NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia

While we’re focused on what’s going on here in Virginia, we can’t forget about the attacks on reproductive choice and health that are continuing to take place in Congress and at the federal level. 

From our colleagues at NARAL Pro-Choice America, we hear about the latest attempt by anti-choice groups to chip away at advances in women’s reproductive healthcare:

When the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) followed medical experts’ advice and announced that newly issued insurance plans must cover all FDA-approved birth-control methods without a copay, it marked one of the greatest improvements to women’s health in a generation.

Unfortunately, anti-contraception forces are trying to chip away at this achievement.

Led by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, these forces have launched a massive campaign to allow employers who oppose contraception to deny their employees a health plan that covers contraception.

Providing insurance coverage that includes birth control without an additional copay is an important preventative and cost-saving way to protect women’s reproductive health and enable them to make personal choices about whether and when to have children.

Ninety-eight percent of American women, of all faiths and backgrounds, will use birth control at some point in their lives. As we know, hormonal birth control can be essential medication not only for enabling women to plan the timing and spacing of their children (which helps improve maternal and child health outcomes), but also for helping women manage other aspects of their reproductive and overall health.

So what if these anti-birth control advocates win? Some women could be denied the benefits of this advance in contraception coverage just because of where they work.

You can help call on the White House today to stand strong with the women of America and make sure birth control coverage without co-pays is available to every woman, regardless of her employer. Take action on the NARAL Pro-Choice America website.

You can also call the White House comment line and give them your input over the phone! Call (202) 456-1111 and say something along the lines of: “I am calling regarding the new policy requiring health-insurance plans to cover birth control without a copay. I am concerned that religious employers may be allowed to opt out of this coverage requirement. I urge the president to ensure that all women have access to contraceptive coverage, regardless of where they work. “

Thank you for taking action!

Yesterday, The Washington Post released their list of endorsed candidates for the Virginia state Senate races.

We were pleased to see that many of The Post’s candidates were also on NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia PAC’s list of endorsed pro-choice candidates:

• Delegate Adam Ebbin- Senate District 30
• Barbara Favola- Senate District 31
• Senator Janet Howell- Senate District 32
• Senator Mark Herring- Senate District 33
• Senator Richard Saslaw- Senate District 35
• Senator Toddy Puller- Senate District 36
• Senator Dave Marsden- Senate District 37
• Senator George Barker- Senate District 39

We are also incredibly pleased to agree with The Post’s endorsement of Shawn Mitchell for a new Senate seat (District 31) in Loudoun County. Not only is Shawn Mitchell 100-percent pro-choice, but he would present an additional, much-needed pro-choice vote in the state Senate – a vote that would help stop the anti-choice agenda of Governor Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.

The November 8 election in Virginia for all 140 General Assembly seats is one of the most important in decades for choice.

Be sure to see NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia PAC’s list of endorsed candidates and get involved in your area!

Paid for by NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. Not authorized by a candidate or candidate campaign.

By Staff

Just over a month away from the November 8 statewide election in Virginia, anti-choice politicians and groups are pulling out all the stops. Their ultimate goal – to take over the General Assembly and pursue an aggressive campaign to undermine women’s health.

In Senate District 17 in Fredericksburg, long-time pro-choice champion Edd Houck is facing anti-choice challenger Bryce Reeves.

Senator Houck, who has served in the state Senate since 1984, is the chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Health – the committee where bills dealing with reproductive choice end up in the Virginia Senate. Senator Houck is 100-percent pro-choice and has stood up to all manner of attacks on women’s health throughout the years.

Unfortunately, anti-choice groups are doing everything they can to unseat this champion for women’s health.

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia and NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia PAC are working tirelessly in the coming weeks to protect and elect politicians that will stand up for women, rather than sacrificing women’s health for politics. For a full list of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia PAC’s endorsed candidates, visit our endorsement page.

Make sure you register to vote or update you registration through the State Board of Elections.

Polls are open from 6 AM to 7 PM across the state on Tuesday, November 8. Be sure to head to the polls and cast your vote for General Assembly members who will stand up for the women of Virginia.

For more information, be sure to visit our Political Updates page.

To get involved in electing pro-choice champions, contact info@naralva.org

Paid for by NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. Not authorized by a candidate or candidate campaign.

Today reminds us just how far we still have to go for women’s equality in the United States.

While we celebrate Women’s Equality Day, women’s equal access to comprehensive health care is in danger.

Late this afternoon, the Virginia Department of Health issued a draft of new regulations on women’s health centers in Virginia.

Be sure to read the Virginia Coalition to Protect Women’s Health’s press release with first reactions to the potentially devastating regulations.

And stay tuned for more updates early next week.

Stay safe this weekend!

We don’t always get to share good news on this blog, but today we have some!

Yesterday, we learned that the Virginia Department of Corrections will issue a ban on the shackling of pregnant inmates in Virginia.

This success for women’s health is due in large part to the consistent efforts of Delegate Patrick Hope, D-Arlington.

So please take a couple of minutes to send a quick note thanking Delegate Hope for standing up for the health of all Virginia women.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                             August 18, 2011

NARAL PRO-CHOICE VIRGINIA LAUDS BAN ON SHACKLING OF PREGNANT INMATES

Virginia Department of Corrections decision supports the health and safety of Virginia women

(Alexandria, Va) - Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, issued the following statement today regarding the Virginia Department of Corrections decision to implement regulations prohibiting the shackling of pregnant inmates:

“At a time when many state elected officials are undermining women’s health in Virginia, we are pleased to see the Department of Corrections being a leader in protecting the health of Virginia women. We applaud the tireless efforts of Delegate Patrick Hope and others in fighting for these changes even after setbacks during this year’s General Assembly session. We also extend our gratitude to Virginia Department of Corrections Director, Harold Clarke, for seeing the value of this important policy. NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia is proud to have been a part of these efforts to expand commonsense health protections for all women of Virginia.”

As we wrote yesterday, women’s health centers in Virginia will soon be subject to new, politically-motivated regulations.

An article in yesterday’s Chesterfield Observer further discussed the upcoming new regulations:

Senate Bill 924 passed the General Assembly earlier this year, requiring all health facilities that perform five or more first trimester abortions per month to meet the same standards as a hospital.

The bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Bob McDonnell as an emergency regulation, will go into effect Dec. 31. Seen by some as a health issue and others as a way to shut down abortion clinics that can’t afford to meet the requirements, the Virginia Department of Health currently is working on preliminary regulations to give to the State Board of Health on Sept. 15.

Anti-choice officials in Virginia have been undermining women’s health in our state for years. Now they’ve chosen to single out doctors who provide abortion for additional regulation, despite the fact first-trimester abortion remains one of the safest in-office medical procedures and despite the strong safety records of women’s health centers in Virginia.

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia’s executive director Tarina Keene cut to the heart of the issue:

“We are appalled at these repeated attacks on women’s health,” stated Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, via email. “Gov. McDonnell and his legislative cohorts have pursued a singleminded agenda to undercut women’s health in our state. There are no legitimate medical purposes for singling out abortion for further regulation. … [The] new regulations have nothing to do with women’s safety and everything to do with a political attempt to restrict access to reproductive healthcare.”

Elected officials and anti-choice groups who have spent years railing against abortion and attempting to impose additional restrictions on reproductive rights in Virginia now claim they are just trying to make abortion – an already-safe procedure – safer!

But we aren’t fooled. We know this is just another tactic in the overall anti-choice strategy of chipping away at reproductive rights and making it as difficult as possible for women to practically access abortion care.

If there was any doubt about their motives, the same article reminds us of the motivations of the groups that supported SB 924 and are now pushing for medically-unnecessary regulations:

“Olivia Gans, a spokesperson for the Virginia Society for Human Life, says the organization hopes the General Assembly will pursue further legislation to prohibit abortions.

We are pleased that the legislature realizes the seriousness of this issue,” Gans said. “As a mother who had an abortion, I’m deeply concerned … with the number of women who have abortions.”

Rather than working to decrease rates of unintended pregnancy – perhaps by pursuing policies that would provide access to affordable birth control, promote comprehensive, medically-accurate sex education or better support women who choose to parent – anti-choice lawmakers are instead seeking to decrease the number of legal abortions by simply keeping women from accessing quality reproductive healthcare.

We have to stand up and let the Board of Health and the governor know we will not stand for new regulations that are focused on a political agenda rather than the health and wellbeing of Virginia women.

Join us as we stand up for women’s health in Virginia:

• Join the over 700 Virginians calling upon Governor McDonnell to approve regulations based in medicine, not in politics
•  “Like” the Virginia Coalition to Protect Women’s Health on Facebook
• Follow @VACoalitionWH on Twitter

As Tarina points out, “If political motives and ideological passions interfere in the regulatory process, then the safety of women’s health may be jeopardized.”

By NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia

Virginia’s Governor McDonnell is moving onto the national stage as the new chair of the Republican Governor’s Association.

According to Politico:

[Texas Governor Rick Perry will] be joined by Virginia’s Bob McDonnell, who will replace him as chairman of the Republican Governors Association — a perch that is all but guaranteed to boost McDonnell’s political fortunes by providing a national platform and access to a fundraising network that would be useful in a future run for higher office.

The article goes on to describe McDonnell as a “pragmatic conservative”:

In his nearly two years in office, the Virginia governor has carefully positioned himself as a pragmatic conservative who is fixated on job creation (not the social issues that were important to his early political rise) and capable of working with Democrats to get big things done.

However, we know that McDonnell is focused on social issues, especially when it comes to attempts to undermine the health of Virginia women.

In March, Governor McDonnell signed SB 924, a bill that classifies women’s health centers in the state as a category of hospitals, making them subject to new regulations created by the Department of Health. These laws, called “TRAP laws” for Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers, single out abortion providers for new, burdensome regulations.

These laws play politics with women’s health and safety.

After Gov. McDonnell signed the bill into law in March, the “emergency” process for new regulations began; a process meant to limit public comment and participation.

These new regulations could have devastating consequences for women throughout Virginia.

The process will move quickly, which is why we are pleased to announce the launch of the sign the petition today to help us keep the pressure on the Governor to support regulations based in medicine, not in politics!

Join the nearly 700 Virginians asking Gov. McDonnell not to play politics with women’s health