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Published on Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-r-shaffer/celebrating-womens-day-wi_b_4921250.html Silence equals death.
California AIDS activists taught the world the power of
plain and direct talk about gender bias and sexuality to save lives.
The ability to control whether and when
to have a child is key to the physical, social and economic health of women
and families, and access to legal, safe and affordable birth control and
abortion are essential to guarantee that ability.
Currently, a barrage of extreme and
punitive laws restricting these rights are streaming out of state
legislatures and the House of Representatives. These shockingly
offensive departures from American mainstream values demand bolder leadership
by our elected officials. Concerted organizing by pro-rights advocates is
needed to engage and mobilize the majority of the American public appalled
by these assaults but stunned into silence. Politics
as usual and polling are not turning the tide.
Draconian restrictions on facilities that provide
abortions in Texas have reduced their number from 44 in 2011 to 24
today. The
number is expected to drop to 6 by September. Reports are already
surfacing from Texas of women returning to desperate - and deadly - measures
of self-abortions, like coat hangers and bleach.
Part of the problem is that the health
consequences of the attacks are graphically real but have been surgically
isolated to the most vulnerable in our society, by income, race and
education. Unintended pregnancies and unplanned births are 5 to
6 times higher among women with incomes under 200% of the federal poverty
level, and also higher for women of color and those without a high school
degree. The
odious Hyde Amendment, a Congressional measure, prohibits federal funding for
abortions. 35 states choose not to supplement Medicaid with state funds
for abortions.
These insidious effects extend to
California. Although we use public funds to pay for abortions, and a range of
family planning services, California’s rate of unintended pregnancy is among
the highest in the nation, on a par with Mississippi and New York.
We must fund abortions. But
we can’t t just slip the money under the table. We need to inform and empower
women and men to claim our rights to determine our futures. That
includes understanding both our biology and the language we need to stick up
for ourselves. The reality is that gender bias has repercussions for all of
us, and that procreation involves both sexes.
In case we needed further motivation,
opponents are now using the club of funding sources to threaten coverage for
everyone. This year the House passed HR 7, that would prohibit
private health insurance plans that get a drop of federal funds from covering
abortions; this includes virtually all employers who get a tax break if they
contribute to the cost of employees’ health insurance.
In California two Jesuit universities
unilaterally cancelled coverage for abortions in 2013 for their
faculty and staff.
The Supreme Court will hear cases
on March 25 that could authorize your boss to cease covering
your birth control.
Some are genuflecting to the strategic
wisdom of keeping a low public profile on the subject. They claim
they can’t campaign on abortion and birth control in 2014 because it’s an
election year. But 2015 will be the run-up to the Presidential election. And
then 2016 – well, you know.
In other words: Chances are 100% that if
political leaders refrain from taking action on this issue in 2014, we are
doomed to live in the present for the foreseeable future.
The fact is, voters have demonstrated
solid support at the state and local levels for access to legal, affordable
reproductive health care services:
· Florida voters defeated a state ballot initiative to prohibit
public funding for abortions.
· Mississippi voters defeated a statewide initiative to declare a
fertilized egg a person, with 80% of black male voters leading the opposition
vote.
· Voters in Albuquerque defeated a proposal to outlaw most
late-term abortions.
· Otherwise vulnerable Democrats won in 2012 against challengers
who revealed their Mad Hatter theories about rape and incest.
· Virginia voters chose a machine Democrat as governor, defeating
state attorney general Ken Cuccinelli, an originator of rules forcing women
to get – and pay for – invasive ultrasounds before proceeding with an
abortion they’ve already decided to have.
We have the chance to do a
solid: unite all of us to defend both the funding for reproductive
health care, and the rights of all of us to enjoy it if we
choose. We can also prevent poor women from being
forced by politicians who hate them to bear children they decide they don’t
want and can’t afford, and then be subjected to the further indignity of
suffering cuts in their food stamps. Or worse, to die from self-induced
abortions.
Leaders--muster up your moxie and
campaign for women’s rights and human rights. Opposing the Hyde
Amendment would be a good start. We’ll support you and we’ll all win.
[1]
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Trust Women - Silver
Ribbon Campaign
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Friday, March 7, 2014
"Silence equals death" ~ Ellen Shaffer @ershaffer #TrustWomen
Celebrate indigenous women on International Women's Day
  7 things you can do on International Women's Day
Tomorrow,
March 8, is International Women's Day (#IWD), first celebrated in 1909. In
recent years, the annual event has gained recognition, giving a chance to
celebrate achievements in the women's movement and to inspire further
progress through both local and international action.
While
too many women all over the word still suffer from violence and rights
abuses, it is important to recognize the amazing work Indigenous women are
doing in making change happen in all realms of life and in claiming their rights
and transforming violence into power and action.
On
International Women's Day stand in solidarity with women. By acting now, we
will have even more to celebrate on March 8, 2015.
1. Read our issue of the Cultural
Survival Quarterly devoted to Indigenous women.
2. Celebrate some of the amazing Indigenous women working to
make change happen around the world.
Share their inspiring stories
#IWD2014.
    
3. Learn about
Indigenous Women's Rights.
Watch and share this video by Asia Indigenous Peoples'
Pact.
4. Learn about the epidemic of murdered and missing Indigenous
women.
Over 800 Aboriginal women have
gone missing or been murdered in Canada in the past 20 years, and their cases
are rarely investigated by police. Read
Amnesty International's report Stolen Sisters, a report on violence against Indigenous women in
Canada.
Watch Survival, Strength, and Sisterhood: Power of Women
in the Downtown Eastside, a documentary on the 20 year history of the
annual memorial march for missing and murdered Indigenous women in
Vancouver.
Learn about the Walking With Our Sisters exhibition, which
honors the lives of these women through a display of hand-made moccasins,
each representing a missing woman.
Support the Missing Sisters mapping project by learning about open cases in your area and adding any information you are aware of regarding missing Indigenous women.
5. Take Action. Make your voice heard.
Demand an official inquiry into Canada's
missing and murdered Indigenous women. Sign an online petition here, contact your local representatives to voice your
concerns, and join the online conversation using the hashtags #MMIW and #VAW
6. Visit the UN Women's Day website. Find
out how to get into the conversation via Twitter and other forms of social
media. #IWD #IWD2014 #WomensDay #internationalwomen'sday
7. Spread the word.
Tell your friends about IWD by sharing the One Woman Song, a
collaborative global effort that serves as a statement on International
Women's Day of working together to promote gender equality.
Cultural Survival is a
global leader in the fight to protect Indigenous lands, languages, and
cultures around the world. In partnership with Indigenous Peoples, we
advocate for Indigenous communities whose rights, cultures, and dignity are
under threat. For more information go to www.cs.org
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Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Stop Forced Resettlement in Ethiopia
If you have five minutes, please write your own message. This is much more powerful.If your email bounces, please don't worry about letting us know. It's probably because the recipient has blocked their account due to the high number of protests. It means the campaign is working!
Thank You.
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