What We're Reading This Morning -- May 31
Spread the word
|
|
Good morning everyone! Yesterday, Planned Parenthood Action Fund endorsed President Obama in his bid for reelection. If you missed the video announcing the endorsement, you can watch it here. Today, the House will vote on an anti-abortion bill designed to further restrict women’s access to care.
Here’s what we’re reading this morning….
Remember that time when Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus suggested the attacks on women’s health were merely a figment of our imagination? Well one in three American women would be inclined to disagree. “U.S. women see assault on reproductive rights: poll” — “About one-third of American women believe there is a broad effort under way to limit their access to reproductive services including contraception, family planning and abortion, according to a poll released on Thursday. After months of election-year culture wars over Planned Parenthood, abortion and President Barack Obama's policy on contraceptives, researchers said 42 percent of women have felt strongly enough to take some sort of action including trying to influence another's opinions or donating money. But the survey of 1,218 adults, conducted by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, said reproductive rights have not become a hot-button presidential campaign issue for women, who see the economy and jobs are far more important topics for Obama and his Republican rival Mitt Romney. The data found that 31 percent of women believe there is a wide-scale effort to limit reproductive services. That includes about one-quarter of Republican women, 36 percent of Democrats and 31 percent of independents.”
The House will begin debate on whether to make abortions based on gender illegal. “House to Debate Sex-Selective Abortions Bill” — “The US House of Representatives is set to begin debate today on a bill that seeks to ban abortions that are based on the sex of the fetus. The Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) has been extremely controversial and many groups are calling it an attempt to limit abortions. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), would impose criminal penalties on doctors who perform an abortion for a woman who seeks the procedure on the basis of the gender of the fetus. It also prohibits federal funding for organizations that do not comply and medical professionals will be required to report any suspicions of sex-selective abortions. President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation, Vicki Saporta, told reporters that ‘by putting abortion providers at risk for criminal prosecution and incarceration, this bill attempts to intimidate medical professionals from providing care and from having the vitally important open and honest conversations they must have with their patients.’”
Opponents of women’s health in North Carolina are working to effectively bar funding to Planned Parenthood in the state. “North Carolina House passes budget after heated debate” — “State House members spent more than seven hours Wednesday arguing, sometimes bitterly, over the proposed $20.3 billion budget along mostly partisan lines before passing it 73-46…. Before they began debating the budget in its entirety Wednesday evening, legislators first dealt with close to two dozen amendments – often in heated exchanges. Some of the most spirited debate was over withdrawing funding for Planned Parenthood, and a provision that may lead to another lawsuit. The budget includes a provision that prohibits the state from signing contracts with providers of family planning or pregnancy prevention services. Though Planned Parenthood is not named in the budget, it is the only provider of such services that fits the description. Rep. Rick Glazier, D-Fayetteville, called it a ‘cutely worded amendment that is nothing more than a fig leaf covering the majority’s open hostility to Planned Parenthood.’”
