Houston Democrats: Women's Issues Archives

January 18, 2006

A Day for Sheroes and Heroes

PPHouston Luncheon.jpg

From left: Muriel Stubbs, Mona Williams, Ann Rojas, Sarah Weddington, Charlene Tanner, Flora Medellin & Toni Medellin

by Toni Medellin, Guest Blogger

Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas’ annual Roe v. Wade Pro-Choice Luncheon is always my favorite event of the year. This year, I had even more to look forward to: Dr. Julianne Malveaux was their featured speaker. I had seen Dr. Malveaux speak on CNN, PBS, and even Fox News. I had read her columns in USA Today and Ms. Magazine. I was, naturally, very curious to hear what she had to say about the future of Roe v. Wade, Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court, and the relationship between reproductive choice, race, and poverty.

Dr. Malveaux’s remarks did not disappoint. She tackled these issues head on with humor, compassion, and clarity. The most moving anecdote she shared was about her freshman year at college, when her dorm sister from across the hall became pregnant and attempted to self-abort. The young Julianne, sworn to secrecy about the attempted illegal abortion, knew she couldn’t keep her secret when she saw blood running out from under the door to her friend’s room. She called her mother, who called authorities. They were able to save this young woman’s life; but how many other lives were lost because women did not have access to safe and legal abortions and reproductive health care services?

My group of progressive Democratic women arrived early and stayed late. Our HCDP/Kingwood Area Democrats group included me, mom Flora Medellin, Charlene Tanner, Mona Williams and Ann Rojas (Kingwood College students sponsored by KAD), Karen and Bruce Menke, Pat Day, Lavon Thomas, Karen Kaufman, and Muriel Stubbs. Several ROADWomen were also in attendance with Charlotte Coffelt, Alia Najar, Elsie Cook, Jim & Judy Doughtery and others sponsoring another table. ROADWoman extraordinaire, Muffie Moroney, served as chair of this year’s Pro-Choice Luncheon—in my humble opinion, the best one yet.

HCDP’s new Director of Party Administration, Melissa Taylor, was there as a guest of legendary Houston City Council member, Eleanor Tinsley. Several Democratic Elected Officials were in the house, too. Representative Sylvester Turner and Senator John Whitmire received awards from Planned Parenthood. Representative Turner quoted Martin Luther King in his acceptance remarks. Senator Whitmire was not able to attend; his Chief of Staff accepted the award on his behalf. Also spotted at the Luncheon were Representatives Jessica Farrar, Senfronia Thompson and Ana Hernandez, Trustee Jay Aiyer, Controller Annise Parker, and too many others to name individually.

Ellen Cohen, candidate for State Representative District 134, was working the room and inviting progressive minded attendees to her Campaign Kick-off on Thursday, January 19th from 6 to 8 p.m.

Spending a day surrounded by like-minded men and women is truly my idea of a perfect day. Heroes and Sheroes were in abundance, but my dream really did come true when I got to meet one of my greatest sheroes, Sarah Weddington, the attorney who successfully argued Roe v. Wade at the United States Supreme Court in 1973. This brilliant woman spent time with my students, Mona and Ann, allowed us to take way too many photographs, and was just plain nice. I want to thank my friend, Pat Day, for making the introductions and taking the group photo.

All in all, it was a day to celebrate our past successes and prepare ourselves for the fight ahead. If you haven’t already done so, call, write, fax and email your Senators. Call your friends and family all around the country and make sure they do the same.

See you at next year’s luncheon.

Note: More Photos Here

Posted by Stace Medellin at 08:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 01, 2005

Goodbye Walgreens, Hello CVS

From Guest Blogger Lisa:

I said goodbye to my pharmacist last night. I didn't want to do it. It's a convenient location, and well, he's quite the looker! But it had to be done.

I said, "I'm afraid this is going to have to be the last prescription I pick up here."

With a concerned look, "Oh really? Why is that?"

"Well, I found out yesterday that Walgreen's is among those pharmacies that are allowing pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control pills."

"Really? I hadn't heard that. The last I heard was that we were supposed to fill them."

"Well, maybe that's a local policy, but the information I found online says otherwise. Looks like I'll be switching to CVS."

"Before you switch, please call the corporate office, and be sure that this is the case. I'd hate to lose a customer based on inaccurate information. I'd also like to know what the deal is. I'll be looking into this myself."

I have been shopping and having prescriptions filled at Walgreen's since I was a child holding my mother's hand down the aisle. Today I am calling my doctor to ask her to write me new prescriptions so I can switch to CVS.

I checked at www.FillMyPillsNow.org, and found that Walgreen's is listed as a chain that allows pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control pills. CVS, a major competitor in my town demands that their pharmacists fill those orders.

I wanted to allow for the possibility that the website could be inaccurate, as well as make sure that Walgreen's heard my disapproval, so I called their corporate office today (847-914-2500). I first talked to a media relations employee. She stated that I should be talking to consumer relations, but I told her that I felt that media relations should be aware that this information is spreading across the web by email, link, and blog. She told me that she wasn't sure it was accurate, and would make sure someone looked into it. In the meantime, would I like to be transferred to consumer relations? Most definitely.

The nice lady at consumer relations first attempted to confuse the issue by stating that it depended on the laws of each state, and in states that require pharmacists to fill all prescriptions, Walgreen's does require that as well. Gee, how nice that when legally required, they actually follow the law! Is that supposed to impress me?

I pressed on, and asked, "So let me get this straight then. If a state does NOT have a law requiring pharmacists to fill all prescriptions, or has a law allowing pharmacists to choose NOT to fill a prescription, Walgreen's ALLOWS those pharmacists to refuse to fill a customer's order?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"Well, I would like to express my extreme disapproval of this policy. No one else's fundamentalist religious convictions or chauvinist ideals should ever interfere with my ability to have a legal prescription filled. If the pharmacist has a problem with a product used by millions and millions of women, perhaps he or she should consider another line of work."

"I understand. Would you like for me to take your name and phone number, and have someone call you back to discuss this further?"

"Yes, please. I'd appreciate that."

If everyone who reads this does the same, we'll get our message across.

Posted by Lyn Wall at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack

May 09, 2005

They must be having a bad bill contest in the Lege - HB 1212

This one will definitely be a finalist. HB 1212, eupemistically called a "Parents Rights Bill", would make it a felony to coerce a child into having an abortion. Go to the Texas Legislature web site for contact information for your Representative and oppose this bill!

From Come and Take It:

The legislation would make it a crime for anyone to coerce a child into an abortion. If this provision passes, parents could get hauled into court for strongly urging their child to end a pregnancy. How can the state demand that parents be responsible for the choice, and then penalize them if they make a particular choice? That, in effect, coerces teens to bear unwanted children.

The bill has the following provisions (from Daily Kos):

When parents are "hauled into court" for urging their pregnant daughter to consider an abortion, they won't be facing just a minor charge, but a "state jail felony."

If a teenager's parents are aware of her pregnancy and oppose her clearly stated desire to have an abortion, it doesn't matter whether she's a 17 year-old who already has a 6 month-old baby or a gang-raped 14 year-old, because the debate stops right there: she is compelled by law to bear a child she doesn't want to have.

If she applies for a judicial bypass of the parental consent requirement, her hearing can be delayed for 5 days instead of the 2 days permitted by current law. Appeals will be delayed for 10 days - and that can be the difference between a first and a second trimester procedure.

The judge must appoint a guardian ad litem who cannot be the minor's own attorney, but may be a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a member of the clergy, or an "appropriate employee of the Department of Family and Protective Services" - and we all know how well that's worked out in Florida.

Judicial bypass will have venue restrictions. HB 1212 says that a bypass can only be applied for in the county where the minor lives or in the county where her abortion will be performed - which for the average small town teenager without transportation in a state the size of France, means that the option might as well not exist at all.

If a teenager does somehow manage to make it into court, she must meet a burden of proof much heavier than it is now. Instead of a "preponderance of the evidence," she will have to present "clear and convincing evidence" that she is subject to abuse. Legal experts testified in the House committee hearing that this could force her to present witnesses to testify on her behalf, further endangering her confidentiality and safety.

Posted by Lyn Wall at 01:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

April 07, 2005

Government Owned Pregnancy (GOP)

Well, it appears that no woman is safe when the Texas legislature is in session. Yesterday, the Texas Senate OK'd an amended bill for women's health services which excludes Planned Parenthoud and morning-after pills for rape victims.

Let me see if I understand this...........

If a woman gets raped,

@1999 Linda Griffith, from Woman in Red, by permission of the artist

the doctor in the emergency room is not allowed to prescribe a drug to prevent pregnancy.

So, if she does become pregnant, she will be forced to carry the pregnancy to full term.

@1999 Linda Griffith, from Woman in Red, by permission of the artist

Not that it matters anyway, because if your local pharmacist happens to be a right wing-nut, he or she may refuse to fill the prescription anyhow.

What if a woman is unable to pay for healthcare during the pregnancy or raise the child born of this violence?

Well, there is always medical research, GOP $tyle. That's where the Environmental Protection Agency pays you money to expose your child to pesticides.

The study makes payments to families totaling $970 for participating throughout the entire two-year period. Families who complete the study also get to keep the camcorder they are provided to record their babies’ behavior. In addition, families are given bibs, t-shirts and other promotional items...

Well, nevermind about the Neuremberg Code, and ethics, and all that stuff.

So what do the letters G-O-P stand for?

Government Owned Persons

Government Owned Pregnancy....

Government Owned Pootie-Tang?

Oh, I know...... Government Owned Pesticides!!!!! I wonder if there is a Tom Delay connection????? Silly me, there I go again.

Blue Bayou Girl

Posted by at 06:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 28, 2005

Scientists discover main risk factor leading to abortion!

In 2000 through 2001, 10,683 women obtaining abortions were surveyed about their reasons for having an abortion. Forty-six percent said that they had not been using contraceptives when they became pregnant, and thirty-seven percent said they had been using contraceptives, but not consistently.

Oooh, I can hear members of the Konservative Kristian Koalition (KKK) howling right now that abstinence works 100% of the time and that sex outside of marriage is the cause, and not the lack of contraceptives. Oh, yeah? What about the married women who sought abortions? Silly me, there I go, pointing out the division between science and religion.

Yes, well, let us take a few moments to meditate on the history of Church Teaching vs. Science.

Religious Police
Photograph by permission of the artist,
Linda Griffith (copyright protected)

Meanwhile,as we wait for the religious police to catch up with modern medicine, check out some of the findings of this new study.

Abstinence is 100% effective if 'used' with perfect consistency. But common sense suggests that in the real world, it can and does fail.

So, exactly what is the definition of abstinence? What sexual behaviors should be abstained from? A recent nationally representative survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Seventeen Magazine found that half of all 15-17-year-olds believed that a person who has oral sex is still a virgin. Even more striking, the APS study found that the majority (55%) of college students pledging virginity who said they had kept their vow reported having had oral sex. While the pledgers generally were somewhat less likely to have had vaginal sex than nonpledgers, they were equally likely to have had oral or anal sex. Because oral sex does not eliminate people's risk of HIV and other STDs, and because anal sex can heighten that risk, being technically abstinent may therefore still leave people vulnerable to disease.

So what's the answer? Comprehensive sex education, that's what. Not only does sex education address the need to protect the public health, it is also covered under the First Amendment. Let's safeguard the protection, safety, and well-being of the public while we uphold our freedom of speech! Now that's All American!

Celebrate Freedom
Photograph by permission of the artist,
Linda Griffith (copyright protected)

Posted by at 08:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

March 20, 2005

March is Women's History Month

Imagine 20,000 women coming together in one place to set the national agenda for women's equality. The proceedings are brought to order by Shirley Chisholm, using the same gavel that Susan B. Anthony used in Seneca Falls. Everything is broadcast live on national television. Three former first ladies, two of them democrat, one a republican, attend the proceedings with Maya Angelou, Coretta Scott King, and Bella Abzug. Important prominent women from all walks of life also attend: Billie Jean King, Jean Stapleton(aka Edith Bunker), Ann Richards, Betty Friedan, and Gloria Steinem, among others. Could such a thing happen?

Yes, indeed, it did! Where?............. New York?......... San Francisco?..... Seattle?....... Nope.

Rosalyn Carter

It took place right here in Houston, Texas in November of 1977.

Keepers of the Flame

From November 18 to 21, 1977, over 20,000 people gathered in Houston, Texas to celebrate International Women's Year and identify goals for women for the next decade. This was the first and only national women's conference to be sponsored by the federal government. Delegates from every state in the nation came to Houston to caucus, vote and participate in the development of a national agenda for change. Read the Declaration that was made at the National Women’s Conference in Houston in November of 1977.

We are here to move history forward.
We do not seek special privileges, but we demand as a human right a full voice and role for women in determining the destiny of or world, our nation, our families and our individual lives.

We seek these rights for all women, whether or not they choose as individuals to use them.

We are part of a worldwide movement of women who believe that only by bringing women into full partnership with men and respecting our rights as half the human race can we hope to achieve a world in which the whole human race – men, women and children – can live in peace and security.

We pledge ourselves with all the strength of our dedication to this struggle “to form a more perfect Union.”

Actually, fellow bloggers and lurkers, yours truly remembers this event. I was a young wife and mother who had recently moved to Houston. I remember being glued to the TV screen during the proceedings for hours in-between meal preparation, laundry folding, and housecleaning. I, with many of my contemporaries, was truly inspired and feeling hopeful for the future and for my then-two year old daughter. Does anyone in the blogosphere remember this event? Do you remember where were you when it happened, and what you were doing?

Meanwhile, what has happened to our hopes and aspirations?

American Taliban circa 1977

In an upcoming book called Perfect Madness, by Judith Warner, the author describes her disillusioned sisters this way:

"Good daughters of the Reagan Revolution, we disdained social activism and cultivated our own gardens with a kind of muscle-bound, tightly wound, über-achieving, all-encompassing, never-failing self-control that passed, in the 1980s, for female empowerment."

Linda Valdez, opinion editor for the Arizona Republic Newspaper says, "As mothers, they were rudely awakened to the realities of life in a society that lacks even rudimentary supports for working parents.
Well, duh, ladies."

One of my favorite bloggers, "Blue Bunny" sums it up very well:

Anyone who has ever heard R_______ (refers to a famous neocon talk show host who will remain nameless).... knows that feminist ideals have been demonized for years....17 years later, and 3 lost elections, it's clear he has convinced the next generation that access to contraceptives, fair wages, respectable treatment in the workplace, and decent day care are wrong and sinful. And demanding those things makes you a 'femi-nazi.'

She goes on to say,

We have to get back in the fight and turn this tide. I won't go down without a fight.

Hooray for you, Blue Bunny, and all of the true blue Americans like you who are still out there believing in and working for the well-being of women!

What about you, gentle reader? What will you do in honor of Women's History Month to advance the empowerment of women?

Sincerely,