own country have a responsibility to not only recognize gender inequality, but also fight to against it.

Inequality spans a wide range of issues within American society; one of the biggest examples being the rate of assault against women. According to Valenti, the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center projects that the number of women that were sexually assaulted in 2008 is over 1 million.

She continues to say, "The distressing statistics don't stop with violence: Women hold 17 percent of the seats in Congress; abortion is legal, but more than 85 percent of counties in the United States have no provider; women work outside the home, but they make about 76 cents to a man's dollar and make up the majority of Americans living in poverty."

There are horrible atrocities occurring all over the world, but we cannot overlook the atrocities that occur every day in the US of A.

Read Jessica Valenti's full article in the Washington Post.

Technorati tags: Jessica Valenti, feministing.com, gender inequality