Middlesex County NOW Newsletter, January 2012

Middlesex County NOW PO Box 1432, Highland Park, NJ 08904

January, 2012

39th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, January 22, 2012

Thank you to Rich and John for a lovely holiday party! Congratulations to our newly elected officers!

Officers 2012 Elections President – Skip Drumm Do you have a favorite candidate whom Vice President – Lisanne Powers you would like to see elected? Go and Secretary – Alan Gross volunteer to work in her/his campaign. I’m Treasurer – Roberta Berlin going to keep saying this for the next 10 Campus Liaison – Sarah Kelly months. This is a critical period in our Newsletter Editor – Skip Drumm country’s history, and women’s rights are in State Board Rep – Gabby Celeiro peril. Ms. Magazine details the top 10 State Board Alternate -Sarah MacCombie rights that we are likely to lose here. It is really scary.

Our Next Meeting However, there is some good news: Ms Our next meeting will be Mon, Jan. 23rd, Magazine and the Feminist Majority 7 pm, at the home of Rich and John. Foundation have partnered with more than Dinner will be served, once again courtesy 30 women’s foundations and nonprofits to of our hosts. Let me know if you're launch HERvotes, a campaign to organize planning to attend, so we can have enough and rally women voters in 2012. If we are food for everyone. to save our hard-won rights, we must go to the polls in record numbers this November.

2012 Chapter Meeting Dates The following tentative meeting dates were NOW to Obama: Women Who Elected approved. You Need You To Support Birth Control Statement of NOW President Terry January 23 O'Neill March 12 April 9 Take Action: Tell President Obama and May 14 Secretary of Health and Human Services June 11 (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius to reverse their July 9 outrageous and purely political decision to August 13 overrule the Food and Drug September 10 Administration's (FDA's) determination that October 8 a form of emergency contraception is safe, December 17 (Party) effective and should be available over the counter with NO age restriction. Call the Middlesex County NOW PO Box 1432, Highland Park, NJ 08904

White House at 202-465-1414 and ask him science in decision-making in contrast to to direct Secretary Sebelius to reverse her his predecessor, George W. Bush, and ill-considered decision on Plan B One-Step conservative politicians who often ignored and make this safe and effective drug or distorted scientific fact. Plan B is one of available to all women – regardless of age the most well-studied contraceptives in – over the counter now. Then call HHS U.S. history; it has been used for years in Secretary Sebelius' office at 877-696-6775 dozens of other countries. and tell her that women need unrestricted access to Plan B One-Step now and that no further studies are needed. NOW: National Task Force to End Sexual And Domestic Violence Against Background: As most everyone has heard Women by now, HHS Secretary Sebelius overruled FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg's Good news: Senator Kirk (R-IL) has joined decision to make Plan B One-Step, a form Senators Leahy (D-VT) and Crapo (R-ID) of emergency contraception, available as a co-sponsor of the reauthorization of without a prescription and with no age the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), restriction. The FDA's decision came after S. 1925, along with several other Senators. a federal court ordered the agency to We hope that new sponsors will be joining reconsider an age restriction imposed the list every day. To see if your Senator during the Bush administration. The court has signed on, go to characterized the age restriction as purely http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php political and not grounded in science or and type in S. 1925 in the bill search box. evidence. This new version of the bill, which was In fact, independent medical experts on an introduced on November 30 in the Senate, FDA advisory committee reviewing Plan B maintains VAWA 's core focus on criminal emergency contraception justice responses and services for victims, (levonorgestrelan) unanimously concluded but it also includes important prevention in 2003 that Plan B is safe for non- programs that focus on children and youth prescription use and the same panel voted and ways to engage men as leaders and 23 to 4 to make it available without role models in ending domestic violence, prescription, with no age restriction. The dating violence, sexual assault and drug was found by the FDA as early as stalking. Recent headlines only underscore 1997 to be safe and effective; its approval the need to target programs at children and has been repeatedly delayed at the behest youth and the increasing support for of right-wing politicians and contraception preventing violence before it does so much opponents such as the U.S. Conference of harm and perpetuates the often inter- Catholic Bishops - the same folks who are generational cycle of violence. lobbying hard to reduce contraceptive access under the new health care law. ACTION #1: Email your Senators and Representatives TODAY with this When President Obama took office he message: vowed to support only evidence-based Middlesex County NOW PO Box 1432, Highland Park, NJ 08904

Dear Senator ____/(Representative ____), I am writing to you about the Ms. Magazine Blog: FBI Director reauthorization of the Violence Against Predicts “Forcible” Will Drop from Rape Women Act, in order to encourage you to Definition by Spring sign on as a cosponsor. The Violence An FBI Advisory Policy Board unanimously Against Women Act has had an enormous recommended that the agency update the impact since it was first reauthorized 17 archaic definition of rape it uses in its years ago. More victims report domestic Uniform Crime Report (UCR). violence to the police and the rate of non- fatal intimate partner violence against The only hurdle that remained was final women has decreased by 63%. The sexual approval of the change by FBI Director assault services program in VAWA helps Robert Mueller. Today, he gave us reason rape crisis centers keep their doors open to for optimism. The Huffington Post’s provide the frontline response to victims of Amanda Terkel reports: rape. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick The VAWA of 2011 continues the effective Leahy (D-Vt.) asked Mueller about the programs to address these crimes but also panel’s recommendation during a hearing includes a prevention and education focus on Wednesday, stating, “I know the FBI is to stop the intergenerational cycle of currently working to update the definition of abuse. It would bring greater attention to rape for the Uniform Crime Report. Why is the issues of children's exposure to that important, to update that?” violence and efforts to prevent it and help younger victims. It also includes an “That definition was in some ways increased focus on the prevention of teen unworkable, certainly not applicable — fully dating violence and sexual violence and applicable — to the types of crimes that it recognizes the importance of targeting should cover,” replied Mueller. “And as I interventions earlier, when young people think you’re aware, the advisory committee are starting to form relationships and for NCIC in the statistics, developing the develop their attitudes and behaviors statistics, approved the change to that around the acceptability of violence and definition. And my expectation is it will go abuse. into effect sometime this spring.”

As Congress considers reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, we're WHYY Radio particularly grateful to this attention to Pennsylvania's state Senate passed community-based prevention programs and legislation last week that places new educational programs that meet the needs restrictions on abortion clinics. The bill is of the more than 15 million children and largely in reaction to the horrific case of youth who are exposed to violence. By Kermit Gosnell, who ran an abortion clinic preventing violence before it happens - we in West Philadelphia and has been charged prevent horrific harm from happening in the in the deaths of seven babies and one first place and interrupt the cycle of adult patient. The bill, which still needs the violence. signature of Governor Corbett, requires the Middlesex County NOW PO Box 1432, Highland Park, NJ 08904 state’s 22 clinics to retrofit their facilities Our goal is to post some short videos and with hospital-grade elevators, larger written memories on a website and reach operating rooms, and have a registered out to young people using the internet. nurse on site even when abortions are not We're hoping that these vignettes can being performed. Proponents argue that educate young people about the dangers these measures are necessary to ensure that await if we don't pay attention to the safety of patients, but opponents preserving the rights we gained in 1973. believe they go too far and will result in clinic closures. The videotaping would be done by Rutgers students. If you prefer, it could be done so that you are not recognizable. You would Ms. Magazine Blog: Egyptian Women have the ability to approve the final product Rally Around “The Girl in the #BlueBra” before publication. You are also welcome The world saw just how brutal the Egyptian to share a written memory such as the one military can be towards women who that appeared in last month’s newsletter. dissent. A video, which has gone viral, (Available on our website: shows military police dragging a hijab-clad www.nownj.org/Middlesex) woman protester through the street, beating her senseless, then stomping on For more information: her exposed stomach as she lies [email protected] motionless in her blue bra. That image has or 732-316-1078. become a rallying point for Egyptians, held We invite guest writers. up on signs by protesters chanting, “This is Send articles, poetry, and other items of the army that is protecting us!” interest to the chapter at There is a reason why Time magazine [email protected]. picked The Protester as its Person of the Year–and there is a reason why the What issues would you like to see our protester on that Time cover is a woman. chapter address? Throughout the Arab Spring, from Iran to Please reply to [email protected]. Saudi Arabia to Egypt, women have been on the frontlines of the protests, demanding How to Contact your State and National more rights, as well as behind the scenes, Legislators: shaping their countries’ revolutions. Go to www.Congress.org. Enter your zip code to find your legislators and their contact information. Saving Abortion: What can you do? “Seeking Women With a Story to Tell” By Mimi Pichey The Rutgers University Choice group (RU Choice) is partnering with the Middlesex County chapter of NOW to record women’s stories, both taped and written.