Pro Choice Halloween courtesy of PPNYC!

Halloween is just around the corner and I couldn't resist posting PPNYC's piece on pro choice Halloween costumes! Check out their blog at http://www.unratedunfiltered.com/! Happy Halloween!!!

Nothing to wear on Halloween? Go as one of these pro-choice costumes!
If you’re anything like me, you still don’t have your Halloween costume down. What with all the atrocious costumes out there, we here at PPNYC asked some of our favorite writers for their pro-choice Halloween costume ideas. Check out the list below, or add your own in your comments. And if you end up going as any of these, send in your picture!

From Megan Carpentier, Editor, News & Politics at Air America Media:
Dress normally. Since STDs often can’t be distinguished with the naked eye, it’ll be up to you to tell people what you are.
Dress in pink and carry a pink hula hoop all night: you’re a NuvaRing!
Dress all in copper and put copper pipe cleaners on your head: you’re an IUD!

From the writers at Slate’s Double X blog:
Draw a calendar on your shirt and carry a bongo drum: You’re the Rhythm Method!
Drape ivy over your shoulders and paint a big “F” on your shirt: You’re IVF.
Dress like a baby and attach test tubes to yourself (or drink from them): You’re a Test Tube baby!
Wear all your winter gear and curl into the fetal position whenever possible: You’re a frozen embryo.

From the pro-choice comic Katie Halper:
Wear galoshes and carry an oar: You’re roe v wade
Walk around with a bunch of babies: You’re “abstinence only” sex education
Wear a Trojan helmet and a clear raincoat: you’re a Trojan condom. Alternative: wear a raincoat and put on a name tag that says “birthplace: Troy”

And a few ideas from the PPNYC staff:
Wear all black, but then spell out the word “Damn” on your chest with bright green dental floss: You’re a Dental Dam!
Dress in pink and don a knit cap: You’re a cervical cap!
Wear all black and attach small pink erasers to your outfit – you’re a rubber!

VOTE!

As I am sure some of you are aware, November 3rd is election day this year. Now, historically in an off year election turn out is horrendous. Beyond horrendous: ABYSMAL. I hate to say it, but abysmal turn out means your vote counts that much more. Your piece of the pie is bigger. Your voice is louder and the echo, much greater. This year is no different.

Here in Pittsburgh, we have the opportunity to elect some excellent judicial candidates and, finally, a pro-choice mayor. Now, I'm not going to try and tell you who to vote for. But I am going to point you in the direction of the Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates website and ask you, kindly, to check it out.

www.pppavotes.org

Click on the voter guide. Tons of great information, right at your fingertips.

And I'm also going to leave you with this radical video by one of my favorite video bloggers, Jay Smooth. He's my #1 feminist crush. The video is a little dated, but just as important and poignant as the day he uploaded it.

Pittsburgh Foundation's Match Day is TOMORROW!

A message from our Development Department! Tomorrow is a great day to give to Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania!

Here is why:

Make a gift of $50 or more to Planned Parenthood of Western PA through PittsburghGives and The Pittsburgh Foundation will give Planned Parenthood of Western PA $.50 for each dollar you give. Your $100 contribution will become a $150 gift! There are $300,000 in matching funds available -- and more than 300 organizations ready to share in the generosity of Pittsburgh donors.

In order to qualify for the match, you must make your gift online via credit card at www.pittsburghgives.org. Matching dollars will be exhausted quickly, so you must be ready to make your gift at 10 am tomorrow. When you are completing your donation at "checkout," you will be notified whether matching funds are still available for your gift.

Demand for health care services is up 34% in our downtown Pittsburgh office! Our mission is to provide everyone with the services they need to control their fertility and protect their reproductive health. Tomorrow you can help to ensure that access to quality reproductive health care that includes complete gynecological care and cancer screening services is available to those most in need.

Your Match Day donation also helps to provide prevention education programming that works throughout the community to reduce teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. For questions regarding making a gift to PPWP please call 412-434-8957 ext. 120.

Gleecap: Mashup!

Ok kids, we have a lot to cover here. Sue Sylvester in love? Rachel and Puck making out?! The Thong Song?! Really???

Mashup was all about in-congruency. This was summed up best by adorable Emma when she told Will that the two wedding songs Will was trying to mashup would never ever go together even though they are "both great songs." This was a not so veiled allusion to her doomed engagement and Emma and Will made googly eyes at each other while they processed the weight of that statement.

In Glee-kid land, the tables were turned as well. McKinley High's self-proclaimed "It" couple were welcomed to the "new world order" with a slushie facial courtesy of hockey player Karofsky signaling their descent into unpopularity. Desperate to regain their status, they turn to the world's most prim guidance counselor for advice resulting in the pair wearing sunglasses for the rest of the episode in an attempt to look cool. Turns out, the popular kids don't care about their sunglasses. They outcast Quinn and Finn for their association with Glee and Quinn's unplanned pregnancy. Will popularity and Glee ever go together? Not quite yet it seems.

Ken spots Emma and Will in a tangled embrace after Will's spirited performance of the "Thong Song". (What exactly was he doing there? Wasn't he supposed to be teaching her how to dance? Oh, I love the contrived situations they create to show off Matt Morrisson's dance skills. Priceless.) Ken gets back at Mr. Schue by scheduling a mandatory football practice during Glee rehearsal. That's cold Ken! All of the Glee footballers choose Glee except *shocker!*, our hero Finn. He just can't handle being uncool. Ultimately, he gets Ken to relent by performing his own version of the "I have a dream..." speech. Finn has a dream that someday he will live in a world where a guy can play football and sing and dance too. For now, he does.

My favorite sub-plot of this episode is a stone cold tie between Sue Sylvester in love with a slimy news anchor and Rachel and Puck's way too brief romance. Sue catches the eye of the Ron Burgundy wannabe while delivering her segment. And who wouldn't want to be with this woman after she defends gay marriage by saying "I, for one, think intimacy has no place in a marriage. Walked in on my parents once and it was like seeing two walruses wrestling." Sue's love affair resulted in a positive chipper Sue and the best lindy hop between rivals I've ever seen. When Sue and Mr. Schue aren't at each other's throats, they make a great dance team! Inevitably, Sue returns to her old ways with renewed vigor after having her heart broken which is fine by me because her dialogue is gold. Rachel and Puck hook up thanks to a dream Puck had where Rachel appears to him in a white dress and a star of David necklace. They bond over their Jewish heritage and raging hormones. Rachel is still stuck on Finn and tells Puck she can't be with him because he doesn't have the guts to sing a solo. Well, he shows her and comes in the next day with a pitch perfect version of "Sweet Caroline" on the guitar complete with brass instruments. Rachel and Quinn both swoon and Finn is miffed. I just wish the writers would have played this plot out instead of nipping it in the bud in this episode. Who cares if they are hung up on other people? Make them jealous and fall in love! That's how teen romance works!

Other wonderful moments that didn't make the cut:

• Kurt's sacrifice for Finn! "Get me to a day spa STAT!"
• Sue's zoot suit!
• Emma's first solo with "I could have danced all night"!

What did you think of this episode? Are you looking forward to a Rachel/Puck duet as much as I am? Was the "Thong Song" as messed up as I thought? When are the pregnancy reveals finally going to happen?! And how are you going to live for the next couple of weeks with no Glee? I want a full report. In the meantime, enjoy this clip of "Sweet Caroline"!

Health Care Reform Day of Action!

Yesterday, PPWP participated in a national Health Care Reform Day of Action. In the morning Tiffany, Libbi, and I went to University of Pittsburgh and Chatham University campuses to talk to students about there feelings on health care reform. Check out the videos below to see what real folks have to say about Health Care Reform.

What's new in health care: Gardasil for boys!

Women have been reaping the benefits of Gardasil, a Merck vaccine that protects against the 4 most common strains of HPV since its launch in 2006. It has long been thought that there would be no market for Gardasil amongst men as the cancers caused by HPV in men are extremely rare. But c'mon people, not only is the vaccine effective in preventing Genital Warts (the other nasty disease caused by HPV) but certainly men must be interested in the systemic change that would result from vaccination of both sexes! Men are usually silent carriers of HPV and can pass it along to their male and female partners without ever knowing. Can you imagine giving your partner a disease that results in cervical cancer 10 years later??? I would be harboring some serious guilt.

That in mind, Merck has just announced the FDA approval of Gardasil for men. Its recommended use is the same as for women: vaccination between the ages of 9 and 26. So get the word out! If we're all getting vaccinated, we can reduce the occurrence of genital warts and cancers caused by HPV. And that's a beautiful thing! I'm thinking tandem Gardasil vaccinations would make a great first date. Just a thought!

For more info, check out this blurb in the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/16/us/politics/AP-US-Merck-Vaccine-Boys.html

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia gets the word out on McDonnel's anti-woman agenda

Virginia is my home state so I take this issue to heart. Though I long ago fled the gorgeous Shenandoah Valley of my birth, I certainly don't want a nut case like Robert McDonnell governing it!

Robert McDonnell landed on my radar when his Master's thesis leaked to the public. It's all kinds of wing-nut crazy but the part that has the feminist blogospere buzzing is his contention that working women and feminists are "detrimental" to the family. With this kind of anti-woman policy, he is not fit to govern any state and I hope his opponent R. Creigh Deeds takes him to task for it.

NARAL Pro-Choice VA is doing their part! Check out their clever you tube video!

Health Care Reform Day of Action is tomorrow!

Tomorrow, Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania will be joining the thousands of supporters of health care reform in a national day of action!

At 10 a.m. we will be heading to the University of Pittsburgh and Chatham University campuses to video students individual health care stories. These stories are one of the most valuable tools we have to show why it is so important that we address health care reform responsibly. We will also be doing a mobile phone bank into Senators Specter and Casey's offices so the folks we encounter can let their representative know that health care reform must not leave women worse off after health care then they were before!

After the visits to our local universities, we are heading over to the Health Care Rally for a Public Option at Mellon Square (6th Avenue and William Penn Place) at 2 p.m. Hosted by HCAN and SEIU, and a plethora of other hard working advocates for responsible health care reform, this rally is taking the message of health care reform to the streets. Please consider heading downtown to show your support! We will be the ones in the bright pink shirts :)

Weekly Policy Recap

Amie Newman has an excellent post up about private insurers adverse treatment of women at RHRealityCheck.org.

Abortion and unintended pregnancy rates are declining as access to contraception becomes more available. Who would have thought?

Al Franken makes us proud yet again.

Certain conservative radio shows are pulling out all the stops to discredit independent thinking by republican women Senators Snowe and Collins. Surprise, surprise: they are using outright misogynistic messaging to make their point. Tsk, tsk gentlemen. Not that we were expecting anything different, but heck, it’s Friday. Give us a break already.

This week in progressive entertainment...

Everyone who lives here knows, there is no shortage of great progressive events in Pittsburgh. This weekend (and the upcoming week) is no exception. Today marks the opening of the 24th Annual Pittsburgh International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and despite its international title, there are several great films made locally about local issues.
Personally, I am so happy to see Out In The Silence on the schedule (and for free no less!).
Check out the synopsis here. The film will be playing this Tuesday, October 20th at CMU in the McConomy Auditorium.

Another homestate film, Training Rules, about student Jennifer Harris and her suit against Penn State and women's basketball coach Rene Portland will be airing on Saturday October 24th at SouthSide Cinema Works.

Training Rules (trailer for the documentary) from Woman Vision on Vimeo.

For the full schedule and details visit www.pilgff.org

Have a great weekend!

PPWP loves Glee!

Glee is hands down my favorite show on TV right now. In fact, Rebecca and I have both been swept off our feet by this charming tale of show choir woes and triumphs. (I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that we were both choir nerds in high school.) Thursday mornings we usually chat about the previous evening's episode. Not only are we delighted by the awesome song and dance numbers but unexpectedly, by the super positive messaging. Planned Parenthood got a shoutout in "Preggers" and who can forget the episode when Kurt comes out to his dad AND in a rare occurrence said dad doesn't freak out. Word to the wise network executives: Not every high school coming out experience is traumatic because you know what, it's not the worst thing in the world to be gay!

Anyway, so as Rebecca and I were gushing over Glee we thought, "We really should blog about this!" So...we are! Check back here every Thursday for a re-cap of each new episode. Make sure to post your thoughts if you too can't get enough of Glee! In the meantime, enjoy these videos of "Somebody to Love" and "Single Ladies"!

Advocacy in the Sun: Summer Internship Re-Cap

Summer is the perfect time for advocacy! The weather is great which makes canvassing and outreach a breeze. There seem to be a plethora of festivals and health fairs to table at. The mood is positive and optimistic. Most importantly, students are looking for meaningful ways to spend their summers. Knowing this, Planned Parenthood of PA Advocates conducts a 10 week Grassroots Organizing internship every summer.
Planned Parenthood of PA Advocates is a force to be reckoned with in PA. It is made up of the public policy staffs of Pennsylvania’s five Planned Parenthood affiliates including mine: Planned Parenthood of Western PA. Together we recruit, hire, train and supervise our interns. We started recruiting in January, interviewed potential interns in February and March, made offers in April, and kicked it all off with a three day Action Camp in late May!
Action Camp is a crucial part of a major summer internship initiative. This year we gathered our 12 interns and 8 staff members under one roof for three days of training. It wasn’t all work though! We had plenty of time to include a reception/barbeque, a pool party, and a canvassing trial run. The time and effort to put on the Action Camp was well worth it. Our interns in their exit interviews said that they felt well prepared for the 10 weeks ahead of them after the training. They learned about our issues inside and out. They even lobbied to state representatives on the last day of the Action Camp!
This year we focused on advocating for comprehensive sex education. This was the perfect goal as we currently have two pieces of legislation in the PA state house that we are working on: HB 1163 and HB 1162. HB 1163 (The Healthy Youth Act) would mandate comprehensive medically accurate sex education in all Pennsylvania public schools. HB 1162 (The Notice Home Act) would require a “notice home” to be sent to parents of children who are not receiving comprehensive sex education in their schools. The bills will not be receiving a committee vote until this fall so we took the summer to lobby, canvass, phone bank and educate around the issue.
I’m pleased to say it was a successful venture and we will absolutely be doing it again next year. Advocacy is a volatile field to work in and predictably, things didn’t always run smoothly. In late July, we obviously had to shift some of our focus to health care reform issues which we had not prepared for. Our interns and staff fell right in step though and in the end, we met our goals on both issues. The numbers don’t lie. We knocked on 3,393 doors, dialed 5,563 numbers, identified 1, 627 new supporters, and obtained 821 new emails and 889 new c4 opt-ins. Most importantly, our interns had fun while doing work they care about. They will walk away from their internships with valuable on the ground organizing experience that will help them in their professional development. And maybe, just maybe…we’ll spot them at a Planned Parenthood Policy Summit one day. Here’s hopin’!

Volunteer Spotlight: Why I chose PPWP for my internship...

As a senior Women ’s Studies major at Chatham University, PPWP seemed like an obvious internship choice for me.I didn’t want an internship that felt meaningless. I wanted to feel like I was doing something important. And believe me, PPWP is important.

We are currently living in a social climate where access to reproductive care is growing slimmer and slimmer by the minute. Oklahoma just passed a law that will collect personal details about every single abortion performed in the state and post them on a public website. Many women don’t have health insurance, and even if they do, most plans do not cover basic things like birth control. And it’s not just access to the actual reproductive care that is lacking. There is also a huge failure to educate young people about birth control options and STI care. Sometimes the questions I get asked when representing PPWP at events highlight the failure of our abstinence based sex ed programs.

Interning at PPWP helps me take my frustration at the injustices of our current situations and turn it into something productive. PPWP gives me access to a network allows my small part to help make a big difference.

- Libbi
Outreach Intern, Fall 2009

Volunteer Spotlight: Why I chose PPw