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Only 465 Days until Election Day 2006!
So please forward this to every woman you know who should be part of the Missouri Women's Coalition and encourage them to join with us...
WHAT ISSUES PUSH YOUR BUTTONS?
Many women are asking lately – what exactly are the issues that the Missouri Women’s Coalition cares about? Is it Medicaid cuts affecting primarily women, reproductive health issues, lack of public education funding, stem cell research, the Iraq war, and/or pharmacists refusing to fill contraceptive prescriptions for example? Is there one particular issue that outrages you as we grow closer to 2006 elections?
WE NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU...
Please email us: director@missouriwomenscoalition.com.
Tell us what you care about, and what you think Missouri progressive women need to be concerned about as we grow closer to 2006/2008 elections.
WOMEN HAVE “NO RIGHT” TO CONTRACEPTIVES??
Yes, this is 2005 in the United States where almost 90% of American women will use some form of contraception (birth control) in their lifetimes. But a few members of Congress don’t believe that a doctor’s prescription of contraceptives should be filled.
IF THIS DOESN’T GET YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE UP, WHAT WILL?
"On Monday, July 25, anti-choice representatives in the U.S. House made it clear that they support pharmacies that refuse to fill birth-control prescriptions - and that women have no right to birth control.
The House Small Business Committee held a hearing on whether pharmacies should be allowed to refuse to fill women's prescriptions. Anti-choice Rep. Steve King (R-IA) told a witness, who had been denied birth control and emergency contraception by her pharmacist, that she had no "right" to her prescriptions - she only believed she did.
Anti-choice Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) told a witness whose prescription had also been rejected by a hostile pharmacist, that her "minor inconvenience" - that is, risking an unintended pregnancy - was nothing compared to the"conscience" of a pharmacist. "
For more on the hearing, go to: http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=9188
1. Governor Announces Special Elections – Finally!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Contact: Spence Jackson, (573) 751-0290
JEFFERSON CITY-Gov. Matt Blunt has called for special elections to fill
vacancies in the 94th House District, 150th House District and 29th Senate
District.
The death of Republican Rep. Richard Byrd leaves an open House seat in the
94th House District.
Democratic Rep. Frank Barnitz was elected senator for the 16th Senate
District on April 5, 2005, and his resignation from the House created an
open House seat in the 150th House District.
The death of Republican Sen. Larry Taylor leaves an open Senate seat in the
29th Senate District.
Candidates must be selected and filed with the secretary of state's office
no later than 5 p.m. on September 18, 2005. The special election will be
held on November 8, 2005.
http://gov.missouri.gov/press/SpecialElections_072805.htm
2. Women Senators Insist Roberts Disclose Views
Seven Democratic women Senators announced at a press conference yesterday that they will insist Supreme Court justice nominee John Roberts respond to questions about his position on abortion. The Senators are also demanding that Roberts clarify his position on the right to privacy, which underlies not only a woman’s right to legal abortion but also to birth control and a host of other civil rights for women and minorities.
The Senators include Barbara Boxer (CA), Barbara Mikulski (MD), Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY), Patty Murray (WA), Mary Landrieu (LA), Debbie Stabenow (MI), Maria Cantwell (WA).
Senator Boxer spoke to the critical role Sandra Day O’Connor played in protecting Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the US.
Boxer also expressed serious concern about Roberts’ view on Title IX, the landmark 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs. She pointed to a 1982 memo Roberts wrote to the Justice Department in which he took a position against appealing a federal court ruling that limited enforcement of Title IX, according to the San Francisco Gate.
In an effort to give the public a say in Roberts’ confirmation hearings, the seven women senators have unveiled a new website that allows the public to submit questions that they would like the Judiciary Committee to ask of Roberts.
“The Supreme Court has the last word on issues that impact all of our lives….This is a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land…We want the American people to have a voice,” say the women Senators in a joint statement on the website.
http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=9191
3. AMA Resolution Says Pharmacists Should Be Required to Fill Prescriptions
Wednesday 22 June 2005 - Feminist Daily News Wire
The American Medical Association (AMA)'s policy-making House of Delegates passed a resolution on Monday in support of requiring pharmacists to fill prescriptions. The resolution states that pharmacists should either be required to dispense prescription medications without delay or to make an immediate referral to another pharmacy, reports the Chicago Tribune.
Further, the AMA will back state and federal legislation mandating pharmacists to fill prescriptions if no willing pharmacist can be found within 30 miles, according to Reuters.
The AMA says that the resolution was passed in response to the increasing refusal of pharmacists nationwide to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception, and in some case, for oral contraceptives, on the basis of so-called "conscientious" objections.
In fact, four states have already passed "conscience clauses" allowing pharmacists to deny patients their prescriptions, with similar bills pending in eleven states, according to the National Women's Law Center. However, legislative support for women's access to contraceptive prescriptions is also increasing.
Fives states have now passed laws barring pharmacists from refusing to dispense medications, with the Governor of Illinois making an emergency ruling in April requiring pharmacists to fill contraceptive prescriptions and federal legislation recently introduced by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) to protect women's access to contraception.
http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/062305WC.shtml
4. 4. Quotes – Certain to Get You Riled Up!
“After pretending to consider various women and minorities ... these past few weeks," Bush "decided to disappoint all the groups he had just ginned up and nominate a white male. ... We don't know much about John Roberts. Stealth nominees have never turned out to be a pleasant surprise for conservatives. ... Conservatism is sweeping the nation, we have a fully functioning alternative media, we're ticked off and ready to avenge Robert Bork ... and Bush nominates a Rorschach blot"
-Ann Coulter, on her web site, July 20
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"You know, if [Jimmy] Carter were president today, we'd all be speaking Arabic."
-Bill O'Reilly, FOX News host, on his radio show, July 19
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Other than telling us how to live, think, marry, pray, vote, invest, educate our children and, now, die, I think the Republicans have done a fine job of getting government out of our personal lives."
-Editorial Page, Sunday, June 19 Portland Oregonian
5. Upcoming Events
Thursday, August 4 – St. Louis Supreme Court Seminar
7 pm
Central Reform Congregation – 5020 Waterman at Kingshighway
Seminar on the Future of the Supreme Court, featuring Pamela Sumners, new executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice America. John Roberts has written that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and should be overturned. This poses serious concerns about the future of women's reproductive rights in our country.
RSVP: Angie Postal at 314.531.8616 or angie.postal@prochoicemissouri.org
Sponsored by the NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri – St. Louis Choice Action Team
Wednesday, August 10 – St. Charles Democratic Alliance Monthly Meeting
7 pm
St. Charles Justice Center, 1781 Zumbehl, St. Charles
Contact: Leigh Jenkins, president at leighjenkins@msn.com
Tuesday, August 16 – Town Hall Meeting with Rep. Rachel Storch
7pm
St. James the Greater School Cafeteria, 1360 Tamm Avenue in Dogtown, St. Louis
EMINENT DOMAIN: Protecting Personal Property Rights
Speakers:
John J. Ammann, Associate Clinical Professor of Law, Saint Louis University School of Law
Christian Saller, St. Louis Development Corporation
Rachel Storch, State Representative, 64th District
Topics will include: the implications of the recent Supreme Court decision, Kelo v. City of New London; how the process actually works – are our homes at risk?; what citizens need to know and how to get involved; what state legislatures around the country are doing to protect citizens against the improper use of eminent domain.
Friday, August 26 – Celebrate 85th Anniversary of Women’s Right to Vote (ROLLA)
6pm
Phelps County Courthouse, Multi-Purpose Room
Celebrate the the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution granting women nationwide the right to vote.
Bring a dessert to share. Social time, speakers, and viewing of the film, "Iron-jawed Angels," the story of the women who fought so hard for women's suffrage.
Saturday, August 27 – Equality Day Brunch with Carol Moseley Braun (ST. LOUIS)
10am – 2pm
Radisson Hotel, 7750 Carondelet in Clayton
Join Women Activists at the 18th Annual Equality Day Brunch
Keynote Speaker – former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun
former candidate for U.S. President, former Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa
Brunch and program - $30
Students - $15
Registration begins at 9:30 am
Free Hotel Parking on Orange Level
Reservations need to be received by August 22
Contact Shirley Breeze – 314.831.5359
Checks payable to Missouri Women’s Network, mail to Joyce Guard, 909 Parkview Valley Drive, Manchester, MO 63011
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