Government

Will You Have To Ask Your Employer For The "Abortion Rider"?

Published November 17, 2009 @ 03:30PM PT

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) held a press conference yesterday with several of New York City's top women leaders to speak out against the House health care bill's anti-choice Stupak-Pitts amendment.

Powerful women such as Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Gloria Steinem, Speaker of the NY City Council Christine Quinn, President of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards, President of NARAL Pro-Choice NY Kelli Conlin, and many others spoke against the Stupak measure, which is one of the greatest attempts to roll back women's reproductive rights since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973.

For those who are unclear on what the Stupak-Pitts amendment means, basically the measure would prohibit the proposed government-run insurance plan from covering abortions except in cases of rape or incest, or to save the woman's life. It also bars any health plan receiving federal subsidies in a new insurance marketplace from offering abortion coverage; if women wanted to purchase abortion coverage through such plans, they'd have to buy it separately, as a so-called "rider" on their policy.

While this "abortion rider" is being touted as a solution to the prohibitive measures, Sen. Gillibrand said that the rider "is not only discriminatory, but ridiculous. It would require women to essentially plan for an event that occurs in the most unplanned and sometimes emergency situations."

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Friday Femme Fatale: Bishops, Ann Kuster & Global Gag Rule

by Jen Nedeau

category: Government

Published November 13, 2009 @ 09:52PM PT

It is with regret that I must say this is the last Friday Femme Fatale I'll be doing here at Change.org for awhile. We're adding some new voices to the blog in the next few weeks, so hopefully we will be able to cover as much as we do in these weekly wrap up posts all the same. Be on the look out for additional writing from new authors here on the site. I'll still be here as the editor, so don't worry too much.

After this week, there has been a lot of news about the Stupak amendment and what it means, which we have already written about here on Change.org, but below you will find links explaining more about it and other stories you may have missed in the fem-o-sphere:

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Veterans Day: No Longer Just A "Man's Holiday"

by Danine Spencer

category: Government

Published November 11, 2009 @ 12:26PM PT

Today is Veterans' Day in the United States, a day when we pause to recognize those who have served in our nation's armed services. Veterans' Day is traditionally a man's holiday, where we honor the men who have fought and died in our nation's wars. However, the number of female veterans has doubled over the last twenty years, from 4% in 1988 to 8% this year. This number will only continue to grow as our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan continues.

It is important to pay tribute to all veterans, including female veterans. According to the IAVA, more than 212, 000 female service members have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, making up 11% of the force over there. More than 600 have been wounded in the combined wars and more than 120 women have died, including Staff Sgt. Amy C. Tirador of Albany, New York, who died November 4 in Kirkush, Iraq.

While we honor the sacrifices of veterans and their families, this is also an opportunity to examine our national priorities. According to a Congressional Research Service report, we have spent $944 billion on the global war on terror since 2001 (as of the end of FY2009). $683 billion (72%) was spent on Iraq alone.

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Health Care Passed in House, Women Used As Political Poker Chip

by Jen Nedeau

category: Government

Published November 09, 2009 @ 08:22AM PT

I don't know about you, but today I have a health care hangover. After the House of Representatives passed the Affordable Health Care Act this weekend, which include the vitriolic Stupak-Pitts amendment, my emotional and mental well has been completely drained.

While the 220-215 vote cleared the way for the Senate to begin debate on the bill, the battles that occurred on Saturday offered a sobering reality of just how far we have to go before women are considered as more than a political poker chip.

But before I go on about how reproductive choice is seriously threatened by the Stupak-Pitts amendment, let's go over the positive parts of the bill that were passed on Saturday night:

Lower taxes for gay couples who receive health benefits from employers.

Nutrition labeling requirements for snack food sold in vending machines and many restaurants.

A new program to teach parents how to interact with their children.

The House legislation would require most Americans to obtain health insurance or face penalties.

Most employers would have to provide coverage or pay a tax penalty of up to 8 percent of their payroll.

The bill would significantly expand Medicaid and would offer subsidies to help moderate-income people buy insurance from private companies or from a government insurance plan.

It would set up a national insurance exchange where people could shop for coverage.

While these provisions certainly make me happy that we are doing something to reform America's "sickcare" system, I am ultimately disturbed that it was passed at the expense of women's access to reproductive health.

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Update: U.S. Agrees To Negotiate International Arms Trade Treaty

by Jen Nedeau

category: Government

Published October 30, 2009 @ 12:09PM PT

A few weeks ago, I asked the question: Will the Obama Administration Support An International Arms Trade Treaty?

Initially, the answer to this question seemed like "No" given the fact that the U.S. didn't even speak about the ATT during their remarks to the UN General Assembly last month and typically don't express support for international treaties.

However, today at the United Nation, the vast majority of governments - 153 in total - agreed a timetable to establish a "strong and robust" Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) with the "highest common standards" to control international transfers of conventional arms. There is currently no global Treaty on the conventional arms trade. Most of the world's biggest arms traders - including the USA, UK, France and Germany - will now all back the UN process. Nineteen states abstained but are all expected to take part in the process. In the past the United States has explicitly voted "No" when presented with this treaty, but this time around, Zimbabwe was the only State to vote against.

"For too long, governments have let the flow of weapons get out of control causing pain, suffering and death in some of the world's poorest regions. With hundreds of thousands of people dying a year from armed violence, weapons that fall into the hands of criminals and rights abusers destroy communities and livelihoods." said Anna Macdonald of Oxfam International in a press release. "Governments must ensure that negotiations live up to the promise of setting the highest possible standards - this is a life and death situation for thousands of poor people worldwide."

During the debates on the resolution, many countries spoke out and underlined the need for the treaty to be based on international law, including international human rights and humanitarian law. There are estimated to be nearly 650 million small arms in the world today and Oxfam International has reported that 2.1 million people have died as a result of armed violence.

Women, in particular, are disproportionally affected by the arms trade as victims of it's violence. While available data supports the widespread assumption that most direct casualties of gun violence are men, particularly young men, women also suffer from firearms violence indirectly as displaced women and girls are vulnerable to rape and other forms of sexual violence as they flee violent areas, or when they search for firewood and even when they go to the bathroom at night. Also, after a conflict, women become the main breadwinners and primary carers when male relatives are killed, injured or disabled by gun violence. And women, like men, are caught in the crossfire, both in times of war and of peace.

The agreement in the UN today means that the eventual ATT will be negotiated in a series of UN meetings concluding at a UN Conference in 2012.

* The States that abstained were: Bahrain, Belarus, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, UAE, Venezuela and Yemen.

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2009 Female Candidates List

by Jen Nedeau

category: Government

Published October 28, 2009 @ 08:25AM PT

Voting season is upon us! But before you go to the ballot box, make sure to check out the 2009 Endorsed Candidates from the Women's Campaign Forum as well as a few other candidates I have added to the list. A lot of women running for office in New York this year, which is wonderful to see!

Federal Candidates

Martha Coakley: Attorney General Martha Coakley is running for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts in a special election to fill the seat of the late Ted Kennedy. Martha has served Massachusetts as the Attorney General since 2007, and prior to that she was District Attorney of Middlesex County, Massachusetts for eight years. Primary election date: December 8, 2009.

Dede Scozzafava: Representative Dede Scozzafava is running in a special election for Congress in New York's 23rd District. A longtime North Country resident, Dede has nearly two decades of experience in elected office. She has served her area as a New York State Assemblywoman since 1998, and prior to that she spent 4 years as Mayor of her hometown, Gouverneur, and 4 years as a Village Trustee.

Statewide Candidates

Cynthia Neff: Cynthia Neff is running for the Virginia House of Delegates in the 58th District. Cynthia recently retired after 25 years with IBM, where she started in sales and worked her way up to an executive position. She now works as a court-appointed special advocate for abused and endangered children.

Jody Wagner: Jody Wagner is running for Lieutenant Governor in the Commonwealth of Virginia. She was the Commonwealth's first female Secretary of Finance. Additionally, she is a former Vice Chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia.

Stacey Newman: Stacey Newman is running in a special election for State Representative in Missouri's 73rd District, which encompasses part of St. Louis County. Stacey has devoted her career to supporting Missouri Democrats and representing women's voices in the political process. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Harriet's List, a Political Action Committee that supports progressive women running for office in Missouri.

Jeanette Rishell: Jeanette Rishell is running for the Virginia House of Delegates (50th District). After running a formidable, though ultimately unsuccessful campaign for the seat in 2007, Jeanette hopes to use her experience to unseat the current anti-choice incumbent.

Margaret Vanderhye: Representative Margaret Vanderhye is running for reelection to the Virginia House of Delegates (34th District). Margi currently serves on the Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources, and the Committee on Science and Technology.

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Friday Femme Fatale: Mammograms, Pink Taxis & Lap Dances

by Jen Nedeau

category: Government

Published October 23, 2009 @ 02:21PM PT

I don't know about most of you, but I spent a majority of this week battling a terrible cold. No, it wasn't the "Swine Flu" - but hopefully my writing this week hasn't suffered too much under the influence of various cold medications. You'll have to tell me...

Anyways, here's the latest news in the women's rights arena, just in case anyone tells you the "battle of the sexes" is over: