On the Issues
2008-2009 Campaigns
Environmental Toxins and Reproductive Justice
Access works to ensure that all women have the right to determine their reproductive destiny and we realize that women's ability to do this is directly linked to the social, political, economic, and environmental conditions in their communities. All women have the right to know what toxins permeate their environment and the right to demand that toxins be removed from their surroundings and from the products they use everyday. This legislative session we are supporting two important environmental justice bills, Senate Bill 1712 (Migden) and Assembly Bill 2694 (Ma), which will help protect women, children and men from the harmful effects of lead in a variety of products we use everyday.
The status of the bills has changed recently and requires your immediate action! SB 1712 has been put on hold because its cost has been greatly overestimated and we need you to take action today by urging Senator Tom Torlakson and other members of the Senate Appropriations Committee to let the bill go through. Check out this link and write to our legislators today!
Learn more:
- Removing Lead from Lipstick: SB 1712 Fact Sheet (PDF)
- Lowering Lead levels in Children Products: AB 2694 Fact Sheet (PDF)
- Write to California Legislators: Sample Letter of Support for SB 1712 (PDF)
- Write to California Legislators: Sample Letter of Support to Appropriations Committee for SB 1712 (DOC)
- Write to California Legislators: Sample Letter of Support for AB 2694 (PDF)
Medi-Cal Reimbursement for Second Trimester Abortion
Although abortion is a legal medical procedure covered by Medi-Cal, many women experience difficulty accessing abortion care, particularly in the second trimester of pregnancy. The shortage of abortion providers, and those who accept Medi-Cal specifically, is particularly a problem for women seeking abortions from 21 to 24 weeks, when the number of Medi-Cal providers dramatically decreases.
Learn more:
Universal Health Care is a Women's Issue
Of California's 11 million women ages 19 through 64, 22%--or 2.5 million women--are uninsured. Women's health care matters: to their families, their communities and to the State of California.
Women in California are:
- More likely than men to experience unstable insurance coverage;
- More likely than men to be covered only by public programs;
- Less likely to have employer-sponsored coverage (ESC);
- Often unable to afford ESC even when eligible;
- Often forced to rely on pieced-together public programs focused on separate "body parts" rather than comprehensive care; and
- More likely than men to be covered as dependents rather than primary beneficiaries, leaving women more at risk for loss of insurance due to divorce, death of a spouse, and employer cutbacks on dependent coverage due to costs
Learn more:
Access is a member of two important coalitions advocating for health care reform now:
The Women's Working Group on Universal Health Care is a collaboration of diverse health and women's organizations working to move California toward universal access to health care, by educating and involving women and women's organizations in state and local health reform efforts.
The It's Our Healthcare Campaign for Quality, Affordable Healthcare for All Californians is a coalition of consumer advocates, seniors, health advocates, communities of faith, and labor united to ensure that the people of California's voice is heard in the debate over healthcare reform.
To get involved in any of our advocacy campaigns, come to the next meeting of the Advocacy Task Force.