Cross-posted at MyDD and DailyKos
When it comes to voting, I look at what the candidate’s done – not just what they’ve said. Have they gone above and beyond what’s expected, or have they just cast a vote or signed a bill when something’s presented to them? Have they appeared on stage with leaders in this fight – leaders like Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood, or Kim Gandy from NOW? Have they stood shoulder to shoulder with us in our fight to protect women’s rights and advance access to information and the tools we need to prevent unwanted pregnancies?
I attended the annual convention of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund yesterday because I wanted to hear my candidate speak to the issues I care deeply about. All of the presidential candidates were invited to address this group of committed activists, but only two chose to show up, stand on that stage with Cecile Richards, and be counted as someone who’ll work night and day to defend my rights (Clinton & Obama).
My message to those who chose to take a pass on this event is simple – if you want my vote boys you’d better suit up and show up to ask for it. Because I’m tired of being taken for granted.
It’s time you stopped treating us like the stepchild who’s sent to her room every time the doorbell rings because you don’t want to remind folks of us and our issue. It’s time you put choice front and center and told the world in no uncertain terms that women’s rights are HUMAN rights, not just something you bring up when you’re courting the women’s vote.
I’m looking for a candidate who’ll take the lead in this fight. Not ignore events like this or send a surrogate to stand in for him.
Planned Parenthood’s been at the forefront of the fight for women’s health, good solid sex education for our young people, and our reproductive rights for some 90 years now. They provide a wide range of services (abortion services account for just 3% of the work they do in our communities), such as the following…
Family planning and birth control information and services
Pregnancy testing
Gynecological care, Pap tests, breast exams
Emergency contraception
HIV testing and information
Medically accurate sexuality education
Screening and treatment for sexually transmitted infections
Infertility screening
Voluntary sterilization for women and men
Reproductive medical exams for men
Safer sex education and information
Midlife services
Abortion services or abortion referrals
Prenatal care
Adoption referrals
Primary care
Referrals for specialized care
I picked up a press kit at yesterday’s conference, which included a handy breakdown of Planned Parenthood by the numbers. Through their 860 affiliate health centers, they’re able to achieve the following each and every year:
provide sexual and reproductive health care and education to 5,000,000 women, men and adolescents worldwide;
prevent approximately 631,000 unintended pregnancies; and
prevent approximately 300,000 abortions
And last but certainly not least (for all you candidates out there!), Planned Parenthood has 4 million activists, supporters and donors. That’s a lot of votes boys.
So I have to ask WHY candidates would choose to skip a chance to speak to a conference of people so dedicated to providing these vital services. I would think they would jump at the chance but apparently – no.
Two candidates chose to attend – both Senators and in the middle of a marathon session to consider the Defense Appropriations Bill (and amendments) while traveling the country in their run for the White House. The one I saw seemed tired but she still took the time to address this conference. Here’s a rundown of what Hillary had to say to us…
She started out by recognizing the vital service Planned Parenthood provides in our communities. That they’re on the front lines in staffing the clinics and are the sole advocates for low-income men, women and children who have no other access to healthcare. They run the gauntlet daily in getting past the demonstrators outside their clinics. They provide vital services such as cancer screenings, pre-natal care and the prevention of STDs.
She then went on to talk about her experiences as First Lady – that she traveled the world and talked with women in 82 countries. She told us about other nations and they way they impose politics upon the very personal decisions of women when it comes to our reproductivity – from communist rule in Romania where they demanded that women bear 5 children “for the state”, monitored them for pregnancy each month at the factories and gave them AIDs tainted blood transfusions to keep up their strength – to China where they imposed a one-child per family rule and forced abortion on women who violated that rule. She spoke truth to power in Beijing when she addressed the UN’s International Women’s Conference in 1995.
She said Bush has some nerve speaking to us about freedom when he’s done so much to impose his ideology in to our private decisions, by imposing the worldwide gag rule, appointing 2 anti-choice justices to our Supreme Court, and ignoring emergency contraception (plan B) for 4 years before finally allowing the FDA to consider it’s approval (she and Patty Murray had to place a “hold” on the confirmation of two FDA nominees before Bush would move on that approval by the way). The “abstinence-only” approach to sex ed in our schools is an affront to human rights. Thanks to Bush, DC has become an “evidence free zone” and people all over the world are paying the price.
She said when she takes office one of her first acts will be to reverse the disastrous policies of the Bush administration, starting with a rescission of the global gag rule. She pointed to the programs that were in place during Bill’s administration – that they set a goal of reducing unintended pregnancies by one third and they did just that by focusing on prevention, forcing insurance companies to cover contraceptives, and giving students real facts (instead of junk science) in their sex ed classes.
She said you’d think everyone (Ds and Rs) would be on board with her Prevention First plan, but to date not a single republican has signed on as a co-sponsor. Instead they wage a war on family planning – not just abortion but birth control and sex ed in general. Hillary noted that here in the US we have the highest rate of unintended pregnancies in the industrialized world. A problem that Bush has ignored. Instead Bush chose to slash funding for Title 10 programs, and dramatically increase the paperwork burden for Medicaid recipients, thereby delaying or preventing women from getting the tools they need to prevent unplanned pregnancies (which by the way increases the need for abortion among many low-income women).
Hillary went on to say that she would increase funding for Title 10 programs and reduce that paperwork burden for Medicaid services. She’ll return us to the days when we gave our kids the facts regarding prevention, and would consider a judge’s qualifications when considering her or him for nomination (not ideology), and make sure they understand that precedent – Roe v Wade – means something in our society. This case is the keystone to our reproductive freedoms and she’ll do all she can to make sure it’s upheld – not undermined.
I attended this speech with a couple of friends and we talked afterward about Hillary’s speech. The takeaway for us was this:
Hillary understands that privacy is built in to our Constitution. It may not be mentioned literally, but we can’t have freedom of speech, protections against unlawful search and seizure, and all those other rights without privacy running through every thread of that document. It’s the cornerstone of our Democracy and we need to defend it.
Hillary’s been defending our rights and those of children for over 30 years so I wasn’t surprised to see her at this event. Her work over the years and her dedication to defending my right to choose is a big reason she’s got my support. I have to say I was (and still am) extremely disappointed that so many of our candidates chose to either skip the event, or send a surrogate to stand in for them. It’s time they either took the lead in this fight – put our rights front and center in their campaign, or stopped making the claim that they’re our champions.
Because it’s just not enough any more boys.
