Please contact your Representative and insist that they support H.R. 2527, the bipartisan Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act.
Contact Info for area NC Representatives:
David Price
Washington Office
2162 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-1784
Fax: 202-225-2014
Raleigh Office
5400 Trinity Road, Suite 205
Raleigh, NC 27607
Phone: 919-859-5999
Brad Miller
WASHINGTON DC OFFICE
1505 Longworth Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-3032 office
(202) 225-0181 fax
(877) BRAD HELPS
(877) 272-3435
Raleigh Office
100 East Six Forks Road, Suite 309
Raleigh, NC 27609
(919) 781-9101 office
Fax: 919-859-5998
Bob Etheridge
1533 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4531
Fax: (202) 225-5662
Raleigh District Office
225 Hillsborough Street
Suite 490
Raleigh, NC 27603
Phone: (919) 829-9122 or
North Carolina Toll Free Number: 1-888-262-6202 (BOB-NC02)
Fax: (919) 829-9883
Sample Letter:
Please add your name to the list of sponsors of H.R. 2527, the bipartisan bill that will ensure that hospital emergency rooms offer emergency contraception to survivors of rape and sexual assault as a routine part of their emergency medical treatment.
The Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act, introduced this June by Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.) and Rep. Jim Greenwood (R-Pa.), will assist tens of thousands of girls and women who seek medical treatment. Your co-sponsorship will help promote and pass a bill that will provide full health care options to rape victims and allow them to move on with their lives without fear of a pregnancy brought on by sexual assault. This issue is critical and necessary in light of the fact that more than 32,000 women in the U.S. become pregnant each year as a result of rape and incest.
H.R. 2527 addresses the medical needs of victims of violent crimes by ensuring that rape survivors receive every possible medical resource in their time of need. Many women are not able to select the hospital where they must seek treatment. Emergency contraception is not abortion, it is simply a large dose of birth control pills that prevents implantation in order to avoid pregnancy.
Everyone who is dedicated to preventing violence against women and providing humane and comprehensive health care to the victims should support this bill. Please add your name to H.R. 2527 and ask your fellow House members to support this legislation. To sponsor this bill, please contact Rep. Greenwood (202-225-4276) or Rep. Rothman, (202-225-5061).
Thank you for standing up against domestic and sexual violence and fighting for the needs of girls and women on such an important issue.
Background Info:
The Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act, coined the "CARE" Act, was introduced in June by Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.) and Rep. Jim Greenwood (R-Pa.). H.R. 2527 would ensure that hospital emergency rooms offer emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault, just as they patch up broken bones, stitch wounds and offer antibiotics for infections and sexually transmitted diseases.
We know that rape and sexual assault statistics are understated because many of these crimes go unreported. Records from confidential interviews of women 12 and over show that almost 249,000 women were raped or sexually assaulted in 2000. An estimated one in six women will be a victim of rape in her lifetime and more than 32,000 women become pregnant annually as a result of rape and sexual assault, yet few women know about emergency contraception.
Offering information and access to emergency contraception within 48-72 hours of a sexual assault could prevent unwanted pregnancies and abortions. The option to use emergency contraception after an emergency room visit could be a life-saver for tens of thousands of sexual assault survivors.
The American Medical Association's official policy stipulates that "information about emergency contraception is part of the comprehensive information to be provided as part of the emergency treatment of sexual assault victims." However, a recent study found that only 28 percent of the hospitals surveyed routinely offer and provide emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault. The problem of availability of emergency contraception is made even more difficult by a recent wave of hospital closings and mergers, where private and community hospitals are being taken over by religious-based owners who are opposed to including birth control and emergency contraception in their treatment regimen.
Every member of Congress, especially those who say they care about stopping violence against girls and women and helping victims of rape and sexual assault, should support this legislation. Providing emergency contraception is not the same as performing an abortion.
If you need additional information about emergency contraception, NARAL has a fact sheet and model state legislation on this issue. Additionally, please feel free to contact the Washington D.C. offices of the bill's sponsors:
Rep. Steve Rothman (D-N.J.) - staff contact: Jean Doyle, 202-225-5061
Rep. Jim Greenwood (R-Pa.) - staff contact: Laura Stevens, 202-225-4276
Rally with NOW and Other Civil Rights Organizations
in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 23
Ellen Wills, NC NOW President, will be attending this rally on Saturday. If you'd like to travel with her please call 919-833-2094.
Action Needed:
Please join us and tens of thousands of other activists who will travel to the nation's capital from around the country to join an Aug. 23 rally marking the 40th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historic "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
The weekend activities are listed below. These events, co-sponsored by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the NAACP, the National Organization for Women (NOW), the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) and many other organizations, will create a forum to protest the Bush administration's attacks on women's rights, civil liberties and affirmative action and kick off a campaign to register millions of voters before the 2004 elections.
Friday, Aug. 22
7:30 p.m. — Prayer Vigil at Lincoln Memorial
9:00 p.m. — Spoken Word on Washington (Open Mic Poetry)
at Lincoln Memorial
Saturday, Aug. 23
11 a.m.-1 p.m. — Session I - Workshop Teach-In
1-3 p.m. — Session II - Workshop Teach-In
Location: Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
3:30-5:30 p.m. — Mass Rally at Lincoln Memorial
Background:
At a June news conference, the event's organizers said the time has come for a major demonstration. "Our country is in dark times," said Southern Christian Leadership Conference President Martin Luther King III, son of the slain civil rights leader. "Poverty has grown, we know. Racism is still in our midst ... and militarism is the order of the day."
Civil rights advocates spoke about the need for activists to gather in record numbers. "We have to fight for our rights," NOW President Kim Gandy said. "No one is going to give them to us."
In addition, activists from the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign—a national effort led by poor and homeless women, men and children of all races to raise the issue of poverty as a human rights violation—have been marching in a caravan covering more than 800 miles, with Washington as the final destination on Aug. 23. You can join them in Washington on Aug. 23 at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington Cemetery and march with them across the Key Bridge at 10 a.m.
Hello,
Our August/September newsletter is complete and wonderful!
Often we have to edit lengthly articles to fit into the newsletter, but I'm pleased to have this opportunity to post these informative full-text articles:
Support and Enjoy Women’s Sports
Safe Abortion Procedures Ban Bill
Joy Johnson's Pre-War Visit to Iraq
Enjoy,
Robin
Support and Enjoy Women’s Sports
Our “Feminist Friday” June event was a Carolina Courage soccer game in Cary. We all loved it, including my 4 year old daughter. The level of play was impressive, and we were very lucky to see soccer star Mia Hamm, playing on the visiting team.
After the game, the team stayed and signed autographs for small (and large!) kids. Autograph Alley, as they call it, is a regular feature at the Courage games! We had a great time, and enjoyed the opportunity to support women in sports.
Unfortunately, just as women are gaining ground in amateur and professional sports, a collection of coaches, athletes, celebrities, and politicians are all taking aim at Title IX, the law that struck down sexual discrimination in education, as well as in collegiate athletics.
There are many articles on the subject of Title IX on NOW’s web site. Please take a look – this fight affects our future and the future of our children. Go to www.now.org, click on the Issues tab at the top, and select Title IX.
According to study by the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education, "Title IX at 30," the purpose of the law isn't to build professional athletes. "The quest for equal opportunity in sports has always been about the physiological, sociological, and psychological benefits of sports and physical activity participation," the group wrote. "Olympic medals and professional sports contracts are not what Title IX is all about."
-Gailya Paliga and Kathy Ruffner-Linn
Safe Abortion Procedures Ban Bill
On May 30th, 2003, National NOW sent emails to activists about the Safe Abortion Procedures Ban Bill, HR 760. This bill, sponsored by an arch-abortion rights opponent, Rep Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), would ban most abortion procedures performed at any time during pregnancy, not just abortions performed in the third trimester. On June 4, 2003, the House of Representatives passed the Safe Abortion Procedures Ban; the bill now moves to a House-Senate conference to work out the differences between HR 760 and S 3. The Senate had passed its version of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban, tracked as bill S3, in March 2003. It is widely expected that the major difference between the two bills, Senator Harkin's non-binding resolution affirming support for the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, will be removed during the conference process.
This and many other issues require quick responses from pro-choice constituents. Please hook in and help.
What You Need to Know about the Partial Birth Abortion Ban
"Partial birth abortion" is a non-medical term that abortion foes claim refers to a particular abortion procedure known as intact dilatation and extraction (intact D&X, or D&X), a rare variant of a more common midterm abortion procedure know as dilatation and evacuation (D&E).
The bill that passed the House in June 2003 is so broadly worded that, like many of the bans that have been struck down throughout the country, it makes it a crime for doctors to perform the safest and most common abortion procedures used after the first trimester. Likewise, it fails to include an exception that would allow these procedures when the health of the woman is endangered. House members rejected by a vote of 256 to 165 an amendment that would have added a health exception to the ban. Because bill H.R. 760 does not limit the abortion ban to procedures conducted after the fetus is viable, the ban could apply to abortions performed any time after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
The ban would be one of the most significant restrictions on abortion since the 1973 Roe V. Wade Supreme Court decision recognizing abortion rights. Many organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the American Medical Association and the American Medical Women's Association continue to oppose state or federal legislation known as so-called "partial birth abortion" bans.
President Bush has made it clear that he will sign the bill into law. Bush had urged Congress in his State of the Union address in January to give him a bill he could sign.
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU, said the House measure is effectively no different from a Nebraska law invalidated by the United States Supreme Court just three years ago. In that case, the Court struck down Nebraska’s ban because it was written so broadly that it criminalized a range of abortion procedures, including the procedure used to perform the overwhelming majority of abortions after the first trimester, and because it failed to include a health exception.
In addition to Nebraska, 30 other states have tried, since 1995, to enact similar bans. In every state where the bans have been challenged, the courts have declared the laws unconstitutional and blocked enforcement.
Under this legislation, doctors could face criminal penalties for doing what their experience and professional training tells them is best for their patients. Health care providers should not have to choose between exercising their best medical judgment and going to jail. Because physicians would face a stiff fine and jail sentence, some (and perhaps many) physicians will simply stop performing abortions.
Politicians who are not trained in medicine and who cannot possibly know or understand the intricacies of each individual situation have no place interfering with the doctor/patient relationship.
"This legislation has nothing to do with the best interests of medicine or women's health. In fact, this ban does not even include a constitutionally required exception to preserve the health of the woman," Kim Gandy, President of NOW, said.
The essay at www.religioustolerance.org/abo_pba1.htm is very informative and includes how many pregnancies end as well as specifics about the D&X procedure.
www.now.com has many articles on the ‘Partial-birth Abortion’ ban and issues.
A women’s enews article at http://www.now.org/eNews/april2001/040201partialbirth.html is particularly relevant.
Joy Johnson's Pre-War Visit to Iraq
Raleigh NOW Presents…Our new meeting format, Presentations in addition to Business, has been a success. We’ve heard interesting talks and had some interesting discussions among ourselves!
At the July meeting, Joy Johnson told us all about her visit to Iraq with the Iraq Peace Team (IPT). Joy went to Iraq for 2 weeks, before the U.S. attacked. Their mission is to witness, understand and expose the situations of the civilian population of Iraq and highlight the importance of facilities that are critical to daily life. Her group of 10 people met with people from Unicef, the United Nations, and the Dean of an Iraqi medical school, among others. Joy said that the group found the Iraqi people very hospitable.
She told us something about the history of Iraq, the humanitarian effects of the sanctions that were imposed during the Gulf War and legacy of war-related problems that continue today. She brought an album full of pictures of her experience.
Before the Gulf War, Iraq had the best education system and healthcare of all of the Arab Countries the Middle East. [Editor note: It was the best of all of the Arab Countries in the Middle East and possibly of all of the Muslim countries, according to a friend of mine who is a professor of the Middle East History]. Women held positions of power and respect. Since the Gulf War, there are major health problems that were not seen on this scale before the war. The leukemia rate in children has increased by 300%. There are many birth defects. Many men were made sterile.
The problems are made worse because many medicines are not allowed in Iraq due to sanctions imposed on Iraq during the Gulf War in 1991. Malnutrition and anemia are rampant. Joy said that sanctions are against any items that could be used put to military as well as civilian uses, including blood clotting medicines, vaccines and cancer treatment drugs. The cancer, birth defects and sterility are blamed on the depleted uranium and chemical stew left over from the uranium used to reinforce the metal in the missiles to allow them to pierce buildings. Joy also touched on the history of the U.S. government’s role in Iraq.
Joy said she liked the Iraqis and would return if it were possible. She worries about the fate of the people she met there.
It was a very interesting report and it inspired this author to dig deeper into the history of Iraq. The most informative article about the situation of women in Iraq is at http://www.iacenter.org/iraq_women.htm.
Please join us at the August 5 meeting when the topic will be facts about partial birth abortions.
-Gailya Paliga and Kathy Ruffner-Linn
Our topic of discussion following our short meeting will be on the partial birth abortion controversy, presented by our own Gailya Paliga. She will go into more depth regarding the article in the latest Raleigh NOW Newsletter.
Join us this Tuesday, August 5th at 7:00pm at the YWCA on Oberlin Road in Raleigh.