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Politics and your body
Our Public Policy committee has been working hard to advocate for comprehensive reproductive health care and access. Read about their latest efforts in our quarterly newsletter, Voices for Choice.
ACT up!
Become a pro-choice activist by signing up to join our Activists for Choice Team (ACT). You'll receive periodic action alerts about current legislative and public policy issues affecting reproductive choice. Simply email us your email address.
Joining State-wide Coaltion CCRF
Citizens for Choice is now a member organization of the California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom. Working together with CCRF partners, our ability to advocate effectively for reproductive justice is greatly enhanced, and the power of all our voices on behalf of reproductive health and choice is strengthened.
A prime example is our activism on health care reform. As a CCRF member, we joined in a national day of action on December 2, a day that included rallies in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, direct lobbying in Washington, and coordinated phone calls to key legislators – all with the purpose of urging the Senate not to limit insurance coverage for abortions, as the House had done with its Stupak amendment. While it seemed that we had won that battle, sadly, women’s access to abortion coverage was later sacrificed in the compromise to win the crucial 60th vote of Senator Ben Nelson.
We and other CCRF organizations, as well as others nationwide, joined in a letter sent on January 13, 2010 to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate leader Harry Reid regarding the merging of the House and Senate health care bills. (The letter campaign was led by two national advocacy organizations, Raising Women’s Voices and Women of Color United for Health Reform.) It identifies key differences that will need to be resolved, and in each case, recommends a specific compromise that would best protect women’s health.
Regarding the unacceptable Stupak and Nelson amendments, it asks that the final legislation not include new barriers or burdens on women’s access to abortion coverage. The House’s Stupak amendment would ban abortion coverage in private insurance plans offered through the new insurance exchanges. The Senate’s Nelson amendment would allow socially conservative states to deny women any abortion coverage in private insurance purchased through the exchanges. And, states choosing to allow abortion coverage would require women or their employers to make a second, clearly identifiable, separate payment for it – an onerous and costly administrative burden and invasion of privacy that stigmatizes any woman who may want to have abortion as an option. The letter asks that the original House Capps amendment be adopted. That provision would maintain the ban in use of federal funds for abortion, and would segregate federal funds from private funds in a neutral way that does not change the status quo.
Because this letter addresses the key issues of concern to women’s health that are at issue, you may want to view it in its entirety. Click here to view the letter.Other Healthcare Links
Congressional Quarterly, Side-by-Side Comparisons, Healthcare Overhaul Conference Issues
Raising Women's Voices, Women's Priorities for the Best Health Reform Bill
Elaine Sierra, Public Policy Chair
updated January 13, 2010
Blog! We've started a blog - not much yet but share your thoughts!
Teens, check out:
Sex, etc.
FHWC Teens
TeenWire
TeensHealth
The Clinic!
Mondays 10:30 to 5 and
Wednesdays noon to 6.
No appointment necessary!
Our clinic on Richardson St. can see both women and men, age 12 and up, or you can visit:
The Miner's Family Health Center who also sees teens but no longer has specific teen hours. Sometimes known as the Grass Valley Teen Clinic.
Don't be confused by a fake clinic, or "crisis pregnancy centers." They are anti-choice organizations. Watch this video, linked on YouTube, Crisis Pregnancy Centers: A Special Report and read a short article on the local CPC. Some CPCs may be still receiving federal funding - tell Congress to stop federal funding of these fake clinics!
Citizens for Choice now a part of CCRF, California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom.
Are you pregnant and need a ride to your counseling or abortion appointment? ACCESS can help!
Questions about HPV (human papillomavirus)? This Nantional Cancer Institute Fact Sheet is a good source!
Abstinence-only education why you should be concerned