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 MoveOn.org
Planned Parenthood supporters all across the country will stand together on September 29 for the first-ever National Pink Out Day. We’re going to demonstrate just how many people across the country are willing to stand up and fight for women’s health and rights—and we’re counting on you to help.

Host your own Pink Out Day Event or sign up for an event near you.

The Supreme Court has been making horrible decisions lately. Frankly, I hope these decisions bite them and the supporters in the ass.

First one: WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously struck down a Massachusetts law that barred protests, counseling and other speech near abortion clinics.

“A painted line on the sidewalk is easy to enforce, but the prime objective of the First Amendment is not efficiency,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote in a majority opinion that was joined by the court’s four-member liberal wing.

The law, enacted in 2007, created 35-foot buffer zones around entrances to abortion clinics. State officials said the law was a response to a history of harassment and violence at abortion clinics in Massachusetts, including a shooting rampage at two facilities in 1994.
What is so hillarious is that the Supreme Court has a huge buffer zone itself. If you ever protested in front of the Supreme Court before, you aren't allowed to be on the steps. You have to be off the steps when you protest. I mean...it has a 35 foot buffer zone that this clinic was trying to get. Yet, I haven't heard any one tried to get this buffer zone in front of the Supreme Court taken down because it violated their freedom of speech.

( More personal thought )

Then the second, more fucked up one (imo): WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that requiring family-owned corporations to pay for insurance coverage for contraception under the Affordable Care Act violated a federal law protecting religious freedom. It was, a dissent said, “a decision of startling breadth.”

The 5-to-4 ruling, which applied to two companies owned by Christian families, opened the door to many challenges from corporations over laws that they claim violate their religious liberty.
I really hope this ruling comes back and bites supporters in the ass. It would suck for these people if they had relatives denied certain medical services like blood transfusions and meds for mental illness because it went against their relatives' employer's beliefs. Worst, if their relative or friend's employer was against any medical intervention. An employer has no place in their employee's health, whether if it's reproductive or general. However, I hope this costs the republicans their power in the House between this election and the one in 2016.

You can say this is a sequel entry to the last entry

Texas' lieutenant governor late Tuesday suspended a senator's filibuster against wide-ranging abortion restrictions, but Democrats moved quickly to appeal the decision and set off a parliamentary fight over the rules.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst halted the filibuster after determining Democratic Sen. Wendy Davis had strayed off the topic when she talked about a sonogram bill passed in 2011 and how the new abortion restrictions only compounded the anti-abortion laws in Texas.

Democrats immediately appealed the decision and set off a heated debate over rules. Austin Democratic Sen. Kirk Watson appeared to be positioning himself to launch a new filibuster on Dewhurst's decision.

Wearing pink tennis shoes to prepare for nearly 13 consecutive hours of standing, Davis began the day with a one-woman filibuster to block a GOP-led effort to impose stringent new abortion restrictions across the nation's second-most populous state.

The filibuster began at 11:18 a.m. CDT Tuesday and continued until 10:03 p.m., less than two hours before the midnight deadline marking the end of the 30-day special session.

( More )

Senator Davis is fucking awesome. Btw, the last line of the article made me facepalm myself very hard. You'll see why when you read it.

From NOW:
Right-wing politicians are waging a ferocious War on Woman, attacking our access to reproductive health care, our economic security, and even our safety from domestic violence and sexual assault. The We Are Woman Rally is endorsed by NOW and other women's rights organizations and is led by dedicated grassroots activists from across the country who are fed up with the right-wing extremists in Washington.

We would love to have as many NOW activists as possible stand with us at this momentous event. Bring your friends, and make your voice heard to stop the War on Women!

Details
What: We Are Woman National Rally for Women's Rights

Who: We Are Woman organization, NOW and Allies
Featured speaker: Bonnie Grabenhofer, NOW Executive VP

When: Saturday, Aug. 18

Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: West Front Lawn, Capitol Building, Washington, D.C.
First Street NW, between Pennsylvania Ave. NW and Maryland Ave. NW

Metro: Capitol South (Blue & Orange Lines) or Union Station (Red Line, Amtrak)

For more info, go to the We Are Women site.

As you all know, the national rally will be on April 28th, 2012 in DC. However, just in case you can't go to the nation's capital, there are going to be local rallies and marches all over the country.

For Maryland, a rally is planned to be held at War Memorial Plaza in Baltimore. It's from 10 am until 2 pm. For more information on that rally, go to here.

If you want to check out what events or volunteering opportunities are in your state, go to here.

Tomorrow is Lobby Day and there will be a big pro-choice rally at the Washington Mall from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm. If you can't tend to the pro-choice rally at the Washington Mall, join your local pro-choice chapters as they meet at your state capital to protest the legistration that threatens the reproductive rights of Americans.

Unfortunately for me, I had to go back to Sweden five days ago so I won't be able to participate in any of these events. I will still wear my pro-choice garb though to stand for choice over three thousand miles away. Give them hell and stand up for choice!