A viral email of unknown origins has been making the rounds over the past couple of weeks. In it, it states that if you are upset that such an extremist as Sarah Palin has been picked as McCain's running mate, then take action: donate to Planned Parenthood Federation of America! The email lets you know that Planned Parenthood's website has the option of letting you send a thank you note to a person of your choosing, so it asks you to send the cards directly to Palin to let her know that her extremist stances on reproductive health care are prompting others to give money to an organization that supports reproductive justice!
It is important to note that this email did NOT originate with Planned Parenthood. But we are very happy that so many people understand the importance of our services and do not want to see them be taken away by McCain and Palin, who are out-of-touch with the health care needs of American women and families.
To date, Planned Parenthood has received over 30,000 donations, which have totaled over $800,000!!! Amazing. Thank you to everyone who has contributed. We greatly appreciate your efforts.
Make sure to educate everyone you know on McCain and Palin's extreme positions on women's health. And make sure to tell everyone to vote on Nov. 4th so we can celebrate having a pro-choice president: Barack Obama!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Want to make a difference this election?
Hey all you pro-choice/Planned Parenthood supporters!
This past week for us at the office was super busy with prepping for the Michigan March for Choice. It was a huge success and over 200 people came out that day to get a training on lobbying/advocacy, lobby their local representatives, and rally on the Capitol steps. We had some amazing press from the local news outlets and are looking forward to next year when we all can celebrate the nomination of a pro-choice President! (cheers and applause please!)
Check out these links for the news media we received on Wednesday!
http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2008/09/rally_at_state_capitol_backs_womens_health
http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=9071051&nav=menu25_2
We will be rolling out our volunteer engagement calendar in the next week to call on all of you to help in areas across Michigan. We encourage you to volunteer - even just for a few hours - we have a lot of work to do. Who is with us??????
Also, make sure to check out our Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Planned-Parenthood-Advocates-of-Michigan/23115571034,
Our Twitter Page https://twitter.com/mippadvocates,
Our Myspace Page http://www.myspace.com/ppadvocates
Have a wonderful weekend all!
Above are fabulous volunteers from Project TRUST in Battle Creek, John (Field Manager), Megan (Field Organizer), Amber (Field Organizer), Dessa (Senior Field Organizer) and Felix (Project TRUST Mascot)
This past week for us at the office was super busy with prepping for the Michigan March for Choice. It was a huge success and over 200 people came out that day to get a training on lobbying/advocacy, lobby their local representatives, and rally on the Capitol steps. We had some amazing press from the local news outlets and are looking forward to next year when we all can celebrate the nomination of a pro-choice President! (cheers and applause please!)
Check out these links for the news media we received on Wednesday!
http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2008/09/rally_at_state_capitol_backs_womens_health
http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=9071051&nav=menu25_2
We will be rolling out our volunteer engagement calendar in the next week to call on all of you to help in areas across Michigan. We encourage you to volunteer - even just for a few hours - we have a lot of work to do. Who is with us??????
Also, make sure to check out our Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Planned-Parenthood-Advocates-of-Michigan/23115571034,
Our Twitter Page https://twitter.com/mippadvocates,
Our Myspace Page http://www.myspace.com/ppadvocates
Have a wonderful weekend all!
Above are fabulous volunteers from Project TRUST in Battle Creek, John (Field Manager), Megan (Field Organizer), Amber (Field Organizer), Dessa (Senior Field Organizer) and Felix (Project TRUST Mascot)
Friday, September 19, 2008
Press Release from the PP Action Fund About McCain's Health Care Plan
Taken from the PP Action Fund Press Release sent Wednesday September 17, 2008
More than 17 million American women are uninsured. Only one out of every four women says she is very confident that she can afford health care for herself and her family. The numbers don’t lie — this country has a health care crisis.
At Planned Parenthood, we hear from women every day who tell us that they have nowhere else to turn and, too often, “basic care” is reduced to emergency room care. When women aren’t able to get the exams and vaccines they need to prevent cancer, there is more cancer. When women aren’t able to afford their contraception, there is more unintended pregnancy. When women can’t get screenings for sexually transmitted infections, their health and future fertility are jeopardized.
For eight years, more and more of these services have fallen beyond the reach of millions of women. George Bush has looked the other way, patching the problem with ineffective tax cuts to the wealthy. Now, John McCain has offered a health care plan that would do much of the same.
A new study by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the Center for American Progress Action Fund analyzed John McCain’s health care plan, and found that it would be worse for women and could potentially cause millions of women to lose their employer-sponsored health care coverage.
McCain’s plan offers health care tax credits to families with the supposed goal of giving them greater freedom of choice in choosing health plans. In reality, his plan might help insurance companies build their profits, but it isn’t going to help families.
The tax credits are too small to really offset the costs of comprehensive health insurance — for those already uninsured or underinsured, basic care would remain out of reach. But this plan would also destabilize the system of employer-based health coverage that 59 million women count on to cover their families. The Tax Policy Center estimates that his approach would cause 20 million people to lose their employer-sponsored coverage over 10 years.
For the 59 million women whose health is at stake, those just aren’t good odds.
But not only would the plan undermine current health care policies, it would also undermine the laws that protect women’s health in states across the country by allowing insurance companies to cherry pick their state of residence and to sell policies without regard to state insurance rules.
Thirty-one states currently require comprehensive drug benefits to include contraception. Twenty-one states require coverage of maternity care. Twenty-nine states require coverage for cervical cancer screenings. These are protections that every state should provide, but under McCain’s plan, almost no woman could count on having them.
The next president will inherit this health care crisis, and America needs solutions. Senator McCain’s plan isn’t even a good start.
More than 17 million American women are uninsured. Only one out of every four women says she is very confident that she can afford health care for herself and her family. The numbers don’t lie — this country has a health care crisis.
At Planned Parenthood, we hear from women every day who tell us that they have nowhere else to turn and, too often, “basic care” is reduced to emergency room care. When women aren’t able to get the exams and vaccines they need to prevent cancer, there is more cancer. When women aren’t able to afford their contraception, there is more unintended pregnancy. When women can’t get screenings for sexually transmitted infections, their health and future fertility are jeopardized.
For eight years, more and more of these services have fallen beyond the reach of millions of women. George Bush has looked the other way, patching the problem with ineffective tax cuts to the wealthy. Now, John McCain has offered a health care plan that would do much of the same.
A new study by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the Center for American Progress Action Fund analyzed John McCain’s health care plan, and found that it would be worse for women and could potentially cause millions of women to lose their employer-sponsored health care coverage.
McCain’s plan offers health care tax credits to families with the supposed goal of giving them greater freedom of choice in choosing health plans. In reality, his plan might help insurance companies build their profits, but it isn’t going to help families.
The tax credits are too small to really offset the costs of comprehensive health insurance — for those already uninsured or underinsured, basic care would remain out of reach. But this plan would also destabilize the system of employer-based health coverage that 59 million women count on to cover their families. The Tax Policy Center estimates that his approach would cause 20 million people to lose their employer-sponsored coverage over 10 years.
For the 59 million women whose health is at stake, those just aren’t good odds.
But not only would the plan undermine current health care policies, it would also undermine the laws that protect women’s health in states across the country by allowing insurance companies to cherry pick their state of residence and to sell policies without regard to state insurance rules.
Thirty-one states currently require comprehensive drug benefits to include contraception. Twenty-one states require coverage of maternity care. Twenty-nine states require coverage for cervical cancer screenings. These are protections that every state should provide, but under McCain’s plan, almost no woman could count on having them.
The next president will inherit this health care crisis, and America needs solutions. Senator McCain’s plan isn’t even a good start.
Monday, September 15, 2008
McCain Has No Shame
John McCain really stooped low this time. His newest ad is completely deceiving and distorts the facts; it claims that Barack Obama supported "comprehensive sex education" for kindergartners, and that Obama wanted to "teach kids about sex before teaching them how to read." Here's the truth: as a state senator in Illinois, Obama supported a bill that would teach young children how to avoid and prevent sexual abuse (a bill supported by many national medical associations). This is an absolutely necessary thing--who doesn't want children to know how to protect themselves??! But McCain is all about dirty politics and doesn't seem to mind that he is outright lying.
Well, Planned Parenthood minds. And we aren't going to stand for it.
Watch our new ad that calls McCain out for his shameless lies: http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/truthad/wex86dx4p8b878w?qp_source=truthad%5fe1
Now show this to all your friends so everyone knows that McCain is just another politician who will say anything to get elected!
Well, Planned Parenthood minds. And we aren't going to stand for it.
Watch our new ad that calls McCain out for his shameless lies: http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/truthad/wex86dx4p8b878w?qp_source=truthad%5fe1
Now show this to all your friends so everyone knows that McCain is just another politician who will say anything to get elected!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
A Shift in the Issues
Unfortunately, the GOP is up to its old tricks again. Conservatives have managed to take a nation at war, having no guaranteed healthcare, living with a poor educational system and an even weaker economy and shift the attention to pigs and lipstick. I think this is absolutely absurd.
My sincere hope is that Americans are not fooled by this Republican magic-trick. Now you see the real issues, now you don’t! They have not given us any real answers to the problems we face, other than ‘figure it out yourself’. As polls report that women are now shifting from Obama to McCain, I find it necessary to remind you. The McCain/Palin ticket does not stand for women’s rights. The GOP might have never had a woman on its ticket if it wasn’t responding to the pro-woman sentiment resounding in our nation. If you are pro-woman, pro-choice or pro-human rights, you must also be pro-Obama.
My sincere hope is that Americans are not fooled by this Republican magic-trick. Now you see the real issues, now you don’t! They have not given us any real answers to the problems we face, other than ‘figure it out yourself’. As polls report that women are now shifting from Obama to McCain, I find it necessary to remind you. The McCain/Palin ticket does not stand for women’s rights. The GOP might have never had a woman on its ticket if it wasn’t responding to the pro-woman sentiment resounding in our nation. If you are pro-woman, pro-choice or pro-human rights, you must also be pro-Obama.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Our New Detroit Health Center!
I am excited to announce that our Midtown Detroit health center (on Cass and Canfield) is open and we are working from it!
Soon we'll have volunteer nights here and will be set up to do more substantial community outreach because we have a more adequate and workable space from which to do it.
Detroit: Here we come!
I love being in this neighborhood!
Soon we'll have volunteer nights here and will be set up to do more substantial community outreach because we have a more adequate and workable space from which to do it.
Detroit: Here we come!
I love being in this neighborhood!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Register for the Michigan March for Choice!
Want to have fun A LOT of fun while making a difference at the same time? Then you better attend the Michigan March for Choice on September 24th. There will be an advocacy training, lobbying, exciting speakers, and a rally. Come participate to make your voice heard and learn more about how you can influence the upcoming election!
Register here:
http://www.ppaction.org/mppan/events/08marchforchoice/details.tcl
Register here:
http://www.ppaction.org/mppan/events/08marchforchoice/details.tcl
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Resounding Silence
As the Republican National Convention comes to a close, I am thinking about all of the issues that were discussed. I am thinking about the McCain campaign’s references to peace and yet they support the war in Iraq. I am thinking about the references made to the poor “working their way up” and yet poor people were harassed with physical violence while protesting outside the convention center. I am thinking about the opposition to government spending, yet there is no problem with spending billions and billions on the war. I guess spending is only a problem when the money is being used to provide healthcare to America’s disadvantaged children.
In thinking about all the issues, I noticed that there was resounding silence when it came to the issue of women’s rights. I wondered why. Could it be that the speech writers knew this was important to the women of America and they would rather avoid the topic? Why didn’t they come right out and say what their policies would do to American women; how women’s right to make private medical decisions could be taken away; how thousands of women, men, girls and boys would continue to be infected with preventable sexually transmitted diseases because the government refuses to support comprehensive sexuality education?
Those of us who have dedicated our lives to the fight for human rights saw through all of the meaningless rhetoric and we want change. Avoiding women’s rights issues will not make them go away. Ignore them, and you are ignoring millions of American women, women who will not sit silently and let their rights be obliterated. Women matter and oh yes, we vote!
In thinking about all the issues, I noticed that there was resounding silence when it came to the issue of women’s rights. I wondered why. Could it be that the speech writers knew this was important to the women of America and they would rather avoid the topic? Why didn’t they come right out and say what their policies would do to American women; how women’s right to make private medical decisions could be taken away; how thousands of women, men, girls and boys would continue to be infected with preventable sexually transmitted diseases because the government refuses to support comprehensive sexuality education?
Those of us who have dedicated our lives to the fight for human rights saw through all of the meaningless rhetoric and we want change. Avoiding women’s rights issues will not make them go away. Ignore them, and you are ignoring millions of American women, women who will not sit silently and let their rights be obliterated. Women matter and oh yes, we vote!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Pit Bulls with Lipstick?
Last night while my fellow colleagues and I were watching the Republican National Convention - text messaging back and forth about what we thought - we heard some very hurtful attempts to dis-credit all of the hard work us community organizers do. The comment that Palin made “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities” .... Actual responsibilities!!!! Are you kidding me?
Us "community organizers for Planned Parenthood in Michigan" work around the clock to ensure that our under-represented, under-paid, under-served communities have a voice in the legislature and we work to create common-sense public policies and laws towards preventative health care and family planning. Our work helps to improve the quality of life for the women, teens and men we serve.
From working on affordable birth control, to expanding access to family planning services in Michigan,to contraceptive equity legislation, to ensuring Emergency Contraceptive access and availability and fighting for comprehensive, age-appropriate medically accurate sexuality education in the schools is by no means a job with no responsibility.
So much for her comment on her being a pit bull with lipstick... us organizers are a force to be reckoned with... we are foot soldiers in this social movement for change!!!!!!!!!!!!
Us "community organizers for Planned Parenthood in Michigan" work around the clock to ensure that our under-represented, under-paid, under-served communities have a voice in the legislature and we work to create common-sense public policies and laws towards preventative health care and family planning. Our work helps to improve the quality of life for the women, teens and men we serve.
From working on affordable birth control, to expanding access to family planning services in Michigan,to contraceptive equity legislation, to ensuring Emergency Contraceptive access and availability and fighting for comprehensive, age-appropriate medically accurate sexuality education in the schools is by no means a job with no responsibility.
So much for her comment on her being a pit bull with lipstick... us organizers are a force to be reckoned with... we are foot soldiers in this social movement for change!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Make Your Voice Heard: Tell HHS NO to Bush Regulations
The Bush Administration is making a last ditch effort to limit reproductive health care access for American women before their term in office is up.
Here's How:
New rules have been submitted to Health and Human Services (HHS) by the Administration that would change language around reproductive health care access- leaving the door wide open to interpretation in regards to what services women can access. The rules are vague enough that doctors could refuse birth control prescriptions because they equate birth control with abortion!
Bush's HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt wrote that redefining abortion wasn't his "intent" behind the new regulation. Regardless of intent, the regulation certainly could functionally allow the defining of contraceptives as abortion.
Funding for basic family planning services are also at stake with these new rules. Title X, which is our Nation's national family planning program, helps low income women afford reproductive health care services like birth control. This money cannot be used for abortion services. So, what if the case, under these new rules, could be made that birth control is abortion? That would eliminate low income women's access to critical preventative health care.
Before this ruling was official, Planned Parenthood worked with other groups like MoveOn.org and gathered over 325,000 petition signatures against this bogus rule-change in the making and delivered them to the White House.
Now that the rule is official, there is a 30 day comment period in which WE have to let them know that limiting our access to reproductive health care services is NOT OK.
Make your voice heard- send an email to HHS Secretary Leavitt today!
http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/frcp08ppan
Here's How:
New rules have been submitted to Health and Human Services (HHS) by the Administration that would change language around reproductive health care access- leaving the door wide open to interpretation in regards to what services women can access. The rules are vague enough that doctors could refuse birth control prescriptions because they equate birth control with abortion!
Bush's HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt wrote that redefining abortion wasn't his "intent" behind the new regulation. Regardless of intent, the regulation certainly could functionally allow the defining of contraceptives as abortion.
Funding for basic family planning services are also at stake with these new rules. Title X, which is our Nation's national family planning program, helps low income women afford reproductive health care services like birth control. This money cannot be used for abortion services. So, what if the case, under these new rules, could be made that birth control is abortion? That would eliminate low income women's access to critical preventative health care.
Before this ruling was official, Planned Parenthood worked with other groups like MoveOn.org and gathered over 325,000 petition signatures against this bogus rule-change in the making and delivered them to the White House.
Now that the rule is official, there is a 30 day comment period in which WE have to let them know that limiting our access to reproductive health care services is NOT OK.
Make your voice heard- send an email to HHS Secretary Leavitt today!
http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/frcp08ppan
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