NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia

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!

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

We know that women’s health is in jeopardy across the US and in Virginia. Our state General Assembly, along with Governor Bob McDonnell’s administration and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, are working hard to roll back reproductive rights for the women of Virginia.

Instead of looking forward, we are forced to look back. And when we look back, we see a familiar and unwelcome sight from the past coming back into the picture: former House of Delegates member Dick Black.

As reported in yesterday’s Washington Times:

[Dick] Black, a staunchly conservative former state delegate who notably irked colleagues in 2003 by passing out plastic fetuses before a crucial abortion vote, has moved — again — to run in the Aug. 23 Republican primary race for an open Virginia Senate seat in Prince William and Loudoun counties. […]

After winning a House seat in 1998, Mr. Black unsuccessfully pushed for a measure that would have required doctors to administer anesthesia to fetuses prior to later-term abortions and another that tried to effectively ban gay people from adopting children in Virginia.

He did manage to shepherd through legislation requiring parental consent for abortions performed on minors before he lost his seat to Democrat David E. Poisson in 2005.

Yes, that’s right: Mr. Black is infamous for having once sent plastic fetuses to Virginia lawmakers to show his opposition to abortion. He spent most of his time in office pursuing legislation to limit a woman’s access to comprehensive reproductive health care. From 2003 to 2005 alone, he pursued at least 18 bills limiting reproductive choice including bills granting constitutional rights to fetuses, singling out abortion providers for burdensome new regulations and a bill requiring minors provide parental consent before obtaining abortion care. Unfortunately, that parental consent requirement that significantly restricts the ability of young women to access abortion is now law.

Dick Black and anti-choice politicians like him can do a lot of damage to Virginia women’s health and reproductive rights in the General Assembly. After undermining women’s health this past General Assembly session, anti-choice politicians in Virginia are feeling bold and looking to maintain control of the House of Delegates and take control of the state Senate. If they manage to topple the Senate, women’s health in Virginia could be set back for years or decades to come. Dick Black is just one of dozens of strongly anti-choice candidates running for General Assembly all across Virginia this year, not to mention the many anti-choice incumbents running for re-election.

NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia is fighting back. We’re educating voters about everything that’s at stake in this election and letting them know about candidates’ positions on the full range of issues that encompass reproductive choice.

And most importantly, we’re working to get out the pro-choice vote! Are you ready to vote? The primaries are on Tuesday, August 23^rd, with the general election on Tuesday, November 8^th. Check out the political updates page on our website to get details about when and where to vote, and share that information with your pro-choice friends, family members and neighbors to make sure they’ll be getting out to vote as well! And keep checking back to get the latest news on how you can help protect women’s health during this integral statewide election.

By Autumn Reinhardt Simpson

I really do have to hand it to my husband. He’s suffered through so much just to make me happy. He’s tagged along to death row, opened our house to unknown Japanese protesters and supported me in all my endeavors, however foreign to him. This past weekend found him accompanying me to Germantown, Maryland for the inaugural Summer of Choice hosted by Abortionclinics.org.

Summer of Choice is a direct answer to confrontational anti-abortion rights group Operation Rescue, which has focused on Dr. Le Roy Carhart for its “Summer of Mercy 2.0,” the next generation of mass harassing tactics intended to shut down targeted reproductive health centers for good. Dr. Carhart’s Germantown clinic decided to close for the week, rather than have his patients walk the gauntlet.

Sunday, July 31^st was the Kick-Off Walk, which was attended by approximately 200 supporters of women’s health from across the country. In attendance were students, grandparents, politicians and people of all stripes. My husband, ever the good sport, allowed himself to be slathered in pro-choice and feminist stickers (as well as copious amounts of sunscreen) and took to the streets with us. We walked a route of about one mile around Dr. Carhart’s clinic, waving signs and getting lots of honks and shouts of support. The police presence was strong and very respectful (interesting observation – nearly all the Montgomery County officers I saw during this event were women! Right on, Montgomery County!)

The anti-choice crowd decided to hold their event at 6 PM, long after many of the pro-choice crowd left to attend a poetry reading at a local church. However, there was one anti-choice person in a dark blue shirt sporting the phrase “pro-life” walking along the route, videotaping us and making sarcastic comments. Luckily, this was all we saw of the anti-choice side for that day. But their presence could be felt in other ways. Part of our hot and sticky route took us past a sign for a local “crisis pregnancy center,” a grim irony that was not lost on us. After posing for photos, we quickly moved on, eager for shade and water.

The beauty of an event such as the Kick-Off Walk was that it not only raised money for the Abortion Access Fund, but that it brought many people together who were not aware of the opportunities for action to be found in their own backyards. I met a man from Richmond, VA who was interested in joining my clinic defense team and another walker put the idea in my head to look into training to become a victim’s advocate. For “lone defenders” like myself, such gatherings are as source of knowledge and energy.

The Kick-Off Walk was great and the rest of the week has been filled with activities and chances to show support to Dr. Carhart and other providers. This weekend, others will gather for continued peaceful pro-choice presence. At a time when state legislatures are persistently undermining women’s access to healthcare, it is so important that we stand with the brave providers who face harassment and threats of violence every day. So grab a friend or two and go stand for choice this weekend.

By Brooke

A new article from Jezebel entitled “Shockingly, Free And More Effective Birth Control Leads To Fewer Abortions,” highlights a study that points out an unexpected and unfortunate consequence of the Hyde Amendment.

Because of the Hyde Amendment, Medicaid can provide absolutely no funds to a woman seeking an abortion. According to Dr. Paula Bednarek in an interview with Reuters Health, the Hyde Amendment also blocks qualifying women from receiving any kind of contraceptive – including one of the most effective contraceptives, an IUD – on the same day and in the same place they received their abortion.

While supporters of the Hyde Amendment may claim it is simple enough to just return to an abortion provider a few days later, another study found that after six months, “more than 90 percent of the women who had immediately gotten their IUD were still using it, versus about three quarters who received a delayed insertion.”

Reuters Health reports that women who are given free IUDs immediately after abortions had drastically reduced rates of repeat abortions in the two years following their first procedure. Their chances of ending up at an abortion provider in the next 24 months went down by 64 percent, in large part thanks to the immediate availability of an IUD.

According to Sam Sonfield of the Guttmacher Institute, IUDs and other similar devices “can go a long way to reducing unintended pregnancies, and as a consequence, abortions.”

It is not only safe for a woman to get an IUD immediately after an abortion or miscarriage, Jezebel reports that such a practice could prevent over 70,000 unintended pregnancies per year.

The Hyde Amendment not only impedes access to abortion for women, it also may have an unexpected effect on the rates of unintended pregnancies and abortions.