ACCESS News
The Quarterly E-Newsletter of ACCESS
Dear Friend,
We hope you enjoy our spring newsletter!! Lots of great
things have been happening with ACCESS, and in this issue
you can read more about our Board of Directors, recent and
upcoming community events, and recent stories from our
hotline. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of distressing news
to report from the reproductive rights world - we've tried to
highlight a few of the most pressing or interesting issues
here.
It has never been more important for people to speak openly
about abortion and work together to provide real
reproductive options for women. Thank you for being part of
the ACCESS community and the fight to make reproductive
choice a reality! We couldn't do it without you. :) Parker
IN THIS ISSUE...
- Meet the ACCESS Board of Directors
- Reproductive Rights News You Can Use
- ACCESS Around Town: Community Events
- Real Women, Real Choices... Life on the Hotline
- How Your Donation Makes Choice A Reality
Meet Our Board of Directors!
A fabulous new team of leaders
Over the past year, ACCESS has nearly doubled the size of
our Board of Directors! As we start 2006, we are thrilled to
welcome several new members with skills in fundraising,
financial management, legal issues, nonprofit management
and community organizing. Our ten member board is now
working hard to increase the visibility of ACCESS, raise more
money to support our programs, and plan for the future
growth of the organization.
Pictured at our last meeting, clockwise from the top left:
Nora Dye, Shailushi Baxi Ritchie, Yojani Hernandez, Raquel
Donoso, Jerrie Meadows, Reichi Lee, Deb McSmith and Zoe
Harte. Not pictured: Christine Powell and Ellen Schwerin. We
would also like to thank Andy Wong, who completed his term
of service on the Board in January, for his energy and work
over the past two years.
If you have questions for a board member or would like
information about applying for a future seat on the board,
please contact our Board Chair, Shailushi Baxi Ritchie, at
info@whrc-access.org!
Reproductive Rights Updates
News You Can Use
Supreme Court to Review Federal Abortion Ban
In February, the Supreme Court announced that it will hear
Gonzales v. Carhart, a case challenging the federal abortion
ban, later this year. President Bush signed the Federal
Abortion Ban, also known as the so-called partial-birth
abortion ban, into law in 2003. Immediately thereafter, three
lawsuits were filed in federal courts by the Center for
Reproductive Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union and
Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Last year, all three trial courts declared the law
unconstitutional because, among other things, the ban does
not include an exception to protect womens health. Two of
the courts also held that the law is unconstitutional because it
is so broad that it would outlaw some of the most common
abortion procedures performed as early as 12 weeks in
pregnancy. The appellate courts in all three cases affirmed
the lower courts rulings.
Just six years ago, the Supreme Court itself struck down an
almost identical abortion ban passed by the state of
Nebraska because it did not have a health exception. Justice
O'Connor's was the critical swing vote that rejected the ban
(5-4) and upheld protections for women's health, but as you
know, Justice OConnor has now retired and been replaced on
the court by Justice Alito. If upheld, the ban would represent
the first outlawing of any abortion procedure since Roe was
decided, and could obviously have a chilling effect on doctors'
willingness to perform abortions.
Emergency Contraception Becoming More Available
Wal-Mart officials have announced that by March 20th the
company will begin to stock and fill prescriptions for Plan B
emergency contraception that can prevent pregnancy if taken
within 72 hours of sexual intercourseat its more than 3,700
pharmacies nationwide (Kabel, AP/Yahoo! News, 3/4). The
Bentonville, Ark.-based company currently only stocks and
fills prescriptions for the drug at pharmacies in
Massachusetts and Illinois because it is required by law to do
so. "We expect more states to require us to sell [EC] in the
months ahead," Ron Chomiuk, Wal-Mart vice president of
pharmacy, said in a statement on Friday, adding, "Because of
this, and the fact that [Plan B] is an FDA-approved product,
we feel it is difficult to justify being the country's only major
pharmacy chain not selling it." Right on!
State Abortion Bans Sweeping The Nation
South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds (R) recently signed into law
a bill (HB 1215see inset) that bans all abortions in the state
except to save a pregnant woman's life, setting up potential
litigation aimed at overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973
Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United
States by barring state level abortion bans.
While the lawwhich is scheduled to take effect on July 1
will not punish a woman who undergoes an abortion, it will
make it a felony to perform one. Physicians convicted of
performing the procedure will face a minimum of five years
in prison and a $5,000 fine. Physicians who save the life of a
woman by performing an abortion will not be charged with a
crime as long as they make "reasonable medical efforts" to
"preserve both the life of the mother and the life of her
unborn child.
When asked about the law's lack of an exception for cases
involving rape or incest, Gov. Rounds replied, "I did not write
this bill" (Woster, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 3/8). He added
that although the law does not allow abortion in cases of rape
or incest, survivors would still have access to emergency
contraceptives, which can prevent pregnancy if taken up to
72 hours after sexual intercourse. The fact that he could
make this remark with a straight face gives you a clear idea
how detached lawmakers are from the daily reality of
womens lives. Or does the Governor really believe that girls
who are being sexually abused by a family member can just
run out to get EC each time they are molested?
When this newsletter went to press, Louisiana had just
introduced a similar ban, although they included exceptions
for rape and incest if the abortion is performed within 13
weeks in pregnancy. There are now 12 states that have bills
(introduced or carried over this session) that would ban
abortion or trigger abortion bans if Roe were overturned.
Those states are: AL, GA, IN, KY, LA, MO, MS, OH, OK, SD,
TN, WV. As many as 26 states have currently
unconstitutional and unenforceable bans that would outlaw
abortion as early as the 12th week of pregnancy, if Roe were
overturned: AL, AK, AZ, AR, FL, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, MI,
MS, MO, NE, NJ, ND, OK, RI, SC, SD, TN, UT, VA, WV, WI.
Vaccine to prevent cervical cancer on the horizon;
access to pap smear test remains uneven
On October 6, Merck & Company announced that an
experimental vaccine against two of the strains of human
papillomavirus (HPV the virus that causes genital warts)
that are most likely to lead to cervical cancer has proven to
be 100% effective in clinical trials.
Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide,
causing an estimated 225,000 deaths each year. The vast
majority of these deaths occur among women in Sub-Saharan
Africa, South Asia and Latin America. Thanks to major
advances in early detection, notably the Pap test, cervical
cancer is far less common in the United States, accounting
for just 1% of cancer deaths among women. In fact, since
the introduction of the Pap test in the 1950s, cases of
cervical cancer in the United States have decreased
dramaticallyby 74% between 1955 and 1992 despite our
high rates of HPV infection (20 million people in the US are
thought to have HPV at any given time).
Although overall rates of cervical cancer are low in the
United States, however, large disparities exist in certain
populations and geographic areas. The highest mortality
rates from cervical cancer include African American women
in the South, Hispanic women along the Texas-Mexico
border, and white women in Appalachia, American Indians of
the Northern Plains, Vietnamese American women, and
Alaska Natives. Not surprisingly, a July 2005 report from the
National Cancer Institute found that high rates of cervical
cancer in these communities is an indication of broader
problems with access to health care. For poor women and
communities of color, this lack of access to health care is
often related to poverty, being underinsured or uninsured,
language and cultural barriers, and a history of abuse by and
resulting distrust of the medical community.
While it does not solve the problem of unequal access to
preventative health care like pap smears, the new vaccine
would provide additional protection to women in the United
States and women in countries where Pap screening remains
rare. Nevertheless, it already faces opposition among some
social conservatives who allege that it will encourage young
women to have sex. Because the vaccine must be
administered to women before they are exposed to a cancer-
causing virus, it will ideally be provided to young girls who
have not yet become sexually active. Thus, some fear it will
have a disinhibiting effect on young women, giving them a
green light to have sex.
This is similar to the argument that the availability of
condoms leads to more and riskier sexual behavior.
However, research analyzing the sexual behavior of
adolescents in the United States has shown that sex
education and the availability of condoms and contraceptives
do not lead to earlier initiation of sexual activity, more sex
or more sexual partners. And seriously, even if it did
increase sexual activity, is that really enough reason to
choose NOT to prevent cervical cancer? The new vaccine, like
condoms, promises to vastly reduce the risks associated with
sex, and to save hundreds of thousands of lives.
Pope declares IVF embryos have right to life
Pope Benedict XVI during a conference said embryos
developed for in vitro fertilization have a right to life even
before they are implanted in a woman's uterus (Winfield, AP/
Detroit Free Press, 2/28). Appearing before the Pontifical
Academy for Life, which opened the international conference
on the scientific and bioethical considerations of "The Human
Embryo Before Implantation," Benedict declared every
human life "sacred and inviolable." He added, "This moral
judgment is valid from the start of the life of an embryo,
even before it is implanted in the maternal womb." Exactly
how these embryos are supposed to exercise their right to
lifenamely, where the surrogate mothers will come from
(The Handmaids Tale, here we come) was not addressed.
The pope also emphasized the Catholic Church's opposition to
IVF, saying it replaces love between a husband and wife. The
church only allows reproductive assistance if it "facilitates"
sexual activity between a couple.
The Guttmacher Institute summarizes abortion
restrictions
Although the nation is currently focused (with good reason)
on the changing Supreme Court and its impact on the future
of abortion rights, The Guttmacher Institute reminds us that
an increasing number of state-level restrictions already
jeopardize access to safe abortion.
- Twenty-nine states mandate that a woman seeking an
abortion be given counseling including information intended
to discourage her from obtaining the procedure, such as a
purported link with breast cancer; 24 states require a
woman seeking an abortion to wait a specified period of
time, usually 24 hours, between when she receives
counseling and when the procedure is performed.
- Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia prohibit the
use of public funds to pay for abortion for low-income
women, even when it is medically necessary, generally
making exceptions only in cases of life endangerment, rape
or incest. Only 17 states use their own funds to pay for all or
most medically necessary abortions for Medicaid enrollees.
- Thirty-four states require some type of parental
involvement in a minors decision to have an abortion:
Twenty-one states require one or both parents to consent to
the procedure, while 13 require that a parent be notified.
The above reports were compiled from alerts by the Kaiser
Family Foundation and The Guttmacher Institute. Visit their web
sites to learn more about the latest in reproductive health and
rights issues!
ACCESS Around Town
Recent & Upcoming Events
Have you seen ACCESS lately? Weve been hosting and
attending events around the Bay Area and California, and
hope to see you at one soon! Heres just a little review of
past and future eventsand how you can help us organize an
event in your area!
Back in early December, ACCESS held our holiday Open
House at our office in Oakland. This annual party gives
folks a chance to learn more about our programs and see
how we actually work, and of course to meet our board, staff
and volunteers in person! As always, the event included lots
of good food, fun conversation, and fabulous door prizes.
Attendees who made a donation of $5 were entered in our
drawing and had the chance to win goodies and gift
certificates donated by Good Vibrations, Peets Coffee, La
Mediterranee, The Parkway Theater, PlantIt Earth and
others. We want to again extend a warm 'thank you' to all
the those who made it out to celebrate with us! And for those
of you who missed it, we hope youll join us this year on
Tuesday, December 12, 2006!
In January 2006, to mark the 33rd anniversary of Roe v
Wade, ACCESS hosted an event featuring a screening of
PBS Frontlines The Last Abortion Clinic and a panel
discussion of access to abortion in California. The event was
co-sponsored by New College's Center for Education and
Social Action and held in their theater on Valencia in San
Francisco. If you havent seen it, "The Last Abortion Clinic"
provides a stark look at access to abortion in Mississippi,
where anti-abortion forces have driven all but one abortion
provider out of business. This dire lack of providers,
combined with a maze of restrictive laws and no public
funding for abortion, leaves poor women and women in rural
areas of Mississippi, who are disproportionately women of
color, with few reproductive options.
The film was followed by a panel of abortion providers and
ACCESS practical support volunteers discussing the situation
here and how women in California areand are notbetter
off when seeking an abortion than women in Mississippi.
About thirty people turned out to see the film, and ACCESS
raised $350 and recruited several new Practical Support
volunteers to provide housing and transportation for women
coming to San Francisco to get an abortion. There was also a
lot of interest in holding similar events around the state. If
you would like to host or organize a party to show the
Frontline video and raise awareness of barriers to abortion,
let us know! We are already planning more house parties and
events in San Francisco, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz, and
wed love to come to your area too!
On Wednesday, March 29th, ACCESS will be in Sacramento
for Reproductive Freedom Day, an annual event put
on by the California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom. This
years program includes workshops, visits with state
legislators, dynamic speakers, a rally at the capitol and lots
more all with hundreds of reproductive rights activists
from around the state! To join us at CCRF Day, visit the
ACCESS website at www.whrc-access.org for more
information and a registration form.
Finally, dont miss the new ACCESS monthly volunteer
night, held from 5:30-8:30pm on the second Tuesday of
each month in our Oakland office (near Macarthur BART)!
Each month we'll work on a combination of special projects
and on-going office needs. Come every month or just when
you can. Food and fun provided by ACCESS! RSVP to join us
next time on Tuesday, April 11th!
Make sure that you know about all our future events and
activities! Update your email address and preferences
below to get all the info you want, when you want it. You can
sign
up for our quarterly newsletter, action alerts, event and
conference invitations, and/or volunteer opportunities! And
don't forget that ACCESS is always available to speak at
your office, school or community group about reproductive
health issues or access to abortion. Just contact us for more
information at 510-923-0739 or info@whrc-access.org!
Real Women, Real Choices
Life on the ACCESS Hotline
Names and other identifying information have
been changed to protect each caller's
confidentiality.
Molly called for abortion referrals. She took a home
pregnancy test that came out positive. She has insurance and
although shes not absolutely sure what she wants to do,
whether to get abortion or possibly keep the pregnancy, she
was very upset by the pregnancy counseling center in the
small town where she went for a pregnancy test. Molly said
they more or less shoved her in a room by herself, showed
her the video The Silent Scream and told her she would be
going to hell if she had an abortion. She said she just got up
and left. While she was telling me the story she got upset
and said she was just trying to make the right decision and
didn't want to be pushed into feeling that she was considering
doing something wrong. I sympathized and told her that
because she was so early in pregnancy, she had time to think
about things before she made her decision. I gave Molly the
referrals and then suggested that she call her insurance and
make sure that they will cover the cost.
Laura from San Francisco General Hospital called
about a 16 year old girl there who is pregnant and doesnt
want an abortion. However, her family does not support this.
They want her to get an abortion or else they will kick her
out. She was hoping we can help get some referrals to help
house the girl. I told her I would get some info and call her
back. I called the teen pregnancy and parenting program in
Richmond because that was where the girl is from. I spoke to
someone named Cecilia who was wonderful! She gave me
some referrals for places that could help with housing. I also
called Huckleberry house and asked if they would help. I
spoke to the supervisor and she said they would be able to
temporarily house her. I referred all this info to
SFGH.
Teresa has been in a relationship with her
boyfriend for two years, during which there was a period of
separation when he was sexually active with other women.
Teresa has been experiencing blisters and warts and pain
during and after intercourse. Her boyfriend was tested for
STIs and was negative (although shes not entirely sure if
hes being honest with her about the test results). She says
he is taking no responsibility and that makes her feel angry.
I gave her info about Family PACT and several referrals and
also encouraged her to discuss her concerns with him and to
perhaps take him with her to get retested. I also said that
although I'm not a doctor and can't diagnose her over the
phone, what she's describing sounds like it could be herpes,
which doesn't always show up on the tests they do for STIs,
so she should be sure to tell them her symptoms in detail.
She expressed feelings of shame and embarrassment and I
tried to comfort her by validating her concerns and letting
her know that taking care of herself is a priority, and the fact
that shes calling us shows her concern for her health. I told
her that many other women are in her situation and that
there are treatments available that can make her sex life
pleasurable again. I also advised her that its very important
to use a condom during intercourse so that theres no more
sharing of the disease.
Melinda called from the Central Valley needing
abortion clinic referrals. She started the call by asking is
abortion still legal? [This was in December 2005!] I said yes
and gave her the referrals and procedure info she wanted. I
also told her about Medi-Cal and that it covers abortion
because she is uninsured and was planning on paying cash.
This girl called asking for Jane (the name we use to leave a
message when a call is confidential). I told her I could talk to
her. I asked what she was calling about and she said Um,
my baby I guess. Then, I dont know, I'm kinda ashamed. I
let her know we dont judge and she could feel comfortable
talking to us. Antionette started to tell me she
found out she was pregnant not long ago and she is pretty far
along, 18.5 weeks by LMP (date of her last menstrual
period). She said she wasnt sure what she wanted to do
because her boyfriend wants her to have his baby, thats why
they had unprotected sex, although she didnt really want a
baby right now. She just started college and wants to finish
school. She is living with her mom right now but her mom is
planning to move out of the area and she would stay there on
her own to finish school, so financially this would be a
problem. She seems pretty sure she doesnt want a baby now
(she says maybe later), but she is still ambivalent because
her boyfriend wants her to have it although he said hell
support whatever choice she makes. She said she just wants
this over with and asked for abortion referrals. I gave her
numbers for the second-trimester abortion providers in San
Jose and San Francisco and let her know how long she had to
get an abortion. I also gave her the number to her local
Planned Parenthood for more options counseling if she wants
it, and encouraged her to call us back if she wanted to talk
more or if she had any problems along the way.
Fred was calling as a way to be supportive to his
girlfriend who had a medical abortion a few months back and
had been doing well until recently. Now she has been having
major problems dealing with the post-abortion emotions, and
as a way of being supportive he had called the clinic and they
referred him to us. I explained that we offer peer counseling
over the phone, but he asked for referrals to in-person
counselors and I gave him the ones I had in his area. We
talked for a while and he seemed very supportive of his
girlfriend. He said hed encourage her to call us herself.
Marisol was just turned away from a clinic in
Concord because shes 20 weeks pregnant and has Medi-Cal
(which they don't accept). They had told her to call us for
help with money to pay for an abortion there. I explained
that San Francisco General Hospital would still take Medi-Cal
up to 23 weeks and that she should call them and try to
make an appointment. I also told her if she cant get an
appointment, to call me back so I can help her weigh her
other options. Theres also a clinic in Oakland that goes up to
22 weeks if she can get there before its too late. She said
she has transportation to get there. She was very sad
because her boyfriend passed away 3 months ago and she
was so overwhelmed with grief that she just found out 2
weeks ago that she was pregnant and needs this abortion.
You Can Make Choice A Reality
Donate to ACCESS today!
ACCESS relies on the financial support of people like
you to
keep our programs running. Every dollar you give
helps us
reach another woman in need of reproductive health
information or support. What can your donation help
us do?
$10 = makes 150 copies of our bilingual English and Spanish
hotline outreach cards
$25 = pays for an ACCESS outreach table at local community
events and health fairs
$36 = one month of phonebook advertising in Monterey
County for the English and Spanish hotlines
$67 = a roundtrip bus ticket to Sacramento from Merced, a
county with no abortion provider
$85 = one night in a San Francisco hotel for a woman getting
a second trimester abortion
$150 = monthly stipend for an intern who volunteers 10
hours or more each week on the hotline
$450 = one month's phone bill, including the more than 600
calls to our toll-free hotlines
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phone:
510-923-0739
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Mission
ACCESS is dedicated to making reproductive choice a
reality.
Our programs promote real reproductive options and
access to
quality health care for all women. No other California
organization provides the same range of support to
women who
are considering or seeking an abortion.
Board of Directors
Raquel Donoso, Nora Dye, Zo�Harte, Yojani
Hernandez, Reichi
Lee, Deborah McSmith, Jerrie Meadows, Christine
Powell,
Shailushi Baxi Ritchie, Ellen Schwerin
Staff
Alma Avila-Pilchman, J. Parker Dockray
Interns
Sepi Aghdaee, Elena Foshay, Janet O'Connor, Becca
Palmer, Kristin Simonson, Sophia Song, Aby Vanterpool
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