Pro-Choice Maryland

I took a screen cap from the page of the Women's March to show how many sister marches are going on outside of Washington D.C and the U.S. It is phenominal how many marchers have registered outside of D.C.



If one can happen near me in Sweden, that would be great (the closest is six hours away, unfortunately, in Stockholm). I'm hoping one happens in Götenborg or Borås

From NOW:
Join NOW and our allies on Tuesday March 25th in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as the Court considers two cases involving the birth control benefit in the Affordable Care Act. This case could have far-reaching consequences for millions of Americans and their health care. The two companies involved, Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood, are attempting to use their religious beliefs to justify discrimination against women with their refusal to cover birth control.

Join NOW for an hour of a people's mic and rally before you head to work from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Fighting for women's rights in the perfect way to start your day!

( Details for Rally )

( Directions to Rally )

If you can't make it to the rally (like your lovely community maintainer :P), there's a banner that NOW is creating to display to display outside the Supreme Court to make sure every supporter's voices are heard. You can sign here to put your name on the banner.

You know how some of the opposition like to pull the "many women regret abortion" as a way to try to get abortion illegalized? Well, you can show them this article of a woman who regrets having kids.

Let's talk about the mom who regrets her children. Last week, the Daily Mail published a first-person story by Isabella Dutton, a 57 year old mother of two who declared her children to be "the biggest regret of her life." Since the Daily Mail is possibly the internet's leading purveyor of "human interest in hating other humans" stories, it goes without saying that the article incited (and was intended to incite) a monstrous tsunami of scorn.

"A mother could never regret her children." It's a truism. But considering the life-altering effect of children on their mothers, it seems impossible that it could really be a universal truth. Isabella Dutton is clearly very unhappy. She feels trapped by the intense demands of her children, calling them parasites. I know lots of mothers who feel this way sometimes. But feeling like your kids are sucking your life force is one thing. Feeling like they "give nothing meaningful back in return"? That's something different.

Dutton believes she simply lacked the wiring for motherhood. She never wanted kids, but didn't want to deny her husband the experience. But then she says some things that make me wonder whether her feelings might have as much to do with the choices she made as a parent than her choice to be a parent in the first place.

I did leave a comment on that link in the comment section because I was pissed off at what the woman in the article said about women who work outside the home as well as others in the comment section. It lead to me writing this:
( My Comment )

I got this from both Planned Parenthood and NOW, though I will share what NOW sent me:
There is a chance that the bipartisan, inclusive Senate-passed Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (S. 47) could pass the House of Representatives tomorrow.

But, the completely unacceptable substitute VAWA, being pushed by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash) as the sponsor, will be brought to the floor for a vote first. If the substitute fails, House members will then be able to vote yea or nay on the Senate-passed bill. We think we have the votes to defeat the substitute and pass the inclusive Senate bill, but we must have your help! We are so close now, with 201 co-sponsors and 19 House Republicans who signed a letter asking Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to allow the Senate bill to have a floor vote.

Please contact your House member, whether Democrat or Republican, and implore them to vote for the Senate-approved VAWA. The Senate version contains program improvements essential to bring protection and support to violence survivors who have not had access to services in the past.

Please make a call and send an email message right away, and don't forget to let them know that you are a voter in their district. Since we have only a few hours to reach House members, your calls and email messages must be sent today and early Thursday morning.

( More about the background of the subsitute and calling your house member )

To take action with Planned Parenthood on this issue, go here

Sign the Bill of Reproductive Rights if:
-You want everyone to have the right to make their own decisions about their own reproductive health and future, free from intrusion or coercion by any goverment, group, or individual

-You want everyone to have the right to a full range of safe, affordable, and readily accessible reproductive healthcare. This includes pregnancy care, preventive services, contraception, abortion, fertility treatment, and accurate information about all of the above.

-You want everyone to have the right to be free from discrimination in access to reproductive healthcare or on the basis of our reproductive decisions.

From Naral MD:
You've heard the term "man up?" The very same men leading the War on Women want you to "woman up." No, seriously. This is a real thing.

"Woman Up" is a new campaign to soften the image of anti-choice congressional leadership. The very same men behind it -- Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.), Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), and Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (Wis.) -- are leading the charge to wage the War on Women. The irony is almost laughable.

A feminist-sounding campaign name can't erase the onslaught of legislative attacks these very same politicians launched on women: Rape audits. All-male panels on birth control. Defunding Planned Parenthood.

Take action with NARAL Pro-Choice America and tell these anti-choice politicians that the only "Woman Up" campaign that matters is the one that ends their War on Women.

Btw, the initial email I got from Naral had this quote from Boehner:
And now, now we are going to have a fight over women’s health. Give me a break. This is the latest plank in the so-called War on Women. Entirely created, entirely created by my colleagues across the aisle for political gain.
"John Boehner On ‘War On Women’: ‘Give Me A Break’," Talking Points Memo, April 27, 2012

( My Comment )

Very neatly, and on three separate fronts, conservatives in America turned the clock back to the 1950s with their rhetoric about women’s rights Thursday, according to women in politics on both sides of the aisle. This could be a big problem for the GOP when the calendar reaches November.

Let’s take a look at Thursday, February 16, 2012, the day Washington fell into a time-warp.

• On Capitol Hill, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) held hearings on contraception and religious freedom that produced the now-famous picture of a table full of men called to weigh in on access to contraceptives. Democrats wanted a woman — a Georgetown law student with a friend who lost an ovary because the university doesn’t cover birth control — to say her piece at the hearing, but Issa wouldn’t let her on the panel. He said she wasn’t “appropriate or qualified” to discuss the topic at hand.

I'm not a personal fan of either party, but I'm hoping to hell all of this crap that's coming from the Republican party is going to cost them in November. I don't want anyone in power that thinks this way about women. If I was still a republician, I would be embarrassed to be a part of that party and I would cease my support of it. Luckily for me, I did that way before this happened.

What's everyone's thoughts about this? If you're not from the US, do you have a party like this? Are they in power?

Crossed posted from we_r_the_middle