What's At Stake in November

In preparation for a training, my fellow organizers and I have been brainstorming all of the reproductive rights issues that are at stake in the upcoming election. As we all know, on the federal level, there is a HUGE difference between Obama (strong women's health advocate) and McCain (Mr. Mc-AntiChoice). There are important issues on the state level as well.

On the federal level:

Title X funding: the nation's family planning program. Title X funds go to safety-net family planning providers that serve low-income women and families. Title X is already severely underfunded and desperately needs an increase in the coming years.

Title V: funding for abstinence-only education programs. The government has already wasted $1.5 billion on Title V, which has been proven ineffective by many, many studies. It is time to put Title V to rest!

Supreme Court justices: the Supreme Court has an immense amount of power, and the president gets to decide who's on it. President Bush has already done enough damage by appointing justices who are dedicated to stripping away women's reproductive rights. We need to make sure McCain doesn't get a chance to continue this trend.

On the state level:

Prevention First: the Michigan legislature has introduced a series of bills that focus on making women's health a priority. These bills are a part of Planned Parenthood's Prevention First! Campaign, and they will ensure:

*access to affordable birth control
*comprehensive, medically-accurate sex education
*timely access to and education about emergency contraception
*insurance coverage of annual pap smear screenings

We need to make sure that Michigan elects pro-choice legislators so that these bills can become a reality. This is vitally important to the health of our communities.

So now that you know what's at stake, make sure your vote in November supports women's health! And don't forget to tell all your friends to do the same!