Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania

Summer is winding down :(

2010-08-12T14:42:00.002-04:00

This is a post by one of our WONDERFUL summer interns, Dani. We were so lucky to have such talented and dedicated young folks working with us!

So. End of my first summer at Planned Parenthood and I’m still conflicted about the experience. It was nothing like I anticipated applying or even after completing training, yet it definitely still provided me with great skills and understanding.

Coming in, we were taught all sorts of different political involvement techniques—door-to-door canvassing, phone banking, crowd canvassing, writing letters to the paper—with the understanding that we’d be placed at the bottom tier in some struggling politician’s campaign to help make a difference and get them elected. But my internship didn’t turn out that way. Our luck with candidates was legendary—we had politicians who wouldn’t return our calls or who, when we finally got involved with them, did not live up to our expectations—and so my partner Bailey and I never really landed on a campaign. We were more freelance in our political action, doing what would could from the PPWP office and from our limited city bus pass access.

I was looking forward to getting involved in a real political campaign this summer, because it seemed glamorous and complicated and important (I think I’ve watched a bit too much West Wing). In this, I guess I guess I was a bit disappointed, because now my views of them must wait to be disillusioned or confirmed, or both. But my real love and passion is sexuality, not politics, so our focus on Planned Parenthood’s issue and goals and office space really suited me just fine.

This is not to say that I haven’t still learned a lot about politics through my work here. Beyond the truly invaluable political skills of pitching an issue on the phone in such a way that the caller won’t hang up, or getting people to see the value in registering to vote, or being able to speak eloquently about issues, candidates, and the importance of voting for choice, I as well learned many more challenging, intangible lessons. I learned that politicians can be imperfect, even flawed, and still be candidates that need to be supported and advocated for because they can do important work for women and choice in office. I learned that voters really just want to feel like they are being heard and that they are important. And I think I finally grasped the true importance of the democratic process, even—perhaps especially—on the local level. Because political work really is an equal, and an equally important partner, to direct services in cases of social work, be it medical services, choice, domestic violence, or whatever. Work in the interpersonal sphere can only exist as long as there are political policies in place to safeguard it. We can continue performing abortions, or handing out EC, or advocating sex ed because down the road, people have done the hard political action to ensure those freedoms.

But I also learned that politics will probably never be for me. So much compromise and value negotiation goes into becoming a viable candidate, a candidate who can win and then do good things, and I don’t want to settle. I think I’ve learned I’m far too liberal to be tamed like that. But I do know that one day I’ll still end up inside a campaign. Because I learned through this internship, and through my supervisors and mentors at PPWP, that being the lone, loud progressive voice in a candidate’s ear can help remind them what they’re fighting for.

Medical Care Behind Bars

2010-06-25T14:13:00.001-04:00

In 1984, Wanda Boswell was arrested for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. During booking, the jailer learned that Boswell was 6 ½ months pregnant, and having a difficult pregnancy. Boswell began bleeding and notified jailers, who locked her in a cell without calling a doctor. The bleeding worsened and she requested a doctor. She was left locked in the jail cell overnight. In the morning, Boswell was cramped, bleeding, and in pain, and again requested a doctor. The jailer refused and told Boswell she would be released when she posted bail. Boswell was allowed to call her mother-in-law who told the jailer that even if she was able to raise the money to for bail, it would take quite some time to travel to the jail. The jailer continued to insist that she needed "$ 150 to let Boswell out." When a local police officer (and emergency medical technician) stopped by the jail before his shift, he heard Boswell’s cries. While looking in on Boswell, he noticed the bleeding and demanded an ambulance which transferred Boswell to a hospital. Her baby, Joseph Boswell, was born at the hospital, where he died thirty-four minutes later. (Boswell v. County of Sherburne, 849 F.2d 1117. (8^th Cir., 1988)).

The health concerns of incarcerated women do not differ markedly from those outside the prison walls. However, a woman in prison has no power to care for herself. Her incarceration completely restricts her liberty, including access to any and all medical care. Due to an inmate’s complete dependence on prison officials, deliberate indifference to an inmate’s serious medical needs is considered “cruel and unusual punishment” and a violation of the Eighth Amendment.

Between 1977 and 2007, the female prison population has increased by 832% (according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics). Two-thirds of these women are incarcerated for non-violent – mostly drug and property-related – offenses. While the numbers are shocking enough on their own, the implications of the flood of women into the prison system are even more so.

Like many institutions, the criminal justice system is structured by and for men: from sentencing and punishment to prison programming and the provision of medical care. Women have specific medical needs that do not vanish once the prison gate locks: gynecological care and education, access to prenatal care or abortion services, and (more often than men) counseling for prior sexual abuse. If incarceration is at least in part about rehabilitation, an inmate’s health is vital to achieving this goal.

The physical and emotional pain Wanda Boswell experienced should be part of no one’s sentence. Reading case after case of such abysmal treatment, it’s difficult to see a light at the end of the tunnel. If prisons fail to adopt and implement procedures to meet the needs of their new inmates, the only means of redress seems to be the one Boswell had: in court, after enduring several hours of pain and the death of her son. Although that’s certainly better than nothing, the better alternative – for all involved – is to realize the reality that women’s health needs do not disappear upon incarceration and the value of investing in caring for these women.

Planned Parenthood and Me

2010-06-23T10:31:00.004-04:00

I have been exceedingly lucky in my life to have been raised by strong women who believe in the power of being a strong woman. While they each had their own strengths, they truly believed in the autonomy of self and the freedom to make one's own choices. My home was always sex positive and open, and I am thankful for that.

However, no matter how sure I felt about my own body, sexuality, and self, there was something missing. The lack of proper health education, particularly sex education, in my upbringing, combined with the absense of self-esteem (all too normal, in this day and age, for adolescents) led me into an abusive relationship with an older man at the age of sixteen. After that relationship ended, swearing I wouldn't tell anyone, I carried that burden around with me for years, always questioning why I wasn't "good enough" or "smart enough" to have gotten out of that. In my senior year of high school, Planned Parenthood's "Peer Education" program began to disseminate the information invaluable to a growing teen, and helped me cope with my past.

Years later, I realized it wasn't a problem with me that led me into that relationship, but also a problem with the system. I did not have a network at school to whom I could tell my deepest secret. The health classes, which focused on abstaining from drugs, alcohol, and sex, did not help me develop confidence and self-esteem, and did not teach me how to say "no". In University I began a teacher training program, focusing on history and ethics/religion, but took more and more courses in the fields of sexuality, women's health, and sociology. It is my goal to pursue a Masters of Public Health in Adolescent Health/Sexuality, and to promote proper health and sex education within schools and other institutions.

It also shocks me how little even "educated" people know about contraceptive usage and anatomy. Since coming out as a future sex educator, I have had many friends come to me, in confidence, asking basic questions about sex, health, or anatomy, that I find disturbing for people in their mid-twenties. I do not blame them, however-- after all, they are seeking to correct misinformation from their schooling-- but rather the teachers, guardians, and institutions who continue to pass on such wrong data. That is something I seek to change, and am thankful that Planned Parenthood has been doing that for ages.

Working at Planned Parenthood is a way for me to give back, and a way for me to take part in a larger public health measure. I believe, above all, in the value of proper education, caring teachers and mentors, and trust. Thankfully, so does Planned Parenthood.

My Planned Parenthood Experience

2010-06-21T15:27:00.002-04:00

I only understood the true significance of my body and my rights to it after I left a long-term abusive relationship. The healing process turned me toward literature and advocacy that respected each individual's rights to her/his own body. When it came time to apply for internships that actually considered my interests in respecting these issues, Planned Parenthood seemed the perfect choice.

I was completely off base when I imagined the type of work I would be doing as a campaign organizer. Yes, I phone bank, canvass, and fill out data forms, but I also get to table for events and listen to individuals' issues. I am actually working with like-minded people on advocacy issues that are meaningful to everyone involved. People do not work at Planned Parenthood merely to receive a paycheck. The positive energy in the office creates a safe space for conversation and motivates me to get up every morning for work.

Even though we are only about three weeks in, I have learned so much with my fellow campaign organizer, Dani. We muse at how uncomfortable some people are with the presence of condoms at tabling events and how others seem desperate not to make eye contact with us. One girl even asked us if it was awkward handing out condoms. After responding in the negative, we encouraged her to look into volunteering with Planned Parenthood, but she gingerly smiled and walked away. For a country filled with sexual images, people are way too uncomfortable with discussing sexual health and safety. Issues, such as sexual violence, seem to be even further from conversation.

While not everyone is willing to share their stories of abuse, sexually transmitted infections, or pregnancy, I think the more we talk the better off we are. Discussion is not meant to desensitize people on these issues, but to make them more aware of what is out there in the world for them to encounter.

What I'm Doing at Planned Parenthood

2010-06-21T12:57:00.004-04:00

As a double major in Public Health and Gender Studies, it makes perfect sense that I would end up interning at Planned Parenthood this summer. I believe in feminism, in gender equality, in sex positivity, and in safety, responsible choice, and decision making, so this office just made sense for me. There are so few organizations out there that not only care about these rights and issues, but makes it their fight and their number one priority. Planned Parenthood is a wonderful place.

My involvement and love affair with Planned Parenthood, however--particularly with the affiliate I am now working with--began a long time ago. As a kid who had jumped from a conservative Jewish day school to a predominantly uninformative health class in high school, Planned Parenthood gave me my first real sex ed. They came into my gym classes and taught us about relationship communication, about protection, about contraception, and, yes, about different types of sex and their benefits and disadvantages. I was completely spoiled--I thought that everyone knew this information that I knew, that everyone was as informed as I was about sexuality and their own bodily autonomy.

Evidently not. Between the ages of 15 and 18, so many of my friends ended up having pregnancy or STI scares or were sexually abused or in unhealthy relationships. No one ever seemed to know what to do, so they would come to me and we'd talk about their options and their resources, and first on my list was always Planned Parenthood. We'd walk down the street during walk-in hours to get tested, emergency contraception (back before it was legal to purchase over-the-counter), or counseling. Planned Parenthood moved from being a place of education to a resource and a health service. And it changed me from being just a naive kid to someone with some real, valuable education who wanted to make sure everyone had the same. It turned me into an advocate.

So now I'm back here again, this time hopefully helping the community from the inside rather than the out. Although most of my background and my own experiences with Planned Parenthood have been educational or health related, now I'm sitting at the other end working with the political landscape of Pennsylvania to try to create pro-women, pro-choice change. I didn't think doing the stuff I do all day--phone banking or knocking on doors or stuffing bus pass holders with condoms and information--was ever something I'd willingly do. I don't think I ever really grasped how much I could learn from it. But beyond just the comparatively simple lessons like how to keep people from hanging up even when you call during dinner, or how much work goes into planning an outreach event like Pride, or how rewarding it is to see a fully-completed petition page, spending my time doing this work, and listening to the people who have actually made this their living, I've learned that this sort of grassroots advocacy work is exactly the right step for me right now. Planned Parenthood rests on pillars of education, health services, and political action, and all three are so important and so interrelated. It's not hard to be compassionate when calling voters for hours to support sex ed when you have witnessed how it can positively influence the health and well-being of kids growing up. And marching up and down streets all day asking people to support a pro-choice candidate becomes a lot easier when you know that their one voice can be the pressure that helps to improve reproductive health care and access in Pennsylvania.

So now, with the vote for the Healthy Youth Act coming so soon, we get to keep pushing to see if the work we've been doing so far will create good change. I hope it will.

Reproductive Rights and Environmental Justice

2010-06-03T13:17:00.003-04:00

“Who would want to live in a world which is just not quite fatal?”
- ecologist Paul Shepard, quoted by Rachel Carson in “Silent Spring,” 1962

What does environmental justice have to do with reproductive freedom? Well, of course, as people, we must all care about the world in which we live. The impact that we have on the environment, and its impact on us, is all the more clear as we watch the weeks tick by as oil continues to spill into the Gulf of Mexico and onto the shores of our southern coastline.

Aside from this basic connection that we all have with the planet, reproductive rights advocates and environmental activists share a common belief that when armed with knowledge we can make choices to keep ourselves healthy. Reproductive health stems in part from the health of the environment in which we live, what we ingest, and what we pass on to our children. Nutrients as well as toxic substances pass from pregnant mother to unborn child and through breast milk to infants. The health of the external environment directly impacts our internal health, of which reproductive health is an important piece. Many specific issues therefore make the two coalitions natural allies.

Take toxic substances for instance. Rachel Carson, a Pennsylvania native, warned of the dangers of pesticides as early as 1962. Her work spurred modern environmental activism and the creation of the EPA in 1970. In 1976, Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in an attempt to give the EPA the power to regulate chemicals used in consumer products and manufacturing facilities.

Since 1976, EPA has evaluated 200 of the now 82,000 registered chemicals and banned 5 since 1976 and none since 1990. The 2008-2009 President’s Cancer Panel Report focused solely on the environmental cancer risk. The Panel called TSCA the “most egregious example of ineffective regulation on environmental contaminants” and stated that rates of environmentally induced cancers are “grossly underestimated.” Since 1982, 40% more women have reported impaired fertility and 30% more babies have been born prematurely since 1994. While environmental contaminants are not the sole cause of these rising rates, there are strong links between human health and chemical exposure.

With a push from Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, a coalition of individuals, businesses, health professionals, reproductive health advocates, and environmentalists concerned with the safety of toxic chemicals in consumer products, our homes, and workplaces, Congress is now attempting to revamp TSCA with bills introduced in both the House and Senate. The “Safe Chemical Act of 2010” would require fast action on the worst chemicals, publication of basic information on all chemicals, and a focus on communities disproportionately affected by harmful chemicals (people living near manufacturing sites, workers, pregnant women).

Although the bill is a promising start, Lindsay Dahl (Deputy Director of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families) points out that work must still be done to make the bills stronger – especially with regard to requirements for new chemicals. New chemicals will likely still be able to get to market unless flagged, perhaps due to their similarity to chemicals already deemed harmful. More strict criteria must be laid out so that the chemical industry is required to show chemicals are safe, rather than have the EPA chase down chemicals once their harmful effects manifest.

The chemical industry is likely to fight against tackling the “worst of the worst” chemicals first for such action would put a black mark on these chemicals. Yet, if they’re the “worst of the worst,” don’t they deserve a black mark?

A revamped TSCA asks the chemical industry to tell us the health risks of the chemicals used in our insecticides, shampoos, plastics, etc. so that we armed with the knowledge to make informed choices about what we purchase. "Choice" in matters of health encompasses the range of choices from what kinds of chemicals we allow to enter our body (or not) to whether and when to have a family (or not) and numerous other decisions in between. And as new science continues to show, environmental contaminants can directly impact reproductive health – from infertility and premature births to breast and testicular cancers (Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Health Report).

Rachel Carson asked in the first installment of her “Silent Spring” series in 1962: “Have we fallen into a mesmerized state that makes us accept as inevitable that which is inferior or detrimental, as though we had lost the will or the vision to demand that which is good?” Advocates for both reproductive rights and environmental justice have always envisioned that better education and greater choices empower individuals to demand that which is good for themselves and their communities.

I've Come to the End

2010-05-20T14:45:00.001-04:00

As of today the count is thirteen days until I’m done with high school. After four years it is finally coming to an end, and I have to say I couldn’t be happier. It’s certainly time for me to move on from the tedious (and occasionally exhilarating) world of high school. For my classmates and me, this last semester has been a difficult push to the end filled with missing assignments and skipped days. Compared to my peers, however, I’ve had the opportunity to do something new in the last four months of school. Instead of sitting around in school for another few hours after lunch, counting down until the end of the day, brining me that much closer to the end, I’ve come to Planned Parenthood every day and been engaged in something new and exciting, giving me a reason to come to school every day. In fact I even came to my internship on Senior Skip Day. Crazy right? Tells you there’s something special about this place though.

I think the biggest difference between school and working at Planned Parenthood is that I truly care about the work I do here. At school everyone has such resentment towards doing work and being productive; seniors just want it to be over already. When I come to Planned Parenthood, however, I get excited about what I get to accomplish that day. Everyday I get to do something that makes a difference, whether it’s preparing outreach materials for an event, writing a blog post or even doing data entry, and it is all working towards a cause that I care about. The notion that the work I do can make a little something about the world better is enough to give me drive and inspiration to get the work done without dread. Compare that to writing an English paper on Hamlet… I’ll trade any day.

Working here for four months has given me knowledgeable insight into office and nonprofit work. Paper pushing, phone banking, blogging, all of this was new to me, and although not always the best of times, personally rewarding in a manner that makes me proud of the work I do. Proud because I’m helping an incredible organization like Planned Parenthood accomplish goals I care about like promoting comprehensive sex ed, protecting reproductive rights and ensuring women’s health.

Sitting here on one of my last days at Planned Parenthood, I know I made a smart choice when choosing where I wanted to intern (thanks for the suggestion mom!). I’ve gotten to do some really fun projects, things that I care about and tasks things that are tedious, but extremely important. This internship was exactly what I needed at this point in my life, something to keep me motivated, hold my interest and give me the opportunity to make a difference. I can only hope that I’ve given as much to this organization as it’s given me.

Before I go, I need to give a big shout out and thanks to Tiffany Hickman, the Volunteer and Intern Coordinator at Planned Parenthood who has been my supervisor these past months. She’s been incredible to work with and has made this whole experience so much better by being extremely friendly and encouraging. I also need to thank Rebecca Cavanaugh and the rest of the Planned Parenthood administrative staff for welcoming me to their floor and opening lots of doors! (I mean that literally).

Elena Kagan: The Woman Everybody Wants To Know More About

2010-05-13T13:16:00.002-04:00

A high school student in New York during the 70s dreamed of one day becoming a Supreme Court Justice. Now, for Elena Kagan, more than thirty years later, that aspiration may very well be coming true. President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan, is poised to replace Justice John Paul Stevens if her nomination is approved by the Senate. If appointed she would be the third woman serving on the Supreme Court, the most women ever seated on the court at the same time, making the composition of the Justices a third female. With diversity on the horizon, it is easy to get excited about Elena Kagan’s nomination without even knowing anything about her.

For the past thirty years, Kagan has been working all over the academic and political circuits. Paticular highlights of her political career include clerking for Justice Thurgood Marshall, working on Vice President Joe Biden’s staff when he was a senator, working for Clinton’s administration and currently serving as the United States’ Solicitor General, representing the United States in front of the Supreme Court. Elena Kagan has a long history as a professor, earning tenure at University of Chicago before going to work for the Clinton administration than as Dean of Harvard Law School. Kagan is no stranger to breaking barriers for women, serving as the first female Dean of Harvard Law School and first female Solicitor General. Becoming the third woman on the Supreme Court seems like a practical next step.

Many nuances and details of Kagan’s political and ideological stances are not known, mostly because she’s served in academia instead of as a judge, but throughout her life she has taken some important actions that reveal a bit about her political character. While serving as the Dean of Harvard Law School, Kagan supported the Law School’s ban on military recruiters as a protest of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) policy, which bars out LGBT men and women from serving in the military. Harvard has a strong commitment to support it’s LGBT students and perceives DADT as discrimination. By standing up against discrimination and in support of her students, Kagan exemplified her qualities of fairness and justice when it comes to discrimination. She’s also written about free speech throughout her career, a topic that sparks her interest and her intellect.

Kagan has avoided ideological stances in favor of approaching things that have an “intellectual puzzle,” making it difficult for her critics to pick apart her stances on important issues. Instead criticism of Kagan has focused on her lack of judicial experience, if nominated she would be the only Supreme Court Justice who had never previously served as a Judge. Although recently, most Justices have previously served as Judges, before the 1970s it was not uncommon for lawyers, professors and politicians to be nominated to the Supreme Court. Her supporters say that her lack of judicial experience is a good thing, bringing a fresh perspective to the court. Certainly, she’s not inexperienced with the Supreme Court, serving as Solicitor General for over a year and as a law professor at the most elite schools in the country. Her communication and people skills as a good listener and persuader make her a valuable candidate in a Court that’s sharply divided.

As her hearing draws nearer, don’t anticipate hearing any less about Elena Kagan. A private woman in terms of her political opinions and personal life, the media of course is trying to find out as much as they can about her. Among rumors about her sexuality, the important things sometimes get overshadowed. The debate will continue on both sides, until eventually the vote is tallied. Until then it’s a waiting game as we continue to learn more and more about the woman who may be breaking another huge barrier for women in the political arena.

Youth Invasion 2010!

2010-05-12T13:07:00.002-04:00

Every year the Andy Warhol Museum is taking over by teens for a night for Youth Invasion. There’s dancing, music, art, a fashion show, free food, and of course tabling by local organizations reaching out to the hundreds of youth at the event. This year Carnegie Library, the Women and Girls Foundation, Rustbelt Radio, the Youth Empowerment Project/PERSAD, Bike Pgh, the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force, and the Animal Rescue League. Of course Planned Parenthood was also there running a table filled with pamphlets, condoms, PPWP chapsticks and our “Be Safe, Be Sexy” buss pass holders stuffed with cards and condoms. Yay Freebies!!!

As expected, youth loved the table and grabbed up the chapstick and other give aways saying how cute the buss pass holders were. What was a bit unexpected for me, however, was how a lot of the adults at Youth Invasion would come by the table and grab stuff for their kids, fill out the “I support Sex-Ed” cards and were genuinely excited that we were there for the youth. It was great to see adults who liked seeing teenagers stuffing condoms in their pockets instead of becoming protective and defensive.

Planned Parenthood wasn’t the only organization there promoting sex ed and handing out condoms, which is awesome for our cause. The Pittsburgh Aids Task Force and The Youth Empowerment Project/PERSAD were also tabling, encouraging youth to have safe sex and make healthy choices. By having three organizations all relaying the same message is a great way to really get a point across.

Leaving around nine with considerably less stuff than I came with was not just a relief to my back, but also showed how much stuff people had taken from the table. Outreach events like Youth Invasion are a great way to reach out to a lot of people by directly giving them some tools to practice safe sex, and also inform them about the other services Planned Parenthood offers. As a volunteer it’s extremely satisfying, but if the idea of empowering youth to be healthy and safe isn’t enough to get you to come out and volunteer, consider that I got free food including cupcakes for Dozen Bakery, and if that’s not enough to convince you that it was a great night, I don’t know what can.

Choice: As American As Apple Pie!

2010-05-10T16:23:00.004-04:00

Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania PAC is thrilled to invite supporters to enjoy a heaping slice of apple pie with us to support our summer internship program!

Every summer, Planned Parentoods from around the state host interns who are instrumental in our advocacy and political work. Show your support for these amazing young people by coming out on June 5th from 6 pm to 9 pm for a family friendly BBQ at Healcrest Urban Farm!

Healcrest Urban Farm
Corner of Hillcrest and Pacific AVenue
Garfield Heights, Pittsburgh , PA

Last year PPWP saved $100,000 due to the efforts of our many volunteers and interns. Help us continue this amazing program!

Facebook Invite Coming soon!

Charged for Following the Law? What Now?

2010-05-07T15:30:00.003-04:00

In Wisconsin school districts have the choice to teach sex education to their pupils, so many schools have good comprehensive sex education programs that in addition to teaching about abstinence, teach students about STIs, contraception, and state sex laws. In fact, starting in 2011 schools that have any type of sex ed program will be required to use a comprehensive curriculum.

That’s a step in the right direction for Wisconsin But of course, whenever progress is made, there are those people who fight back even harder. In this case, it’s a Wisconsin County Prosecutor threatening to bring criminal charges against teachers who follow the law and teach sexual ed.

The age of consent in Wisconsin is 18, so legally minors are not allowed to have sex. The prosecutor, Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth, claims that teaching about contraception and safe sex and not just absitinance encourages youth to have sex. He believes that comprehensive sex education is a “radical program that sexualizes our children as early as kindergarten. This, in turn, will lead to more child sexual assaults."

So when did prosecutors start charging people for following the law? Instead of performing his role as a defender of the law, this DA wants to use his power as a vehicle for his own personal agenda. Southworth puts the schools in a difficult position when they feel threatened following the law and doing what’s right for their students by providing them with important and accurate health information.

These kinds of things happen all the time, all over the place, but I believe it’s important to take time and recognize the battles people are having to fight to do the right thing. Whenever progress is made, there is going to be a backlash against it, and people must stand strong. Keep fighting Wisconsin and don't be bullied!

Maternal Health: Can We Fix This Mess?

2010-05-04T15:04:00.001-04:00

Part V

The maternal health care system has a lot of problems. In fact, it is highly messed up. But like socks with their pair, actions and reactions, and everything going up coming down again, these problems have solutions. Now these aren’t sweet and simple solutions that will to make everything A-Okay overnight, but with time, dedication and resources, will make a huge difference in creating a maternal health care system that succeeds in protecting the health of mothers. Only fixing one part of the system will leave a maternal health care system still plagued by problems, so any plan must take a systematic approach and address all of the problems in the system in order to really make a difference.

One of the first things the government can do is to establish an Office of Maternal Health. This office would be important in addressing the issues of accountability and lack of information about the system failings. With a government office dedicated to improving maternal health, eliminating discrimination and creating standards of care. Giving a group of people the power and authority to do something about the maternal health care crisis is necessary in implementing real change. The health care system is highly tied into government operations and systems, so the government needs to be involved in the solutions process.

Other ways the government can address maternal mortality include establishing state level maternal mortality review boards and making Medicaid easily accessible by pregnant women. Maternal mortality review boards serve to investigate and keep records of maternal deaths, and can hold institutions accountable if a death was preventable. Pregnant women need regular prenatal care and access to services. Now, if a woman gets pregnant and then applies to Medicaid, it takes much to long for her to begin receiving health care benefits. By giving pregnant woman temporary access to Medicaid during their pregnancy will increase the number of women receiving maternal health care.

Making sure that the people who need maternal health care have access to it is one of the most important things that needs to be done to improve the system. Right now, the population that is lacking access are the underserved and impoverished communities in rural and urban areas. In order to establish better access to health care services in these areas, the government needs to increase funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC). These clinics are essential in providing general and maternal care to people who would not otherwise receive the necessary care, so expansion in the number of FQHCs would make it so much easier for many women to access maternal health care.

Outside of the government, health care providers must also do their part in improving maternal health care. Health care providers can make sure that they are communicating openly with their patients, offering them accurate information about their health care and allowing them to make choices about their own health. Although it seems like something obvious that health care providers would already do, it is often not the case. Being adequately informed about the risks of procedures and symptoms of dangerous conditions is necessary for a woman to have quality maternal care.

Quality health care can only be provided if there are enough health care providers to care for the patients. Because understaffing is a major issue in the maternal health care system and the cause of many preventable medical errors or overlooks, hospitals and clinics must ensure that there are enough health care providers to give every woman proper care. Hiring more nurses and OBGYNs is one of the simplest things we can do to improve the maternal health care system.

These are only a few solutions to some of the problems, but there are many more outlines and plans to fix the system. The Amnesty report has a list of ten recommendations for improving maternal health care in America, and as the system crisis gets more and more attention, I believe more solutions will be proposed.

Striving towards a world where we take care of our fellow man is not always easy. Differences in opinions and priorities often lead to a conflict between people about what battle we should be fighting to try and make our world a better place. There are those who are against gay marriage and those that support it, Some people are advocates of the free market and global capitalism, and others would like to see a society based on socialist principals. These divides make it very difficult to get anything accomplished. Often, before someone can begin working towards their solution, they need to overcome the opposing side. I hope that maternal health is not an issue that creates factions, but instead something that all people can rally around. With a united front for improving the maternal health care system, our country has the potential to fix the problems that are ailing the system now. The first step in creating that united front, however, is to inform people about the maternal health care crisis in this country, and now that you know about it, this becomes your responsibility. Don’t just sit on the fact that 13.3 women die for every 100,000 in the United States. Don’t think “wow, that’s terrible” and never do anything about it. Instead learn more by reading Amnesty’s reports, take action by sending a letter to the US Department of Human and Health services, or even tell a friend about the despicable treatment pregnant women in this country are facing. Now that you know about the maternal health care crisis what are you going to do about it?

Policy Update and Save the Dates!

2010-05-03T14:17:00.004-04:00

Happy Spring from Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania's Advocacy Team!

Lots of exciting things are happening at PPWP throughout the summer. Stay tuned for updates! Here some things we have been working on and a few Save the Dates.

Sex Ed Legislation Update:

We are thrilled to announce the passage of the Healthy Youth Act out of the House Education Committee this past Wednesday! One of the many goals of the Healthy Youth Act is to create a minimum standard for sex education curriculum in Pennsylvania public schools. With this vote, we are one step closer to ensuring that PA students have the education and skills they need to make healthy decisions for themselves. This is only the second time a proactive reproductive rights bill passed out of committee in the history of the Commonwealth. A BIG round of applause goes out to our state office and our many volunteers for working their butts off to get this done. Planned Parenthood, along with dozens of organizations statewide, will be pushing hard for consideration by the full house in June but we have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us to get here. Please consider calling your House Representative and encourage them to support the Healthy Youth Act! Find your representative's contact information here.

Save the Dates!

May 7th: PPWP volunteers will be tabling at the Youth Invasion event at the Warhol Museum on Friday from 5 pm to 10 pm. If you know anyone who would like to volunteer for this or any other event, connect them with Tiffany at THickman@ppwp.org!

May 12th: Phone Bank and Volunteer Night next Wednesday from 5:45 pm to 8 pm in conference room. Stop by to make a few calls and find out what's new!

June 5th: Choice is as American as Apple Pie - Family Friendly BBQ at Healcrest Farms in Garfield from 6 - 9. For more detail email Rebecca at RCavanaugh@ppwp.org

June 13th: Cocktails for a Cause! Join us at Round Corner Cantina (3720 Butler Street, Lawrenceville) from 4 - 6 p.m. for great drinks at a great price all benefiting Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates!

Maternal Health: Despicable Discrimination

2010-04-28T14:31:00.003-04:00

Part IV

In a country plagued by discrimination in almost every part of society, it is no surprise that our maternal health system is extremely discriminatory in practice. Women’s reproductive and sexual health has been a point of discrimination and contention in this country forever, and that battle still continues today. The maternal health system’s discrimination toward minorities and lower income women is inhumane yet sadly not shocking. It has become typical for American society to cast aside women, especially minority or low income women. The discrimination in the maternal health care system seems to be two fold. Minorities are often treated without respect at health care clinics and hospitals causing poor quality care. Additionally, overall access to health care is restricted for these women because of their dependence on public services. These are extensive problems within the system that contribute to the deaths of hundreds of women a year.

One of the major roots of discrimination in the system is the general treatment and attitude towards minorities. Not giving women proper and complete information about their health care and options has been a problem for everyone in the maternal health system, but it is greatly accentuated with women of color, women who are uninsured or receive Medicaid, and women who do not speak English. Without the necessary knowledge, women are much less likely to be involved with their own health care. These targeted groups are often purposely denied information. Many minority women have reported receiving poor care, being ignored and treated with disdain and indifference because it was assumed by staff they were uninsured or on Medicaid. These assumptions are demeaning and discriminatory towards these women and put their health at risk. Even women who are uninsured still deserve proper care and to be treated with respect and dignity. Women should be able to access care with equality and nondiscrimination. Not only is it against the law to base health care service on a women’s skin color or income, it should be against the moral code we have as humans.

As discussed in the second part of this series, limited access to quality care is a major problem in the health care system. This is especially true for racial and ethnic minorities who are disproportionately uninsured, rely on Medicaid or other public services, and have lower incomes than white women. The public health system in America has many restrictions and policies that create barriers to accessing health care. Because these barriers and limitations apply primarily to minorities, the inequalities in health care services are extreme.

Minorities reported much higher rates of unintended pregnancies, 69% for African-American women, 54% for Hispanic women, and 40% for white women. Because the risk of maternal mortality increases significantly for unintended pregnancies, minorities face much higher risks of morbidity and complications. Part of why the unintended pregnancy rate is so much higher for minorities is because of their limited access to family planning compared to white women.

Everything that is wrong with the maternal health care system is only intensified for minorities and low income women. The people who have been marginalized by society and the government throughout history, continue to be treated without respect to their rights or humanity. Quality maternal care should be accessible by all women without regard to their skin color or income. African-American women should not be four times more likely to die from pregnancy related complications than white women. Women who don’t speak English shouldn’t be denied proper care just because an interpreter isn’t currently available. Our government entrusted with the responsibility to serve the people based on equality and nondiscrimination should not allow such huge disparities in the health care system. The discrimination within the system is an atrocity that can only be reversed by working to improve maternal health care, one step at a time, always keeping the issue of discrimination fresh on our minds.

Maternal Health: Family Planning

2010-04-26T13:04:00.003-04:00

Part III

Planned Parenthood is a big fan of family planning. Whoot Whoot! It’s also an organization that supports maternal health, so it only makes sense that when these two issues intersect I would try and make a big deal about it. Here’s the connection as explained by Carolina Reyes, Clinical Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at USC, “Effective family planning services are probably the single largest contributor to reduction in maternal mortality and morbidity in our lifetime.” Basically, limited access to family planning is a huge reason why the United States has such high maternal mortality rates and poor overall maternal health care.

Half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended- a huge number of accidents. Women who have unplanned pregnancies are much more likely to suffer complications and generally receive less prenatal care than women with intentional pregnancies because they start it much later into their pregnancy. A couple hundred of the women who die from maternal health complications every year are women who should not have gotten pregnant in the first place because of their existing medical conditions. From the very beginning, these women have a high risk pregnancy, putting themselves and their babies in danger.

Minorities and women with low incomes have a high risk of dying from maternal complications and not receiving proper maternal health care. These groups also have the highest rates of unplanned pregnancies. African Americans who are almost four times more likely to die from pregnancy related complications are also three times more likely to have unplanned pregnancies than white women. Women with low incomes are four times more likely to have unplanned pregnancies than women with high incomes. This is at least partially related to these groups’ ability to access family planning services.

Currently, 17.5 million women who need reproductive services because they are sexually active and able to conceive but do not want to become pregnant rely must rely on public health services. Too often, however, publicly funded services are unable to provide the needed care, services and supplies because of budgetary or legal restrictions. Programs like Medicaid are regulated by the government and restricted from covering abortions and have the ability to limit certain woman’s access to reproductive services and contraception. In other cases, clinics or programs just don’t have the funded to provide contraceptives or care to everyone who needs it. The barriers women face in receiving reproductive care and family planning services leaves up to 8 million women in our country without affordable family planning services.

The methods to achieve this are practices Planned Parenthood has been implementing for years including improving sexual education about reproductive health and contraceptives, increasing access to contraceptive and abortion services and increasing funding for title X clinics. All of these will contribute to promoting safe sex and pregnancy prevention, especially among the most at risk groups. Reducing the number of unplanned pregnancies is a key part in reducing the maternal mortality rates in the United States. Just another reason to support Planned Parenthood and the great things it’s trying to accomplish.

Maternal Health: Why Is the System Failing?

2010-04-21T15:18:00.004-04:00

Part II

The crisis of the maternal care system is rooted in problems embedded within the core of society. Women are lacking good maternal care, not because we lack the medical technology or the ability to provide it, but because no one has drive to fix the problems with the system. Not enough people care. So why is it that so many women die every year in our country and around the globe from maternal health problems? How can a woman in a hospital struggling to breathe after giving birth be ignored for hours until the internal bleeding was too bad to stop? There are a number of reasons the system fails women, including lack of coverage, lack of prenatal and postpartum care, quality of care, limited staffing, restrictive patient involvement, family planning, discrimination and a lack of accountability. Together these problems create a maternal health care system that is in a state of crisis, unable to provide proper care to some of the people in society who need it the most.

Pregnancy is extremely expensive. Even leaving out all of the baby products, medical necessities like prenatal care and delivery can cost thousands and thousands of dollars. About half of all births in the United States are covered by private insurance. But what about the other half? What happens to pregnant women who do not have private insurance? In the past year, 13 million women of reproductive age (15-44) had no health insurance. That’s one in five. Some of those women could be eligible for public assistance like Medicaid, but many are excluded because they are immigrants or earn too much money to be eligible but not enough to afford their own private insurance. Although the system has set up financial assistance programs to try and help the uninsured, the bureaucracy of the system and limited information given to women keeps these programs a dirty little secret that women in need do not know about. So what is a pregnant woman with no insurance supposed to do? She can’t get private insurance because insurance companies classify pregnancy as a “preexisting condition.” As one insurance company representative said, “We don’t insure a house on fire.” One of the only options is to go to low cost clinics like Federally Qualified Health Centers, but these facilities have their own problems. Because they are often underfunded, crowded, slow it is difficult to recieve necessary care. Although they are better than receiving no prenatal or maternal care at all, these facilities cannot provide the proper care to everyone. In fact, low cost clinics are not accessible in most communities that actually need their services, so many women go without any maternal care every year. Lack of coverage is a major factor in the failings of the maternal health care systems. The recent health care reform does address a part of this issue by banning insurance companies from denying women coverage based on preexisting conditions like pregnancies and past c-sections and making young adults insured on their parents’ health care plan until the age of twenty-six. Hopefully both of these measures will help more women be covered by insurance during their pregnancy giving them access to better care and services.

Prenatal care is an essential part of maternal health. Not only is it important for the baby, but proper care during pregnancy is crucial for the mother’s health as well. When women do not receive adequate prenatal care, they are 3-4 times more likely to die of a pregnancy related complication than those who do receive proper prenatal care. Yet only 75% of women receive the recommended amount of care, 13 prenatal visits from the first trimester on. 1 in 4 of all pregnant women are not receiving the prenatal care they need to have a safer and healthier pregnancy. This trend needs to change drastically to try and reduce maternal mortality and other pregnancy complications. A big part of the reason women do not receive prenatal care, however, is because they do not have health insurance that covers these medical visits. Beginning to see the links?

Maternal health is not restricted to care during pregnancy and labor. One of the most important pieces of maternal health care is postpartum care. More than half of all maternal deaths occur during the postpartum period in the 48 days after birth. The standard for postpartum care in the United States is a single visit to a doctor about six weeks after birth, an inadequate amount of care that allows for many complications from pregnancies to be missed. Women are often sent home without proper education about the signs of hemorrhaging and pulmonary embolisms, the main causes of maternal mortality. These are complications that can develop weeks after giving birth and are life threatening if not caught and treated. The lack of adequate postpartum care in the United States is a major contributor to the high maternal mortality rate, but it is in no way impossible to fix. It just requires the will power to want to improve the system and establish new standards to provide better postpartum care

Even if women are able to access maternal care, there are often many factors that lead to poor quality care. In many hospitals and clinics, especially public institutions serving low-income areas, there is a problem with understaffing. There are not enough nurses, physicians or OBGYNs to provide quality care to every patient or to see patients when they display complications. Numerous studies, personal accounts from health care professionals and the United States government all report that inadequate staffing, especially among the nurses, directly correlates with poor quality care, maternal morality, and medical errors. Without the proper staff, it is impossible for health care providers to give the proper care and medical attention to their patients because they are stretched much too thin. For publicly funded institutions this is usually a matter of lacking the money to pay for more staff, but understaffing is also a problem at private institutions that cut back on staffing to save money for profit. Dealing with economic restrictions makes the issue of understaffing extremely complicated, but it is a necessary and crucial issue to try and fix while addressing maternal health.

And the problems go on and on… A system with so many flaws has to be in a crisis! The maternal health system has for years limited the ability of women to make their own informed choices about their maternal health, especially in terms of giving vaginal birth or cesarean birth (c-sections). One third of all births in the United States are done via c-section, even though this is a risky procedure that the World Health Organization recommends only be used in 1 in 6 births. Instead of being a standard, c-sections are supposed to be used when a vaginal birth is dangerous for the mother. Overall, the risk of dying after a c-section is more than three times higher than a vaginal birth. Even though a c-section is a potentially dangerous procedure, care givers often recommend it, or in some cases don’t give the women a choice. In today’s maternal health care system there is a lack of patient education about their options, the risks and signs of complications. Women need to be able to make decisions for themselves about their own health care. The term pro-choice applies perfectly to this problem. The central idea to the pro-choice movement is that a women should have control over her own body, which can be applied outside the context of abortion to include maternal health rights. Only by fully informing women about their choices and allowing them to make their own decisions, does the maternal health system really give women a choice about their own bodies.

Maternal health care is going to be a difficult problem to tackle because of a lack of evidence and a failure to report maternal mortality. Many maternal deaths are not reported as pregnancy related, and most States lack proper systems or procedures for reporting maternal death. Without standard procedure there is difficulty in collecting data about maternal mortality. The CDC has even reported that the number of maternal deaths may actually be double the current estimates. Without a unified system to collect and analysis data about maternal health for governments, it is difficult to address and face the issue. Solidarity among the states is necessary to make progress in improving maternal health because without standard procedure, a system cannot be effective.

The problems with the maternal health system are extensive, complicated, and intertwining, and these are not the only ones. Family planning gaps and discrimination are two other major barriers preventing adequate care and will be addressed in the next posts. Although the problems with the system may seem impossible o solve, there is a manner in which we can succeed in working towards solutions. One of the first steps in that, however, is making sure we know what to fix.

Maternal Health: Just the Stats

2010-04-16T15:27:00.000-04:00

First in a series

Our country has just passed health reform (woohoo!). It was a long struggle that had to overcome a vicious partisan divide and public discontent. Now three weeks later, after people have taken the time to pat themselves on the back, it’s time to start thinking about what else we need to accomplish. All the problems with our health care system have not been solved by this reform. Some of the most serious ailments of the system continue to be under reported and rarely discussed within the political spectrum. Maternal mortality is at a stage of crisis in the United States. It’s an issue that has not been given much attention in the past and lacks extensive data and research. In early March, however, new attention was brought to the issue when Amnesty International USA published a report on maternal health, DEADLY DELIVERY: THE MATERNAL HEALTH CARE CRISIS IN THE USA as part of its ‘Maternal Health is a Human Right’ campaign. This in-depth report examines the state of maternal health in the United States and offers ways to improve the system. This is the first in a series on maternal health based off information from this report and other sources.

The title of the report labels the maternal health in the United States as a crisis. You might think that the language is a bit of a hyperbole, that we aren’t really in a crisis. Well, I urge you to take a look at the data and then reconsider. Before I begin to type out a series of horrific and startling numbers, I should probably clarify what maternal health and maternal morality are. Maternal health is comprehensive care including family planning, preconception, prenatal, and postnatal care. Maternal mortality occurs when a woman dies during or shortly after her pregnancy.

In the United States, two women die everyday from maternal mortality, the 41^st worst ranking in the world. Our maternal mortality rate is higher than any highly developed nation, but we spend the most on health care. Like people have been saying about the health care system for years… something doesn’t seem to fit. The disparity between the U.S.’s maternal mortality rate and the countries ahead of us is no small amount. Ireland has the smallest rate in the world at 1 in 47,600. America’s is 1 in 4,800. That’s almost 10X the difference. How can it be that a comparably developed country takes so much better care of its pregnant women?

The maternal health care crisis goes beyond maternal mortality and encompasses the numerous other health problems associated with pregnancy. Every year 34,000 women experience “near misses,” instances where a woman almost dies from a maternal health issue. Even though these women do survive, it is unacceptable that every single day 94 women face a serious risk of death, when we have the technology and resources to prevent many of these complications and problems. I wish I could say that that’s the extent of the problem, but the numbers continue to roll. 1.7 million women in this country, almost a third of the pregnant women in a given year, suffer from complications and adverse health effects from their pregnancy. In the past twenty years, these rates have not improved, clearly revealing the political and social apathy toward maternal health. Because the system is not working to protect them, Women in this country are becoming ill, dealing with life threatening health problems, and even dying.

Maternal mortality can effect any woman, but hidden in the general data are the racial and class disparities that make maternal health an issue of discrimination. The rates of maternal mortality are extremely disproportionate among minorities. Black women are four times more likely to die from pregnancy related illnesses than white women, and the lack of prenatal care that many women of color receive puts them at a much higher risk of developing a maternal health problem. Native American and Alaska Native women are 3.6 times more likely than white women to receive late or no prenatal care, and Latina women are 2.5 times more likely. Not receiving proper care throughout the pregnancy is dangerous to both mother and child and is often associated with maternal morality..)

Although they can be shocking, right now, these statistics are numbers that stand without a firm context. To have a comprehensive understanding of the issue, it is necessary to know what causes maternal mortality and why women are not receiving the proper care they need. These topics will be explored in the second part of the series to be posted later. Check back soon!

The Big Fuss About Sexting

2010-04-16T15:20:00.002-04:00

§N Modern technology is changing the way people, especially teens interact socially. Youth, many of them perpetually clinging to their cell phones, checking facebook, instant messaging and occasionally still using email, are in constant communication with their peers. I hardly go anywhere with out my cell phone. What if someone calls or texts me? Although it may bother parents at the dinner table, cause a disruption during school, and be another step towards the ultimate destruction of face to face personal communication, only recently has texting posed an imminent threat for these teenagers. More specifically sexting. I’m sure by now everyone has heard of sexting, sending sexually explicit messages and photos via cell phone; it’s been splayed across the newspapers and internet enough.

The national media attention that sexting has received the past two years has sparked campaigns to try and prevent teen sexting, but like campaigns aimed to stop underage drinking or drug use, it will never eliminate the practice. Now, not everybody does it, current surveys report that 20% of U.S. teenagers have sent nude or semi-nude photos of themselves electronically, but, sexting has become a natural part of youth communication. For teens sexting can be flirting, fun, a from of seduction, general communication with someone you like or are attracted to, or even a joke. The physical distance created by mobile communication makes it easier for teens to be outgoing and provocative than in person.

Teens are not unaware of the potential harmful consequence of sexting. 75% of teens have said that sexually suggestive content “can have serious negative consequences.” Beyond the legal issues that have been excruciatingly highlighted the past year, there are social consequences including bullying and sexual harassment that can occur when explicit photos are shared. Yet even though they are aware of the consequences, teens continue to sext. It has become a part of their sexual expression and as a part of the culture, it is not going away anytime soon.

Explicit or suggestive photos of minors used for sexting do not always remain private, and when they have been made public there have been serious legal consequences. Teenagers across the country have faced charges of possessing, disturbing and producing child pornography, among others, including three teenage girls in Greensburg in January 2009. Prosecuted for taking photos of themselves or possessing photos their peers have sent them, teenagers face felony chargers and life time sex offender status in sexting cases.

Child pornography laws are designed to protect minors, the victims of exploitation. Teenage boys and girls taking and possessing pictures of themselves and then willing sending them to their peers are not exploiting or taking advantage or children or minors. Using laws that are designed to protect youth to prosecute them seems out of touch with the goals of child pornography laws. The media attention on the issue has caused a backlash against district attorneys who prosecute teenagers for sexting cases. Currently, U.S. legislators are working on legislation to make sexting a second degree misdemeanor for minors instead of a felony.

As our society continues to address this issue and adapt to the new ways teens are using technology to express themselves, it is important to remember that in most of these instances no one is being malicious. Teenagers make mistakes, but if no one is harmed why destroy their future? As a teenager, I also think it’s extremely important to keep youth engaged in the discussion about sexting. Without their perspective and side of the story, people are making decisions about an issue and topic they do not really understand. This is dangerous ground and poses a threat to cooperative efforts to try and reduce teen sexting.

Roller Derby: Strong Women, Strong Roles

2010-04-05T15:22:00.004-04:00

Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania has recently become a proud sponsor of Pittsburgh’s only all-female flat-track roller derby league, the Steel City Derby Demons. The focus on strong, independent women makes an affiliation between these two great organizations a perfect fit.

If you aren’t familiar with the Steel City Derby Demons, let us tell you what all the fuss is about. They are currently ranked by WFTDA (The Women’s Flat-Track Derby Association) as sixteenth out of over 100 leagues nationwide. The SCDD consists of three teams. The Steel Hurtin’ is the A-team or varsity-level team. They play other top teams from around the nation such as Detroit, Philadelphia, Maine, and Houston. The other two teams, the B-Unit and the Blitzburgh Bombers, are the B-level teams. They play similarly matched junior-varsity leveled teams; most recently Toledo, West Palm Beach, and Rideau Valley from Ottowa, Canada.

The Steel City Derby Demons is a skater-owned and operated organization that was founded in 2006 by a group of hard-working women who wanted to get fit, make friends, and have fun. In addition to training to be top athletes in their sport, they also run every aspect behind the scenes. From building the website, to P.R. and marketing right down to renting the bouting venue and paying the bills, the roller girls do it all.

Today’s roller derby has eschewed the professional wrestling style of showmanship of the past to be reborn into a full-fledged highly competitive fast-paced sport. Nothing is faked here; although some of the flair from your mother’s roller derby has remained, such as the derby nicknames (‘Snot Rocket Science and Busty Brawler, to name a few) and the occasional pair of fishnet tights. Training for derby can be extremely grueling, and derby girls do it strictly for the love of the sport and that fleeting bit of glory to be snatched at the end of a victorious game. Roller derby is not a professional sport and no one gets paid.

Roller derby is played on a circuit track between two teams of roughly 12-14 players each. Four “blockers” from each team form the “pack.” It is their job to assist their “jammer” (or, point scorer) to pass as many of the opposing team’s blockers as they can in order to score points. At the same time, the blockers must also try and hinder the opposing team’s jammer from scoring points by blocking and checking her off of the track. Roller derby is unique in this way that offense and defense are played concurrently. This makes the game incredibly fast, with outcomes that can change on a dime.

Roller derby girls have often been portrayed as “counter culture” or “punk rock” in the media, but to try and categorize these women into such narrow stereotypes would be misleading. Members of the Steel City Derby Demons cover the whole spectrum when it comes to daytime jobs; examples of which are optometrist, lawyer, junior high school math teacher, nurse, graphic designer, and mother. However, the women of the SCDD and roller derby in general do share many qualities. They are strong, athletic, outgoing, energetic, and lots of fun, but they are definitely not all cookie-cutter copies. The SCDD celebrates diversity and the opportunity for women to lead extraordinary lives and hopes others can embrace those concepts too.

For more information about the Steel City Derby Demons, or to buy tickets, visit www.SteelCityDerbyDemons.com. Bouts are held every third Saturday of the month at Romp n’ Roll skating rink in Shaler off of route 8. Catch the next home bout on Saturday, April 17th, when the Steel Hurtin’ will play The Dutchland Rollers (Lancaster, PA) and Blitzburgh Bombers face off against the Dutch Blitz. Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania will have a table at this event.

Post by Planned Parenthood Volunteer and Steel City Derby Demon Heather Wood

Women's History Profile: Hatshepsut

2010-03-23T15:22:00.004-04:00

Our own country has yet to elect a female president, but over three thousand years ago the Egyptian empire, one of the most powerful forces at the time, was ruled by a woman. Over the centuries, there were a number of female pharaohs, but Hatshepsut had the most successful rule of them all. Daughter of Thutmose I and married to Thutmose II, Hatshepsut became regent after her husband died. Thutmose’s son of another wife, Thutmose III, was supposed to take over as pharaoh when he grew older, but Hatshepsut declared herself pharaoh in 1473 BC. With the support of the important religious and political leaders and the people, she acted as pharaoh until 1458 BC.

Determined, brave and smart, Hatshepsut was a remarkable woman of the time. In order to maintain her standing the respect she received, Hatshepsut dressed as a male pharaoh, was called his majesty and wanted to be treated like a male. More than rejecting her sex and feminism, Hatshepsut was striving for equality and dignity which she achieved by being an extremely prosperous leader.

During her reign Hatshepsut maintained an era of peace and prosperity. By opening new trade routes, she increased the wealth in the region tremendously and caused innovations in architecture. The few military engagements that did occur during her rule were successful and lauded by the Egyptian people.

Under a cloud of mystery, the thrown eventually did pass to Thutmose III. The nature of the transfer is unknown as Hatshepsut disappeared from records in 1458. It may have been a hostile take over, or Hatshepsut may have died. After Thutmose III became ruler he literally wiped away Hatshepsut from the records, having her name, image and accomplishments chiseled off of walls, tablets and other records. Hatshepsut was literally written out of history but luckily enough information about her was preserved that people today know who she is.

This female pharaoh proved herself as a courageous, strong and good leader who was loved by her people. She survived being wiped out from history and deserves recognition today. Knowing this history may hopefully also influence the future. In the past our world has been lead by a number of powerful and great leaders including Hatshepsut who have proven their ability. If these women could have led empires thousands of years ago, the idea of a women leading our country as President should not be a radical idea.

Women's History Profile: Barbara Smith

2010-03-19T15:15:00.008-04:00

In the world of discrimination, Barbara Smith has it all going against her. As a black lesbian she has been a victim of sexism, racism and homophobia, yet she doesn’t wither under this discrimination. Instead, she thrives as an activist and writer, especially in the context of black feminism.

Born in 1946, Smith grew up in segregated Cleveland and quickly realized how unfair the world really was. The Feminist movement in the 1960s drew her in, giving her a feeling of empowerment and a voice, but even in the women’s movement, Smith encountered racism that made her and other women of color feel unwelcomed. In response, Smith and others began to work with black feminism, a branch movement that recognized the connection between sexism, racism, classism and homophobia and was committed to work against all of them. Black feminism called for the liberation of black women and recognized their inherent value.

Smith had two very distinct projects that mark her activism in the black feminist movement. In 1977, she established the Combahee River Collective in Boston which became on of the most active and progressive organizations for black feminism. The Combahee River Collective Statement written by the group is an extremely important document for black feminism and defined identity politics. The statement proposed solutions to the many forms of discrimination people were encountering.

She also founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press as a publishing company for women of color who were usually ignored by mainstream publishers. Kitchen Table published political and literary works and was the first publishing company to ever be run by black women.

As a natural activist, Smith has not stopped working hard to end oppression and discrimination. She is currently continuing her activism in politics, working as a member of Albany’s City Council. Instead of choosing to accept her place in society, Smith fought for what she knew was right and fair.

BONUS: Barbara Smith attended the University of Pittsburgh for Graduate School started in 1971!!!

Women's History Profile: Betty Friedan

2010-03-16T12:56:00.002-04:00

The modern feminist movement in the past fifty years has had its own goals. After achieving suffrage in 1920, women had succeeded in a major way for the cause, but forty years later society still maintained prominent gender roles and treated men and women differently in the work field. Betty Friedan (February 4, 1921 - February 4, 2006) was an American writer and activist whose work inspired the goals and ideals of modern feminism.

The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan’s most famous and recognized book, was published in 1963 and explained Friedan’s findings that women, especially middle-class suburban house wives, were undergoing an identity crisis, losing themselves in the gender roles society expected them to fulfill and the overwhelming poweress of their family. By conforming to the female ideal and limiting the development of their intelligence and employment, women were stifled and imprisoned. The message of the book, and Friedan’s claim that women were just as capable as men in any career spoke to women and got them yearning for change. The strong response The Feminine Mystique received helped create a transformation in the attitude women had toward their rights.

After her book became a bestseller and women around the country pined for change, Betty Friedan co-founded the National Organization for Women, NOW, in 1966 and served as the first president of the organization. Under her leadership NOW fought against sexual discrimination in the work force and openly supported the legalization of abortion and the Equal Rights Amendment. She stepped down in 1969 and began working on the Women’s Strike for Equality. This march, based out of New York City attracted tens of thousands of women. Pittsburgh became a part of the strike when four women participated threw eggs at a Pittsburgh radio station building. A DJ at the radio stationed had publicly dared women protestors to flaunt their liberation.

Once the strike ended, Friedan needed another project to work on and in the next five years founded the National Women’s Political Caucus, the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, and the First Women’s Bank and Trust Company. After achieving success on the abortion front with Roe v. Wade, Friedan focused the rest of her life on creating economic equality, giving women opportunities to succeed in the work force and receive the same compensation of men.

Betty Friedan was largely inspired by her mother, a strong women in her own standing, who worked as a writer in addition to acting as mother to support her family. The satisfaction her mother received from having a life and job outside of her own family, Betty’s mother was an example of why an independent identity is crucial to the well being of women. Betty used this idea in her writing and advocacy, and consequently inspired a whole new generation of feminists to fight for their rights. By writing about what she saw, Friedan gave a voice to a group of women that had been quieted by severe inequalities in society. When others began to use their voices, it became a loud scream demanding women’s rights and equality.

Women's History Profile: Margaret Cho

2010-03-15T16:41:00.003-04:00

Just as a Disclaimer: this post was written by our crazy awesome blogging intern, Jodi and not by me!

“We have the power as woman to call ourselves beautiful.”

Margaret Cho, comedian, activist, fashion designer, writer and actress is on a mission. She wants to cure everybody of self-deprecation, make them realize just how beautiful they are. After her own self body image problems lead to eating disorders that almost killed her, Margaret Cho began to accept and love herself and her body and wants to spread that feeling to everyone. Recently, the concept of beauty, which she defines as “a feeling of goodness and happiness and that you don't have to change anything,” has become a central theme in her work. This past summer, she starred in the Lifetime sitcom, Drop Dead Diva, that centers on the idea of beauty and its context in society. Her passion in promoting self appreciation stems not only from her own personal experience, but her observations that society does not how to deal with women’s bodies, creating a constant sense of self criticism instead of appreciation and love.

Yet that mission is only the tip of the iceberg for Cho, who at forty-one years old has had a number of tours, records, DVDs, film credits and awards. One of the most successful comedians of the past two decades, Cho’s popularity exploded in the early 90s after becoming a hit on the college comedy circuit although she had been performing since she was 16. She quickly became the most booked comedian, doing over 300 shows in two years. Margaret Cho is a political comedian, recognizing activism as the very nature of herself. Her focus issues have been feminism, race, and GLBTQ rights.

For Margaret Cho, feminism is more than just a movement for equality, it is who she is, and she defines it on her own terms. “Feminism to me is like the oxygen that we breathe, it's so vitally important to life, because women ultimately make life happen, and so feminism is really a respect for living. It's a matter of respect for life and where life comes from and what life is and to respect women's rights and to respect women's wishes and what women want. And to respect the Earth and to really respect the planet and just respect life itself.” She’s an avid pro-choice activist and a huge supporter of Planned Parenthood.

As an Asian-American Cho is a strong advocate for racial equality and acceptance. In her comedy and blog she often comments on current race relations and hot topics of the day. Either with humor or wisdom, Cho can make larger issues and distant problems personal and understandable. She’s also been deputized as a marriage commissioner, and has performed a number of same sex marriages

Through her comedy and writing, Cho takes a stand on what she believes, not worrying about being controversial, raunchy or off color. Instead she’s just trying to be funny, make a solid joke, tell you what she thinks and then move on. By speaking her mind, standing up for women, their beauty and strength, Margaret Cho is a great example of a modern feminist. She makes you laugh, makes you think, and makes you feel beautiful.

Women's History Profile: Joan of Arc

2010-03-09T12:56:00.003-05:00

Joan of Arc was not a crusader for women’s rights or suffrage, those ideals had no standing in her day, but a warrior, fighting for her country by breaking gender roles of the time. 15^th century France was a dark and dismal place marked with war, the after effects of the plague and royal feuding. The Hundred Years War was raging, and the English were continually gaining on the offensive. That was until a pheasant girl from a village became a commander in the army, leading France to a series of important victories.

Joan of Arc, born in 1412, had seen the effects of the war from a young age when her village was attacked and burned by opposing forces. At the age of 12, Joan heard her first voices. Throughout her life, Saints came to Joan relying messages from God. Although she would have been happy staying home and taking care of her mother, Joan was instructed by these voices to drive the English out of France and help Charles VII, the rightful heir, take the thrown. Inspired by God, Joan of Arc set off to have an interview at the royal court and help her country when she was 16.

At the court she stated her mission and made a specific military prediction to try and prove divine nature of her quest. When the prediction came true, Joan, a teenage girl with no military training was sent off to Orlèans, the site of an important military siege. She encountered resistance and exclusion from the officers, but her strong religious center raised the moral of the troops, gaining her support and standing. Once a respected officer, Joan of Arc began to make decisions and strategies about the war. She was persistent and defiant in her goal to change the war strategy from defensive into offensive attacks. This new strategy led to a large number of successes for the French army and gained Joan the position of co-commander of the army.

Her successes continued until 1430, when she was captured by the Burgundians. The English government purchased her from the Burgundians shortly after. Joan was a military threat to the English, an enemy of the state and the church. Although she was a religious and pious woman who believed she was instructed by God, she was tried for heresy for, among other things, wearing men’s clothing, a violation of a biblical law., Joan wore men’s clothing for convenience and protection in battle, and protecting herself from sexual assault, which she encountered during her imprisonment, which are actually situations where cross-dressing is accepted by the bible, although this was not recognized by the court.

Throughout the trial, Joan was true to her convictions, unwilling to denounce her role in the military or her clothing attire. She risked her life on the battlefield, and in the courtroom, but in the end it was the law that got her. The court found her guilty, and on May 30^th 1431, when she was only 19 years old, Joan of Arc was executed, burned on the stake. This ruling was overturned 24 years later by the Pope, making Joan of Arc a martyr. Five hundred years later, in 1920 Joan of Arc was canonized and became a patron saint of France. A hero in her own time, Joan of Arc is still recognized today for her courage.

Joan of Arc needs to be remembered as a great example of girl power. She embodied the potential all women have to succeed in a male dominated society if she believes in herself. She believed in her cause, her ability and had faith she was doing the right thing. She was independent in a time when a woman’s status and livelihood depended on men, and became a national hero by defying expectations. The strict gender roles of the time meant nothing to this maiden on a mission.

Women's History Profile: Elizabeth Cady Stanton

2010-03-08T12:59:00.004-05:00

Today, we go back a hundred and fifty years to take a look at one of the most famous women’s rights activists, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony’s cohort in the suffrage movement of the 19^th century. Although she is best known for her work with the women’s suffrage movement, her passion for women’s rights expanded beyond the scope of many of her peers including Susan B. Anthony. Born in 1815, Stanton was also thrust into the abolition movement until the passage of the 13^th amendment in 1865.

What I find the most interesting about Stanton is how she became aware of sexual discrimination in the world and became impassioned to work against it. All of her male siblings had died, leaving her parents with four girls and no male heirs. At a young age, Stanton’s father, a prominent lawyer and politician told her, “Oh my daughter, I wish you were a boy.” This blatant preference of the male sex not only by her father but by society stirred a determination in Elizabeth from a young age to excel in the areas usually reserved to men and to be their equal. Her awareness of society’s prejudices and inequalities grew as her father taught her about the legal barriers between men and women. She also had her own personal experiences of discrimination including being denied admission to the Union college because she was female.

Stanton began her activist lifestyle by standing up for her individual rights within her marriage. Her outrage at the subordinate role of wives beneath their husbands caused her to refrain from vowing to obey her husband in their wedding ceremony. She also refused to be referred to as Mrs. Henry B. Stanton, keeping her maiden name Cady as part of her name. Stanton displayed her convictions and beliefs in her own actions and life, breaking traditions and social standards with no hesitation.

Stanton had been an avid abolitionist for years, but it wasn’t until she met Lucretia Mott at an Anti-Slavery Convention in London she was attending with her husband for their honeymoon, did she become a leader in the women’s rights movement. The two women, official delegates at the conference, were denied the right to participate in the convention by the men because they were female. This discrimination outraged Stanton, and she and Lucretia Mott began planning the first and most famous women’s rights convention.

The Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 was the launching ground for the women’s movemen. Stanton played a major role at the convention, not just as an organizer, but as the writer of the “Declaration of Sentiments.” Written in the style of the Declaration of Independence, it stated that men and women are created equal and demanded voting rights, equal social behavioral standards, and education and was a concrete product of the convention.

An anti-slavery advocate her whole life, Stanton worked tirelessly on abolition during the civil war. Afterwards however, when the 14^th and 15^th amendments were proposed, Stanton and her associates like Susan B. Anthony felt betrayed by their male abolitionists who did not include giving suffrage to women in the amendments, only African-American males. In fact, they worked against the legislation and tried and failed to pass their own petition that included women.

Yet Stanton was much more than just a suffragist. She was a mother who raised seven children and throughout her life, she advocated for a broad spectrum of women’s rights issues. Legal property and marriage and divorce laws were an important part of her political policy, and she also supported birth control and interracial marriage. Additionally, she spoke out against religion as an institution of discrimination and inequality.

Many of these views and her stance against the 14^th and 15^th amendments pushed some women away and even caused a schism in the women’s rights organization. But no matter who was offended or disagreed with her beliefs, Elizabeth Cady Stanton stuck to them with dedication and drive. By refusing to compromising her ideals and thinking beyond the limited scope of women’s suffrage, Elizabeth Cady Stanton made her mark on women’s rights and on history, and even though she herself never saw the passage of the 19^th amendment in 1920 because of her death in 1902, she was a significant part of why it was passed.

Women's History Month Profile: Nina Simone

2010-03-05T12:14:00.003-05:00

Its funny to me that the only request we have gotten so far for Women’s History Month Profiles is for a musician. I feel like Casey Kasem.

So, this one goes out to our loyal reader Jodi!

Our feature today is, obviously, Nina Simone. I’m going to skip all of the early life information and go right to why she was way more then just a musician.

Nina Simone musically became influential in the early 1960’s. After a few years of teaching piano in Philadelphia, she quickly became popular by performing in Atlantic City bars and night clubs. From there, she was signed by a record label and recorded her breakthrough song “I loves you Porgy” in 1958. The song did extremely well and propelled Simone into musical popularity at the start of the new decade.

Nina Simone wrote songs that defined the times. Many of her recordings evoke singular moments during the civil rights movement and are historically important akin to the popular anti-war music of this era. For example, Simone wrote “Mississippi Goddam” in response to the bombing of a Baptist church in Alabama killed four children and the assassination of Medgar Evers. This and many other songs by Simone were adopted by the civil rights movement and encapsulated the thrust of emotion behind the social movements that were changing the landscape of the US.

Mississippi Goddam (sorry folks, the html link was broken)

In addition to the civil rights movement’s inspiration on her music, the women’s movement was also attracted to Nina Simone and her message heavy lyrics. “Four Women” became a largely popular song for the emerging second wave.

In a 1969 interview Simone stated “There’s no other purpose, so far as I’m concerned, for us except to reflect the times, the situations around us and the things we’re able to say through our art, the things that millions of people can’t say. I think that’s the function of an artist and, of course, those of us who are lucky leave a legacy so that when we’re dead, we also live on. That’s people like Billie Holiday and I hope that I will be that lucky, but meanwhile, the function, so far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times, whatever that might be."

Women's History Profile: Judy Chicago

2010-03-04T14:26:00.002-05:00

When most of us picture the word ‘feminist’ we probably picture an activist, marching in a crowd of people for suffrage or equal rights, or burning her bra, hair flailing in the air. But feminism expands from beyond the political into the areas of culture, economics and sociology. Judy Chicago, an artist born in 1939 was not out campaigning for women’s rights on the political field with the likes of Susan B. Anthony, but progressing feminism from her studio by her own terms. For her, art was a ‘vehicle for intellectual transformation and social change,’ and she was committed to creating an equal role for women in the art world.

Judy Chicago started Feminist Art in 1970. She coined the term when she started a feminist art program for women at California State University Fresno and then started the CalArts Feminist Art Project. During the next 20 years, Chicago worked on a number of ground breaking pieces, often in collaboration with the women from the Feminist Art Project. These pieces demonstrated, for the first time an openly female point of view and established a centralized focus within women’s art which recognizes an established female imagery.

The Dinner Party, Chicago’s most well known piece and an important event in the women’s movement, was a large triangular table marked with place settings for thirty-nine famous women from history and mythology including the fertility goddess, Hatshepsut, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Sojourner Truth and Virginia Wolfe. The table settings depict the woman’s names and her accomplishments, celebrating women’s achievements in the face of great odds.

Judy Chicago began the feminist art movement because of the marginalization and exclusion she experienced in the art world. To Chicago, the art world denied her "experience and feelings as a female person,” so she and comrades like Miriam Schapiro moved outside of the art world and began their own movement. Since then, many more female artists have been emerging around the world and there is no longer a taboo or self censorship on the pieces women make. Know women know they can be an artist and don’t have to hide their impulses to achieve that. This is probably the most significant way that Judy Chicago and her work has changed the art world, although at this time exhibitions at major institutions rarely feature women.

Over the years, Chicago has faced brutal public and written criticism with poise and strength, never denouncing her work or apologizing for it. Instead she continues to do what she loves, making art that is open about her experiences as a woman and working on humanizing women who for so long have only been the subjects and models from the male perspective, subjectifying them without consideration to their own expression. She has made a place for women in the art world and created a movement for them to express the true being of women without the prejudices and exclusion of the general art world.

This progressive artist is also in touch with the theme of women’s history month, "Writing Women Back into History." She writes in her book, Through the Flower, “Because we are denied knowledge of our history, we are deprived of standing upon each others shoulders and building upon each other’s hard earned accomplishments.” This was 1975, 35 years later we have not fully embraced women into our history. Judy Chicago is not a political activist, but she has been a key part in creating progress for women in the art world, giving them the freedom to at last be free in their expression.

Women's History Profile: Amelia Bloomer

2010-03-03T14:37:00.002-05:00

The first time I remember learning about Amelia Bloomer was from Shana Corey’s children’s book You forgot your skirt, Amelia Bloomer! This bright and colorful book opens with the line, “Amelia Bloomer was not a proper lady.” This single line resonated with me, a tom boy who was certainly not a proper lady. In fact, I tried to be anything but. As a girl who refused to wear dresses and skirts, the time period before girls were allowed to wear pants terrified me. I cherished my own time period where I had the freedom to put on a pair of overalls or pants instead of being forced to wear heavy pretty dresses drinking tea in the garden. You forgot your skirt, Amelia Bloomer gave insight into the history of pants in American fashion, starting with Amelia Bloomer who revolutionized women’s fashion, popularizing and supporting bloomers in her own newspaper publication.

“Thank you!” was the first thing I thought. This woman, Amelia Bloomer, fought criticism, ridicule and the social culture and gender roles of the time, so that she could wear more comfortable clothing, even if it wasn’t ‘ladylike.’ She played a major role in allowing me to wear jeans and pants today. What she did was not just important for me, but for all women and the break down of gender roles in Western society.

Like me, most people know Amelia Bloomer because of her work in popularizing the fashion style named after her, the bloomers, long baggy pants narrowing to a cuff at the ankles, but she was dedicated to women’s rights throughout her life and worked for woman’s suffrage, the temperance movement, higher education for woman, marriage reform, and other woman’s rights. As a colleague of activists like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer has an important place as a women’s rights activist in the mid 19th century.

Born in Homer, New York in 1818, Amelia Bloomer was a writer, publisher and editor. Her husband, Dexter Bloomer owned The Seneca Falls Courier, and in the early 1840s, she became a regular contributor to his newspaper, writing about the importance of women’s rights. Her involvement in the women’s movement grew as she continued to write, and in 1849 she attended the Seneca Falls Convention, the most famous women’s rights convention of the time that focused on women’s suffrage.

After the conference, she started her own newspaper, The Lily. The first newspaper in the United States to be owned and operated by a woman, The Lily, focused on women’s issues from suffrage to temperance, education, and fashion. The Lily was very popular, reaching a subscription of over 4,000. Her newspaper was often criticized, however, for giving women the prerogative to speak, when really they should remain silent. Bloomer continued to let her voice be heard by publishing her paper and giving speeches until she died in 1894.

Amelia was able to achieve great things because of her passion and drive, but also because of her husband who supported her and her causes the whole time and was the first person to encourage her to write. She may be remembered as the inventor of the bloomers, but Amelia did so much more than that and deserves a place in our blog as we are "Writing Women Back into History." As a young 7-year-old girl who just wanted to wear my jeans and play baseball, I had a deep appreciation for Amelia Bloomer and her courage to stand up against social gender roles and criticism and promote a revolutionary fashion to liberate women, but now ten years later I understand the larger implications of her work in the women’s movement and dedication to achieving progress.

Women's History Profile: Hannah Senesh

2010-03-02T12:06:00.003-05:00

My first Women’s History Month feature is a woman that I didn’t hear about until way into my college education. I took a class focused on women as diarists/memoirists using this book as a text. Seriously, it’s a great read and I highly recommend it.

Anyway, one of the diarists highlighted is Hannah Senesh. I don’t know what it was about her life or her diary entries that made her stand out from the many other fascinating women we read but here I am, ten years later, anxious to let the blogosphere know my devotion to her story.

Hannah Senesh was born in 1921 in Hungary. In the face of religious oppression, she and her family were Jewish, her mother managed to ensure an excellent education for Hannah (for three times the rate that Protestants were paying).

A side note here: I loved that Hannah’s mother was clearly a strong feminist in her own right. I didn’t know too much about her until recently but I have written in the margins of my copy Hannah’s diary “Moms!” and “I wonder what her mothers story is?” more on this later, though.

Hannah kept a diary from the age of thirteen until her untimely death at 23. In this diary, she recorded her dreams, political ideas, accounts of the events unfolding around her, and of course, her convictions about her responsibilities as a Jew during World War II. Right at the outbreak of WWII, Hannah left Hungary and her family to emigrate to Palestine. In her diaries we learn that she was dedicated to her personal development of an authentic and independent identity and her belief that love was always waiting to be expressed through service to others.

This theme, service to others, is the thread that continued throughout her life. She wrote, “One needs something to believe in, something for which one can have whole-hearted enthusiasm. One needs to feel that one’s life has meaning, that one is needed in this world”. The most dramatic manifestation of this ideal, and the reason she had become monumental to women’s history as well as Jewish history, was her decision to join up with a special group of Palestinian soldiers trained by the British to help Jews escape from occupied countries. Her unit parachuted into Yugoslavia in March of 1944. By that time, Hungary was already occupied by Nazis and Hannah was captured and imprisoned in Budapest.

In prison she maintained her service despite the unimaginable conditions by teaching the other prisoners Hebrew and made the children dolls out of whatever she could find. She refused to reveal the secrets entrusted to her even when the Nazis threatened to torture her mother who was housed at the same prison. Hannah herself was severely beaten and tortured. She was executed on November 7th, 1944.

Hannah Senesh is a personal hero of mine for many reasons. Her dedication to service is something that I reflect on often. In a less evil time, she may have lived an ordinary life as a teacher or community organizer. This was not the case, and she took her passion for service and stood up to the wrongs she saw. In a letter to her brother two days before she left on her mission she wrote “There are events without which one’s life becomes unimportant, a worthless toy; and there are times when one is commanded to do something, even at the price of one’s life”

Strangely enough (and luckily), when I was doing a little background googling on Hannah Senesh this morning I came across a documentary that has been made about her life called “Blessed is the Match” AND it is playing in Pittsburgh on March 9,10,12 and 18. Visit www.vjfpittsburgh.org to get tickets. According the the director, the film is a tribute the mother and daughter relationship of Catherine and Hannah Senesh through the telling of their story. Field trip, anyone?

Women's History Profile: Margaret Sanger

2010-03-01T13:46:00.004-05:00

I am sure everyone is exhaling a sigh of relief today in Pittsburgh. It's March 1st which means February's dreaded reign is officially over. Here's hoping the first week of this month is more lamb like than lion. What you may not know is that today is also the first day of Women's History Month. This year's theme is "Writing Women Back into History." When the National Women's History Project began its mission in 1980, less than 3% of the content of teacher training textbooks mentioned the contributions of women. It is all of our responsibilities to recognize the impact of great women in history. PPWP will be blogging all month on the women we've been influenced by.

Today, I thought it was only fitting to do a profile on Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and pioneer of the birth control movement.

Margaret Sanger was the sixth of eleven children born to Anne Purcell Higgins and Michael Hennessy Higgins, a devout Catholic family in New York. As a child, Margaret was profoundly influenced by her mother's seemingly constant state of pregnancy. She often played caretaker to her younger siblings. After her mother's death from tuberculosis and cervical cancer in 1896, Margaret enrolled in a nursing program paid for by her sisters' wages.

When Sanger moved to New York City after a tragic fire destroyed her and her husband's home, things started to get interesting. She went to work in the East Side slums of Manhattan. At the same time she was writing a column called "What Every Girl Should Know" for the New York Call and distributing a highly controversial pamphlet called "Family Limitation." It was her belief that women would never be equal to men as long as they had no self-determination over their reproduction and that women should be allowed to enjoy the sexual freedom experienced by men. Margaret risked imprisonment by writing about birth control during the age of the Comstock Laws. At that time, it was illegal to disseminate contraceptive information and devices on the basis that they were obscene.

In 1916, Margaret opened a family planning clinic in Brooklyn. It was raided by the police soon after and Margaret served a prison sentence for violating the Comstock laws. In 1921, she started the American Birth Control League, the precursor to today's Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Sanger was able to open her first legal family planning clinic not long after when she found a loophole in the Comstock laws that allowed for physicians to disseminate birth control information when prescribed for medical reasons. The clinic was staffed exclusively with female physicians and social workers. Margaret Sanger would later resign as President of the American Birth Control League but served as president of the International Planned Parenthood Federation from 1952 to 1959.

Margaret Sanger's legacy has often been tainted by rumors of her belief in the practice of eugenics, a philosophy that aims to improve human genetic traits through social intervention. In fact, when googling "Margaret Sanger," the fourth entry is a link to a website called blackgenocide.org. However, it is important to recognize that the "evidence" that depicts her as a eugenicist has been compiled by a anti-choice community that would end the practice of birth control and abortion for all women in the United States. Their motives are questionable at best and the quotes they have used to present the case for Margaret Sanger as a eugenicist, have largely been taken out of context or mis-attributed to her.

Regardless of the controversy, Margaret Sanger is a true hero of the reproductive rights movement. She fought against censorship her entire career and sacrificed her freedom and safety to provide contraceptive information and services to all women. I am happy to tell you that Margaret lived to see the development of the birth control pill and the end of the Comstock laws. She died just a few short months after the Griswold v. Connecticut decision that legalized birth control for married couples in the U.S.

Want more info? Super activist Gloria Feldt tells all about the courageous Margaret Sanger in this speech, Convictions to Action: Margaret Sanger's Legacy and Leadership Lessons.

Check it out and stay tuned for more women's history profiles this month courtesy of PPWP!

Miscarriage = Criminal Homicide?

2010-02-24T15:05:00.000-05:00

Sitting on the Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s desk awaiting his signature is HB12, a piece of legislation that criminalizes miscarriage. Under this statute, a woman who induces a miscarriage or obtains an illegal abortion can be prosecuted for criminal homicide, although legal abortion is still protected. Even a woman who engages in “reckless behavior” that leads to her miscarriage is legally responsible as long as the prosecutor can show this behavior contributed to the miscarriage. This includes women who had accidental miscarriages and never wanted to lose their fetus. The incidents that lie under “reckless behavior” are not defined, creating a broad scope of punishable offenses that could possibly include substance abuse, being a victim of domestic violence, not wearing a seatbelt and falling down the stairs .

This law is a major blow to women’s reproductive rights, establishing a punitive system for pregnant women. Utah is the first state to have a feticide law that attacks the woman and not the third party by making her legally responsible. If this bill is passed, a big question is going to be whether or not they are going to enforce it. Every miscarriage could potentially be caused by reckless behavior. Does this mean Utah law enforcement is going to investigate every miscarriage in the state? I doubt it. 25% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, and the time and money it would take to try and investigate all known miscarriages is exuberant. Yet this law may carry more weight than just a message. The law was originally proposed because of a case where a 17-year-old girl paid a man $150 to beat her in a failed attempt to cause a miscarriage. The girl was initially charged with attempted murder, but the charges were dropped because, at the time, under Utah state law a woman could not be prosecuted for attempting to arrange an abortion, lawful or unlawful. With the new law, however, this girl and others like her can be prosecuted in situations like this and many others.

The bill has even deeper implications about personhood when you look at some of the other details of the law. This statute applies throughout a women’s pregnancy even in the first trimester when abortion is legal. This is a drastic difference to fetal homicide laws in other states that usually only apply to the third trimester. By including the first trimester, personhood is applied to the fetus throughout the pregnancy. Although abortion is still legal in Utah and the United States, personhood laws like these threaten Roe vs. Wade and women’s reproductive rights. The consequences of this new personhood classification remain to be seen.

The Planned Parenthood Action Center in Utah worked actively in trying to amend the bill and had small successes. Originally the bill also included negligence (a lower standard than recklessness) that lead to a miscarriage as a criminal offense as well, but in part because of their advocacy, this section was dropped.

Hopefully people will continue to fight this law and appeal cases in which it is implemented until it one day gets turned over. In the mean time, I can only hope that laws like this do not continue to spread, breaking down the accomplishments of the pro-choice movement one law at a time.

Spending the Semester at Planned Parenthood

2010-02-23T14:53:00.001-05:00

I first became interested in sex education advocacy when I was in eighth grade and attended a ‘Condom Jewelry and Sex Education’ workshop at a conference for Unitarian Universalist youth I was attending. The workshop was run by two high schoolers and focused on making youth comfortable with condoms and educating them about safe sex, STDs, and GLBTQ issues. Not only was it a lot of fun making necklaces and bracelets out of condoms, including flavored ones, glitter, and beads, but I really got my first perspective on the reality of sex education in America. At my private middle school we received sex education in 7^th and 8^th grade and even had an outreach educator from Planned Parenthood come in and talk to us, so I wasn’t aware that a huge portion of students received no knowledge about contraceptives or birth control in school. As a teenager the issue was very personal for me. I was one of the ‘impressionable children’ that a huge sector of society was trying to keep from being sexually active by promoting abstinence only education.

By having the perspective a youth, I thought it was naïve to believe that abstinence only education was the most appropriate policy to teach to youth. Of course teenagers were going to have sex and preaching abstinence was not going to prevent it. It seemed obvious to me that youth need to be fully informed about how to protect themselves from STDs and pregnancy, so they can engage safely in sex. I had a lot of questions about why this was such an issue. How can people think that education is a bad thing? Becoming sexually active is a choice that a person has to make for him or herself, so why is the government trying to control a person’s choices by withholding information from them? It made me angry and frustrated to think that people thought teaching youth how to protect themselves was worse than sending them out into a world full of sex without the knowledge to make smart choices.

My frustration with sex education in America continued to grow through the years; then, I started doing something about it. Remembering the impact the Condom Jewelry Art workshop had on me years earlier, in the winter of last year I ran the same workshop at the same conference for youth in 7^th-12^th grade with my own insight and experience. It was amazing how many of the youth in attendance said they didn’t get comprehensive sex education in their own school. In fact, most of them had gotten their sex education at church through the Our Whole Lives (OWL) programming used by Unitarian Universalism and the United Church of Christ.

Now, I am continuing my work advocating comprehensive sex education as an intern at Planned Parenthood. As a senior at CAPA, I have the opportunity this semester to spend three hours a day at an internship instead of taking classes at school. When my mother suggested Planned Parenthood as a possibility, I immediately became excited by the idea. I’ve always supported Planned Parenthood, and even though I found a passion for sex education in the past couple of years, women’s reproductive rights and GLBTQ rights are issues I have also been involved with. It seemed like a great way to be involved with a program I support and issues I care deeply about while learning about working in a nonprofit.

Working in the public affairs department gives me insight into a facet of the internal operation of an organization like Planned Parenthood. I remember at Pride Fest this summer visiting the Planned Parenthood and seeing the little packs filled with a condom, lube and cards. At that point, I didn’t think about all the work that went into filling hundreds of those little packs, but now I certainly do since I’m one of the people putting them together. I also get to work on the blog, a refreshing writing experience, requiring a different tone and style than I’m used to, and am doing campaigning, helping to make sexual education in Pennsylvania actually happen. I still ask the same questions I did four years ago, and they continue to give me the drive to try and create change. I chose to do an internship at Planned Parenthood because I believe in what the organization is trying to do, and I want to be a part of it.

Gaga and Lauper speak out for HIV/AIDS awareness!

2010-02-18T14:38:00.004-05:00

I am so surprised I just now stumbled upon this awesome interview with Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper on Good Morning America. I am borderline obsessed with La Gaga and I am clearly invested in HIV/AIDS prevention among women so I can't believe this slipped under my radar!

So here's the deal. Gaga and Lauper are serving as celebrity spokespeople for MAC Cosmetics' Viva Glam Campaign. They each have a signature Viva Glam lip shade. The lipsticks are truly a steal at $14 and proceeds up to 2.5 million dollars will fund model programs that address the vulnerabilities and inequities that place women at increased risk for HIV/AIDS. Find more info at http://www.macaidsfund.org/ and be sure to watch the video below!

Women of Color HERStory Month 2010

2010-02-12T12:59:00.002-05:00

I'm sure many of us are suffering from severe cabin fever this week, after what seems like endless snowfall and a serious shortage of snow plows. Well, we've got a few suggestions to end your boredom and get you outside of your home for a couple of nights.

In addition to Love of Friends this weekend (I couldn't help myself, I had to plug it again), New Voices Pittsburgh: Women of Color for Reproductive Justice will be launching a month-long celebration of Women of Color HERStory Month.

First up are two performances of The Vagina Monologues at University of Pittsburgh, David Lawrence Hall, February 12th and 13th at 8pm.Tickets are $10 at the door with all proceeds benefiting New Voices Pittsburgh. If you've never seen it, you need to go. If you have seen it, you know that once isn't enough.

NVP will also be accepting a Pittsburgh City Council Proclamation from Councilman Daniel Lavelle for Women of Color HERStory Month 2010. Join NVP and have a chance to check out the Black History Month exhibit in the lobby, History in the Making: Honoring Our Young African-American Leaders of Today. This event is Tuesday, February 16th at City Council Chambers, City-County Building, 414 Grant Street, 5th Floor.

And finally on February 25th, NVP is hosting the Opening Performance of Lenelle Moise's "In Womb-Words, Thirsting" and the New Voices Awards at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. For tickets go here.

For more information visit New Voices Pittsburgh here!

Give the gift of honesty this Valentine's Day!

2010-02-11T13:37:00.002-05:00

Valentine's Day is an excellent opportunity to have an honest conversation about sex and STD's with your partner(s). PPNYC C.E.O., Joan Malin, has a great piece about talking to your partner about sex up on RH Reality Check. Take a look at the tips we pulled for you here and then click the link to read the full piece!

Educate yourself. Whether it’s an STI risk or something new you want to try, know as much about a topic before you bring it up.
Do it with your clothes on. Although it might be tempting, don’t wait until you’re in the bedroom to bring up a tricky topic. Instead pick a comfortable place, before you’ve gotten hot and heavy.
Break the ice. Telling your partner you’re nervous can be a great way to start. As can bringing up a recent study/statistic/story you’ve read or heard.
Be upfront. Don’t beat around the bush or be dishonest.
Use humor. Yes, this kind of talk can seem weighty or serious, but it’s ok to use humor to lighten the mood.
Bring up good stuff first. Mention something you like or appreciate about your partner, before bringing up something you’d like them to do differently.
Talk about protection, pleasure and problems. These open and honest talks aren’t just about the last time you got STD tested. You should be discussing what you like and don’t like, and what is and isn’t working for you.

Abstinence Only?

2010-02-10T21:16:00.002-05:00

Supporters of abstinence only education have chalked a new study by John B. Jemmott III, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania as a win in their column. The study, published in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, compared the delay of sexual activity amongst students who participated in four different curriculums: abstinence only, safe sex, comprehensive, and a generic health class. The abstinence only portion proved to be the most successful. After two years, 67% of the students had abstained from sex as opposed to 58% of the students who learned a comprehensive curriculum.

Though many supporters of abstinence only education view this study as indisputable evidence of its efficacy, there is reason to be skeptical. First, one study does not undo the multiple studies that prove abstinence only to be ineffective. It is important to note that this particular study is very different from traditional abstinence based curricula. It doesn't teach misleading information like "condoms don't work" nor does it use a moralistic tone to convey its message. In fact, the purpose of the curriculum is to delay sex until "you are ready" rather than until marriage. This curriculum wouldn't even have been eligible for Bush era funding for abstinence based programs and very likely would be eligible for Obama's pregnancy prevention funding as it is medically accurate.

"One of the things that's exciting about this study is that it says we have a new tool to add to our repertoire," said Monica Rodriguez, vice president for education and training at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.

I think that is exactly what we can expect from the results of this study. I hope we won't have to worry about a return to abstinence only education funding any time soon. If anything, there is now at least a scientific medically accurate curriculum available for school districts that are unlikely to implement comprehensive education.

As always, Planned Parenthood advocates for teaching sex education that emphasizes abstinence as the best way to avoid unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, but that also provides young people with medically accurate, age-appropriate information about healthy communication, responsible decision making, contraception and disease prevention. We here at PPWP have been organizing around state legislation that would mandate comprehensive sex education in Pennsylvania public schools for the last year. To get your voice heard on this matter, call your state representative and tell him/her to support H.B. 1163, the Healthy Youth Act!

Love of Friends!

2010-02-08T14:51:00.002-05:00

We are 6 short days away from Love of Friends!

In the words of the Love of Friends organizers: Love of Friends (LoF) began on Valentine's Day in 2007 as a potluck to share a night with friends. Valentine's Day is often stressful for many folks, single or otherwise. LoF looks to share this day with great people and take pleasure in the talents of our friends through their music and art, as well as share good food and great company.

Basically, we want to dance, meet new folks, talk to old friends, flirt, NOT FLIRT, dress to impress and SHARE. The preparation of LoF is friends old and new coming together to make food, decorate, sew, you name it, the whole production is put together by great folks!

Love of Friends is a benefit party that supports the efforts of The Midwife Center and Planned Parenthood of southwestern PA.

And here is my own little two-cents about this party: The folks who put this together truly warm my heart. They are wonderful human beings, dedicated to making a day that is traditionally about buying crap to prove your love into a day about celebrating real relationships, romantic or otherwise, and building love among our community. I applaud them. And frankly, I can't stinking wait for the cookie table. I love cookies.

Here are the details -

Date: Sunday, February 14, 2010 Time: 7:30 pm – 12:00 am Location: Hunt Armory (Shadyside) 324 Emerson St. Pittsburgh, PA 15232 What: The best Valentine’s Day bash in Pittsburgh! Art, music, dancing, crafts, food, drinks, FRIENDS! Cost: $14 for admission, $25 for a handmade tote bag filled with goodies! Proceeds from the party benefit The Midwife Center, and Planned Parenthood of Western PA's Action Fund.

Labor's Painful Enough; Imagine it in Shackles

2010-02-04T14:55:00.003-05:00

No woman should have to go through labor while shackled. Not only is shackling unnecessary, it endangers a woman’s health, dehumanizes her, and is part of a larger system that often denies women fair treatment. Shockingly, this practice is commonly used in Pennsylvania on pregnant female inmates. Even though some prison systems in the state have already banned the practice, it still continues against policy. In Philadelphia five months after policy banning shackling inmates during labor was enacted, Tina Torres, a inmate waiting for her case to be brought before a judge (the case was later dropped), was shackled during her labor. The shackles were only removed once she went into the operating room for a C-section and then only at the doctor’s insistence. Torres is one women among many who have been handcuffed or shackled during their labor, the standard policy in the PA correctional system.

An insensitivity toward prisoners by genera has kept this policy tucked away in prisons and hospital rooms, but as it begins to be publicized and spoken about, some politicians feel a need to do something about it. Pennsylvania State Senator Daylin Leach proposes new legislation that would ban shackling pregnant inmates before, during and immediately after childbirth and labor. He calls the practice a “barbaric relic of the past,” and is attempting to bring a bit of compassion to an insensitive system.

The dehumanizing treatment of pregnant women expands beyond shackling during labor. Women do not usually receive appropriate prenatal care or proper nutrition, a health risk for them and their babies. Tina Torres shared her experiences, accounting how she was wrapped in a chain during her transport from the prison to the hospital and was not given a proper examination by the prison nurse when she thought her water broke, an act of neglect that caused complications in her pregnancy. After returning to the hospital, Tina was put in a unit for the mentally ill, where the prison kept all the new mothers.

The treatment of pregnant women in prison is dehumanizing and restricts their ability to get proper medical care. Senator Leach’s legislation will be an important step in making prison a safe environment to go through pregnancy. If this legislation passes, PA will be the 7^th state to have a ban on using shackles on inmates during labor, an important step in improving women’s rights in a State that continually ranks low in women’s rights nationwide. No opposition to Leach’s proposal has been stated yet, so hopefully we will see this legislation move quickly through State Congress.

http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/Giving-Birth-in-PA-Prisons.html

Super bowl, smuper bowl.

2010-02-04T11:58:00.002-05:00

Right up front I'm going to confess that I don't follow football, watch the super bowl, and I don't think I can come up with more then three professional football players names unless they happen to be on the cover of US weekly. (I know, that makes me look so bad but I fully admit I have an unhealthy addiction to reading tabloid covers at the grocery store).

However, it has been hard to miss the Tim Tebow super bowl ad controversy. Now that the Super Bowl is just 3 days away and the debate has totally reached new levels...here are some of my thoughts.
***************

First, Planned Parenthood respects the ability of every woman, including Pam Tebow, Tim Tebow's mother, to make important medical decisions for herself and her family. We want every woman to live in a world in which her ability to make important personal medical decisions is respected. This is pretty basic ideology for most folks working in reproductive health/rights/justice and almost goes without saying. But just to be safe, I stuck it in here.

It's important to note that the Tebow's personal story is completely consistent with what Planned Parenthood doctors and nurses have learned from the millions of women we have served for nearly a century. Women take decisions about their health very seriously. They consider their doctors' advice, they talk with their loved ones and people they trust, including religious leaders, and they carefully weigh all considerations before making the best decision for themselves and their families.

Awesome video, check it out!

Now, that is it for the content of the actual add. As for the organization behind it - Focus on the Family...

The reported cost of the ad in question is 2.5 million dollars. Focus on the Family has every right to spend their 2.5 million as it chooses. However, it is surprising, at a time when so many people are in need that the organization's top priority is a Super Bowl Ad. 2.5 million dollars goes a long way in the non-profit world and if they were committed to 'focusing on the family' I would say most families could use some real support due to our current economy in lieu of a 30 second ad. But maybe that's just me.

Further, if Focus on the Family had its way, millions of women would no longer be able to make the important personal medical decisions for themselves and their families when it comes to abortion. The long-stated goal of FoF is to outlaw abortion except for the rare exception when a woman's life is severely at risk. This is an extreme position, which would deny a woman the ability to make important personal medical decisions for herself and her family, as Mrs. Tebow did.

In addition to opposing a woman's ability to make important personal medical decisions for herself, Focus on the Family also opposes commonsense comprehensive sex education. What?! I know, this sounds like crazy talk. How can you be against both choice and prevention? These folks live far outside the mainstream of American life. In a culture where 98% of women use some form of birth control in their life time to prevent pregnancy and STDs, being against comprehensive sex education that is proven to prevent unwanted pregnancy is the definition of crazy.

Ok. I'm done. I truly hope that those of you who do follow football and are anxiously awaiting Sunday afternoon have an awesome time. I will try not to judge you ;)

How does our next governor feel about abortion?

2010-02-01T11:17:00.002-05:00

This, of course, is the top question on our minds in the upcoming gubernatorial election. This weekend at the PA Progressive Summit the CEO of Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates, Sari Stevens, had the opportunity to ask some of the candidates what they would do if the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Definitely worth the 4 minute watch...

Also, for those unable to attend this years PA Progressive Summit IT WAS AWESOME! Definitely put it on the calendar for next year.

For more information on the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act, which Sari references, visit here and here.

What's going on at PPWP!

2010-01-29T15:11:00.004-05:00

PPWP has been working on a new video to support our efforts on winning comprehensive sex education in PA public schools. We have been asking supporters to tell us their first memory/misconception/funny mishap relating to sex on video so we can splice them up and make an informative short film about the importance of age appropriate sex education. Here is a little sample we gathered from supporters at last week's Gallery Crawl:

We are completely enjoying this process, not only because some of the stories are riotous, but because we LOVE talking to people about why they support the work we do at PPWP.

If you'd like to submit a video, email me at rcavanaugh@ppwp.org! We would love to hear from you!

Jay Smooth is the coolest!

2010-01-26T13:57:00.003-05:00

I have a long standing feminist crush on Jay Smooth. This video only fuels the fire.

Tell the Center for Reproductive Rights where your tax dollars shouldn't be going here.

Roe v. Wade: 37 years and counting!

2010-01-20T15:08:00.003-05:00

Just a quick reminder! Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania will be celebrating the 37th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade this Friday in our downtown office. This Friday is also the Cultural Trust's Gallery Crawl so we will be opening our doors with the many galleries in our neighborhood with an exhibition of protest photos of various women's rights issues. From suffrage to health care reform, women have been tireless in their efforts for equality. We hope you will join us for this retrospective of all we have accomplished!

We will also be setting up a mini-studio to record visitors feeling of Roe v. Wade and reproductive rights. Feel free to stop by, make a video, and enjoy a glass of wine with us!

Friday, January 22, 2010
5:30 - 7:30
933 Liberty Avenue

Who owns your body?

2010-01-19T11:45:00.003-05:00

This Thursday, PPWP will be participating in an excellent panel sponsored by the ACLU of Pennsylvania. Titled "Who Owns Your Body?", the talk will cover an array of issues but the main thrust (and why I'm so excited about it) will be about reframing where we secure the right to make decisions about our bodies.

As I am sure many of you know, the right to privacy is the constitutional right where we are guaranteed reproductive rights. The right to access contraception (in and out of marriage), the right to abortion, the right to privacy in the bedroom, are all found within the catchall "right to privacy".

Though we hold the right to privacy dear, it has not upheld its end of the love.

Over and over again, women are denied the right to make decisions about there body through caveats and loopholes in the right to privacy. This talk, or workshop really, will talk about OTHER places we can secure the rights we deserve.

Luckily, La'Tasha Mayes of New Voices Pittsburgh will be giving the workshop with me. La'Tasha is a pro at frameworks for understanding Reproductive Justice as not only an extension of Reproductive Rights but its own separate set of issues to be grappled with. When formulating the direction of this workshop we both agreed that SOLUTIONS is where it is at. So, hop on the bus and come to "Who Owns Your Body?" Thursday night. Its your ideas that we are looking for. Its your ideas that will secure our rights.

Here are the details:
"Who Owns Your Body?"
Thursday, January 21, 2010 7 -8:30
CMU, Porter Hall - Room 125C
100 Frew Street at Schenley Drive

Be sure to check out the ACLU Pittsburgh web page for a few readings to prepare you for the workshop!

Think you know 'Who Owns Your Body?' Concerned about reproductive freedom? Want to learn more about reproductive rights in Pennsylvania and what that means for your body? Mark your calendar for Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010 and head on over to Porter Hall, Room 125C at 7pm for a lively and informative discussion with Rebecca Cavanaugh, Vice President for Public Affairs at Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania and La'Tasha D. Mayes, Executive Director of New Voices Pittsburgh: Women of Color for Reproductive Justice. Don't forget to check out our website (www.aclupa.org) for more information and bring a friend!

Annnnddd...we're back!

2009-12-17T10:40:00.002-05:00

To everyone who reads our little blog, we are so sorry for the absence recently! We had a crazy week a little while ago that left us tapped for energy and ideas. It is a lame excuse, we know it, we apologize. Truly, we are recommitted to bringing you the whats what of western Pennsylvania reproductive health news. In January, we will have great reporting from a new super secret contributor to boot! Exciting stuff.

For now, here is an excellent and incredibly funny video from Nellie McKay. I saw it this morning on Feministing.com and had to share. Back before I joined up with Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania, I worked for a small nonprofit in D.C. called FAIRFund.org. Nellie was on our board. We worked on ending human trafficking in the U.S. and Eastern Europe. It was an honor to have her on our team. So, without further jabbering...

Ladies and Gentlemen...NELLIE MCKAY!

Road Trip!

2009-11-20T10:27:00.000-05:00

As many of you know Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania, in coalition with many local organizations, is planning a trip to Washington DC on December 2nd. We need to bring thousands of supporters from across the country to the nation's capital to show the overwhelming support for women's health! To do this, we need your help.

Join us in Washington, DC on Wednesday December 2nd for a day of lobbying and visibility to pass a health care reform bill that protects women and comprehensive reproductive health services. The tentative agenda is as follows:

6 a.m.: Leave Pittsburgh. We will be renting passenger vans and providing breakfast to those joining us. If anyone remembers the ride to March for Women's Lives a few years back, the ride down is fun and inspiring! There is nothing like rejuvenating our resolve with like minded supporters. We will also host a mini-briefing once the coffee kicks in :)

10 a.m. to 12 p.m.: Lobby with members of house. We will be asking for meetings with Congressman Doyle and Altmire. We will make additional meetings based on the constituents that participate in the event. If you are a constituent of a different congressperson, please let me know! We are happy (excited, even) to make additional meetings.

12 p.m to 2 p.m.: Coalition press conference in Upper Senate Park with Members of Congress where we will present the petition signatures we have collected against Stupak-Pitts language in the health care bill. If you would like to sign the online petition visit http://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/healthreform/index.htm. If you would like a hard copy of the petition, contact me and I will send it right over to you.

2 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Additional meetings with members of the house and visits to Senators Specter and Casey.

4 p.m to 8 p.m.: Drive back to Pittsburgh

Our strategy at these meetings is to educate and persuade our representatives to oppose Stupak-Pitts language in the final health care reform bill. This is a challenging but rewarding task. One I am sure we are up to.

For more information on the Stupak-Pitts amendment please visit http://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/. Please forward this email to your networks. The broader our range of support, the more successful we will prove to be.

Aftermath of the Stupak Attack

2009-11-10T15:42:00.002-05:00

So, let's start by calling it what it is. Saying that what Rep. Bart Stupak attached to the health care reform bill was an 'amendment' is misleading. He did not just propose amending the bill, he dramatically reduced the impact of the bill for a certain class of Americans. As is typical, the ladies got the shaft. Let's agree right now not call it the "Stupak Amendment" and go with the "Stupak Attack". I think that more accurately names the atrocity that he delivered to American women on Saturday night.

Now that we have that out of the way, on to the impact of the Stupak Attack on women's health care. Primarily, the attack violates one of the underlying principle of health care reform. That no one will lose the benefits they currently have. The truth is that under the attack, millions of women would lose the private coverage for abortion services that they already have and millions more would be prohibited from buying it even with their own money if the insurance carrier is part of the new exchange. Charming.

The Stupak Attack prohibits any coverage of abortion in the public option AND prohibits anyone receiving an federal subsidy from purchasing a health insurance plan that includes abortion services. It also prohibits private health insurance plans from offering through the exchange a plan that includes abortion coverage to both subsidized and unsubsidized individuals. The only way to get around this hoopla is to purchase a separate 'abortion rider' which not only does NOT EXIST in the world of health insurance but is completely contrary to the nature of abortion procedures. Women do not plan for an unplanned pregnancy. I hate to say it but...duh.

Realistically, the actual effect of the Stupak Attack is to ban abortion coverage across the entire exchange, for women with both subsidized and unsubsidized coverage. Current restrictions on access to abortion under the Hyde Amendment (also due for a re-naming) would expand to include women considered to be middle class. So basically, unless you have your own private emergency abortion services fund or are wealth to begin with, you are out of luck.

Obviously, we are feeling pretty darn bitter about the way this went down. We do still have some hope to spread around. The senate has yet to release their version of the bill. Here in PA, that means a lot. We have an ex-republican pro-choice Senator and an anti-choice Democrat. Call them both! Call them now! If you have a personal story about abortion coverage, write it down and send it to them. Write a letter to the editor calling out the representatives who decided a handful of Catholic bishops are more valuable then 50% of the population. Call those guys too. Let them hear your disgust, your anger, and your disappointment. And right before you hang up the phone, let them know that if you can't count on them then they certainly can't count on you.

EMERGENCY!!! We need your phone call right now!

2009-11-07T09:49:00.002-05:00

What follows is an urgent message from Cecile Richards, CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Please, please, please pick up your phone right now and call your representative. A handful of bishops should not determine the fate of women in the US. Let your representatives know that we elected them, they answer to us! Let us know if you make the call! I know its Saturday morning and as alarmist and extreme as this is going to sound, its true...THE FATE OF WOMEN'S ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE RESTS IN YOUR HANDS!!! Pick up the phone.

-----

I’m writing to you with an urgent request.

Late yesterday, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops met with leaders in the House of Representatives in their bid to eliminate women’s access to abortion care under health care reform.

We have just received news that their efforts are working, and Representative Bart Stupak has introduced an amendment to the health care reform bill that will result in women losing health care coverage for abortion. We urgently need you, and your friends and family, to do two things:

Call your representative at 202-730-9001 and ask (him or her) to reject the Stupak amendment that will remove abortion coverage from health care reform.

If the bishops and their anti-choice partners in the House succeed, they’ll permanently alter health care in America, even taking away benefits from women that they have today. The bishops want to effectively eliminate abortion coverage in both private plans and the public option. We simply cannot stand for such a discriminatory, mean-spirited attack on women.

It’s a chilling ultimatum: eliminate choice for millions of women, or the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops will do all they can to kill health care reform. This is a true crisis for American women, and we need you to act now.

Call your representative at 202-730-9001 and tell him or her to reject this attack on women’s health — and then forward this message to your friends, your family, everyone you know and ask them to do the same (and don’t forget to post the news to Facebook, Twitter — everywhere).

We need you now, more than ever. Thank you for standing strong with us in the face of this vicious last-minute attack on women. We will keep you posted on what’s next.

Sincerely,

Cecile

Pittsburgh Medical Safety Zone Ordinance Modified

2009-11-05T11:20:00.002-05:00

It has been a rough week for us here at PPWP.We have had a lot of questions about the Third Circuit's ruling concerning our buffer zone ordinance. It has not been "struck down" as was implied in the Post-Gazette and Associated Press articles but modified so that we must choose either the 15 ft buffer zone or the 8 ft bubble zone. We aren't happy with that either but at least both halves of the ordinance were deemed to be constitutional. Just not together unfortunately. I will never understand why the right to harass and intimidate is more important than the right of patient access to health care. Below, is PPWP's press release concerning the matter. We will be updating as we get more information.

PITTSBURGH, PA – Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania responds to court ruling striking down city ordinance designed to protect the safety and privacy of patients.

Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania is troubled and disappointed by the recent ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit which effectively reduced the protection of women seeking out medical care at family planning centers in Pittsburgh. While pleased that the court approved a modified version of the original ordinance, Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania is concerned with the reduced protections this rule offers patients and others impacted by protesters at medical facilities.

The case, Brown v. City of Pittsburgh, was a constitutional challenge by an anti-choice protester against Pittsburgh’s Medical Safety Zone Ordinance which gave individuals two protections against harassment outside of medical facilities targeted by protesters - a 15-foot fixed no-protest zone around clinic entrances and a floating 8 foot personal bubble zone of protection around each person approaching the clinic. The 8 foot personal bubble is triggered after a person expresses that they are uninterested in speaking with the protester. The protester can continue to protest so long as they are 8 feet from the individual.

While the court determined that both zones are content-neutral and do not violate the Constitution, they concluded that the combination of the two zones was insufficiently narrowly tailored and that the City could keep one but not both kinds of protective zones. The court remanded the case to the trial judge to permit the City to determine which of the two types of buffer zones it wished to keep.

“The security and privacy of our clients has been greatly enhanced by the Pittsburgh Medical Safety Zone Ordinance” said Kim Evert, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania. “We will continue to work with the city to ensure that patient safety needs are met and are dismayed by the courts decision to weaken these protections.”

Pro Choice Halloween courtesy of PPNYC!

2009-10-29T11:38:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-10-28T13:58:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-10-27T15:52:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-10-26T12:20:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-10-21T12:10:00.006-04:00

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!

2009-10-21T10:18:00.002-04:00

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

2009-10-19T12:19:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-10-19T10:33:00.003-04:00

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

2009-10-16T15:24:00.001-04:00

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...

2009-10-16T11:24:00.005-04:00

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!

2009-10-15T13:57:00.003-04:00

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

2009-10-14T14:28:00.000-04:00

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...

2009-10-12T10:54:00.004-04:00

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

2009-10-12T10:54:00.000-04:00

The wheels on the bus!

2009-09-02T16:41:00.002-04:00

Organizing for America's Reform NOW bus rolled into Pittsburgh today and parked on Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park. It was the first health care event I've been to this summer that wasn't completely out of control so congrats OFA! There was a small congregation of dissenters outside the caution tape but they were pretty subdued. The real action was happening inside the caution tape! A diverse crowd of health care reform supporters waved their red white and blue OFA signs as impassioned voices boomed from the American flag draped podium. A clergyman explained how health care reform reflects the principles of all major religions. A physician assured the crowd that the AMA endorses reform. Congressman Doyle continued to extol the virtues of single payer health insurance which was refreshing to a crowd that is hoping for a "robust" public option at best. Finally, everyone joined in a throwback "Yes we can!" chant. As I looked around at the men and women, young and old who still proudly display their old Obama election t-shirts, I realized just how much hope we as a progressive community have left and how much is on the line if health care reform fails. We still have Obama's back. I hope he still has ours.

Anna in Ireland...

2009-08-04T13:36:00.002-04:00

Submitted by Anna Donohoe, PPWP Grassroots Organizing Intern

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist over sex education” says Ireland’s Sunday Independent columnist Carol Hunt. This is not the attitude I expected before I got here, I must admit. I was imagining a very socially conservative and mostly Catholic society; and therefore I assumed everyone would be tight-lipped and prudish about sex education. Some background: I am in central Ireland visiting my relatives at the moment (all of my father’s family lives here), and that is why I decided to focus on sex ed in Ireland for this blog entry.

I asked two of my cousins about sex education (sex ed is called Relationship and Sexuality Education or RSE here) and what they were taught in school—one said that at his school it’s really up to the teacher’s discretion whether you get a comprehensive curriculum or an embarrassed abstinence-only approach. His sister agreed, saying her class at the same school got much less in-depth information than his. I’ve also been doing online research, and following day-to-day leads such as a television ad campaign.

There are two different TV ads by the same organization geared to teens and young adults that really put birth control in the spotlight—my favorite was aired during prime time on one of the most popular channels a few days ago. The ad starts with a passionate embrace in a fast food restaurant. As the cashier offers the couple their food, she asks “Do you want condoms with that?” Several more intimate scenes are similarly interrupted, then a voiceover says “You have 350 million chances of becoming pregnant after unprotected sex” and ends with the slogan “Nobody else is going to do the thinking for you—www.thinkcontraception.ie” The Think Contraception website is hip, professional, and very informative: male and female contraceptive choices listed separately, reproductive health & STI information, a 10 question quiz, a list of external resources and more. It was encouraging to see the ad on television, and to find out that it came from reliable and helpful source.

Emergency contraception (EC) is also a hot topic here- the Irish Family Planning Association has been working to make EC available over-the-counter for years now, but as yet women in Ireland must go to their doctor or a family planning clinic to get EC. One of the reasons EC is such a contentious issue here is that Ireland is a very anti-abortion country. According to Positive Options Crisis Pregnancy Services, “Abortion is illegal in Ireland except where there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother.” It is however legal for Irish women to travel abroad in order to get abortions (though they will only be told about this option by their doctors under very select circumstances because of the particulars of the abortion law).

I hope to visit the Irish Family Planning Association’s Dublin clinic to do some more digging while I’m here. I’m very glad to have been positively surprised by the attitudes of Irish people towards sex education and contraception; and I wish the IFPA all the best in its battle to get over-the-counter EC!

For more information on sex education and related issues in Ireland go to:

http://www.thinkcontraception.ie/

http://www.ifpa.ie/

http://www.positiveoptions.ie/abortion_and_the_law/

http://www.crisispregnancy.ie/newsletter/newsletterv4_i2.htm

Thinking globally, acting locally...

2009-07-20T15:24:00.002-04:00

Grassroots Organizing intern Rachel Belieu had the opportunity to work around HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention in Vietnam during the Spring 09 semester. Here, she shares with us some of her experiences and how they relate to the need for comprehensive sex education domestically.

We were sitting in a stuffy classroom in Can Tho, the fifth-largest city in Vietnam, when we heard the statistic. We had been in Vietnam for over a month now, and that day we were fresh from the 1000-mile, 45-hour train journey that brought us from the cloudy streets of Hanoi to the sunny, humid Mekong Delta, a tangle of vegetation and waterways that sprawls over the southern-most quarter of Vietnam. The man before us, a professor of health at the local university, was trying to convince us that the Vietnamese were educated, informed, and prepared to handle the great public health challenges of our time.
"In the urban areas," he told us, "80% of the general population has 'good knowledge' about HIV/AIDS."
My friend Hannah and I glanced at each other, raising our eyebrows. We had been fed bogus statistics like this before ("100% of babies are born in the hospital") and before Hannah looked away, the seed of a project had germinated in my head, and I suddenly knew what I wanted to research during our two-week visit to Ho Chi Minh City.
During the spring semester, I participated in a four-month study abroad program that took us from Washington DC, to Tanzania and then Vietnam. What were we studying? In a word, Health; probing the medical, political, economic, social, and environmental aspects of that loaded word. In every place we visited, we set aside several days for research, cooking up projects of various degrees of feasibility and carrying them out.
Our project in Ho Chi Minh City was the most open, and with a few other young ladies from my program, I designed a survey to assess knowledge about HIV/AIDS. We then hit the streets, armed with a translator, interviewing students hanging out at the university, adults exercising in the park, and the migrant workers quietly descending on the outskirts of the city. In every demographic, in every age group, in every income range, the results were the same; people did not fully understand HIV/AIDS, how it is spread, and how it can be prevented.
I was vaguely triumphant for a moment; we had proved the lecturing professor wrong, we had uncovered the lies, the number-fudging behind yet another statistic. And then I remembered the implications of our findings; people in Vietnam were living their lives without adequate knowledge to protect themselves from one of the most fearsome diseases of our time. I was quiet then; the seriousness of the problem seeping into me like cold water. Later, we discovered troubling details about what passes for “sex education” in Vietnam. I will be sure to touch on these in another post.
This internship has really increased my awareness of how desperately our young people need the education we campaign for, but my ears are also trained on cries for help far from home. Everyone deserves proper education about sexual health. This is a big challenge, but one we can all relate to and benefit from solving. I’m the ultimate believer in “think global, act local,” and this internship is bringing me closer.

Things I thought after you closed the door or hung up the phone...

2009-07-20T12:50:00.003-04:00

This post comes to us courtesy of Grassroots Organizing Intern, Anna Donohoe. Anna has been doing amazing work all summer: canvassing and phone banking on behalf of statewide sex education and now on health care reform!

When you said “Keep the faith, baby! Don’t let them take your rights away!” you made me examine my assumption that an older man like you would not be supportive. When you rode up to me on your too-large bike and asked “Hey, whatcha doin’?” you re-affirmed the importance of dialogue with everyone, even though you’re only 9 years old. You brightened my mood after an exhausting day of walking when you warned me that so-and-so next door was certainly not supportive, and refilled my bottle with ice-cold water on that 87 degree Friday. When (so proud of your peach-fuzz mustache) you slyly said I should call the number you wrote on my petition, it made me smile for the rest of the day. After you said “Honey, you’ve got the wrong house—we don’t want Planned Parenthood here” I was surprised how pleasantly our conversation ended when I admired the nasturtiums by your porch. Your enthusiasm was contagious when you answered “No, she’s not here... but tell me more, what are you calling about?” and the rest of that phone bank went very well. And I could hardly believe my ears when you tapped me on the shoulder and said “Are you Anna? My wife said I had to get in the car and find you so’s I can sign your petition….”

The Rising Value of Volunteers

2009-06-18T10:14:00.003-04:00

Volunteers are valuable, right? We all know that but volunteers and the organizations they work for don’t often think of their value in dollars. However, a new study by Independent Sector in Washington is doing just that. In an economy where the bottom line means more now than ever, this study may hold the key to garnering volunteers and interns the long awaited recognition they deserve.

The Independent Sector study finds that the average value of a volunteer hour was $20.25 in 2008. This is an astounding 39% increase in 10 years. In 1998, the average value was only $14.56 per hour.

The study further breaks the statistics down by state and territory. The District of Columbia claims the most monetarily valuable volunteers with a worth of $31.55 per hour. In comparison, the biggest bargain for non-profit organizations can be found in Puerto Rico where the volunteer hour is valued at $10.56.

Congratulations to all our volunteers on your "pay raise!" Even in today's economy, volunteering still proves to be the best bang for your buck!

Details of this study can be found at http://www.independentsector.org/programs/research/volunteer_time.html.

Anti-Choice Extremists By the Numbers

2009-06-01T09:19:00.004-04:00

Here at PPWP we have a marketing device called "Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania: By the Numbers". Essentially, it tells the story of what PPWP does every year though numerical data. It is a handy little tool for getting the word out about all of our great services. The content is something like this:

79: Number of years PPWP has provided women, men, and adolescents with the information and services needed to make responsible choice about sex and reproduction.

6: Number of PPWP health centers: downtown Pittsburgh (2), Bridgeville, Moon, Johnstown, and Somerset.

37,500 Number of women, men, and adolescents served by PPWP each year.

12: Number of counties served by PPWP: Allegheny, Beaver, Bedfored, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Somerset, Washington, and Westmoreland.

75%: Percentage of PPWP clients age 20 or older.

17,000: Number of teens, parents, and professionals reached each year by PPWP's responsible sex education programs.

70% Percentage of PPWP health care clients with annual incomes below 150% of the federal Poverty level (an annual income less than $15,600 per single person household).

87%: Percentage of PPWP health care clients that come to us for family planning services.

35,000: Number of visits to our website, http://www.ppwp.org/, each month.

If the Anti-Choice wackos responsible for the murder of Dr. George Tiller this past Sunday morning were to take ownership of all there hard work in the past 30 years(insert sarcastic and disdainful tone), this would be their marketing device. I present to you*:

"Anti-Choice Extremists: By the Numbers"

8: Murders, including Dr. Tiller

17: Attempted Murders

41: Bombings

175: Acts of Arson

96: Attempted Arson or Bombing

390: Invasions

1,400: Acts of Vandalism

1993: Acts of Trespass

100: Butyric Acid Attacks

659: Anthrax Threats

179: Acts of Assault & Battery

406: Death Threats

4: Kidnappings

151: Incidences of Burglary

525: Stalking Cases

You should be ashamed of yourselves.

*and by me, I mean the fine folks at National Abortion Federation.

PPWP Advocates for Equal Access to Contraceptives in Low Income Neighborhoods

2009-05-26T14:08:00.002-04:00

Hooray for Tiffany!

This past Thursday, PPWP was invited to speak at a Cure CVS rally to the need for access to contraceptives for all communities. Cure CVS survey results show that condoms where observed under lock and key in one-fifth of the Pittsburgh area CVS stores visited (6 of 30 stores). These stores are located in areas with the largest proportions of residents of color in the Pittsburgh area. For more information visit the Cure CVS website and WATCH OUR VIDEO!

Planned Parenthood Federation of America's Offical Response to Obama's SCOTUS Nomination

2009-05-26T13:32:00.003-04:00

STATEMENT FROM CECILE RICHARDS, PRESIDENT OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA, ON NOMINATION OF JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT

"This historic nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court sends a strong signal that President Obama understands the importance of ensuring that our Supreme Court justices respect precedent while also protecting our civil liberties.

"Jugde Sotomayor has vast experience in nearly every aspect of the law, having served as a big-city prosecutor and a corporate litigator, a federal trial judge on the U.S. District Court, and an appellate judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. What our nation needs from our Supreme Court justices is a deep understanding of the law, an appreciation of the impact of the court's decisions on everyday Americans, and a commitment to the protection of our individual liberties. Judge Sotomayor will bring this dedication and commitment with her to the bench.

"There is no doubt that Judge Sotomayor's story is an inspiration to all. Her nomination as the first Hispanic woman justice reminds us that, with hard work and commitment, all things are truly possible in America."