Miscarriage = Criminal Homicide?

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

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!

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

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!

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?

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!

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

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.

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.
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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?

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.