Gender: Female
Status: Single
Age: 35
Sign: Aquarius
State: SOUTH DAKOTA
Country: US
Signup Date:
05/12/06
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Wednesday, November 08, 2006
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Victory
A Victory for Women and Families --> -->
Wed, 11/08/2006 - 10:27am
Yesterday was a day of many victories for women and families.
For the first time in 12 long years, the leadership of the House of Representatives is finally out of the hands of anti-choice politicians. And the stunning victory in South Dakota, where voters rejected a dangerous abortion ban, showed the power of a strong, affirmative, pro-prevention message.
As you well know, the action didn't stop on Election Day.
In fact, this morning we stand before the U.S. Supreme Court in Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood to present our challenge to the dangerous federal abortion ban. We will ask the court to strike down a law that would take personal, moral decision making away from women and families and put it in the hands of politicians. Perhaps even more than yesterday's elections, the court's decision in this case will help shape the future of reproductive freedom.
Read more here:
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061108/NEWS/611080338
3:55 PM
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Thursday, November 02, 2006
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Tuesday, October 31, 2006
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Be the first to know the results from South Dakota!
Stand Up for South Dakota!
On November 7, South Dakota voters have the chance to overturn the abortion ban. You can be one of the first to know! Join our Action Network and we will send an alert to your cell phone when the results of the South Dakota ballot initiative are announced. Just text "PP" to #75528.
9:00 AM
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Wednesday, October 04, 2006
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Protest at the Supreme Court
This morning, dozens of dedicated Planned Parenthood activists protested at the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court's new term began on Monday, and on November 8, it will hear Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood, a case challenging the federal abortion ban. The ban, passed by Congress and signed by President Bush in 2003, would outlaw abortions as early as 12 to 15 weeks in pregnancy that doctors say are safe and the best to protect women's health.
Check out photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emilyppfa/sets/72157594310977776/
9:45 AM
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Wednesday, September 13, 2006
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Planned Parenthood Health Education with JANE Magazine
Planned Parenthood Health Education with JANE Magazine
Vanessa Cullins, MD, Planned Parenthood Vice President of Medical Affairs Hosts Online Chat for Womens Health
Thursday evening, September 14, 2006, Dr. Vanessa Cullins of vice president for medical affairs for Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) will answer sexual health questions in an online chat hosted by JANE magazine. The chat follows the September issues health article, The Real Facts about STDs, an article educating JANE readers about common sexually transmitted infections.
WHO: Vanessa Cullins, MD
WHAT: Dr. Cullins answers reader questions about sexually transmitted infections and other sexual health concerns.
WHEN: Thursday, September 14, 2006
6:00-8:00 pm EST
WHERE: www.janemag.com
WHY: Knowledge and awareness about reproductive health are the best way to protect your health and prevent sexually transmitted infections.
Media Queries:
Dr. Cullins has been interviewed on wide range of sexual health topics by such notable media outlets as the Washington Post, Womans Health Magazine, JET magazine, and MTV News. For more information on Dr. Cullins and Planned Parenthood, please visit www.plannedparenthood.org
2:12 PM
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Thursday, September 07, 2006
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Party with Planned Parenthood! Host a House Party!
Current mood:  excited
South Dakota voters have a real chance this November to end the nightmare that is the state abortion ban, so we're doing everything we can to help! We're looking for folks to host a "Potluck for South Dakota" anytime during the weekend of September 29, 30, and October 1.
The first 15 hosts to sign up will get a FREE potluck T-shirt, and the potluck host to raise the most money for South Dakota will WIN a trip to NYC!
Across America on the weekend of September 29-October 1, people like you will be getting together and serving up burgers, bean dip, and brownies to show anti-choice hardliners that we can dish it out not just take it.
The best part about hosting a potluck? You don't have to cook!
Hosting is really easy and it's fun. As soon as you sign up, you can check out a Host Kit full of tips on how to make your potluck a huge success. We'll also make you a personalized Web page where you can send invitations and friends can RSVP. You can choose to make your potluck private, or invite other Planned Parenthood activists in your area to "Meet Up, Eat Up & Turn the Heat Up."
Log-on to StandupSD.com/potlucks to sign-up!
Every penny raised by the potlucks will go directly to on-the-ground efforts in South Dakota to defend the state against the abortion ban.
Cash is flowing into our opposition's pockets from ultraconservatives all over the country. We need all hands on deck.
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Currently
listening
:
House Party 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
By
Various Artists
Release date: 15 October, 1991
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12:06 AM
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Thursday, August 24, 2006
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FDA Approves Emergency Contraception with Age Restrictions
Current mood:  accomplished
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Planned Parenthood Hails Expansion of Plan B Access, But Cites Concerns about Teen Pregnancy
New York Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) today hailed the decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve over-the-counter status for Plan B emergency contraception (EC) for women 18 and older. However, PPFA, the nation's leading sexual health care advocate and provider, expressed dismay at the scientifically baseless restrictions that deny teenagers over-the-counter access to the safe, effective method of backup birth control.
PPFA President Cecile Richards issued the following statement in response to the decision:
"Today's announcement is an important victory and long overdue. Women need timely access to backup birth control last year alone, Planned Parenthood provided more than one million women with emergency contraception to prevent unintended pregnancy. We hope the FDA decision will go a long way toward improving the health of adult women.
"While we are glad to know the FDA finally ended its foot-dragging on this issue, Planned Parenthood is troubled by the scientifically baseless restriction imposed on teenagers. The U.S. has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the western world anything that makes it harder for teenagers to avoid unintended pregnancy is bad medicine and bad public policy."
Research shows that over-the-counter access to emergency contraception does not increase or encourage sexual activity among teens, and better access to proven prevention methods like accurate sex education and emergency birth control are the best ways to reduce the alarming rate of teen pregnancy in this country. Planned Parenthood will continue to do all it can to educate women of all ages about EC and help them access emergency contraception.
EC lowers the risk of pregnancy when started within 120 hours of unprotected intercourse. Experts estimate that wide access to EC could prevent up to 1.5 million unintended pregnancies and 800,000 abortions a year. The sooner EC is administered after unprotected intercourse, the better it works, making timely access critically important. Studies show that women do not use EC as a regular method of birth control.
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8:10 AM
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Wednesday, August 09, 2006
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Planned Parenthood Wins in Missouri
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood and dismissed an effort to require Planned Parenthood to pay back state family planning funds received under contract with the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) in 2000 and 2003. A previous lawsuit challenging Planned Parenthoods participation in the state program was thrown out by the Court in 2002. In its ruling, the Missouri Supreme Court made clear that Planned Parenthood had taken numerous steps to comply with the requirements for participating in the family planning program, had provided all of the family planning services under its contracts, and that there was no fraud or bad faith.
9:20 AM
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Monday, July 31, 2006
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New Info on the FDA and EC!
Current mood:  hopeful
FDA May Move on Plan B
This morning, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified Barr Laboratories Inc., manufacturer of Plan B emergency contraception (EC), that it wanted to meet within seven days to discuss new steps the company must take to make Plan B available without a prescription to some women. The announcement comes one day before President Bush's nominee to lead the FDA, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, is scheduled to appear before a Senate committee, where he is expected to face tough questions on why a decision has not yet been made to make Plan B available without a prescription.
Here is the full story:
FDA Weighs Over-The-Counter Plan B Sales
By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press
WASHINGTON The government is considering allowing over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill to women 18 and older. The surprise move Monday revives efforts to widen access to the emergency contraceptive almost a year after it was thought doomed.
The Food and Drug Administration notified manufacturer Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. early Monday that it wanted to meet within seven days to iron out new steps the company must take in its three-year battle to sell the pill, called Plan B, without a prescription to at least some women.
"We think this is a positive development. We will see how the meeting goes and move forward from there," company spokeswoman Carol Cox said.
Cox could not predict how quickly the company could amend its FDA application, which already includes a plan to restrict distribution of the pills. The FDA said a final decision could be reached within weeks, if talks with Barr go well.
The announcement came just 24 hours before President Bush's nominee to lead the regulatory agency, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, was scheduled to appear before a Senate committee, where he was expected to face grilling on why the morning-after pill had apparently gone into bureaucratic limbo.
The morning-after pill is a high dose of regular birth control that, taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, can lower the risk of pregnancy by up to 89 percent.
Contraceptive advocates and doctors groups say easier access to a pill now available by prescription only could halve the nation's 3 million annual unintended pregnancies, and FDA's own scientists say the pills are safe. In December 2003, the agency's independent scientific advisers overwhelmingly backed nonprescription sales for all ages.
But FDA rejected that recommendation, citing concern about young teens' use of the pills without a doctor's guidance. Barr reapplied, asking that women 16 and older be allowed to buy Plan B without a prescription and setting up a program for pharmacists to enforce the age rule _ just as they now enforce age restrictions on cigarette sales.
But last August, FDA's then-chief postponed a decision indefinitely, saying the agency needed to determine how to enforce those age restrictions _ something that it said would require the formality of writing new regulations.
Monday, the FDA reversed itself, saying that it had reviewed about 47,000 comments from the public, with an overwhelming majority supporting the view that the drug could be sold both as a prescription and nonprescription product.
"It is not necessary to engage in rulemaking," von Eschenbach wrote the company Monday.
To try again, Barr must re-file its application with some changes:
_Barr must agree to sell nonprescription to women 18 and older, not 16 as the company had earlier sought. That's because it conforms with current age restrictions on tobacco products, and thus would simplify pharmacists' enforcement.
_Both the nonprescription and prescription versions of the pill would be kept behind the pharmacists' counter. But FDA wants Barr to sell the nonprescription version in completely different packaging to help distinguish the two.
_Barr must provide details on how the program will enforce the age restriction. If that's not rigorous enough, Plan B will remain prescription for everyone, FDA warned.
"We already said that we would only sell to pharmacies _ to places where there was a pharmacist, not to convenience stores," Cox said.
Asked why the FDA was moving forward now, 11 months after delaying a decision, FDA spokeswoman Susan Bro said von Eschenbach wanted to spend Tuesday's hearing less on this contentious issue and more on his own plans for the agency if confirmed as its chief.
"He knew it was critical that he be able to provide tomorrow a thoughtful approach to resolving what has been one of the most divisive issues the agency has faced in order for him to present his broad and ambitious vision for the FDA," Bro said.
Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y, vowed to continue holding up von Eschenbach's confirmation as commissioner until the agency makes a final decision, Murray spokeswoman Alex Glass said. The two had previously allowed von Eschenbach's predecessor, Lester Crawford, to be confirmed after receiving a pledge the FDA would act on the issue. Crawford resigned shortly after delaying a decision.
"Fool us once: We're not lifting this hold until a decision is made," Glass said.
If a woman already is pregnant, the pills have no effect. They prevent ovulation or fertilization of an egg. They also may prevent the egg from implanting into the uterus, considered the medical definition of pregnancy, although recent research suggests that's not likely.
Laws in eight states already allow women to buy Plan B from certain pharmacies without a prescription, with no age restrictions.
9:16 AM
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Thursday, July 13, 2006
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Nine Reasons Why Abortions Are Legal
Please re-post this!
Nine Reasons Why Abortions Are Legal
Abortion is never an easy decision, but women have been making that choice for thousands of years, for many good reasons. Whenever a society has sought to outlaw abortions, it has only driven them into back alleys where they became dangerous, expensive, and humiliating. Amazingly, this was the case in the United States until 1973, when abortion was legalized nationwide. Thousands of American women died.
Thousands more were maimed. For this reason and others, women and men fought for and achieved women's legal right to make their own decisions about abortion.
However, there are people in our society who still won't accept this. Some argue that even survivors of rape or incest should be forced to continue their pregnancies. And now, having failed to convince the public or the lawmakers, certain of these people have become violent extremists, engaging in a campaign of intimidation and terror aimed at women seeking abortions and health professionals who work at reproductive health clinics.
Some say these acts will stop abortions, but that is ridiculous. When the smoke clears, the same urgent reasons will exist for safe, legal abortions as have always existed. No nation committed to individual liberty could seriously consider returning to the days of back-alley abortions to the revolting specter of a government forcing women to bear children against their will. Still, amid such attacks, it is worthwhile to repeat a few of the reasons why our society trusts each woman to make the abortion decision herself.
1. Laws against abortion kill women
To prohibit abortions does not stop them. When women feel it is absolutely necessary, they will choose to have abortions, even in secret, without medical care, in dangerous circumstances. In the two decades before abortion was legal in the U.S., it's been estimated that nearly a million women per year sought out illegal abortions. Thousands died. Tens of thousands were mutilated. All were forced to behave as if they were criminals.
2. Legal abortions protect women's health
Legal abortion not only protects women's lives, it also protects their health. For tens of thousands of women with heart disease, kidney disease, severe hypertension, sickle-cell anemia and severe diabetes, and other illnesses that can be life-threatening, the availability of legal abortion has helped avert serious medical complications that could have resulted from childbirth. Before legal abortion, such women's choices were limited to dangerous illegal abortion or dangerous childbirth.
3. A woman is more than a fetus
Some people argue these days that a fetus is a "person" that is "indistinguishable from the rest of us" and that it deserves rights equal to women's. On this question there is a tremendous spectrum of religious, philosophical, scientific, and medical opinion. It's been argued for centuries. Fortunately, our society has recognized that each woman must be able to make this decision, based on her own conscience. To impose a law defining a fetus as a "person," granting it rights equal to or superior to a woman's a thinking, feeling, conscious human being is arrogant and absurd. It only serves to diminish women.
4. Being a mother is just one option for women
Many hard battles have been fought to win political and economic equality for women. These gains will not be worth much if reproductive choice is denied. To be able to choose a safe, legal abortion makes many other options possible. Otherwise an accident or a rape can end a woman's economic and personal freedom.
5. Outlawing abortion is discriminatory
Anti-abortion laws discriminate against low-income women, who are driven to dangerous self-induced or back-alley abortions. That is all they can afford. But the rich can travel wherever necessary to obtain a safe abortion.
6. Compulsory pregnancy laws are incompatible with a free society
If there is any matter that is personal and private, then pregnancy is it. There can be no more extreme invasion of privacy than requiring a woman to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. If government is permitted to compel a woman to bear a child, where will government stop? The concept is morally repugnant. It violates traditional American ideas of individual rights and freedoms.
7. Outlaw abortion, and more children will bear children
Forty percent of 14-year-old girls will become pregnant before they turn 20. This could happen to your daughter or someone else close to you. Here are the critical questions: Should the penalty for lack of knowledge or even for a moment's carelessness be enforced pregnancy and childrearing? Or dangerous illegal abortion? Should we consign a teenager to a life sentence of joblessness, hopelessness, and dependency?
8. "Every child a wanted child"
If women are forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term, the result is unwanted children. Everyone knows they are among society's most tragic cases, often uncared-for, unloved, brutalized, and abandoned. When they grow up, these children are often seriously disadvantaged, and sometimes inclined toward brutal behavior to others. This is not good for children, for families, or for the country. Children need love and families who want and will care for them.
9. Choice is good for families
Even when precautions are taken, accidents can and do happen. For some families, this is not a problem. But for others, such an event can be catastrophic. An unintended pregnancy can increase tensions, disrupt stability, and push people below the line of economic survival. Family planning is the answer. All options must be open.
At the most basic level, the abortion issue is not really about abortion. It is about the value of women in society. Should women make their own decisions about family, career, and how to live their lives? Or should government do that for them? Do women have the option of deciding when or whether to have children? Or is that a government decision?
The anti-abortion leaders really have a larger purpose. They oppose most ideas and programs that can help women achieve equality and freedom. They also oppose programs that protect the health and well-being of women and their children.
Anti-abortion leaders claim to act "in defense of life." If so, why have they worked to destroy programs that serve life, including prenatal care and nutrition programs for dependent pregnant women? Is this respect for life?
Anti-abortion leaders also say they are trying to save children, but they have fought against health and nutrition programs for children once they are born. The anti-abortion groups seem to believe life begins at conception, but it ends at birth. Is this respect for life?
Then there are programs that diminish the number of unwanted pregnancies before they occur: family planning counseling, sex education, and contraception for those who wish it. Anti-abortion leaders oppose those, too. And clinics providing such services have been bombed. Is this respect for life?
Such stances reveal the ultimate cynicism of the compulsory pregnancy movement. "Life" is not what they're fighting for. What they want is a return to the days when a woman had few choices in controlling her future. They think that the abortion option gives too much freedom. That even contraception is too liberating. That women cannot be trusted to make their own decisions.
Americans today don't accept that. Women can now select their own paths in society, including when and whether to have children. Family planning, contraception, and, if need be, legal abortion are critical to sustaining women's freedom. There is no going back.
If you agree with this, you can help. Circulate this statement among your friends, and support our work by contacting your local Planned Parenthood affiliate. Thank you.
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/pp2/portal/files/portal/medicalinfo/abortion/pub-abortion-legal.xml
8:11 AM
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