by MzNicky
The following dispatches are straight from the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Feminist Daily News Wire.
Congresswoman Announces Bill to Stop Deceptive Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) announced today a new bill aimed at false advertising by so-called crisis pregnancy centers. The bill, “Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Services” Act, targets anti-choice centers that use deceptive advertising offering help to pregnant women or free pregnancy tests to lure women in, especially young and low-income women. Rather than offering a full range of reproductive health services, workers at these “clinics” use scare tactics and misinformation to convince women not to consider the option of abortion.
The bill directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create a rule prohibiting these so-called clinics from trying to deceive women into believing they provide abortion services or referrals. Congresswoman Maloney is confident that her bill will pass. “Although those who are anti-choice disagree with my position on a number of issues, I’m fairly certain they will agree that women do not deserve to be lied to,” she said. “I anticipate my colleagues across the political spectrum will step-up to stop the fraud being perpetrated against the women of America.”
According to the Washington Post, such anti-abortion and crisis pregnancy centers have received more than $60 million in federal funding from the Bush Administration since 2001. (Sources: Office of Congresswoman Maloney; Text of “Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Services” Act; Washington Post 3/22/06)
Rhode Island Blocks Abstinence-Only Programs
The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) recently instructed all public school districts to stop using a federally funded abstinence-only sex education program called "Right Time, Right Place," which was developed by Heritage of Rhode Island and was taught in two school districts last year. Heritage of Rhode Island had a federal three-year grant which provided $400,200 each year, and had presented their abstinence curriculum to over 600 students in the state. The Rhode Island American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint against the program last fall, saying the program contained sexist stereotypes, religious content, an invasive survey, and did not live up to the state’s sex education standards.
In its letter to superintendents, RIDE wrote that the Heritage program did not comply with state standards for health education, and further required all districts to submit their health curriculums and HIV/AIDS curriculums to RIDE for review. It especially called for the submission of any surveys, as a survey associated with the Heritage program was unduly invasive of students’ privacy rights, asking questions about recent sexual activity. Steven Brown, director of Rhode Island ACLU, said in a statement "We are very pleased with the state’s response to the inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars to support discriminatory and religious teachings in public schools. Students deserve facts, not sexism, in their sex ed class." (sources: ACLU 3/22/06; Boston Globe 3/22/06; RIDE letter, 3/15/06)
Referendum Campaign Against South Dakota Abortion Ban
A new coalition called South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families announced on Friday that it was launching a referendum campaign to repeal the South Dakota abortion ban. The law, which will take effect in July, bans all abortions in South Dakota except those necessary to save the life of the woman – even victims of rape and incest are prohibited from receiving an abortion in the state under the punitive law.
"An overwhelming majority of South Dakotans believe that the Governor and the legislature went too far. This legislation is extreme and does not reflect the values of South Dakotans who want families to be able to make personal decisions about health care without government interference,” said Jan Nicolay, spokesperson for the campaign. The coalition must gather 16,728 signatures of registered voters in the state by June 5 in order to qualify for the November 6 ballot. (sources: South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families release 3/24/06; Ms. Magazine)
Abortion Ban Killed in Mississippi
Late Monday night a proposed Mississippi abortion ban was “killed when the Republican Chair of the Senate's Public Health and Welfare committee, Alan Nunnelee, refused to sign the House bill. The House chair, Democrat Steve Holland, called Nunnelee's bluff by essentially agreeing to all provisions of the ban. Holland told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger "we brought them a ban on abortion." Nunnelee said the bill was so complicated that it would require lawyers to review it. "It's a very complex conference report, and I can't make a judgement on that," said Nunnelee. The end result is that the abortion ban is dead this legislative session in Mississippi.
"For the past two weeks the legislative galleries have been filled with abortion rights supporters. During this time we outnumbered the pro-lifers 4-1," said Susan Hill, president of the National Women's Health Organization, which runs the Jackson Women's Health Organization, the only remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi. This outcome shows the right to life movement is quite divided in what to do about abortion bans. The National Right to Life Committee has indicated such bans are premature, and the White House appears not to want more bans in this election year. (Jackson Clarion-Ledger, 3/28/06)
Reproductive Rights Feminism Abortion Pro Choice Roe v. Wade South Dakota
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