What We're Reading -- July 10
Spread the word
|
|
Good morning, everyone! There’s a lot going on today, so we’ll head straight to what we’re reading this morning…
Mitt Romney can’t run from his rhetoric or his record. “Planned Parenthood's Anti-Romney Ads Swaying Women In Swing States” – “Planned Parenthood Action Fund's $1.4 million ad campaign spotlighting Mitt Romney's positions on women's issues is making an impression on the opinions of female voters in key swing states, according to post-run ad testing commissioned by the group… Most significantly, in the post-ad survey, women in both states offered criticisms of Romney that came directly from Planned Parenthood [Action Fund]'s ads without actually referencing the ads, suggesting that those messages made a lasting impression. Three out of five of the most frequently volunteered criticisms of Romney were points specifically highlighted by the ads: his desire to overturn Roe v. Wade, his plan to eliminate Planned Parenthood funding and his stance (or lack thereof) on equal pay. ‘We already knew that the contrast between President Obama and Mitt Romney couldn't be starker when it comes to women's health, but this data shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that swing women voters strongly agree, and that they are far less likely to vote for Mitt Romney when they hear about his extreme views on women's health issues,’ Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of PPAF, told The Huffington Post. ‘The results of this polling provide yet one more reason why we are seeing a gender gap in this race.’”
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius responds to criticism of the new health care law. “Kathleen Sebelius: The Affordable Care Act has made the U.S. health-care system stronger” – “The Supreme Court decision upholding the Affordable Care Act was a turning point in the health-care debate, a chance to stop refighting old political battles and move forward with implementing and improving a law that is already lowering health-care costs and providing more security for millions of American families. Instead, congressional Republicans will spend Wednesday staging yet another repeal vote. Fortunately for those Americans whose health and finances depend on protections in the law, the vote is only symbolic. But it’s worth setting the record straight about some false claims that have recently resurfaced. One claim is that the Affordable Care Act is driving up Americans’ health-care costs. The facts tell a different story. In the decade before the law was passed, national health expenditures increased about 7 percent a year. But in the past two years, those increases have dropped to less than 4 percent per year, saving Americans more than $220 billion. And that trend is expected to continue, with health-care costs projected to stay level as a share of gross domestic product from 2009 all the way through 2013.”
Ahead of the upcoming London Summit on Family Planning Summit, Melinda Gates defends access to contraception for women across the globe. “Melinda Gates: Give women the power to determine their future” – “(CNN) -- The vast majority of women in the United States use birth control. Some of us may even consider it a minor annoyance. Sometimes we forget to take our pills. The side effects can be painful. But we put up with it because it's so important to have the power to determine our future. I didn't fully appreciate how much contraceptives changed my life because I never lacked access to them. That is, I didn't fully appreciate them until I got involved in global health and learned that hundreds of millions of women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia don't have access to contraceptives. The lack of birth control is more than a minor annoyance. It can be a significant barrier to a better life. When I learned what many women in poor countries faced, I asked myself: What would my life have been like if I hadn't been able to use birth control?... I'm passionate about family planning because when I travel and talk to women in developing countries, what's universally clear is that they demand access to contraceptives. They want the power to determine their future. They know that when they can decide when they have children, they are healthier, their children are healthier, their families are more successful and their communities are more prosperous.”
