Author: catherine

SCOTUS to hear argument limiting/banning abortion pill

SCOTUS to hear argument limiting/banning abortion pill

Tuesday, March 26th, US Supreme Court to hear oral arguments to limit or ban the abortion pill mifepristone

“The same U.S. Supreme Court that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion will hear oral arguments Tuesday over access to mifepristone, a pharmaceutical used in both medication abortion and miscarriage care.

The nine justices will then decide whether to leave access to the drug intact or require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to revert prescribing instructions to what were in place before 2016.

The court decision will affect the entire country, including states that have sought to shore up access to reproductive rights following the Dobbs ruling less than two years ago.

The Supreme Court opinion, likely not to come until late spring, will land in the middle of a presidential campaign in which Democrats are elevating the question of reproductive rights. The debate is also likely to affect GOP efforts to grow their majority in the U.S. House and flip the Senate red….” Click here to read the NC Newsline story by Jennifer Shutt.

The real issue is that while the legality of mifepristone may not be at risk, access and availability of the medication most definitely are. The Court could turn the clock back to 2000 approval levels, 2016, pre-pandemic or pre-telemedicine – making it impossible for many to get abortion care.

“Reinstating an in-person requirement could substantially curtail access to abortion in the post-Roe v. Wade landscape. With abortion almost completely illegal in 14 states and banned after six weeks in two more, people seeking to terminate pregnancies are now far more likely to rely on telemedicine….” Click here to read the 19th News story by Shefali Luthra

This case is also about the Comstock Act which was passed by Congress in 1873. The religious zealots cited the Comstock Law in their Texas lawsuit because the Comstock Law makes it illegal to use the mail for transporting any “obscene, lewd, or lascivious book, pamphlet, picture, paper, print, or other publication of an indecent character, or any article or thing designed or intended for the prevention of conception or procuring of abortion.” Click here to read more, story by Grace Haley.

SCOTUS could decide to uphold the Comstock Act, thereby making the distribution of mediation abortion by mail illegal. 

Mifepristone is one of two pills in mediation abortion used to end a pregnancy.

Mifepristone is safe. “[Mifepristone] has been used for over 20 years by over five million people with the capacity to become pregnant,” said Ushma Upadhyay, an associate professor in the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive science at the University of California, San Francisco. “Its safety is very well established.”

https://www.cnn.com/health/abortion-pill-safety-dg/index.html

Is Mifepristone effective? “The researchers found that the medication was effective – it ended the pregnancy without any additional follow-up care for 97.7% of patients.” Read more here.

“Mifepristone was approved by the FDA over two decades ago, in September 2000 for medical termination of pregnancy through seven weeks gestation and this was extended to ten weeks gestation in 2016. FDA approved a generic version of Mifeprex, Mifepristone Tablets, 200 mg, in April 2019.” Read more here

France Leads The Way!

France Leads The Way!

In France, the message  to all women is:
“your body belongs to you and no one can decide for you.”
In the USA, the message to women is: “you are chattel.”

>> IT IS POSSIBLE >>
AND FRANCE HAS DONE IT!!

💥 ⭐️ France became the first country in the world to enshrine abortion in its constitution! ⭐️ 💥

 

On Monday, In a joint session of Parliament, french lawmakers voted 780 to 72, to amend the constitution to specify a woman’s right to an abortion is guaranteed. Following the vote, nearly the entire joint legislature stood in a standing ovation.

This action was taken in response to the US Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Abortion has been legal in France since 1974 but many felt it needed to be better protected.

Here in the United States, the stakes couldn’t be higher, and that’s why we’re fighting so hard: our most basic freedoms are on the line.

In the USA, our bodily autonomy is being controlled by ol’fashion religious fanaticism. That fire and brimstone mindset is dictating US policy, practices and law. Look at the US Supreme Court —the mifepristone federal court judge, the Alabama fetal personhood anti-IVF Supreme Court — ALL the judges appointed by Trump and many by Bush I and II.

TAKE ACTION!
We must pass national legislation protecting abortion rights. BUT we will only be able to do so if we elect pro-choice voices to every level of government to protect our rights against the religious fanaticism!

This election – 2024 – we must elect a pro-choice Trifecta (House, Senate and White House) in November. But we can only do so with your help.

CATCH Center for Analysis and Tracking of Clinic Harassers

CATCH Center for Analysis and Tracking of Clinic Harassers

CATCH
Center for Analysis and Tracking of Clinic Harassers

An essential tool in the fight to protect our communities here & across the country

Westchester Coalition for Legal Abortion – Choice Matters Inc. (Choice Matters) seeks support for post-pilot development of CATCH, a digital resource that captures the legal tools necessary to fight all those that perpetrate human right violations against abortion providers, patients, and medical facilities.

Attacks on abortion clinics, patients, and providers have hit a record high. The National Abortion Federation (NAF) recorded these 2021 increases: 600% in stalking; 450% in blockades; 163% in hoax devices/suspicious packages; 129% in invasions; and 128% in assault and battery. In 2022, even as many clinics were forced to close, every form of violence increased over 2021.

Providers and medical facilities have limited tools and strategies to fight back. While there are national databases that track laws and incidents, no organization is tracking anti-abortion terrorist individuals or successful legal remedies. In exhaustive detail, CATCH records extremist tactics and analyzes who, what, where, when, how—thereby tracking the anatomy of the crime, including the opposition’s attorneys, legal strategies, verdicts, judges, sentences, and more. It can identify a legal precedent to battle roadblocks injected by the defense. It identifies everything a medical facility, law enforcement agency and/or district attorneys needs to win, prosecute, and hold criminals accountable.

A Record of Success

“Key to our victory both in court and with the quashing of two subpoenas was Catherine Lederer-Plaskett. The work that Catherine and her CATCH staff are doing is critical. Without their work, abortion providers will continue to struggle to respond to this new form of vigilantism.” —Constance Considine, Chief Administrator, All Women’s Medical Office Based Surgery, PLLC

>CATCH was key to the successful prosecution of three violent perpetrators who invaded a reproductive medical facility in White Plains, NY, on 11/27/2021, providing the Westchester County District Attorney and the independent counsel to the medical facility with the information needed to quash two subpoenas and obtain a conviction and tough sentencing.

>In 2023, CATCH research successfully defended the Westchester County “Clinic Access Law,” the Reproductive Health Care Facilities Access Act, in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, denying the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction.

>In June 2023, CATCH stood with NYS Attorney General Letitia James to announce a lawsuit against militant, anti-abortionists Red Rose Rescue for the blocking and invading of clinics.

BACKGROUND

A New Wave of Anti-Choice Extremists

The modus operandi of new wave anti-abortion agitators like Red Rose Rescue, Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust and Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising is to invade and occupy reproductive healthcare facilities while other agitators overwhelm and terrify patients. These dangerous extremists are not bound by state lines. Unfortunately, most law enforcement is. The same people who attacked in White Plains, Long Island and New York City have crossed into New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and elsewhere. Medical facilities are defenseless against these tactics, which waste time and money that would otherwise serve women’s vital medical needs. CATCH will assist jurisdictions as they fight these battles, allowing prosecutors, police and health centers to “learn” across state lines and defend women’s rights to safely access medical clinics.

2022 Successful Prosecution of White Plains Clinic Invaders

CATCH staff collected and catalogued actual accounts as presented by the vigilantes’ social media accounts: their own words were used to document their actions and intent, including photographs and videos of the invasion from various sources. Arguments from similar crimes were collected. Histories of these men’s past criminal trespasses were collected, documenting an extensive history of violent actions. This information supported the Westchester County District Attorney’s office and the independent counsel to the medical facility; the former used the full amalgamation of research, while the independent counsel used past arguments as a guide to quash two subpoenas. The three invaders were convicted and sentenced to the fullest extent permitted under the law.

Using CATCH to Defend A Clinic Safety Law

In August 2022, two challenges to the June 2022 Westchester County “Clinic Access Law,” the Reproductive Health Care Facilities Access Act, were filed in federal court. The plaintiffs made a motion for an immediate injunction, claiming that the law prohibited sidewalk counsellors [sic] – anti- abortion activists – from exercising their First Amendment rights. CATCH laid bare the opposition’s social media and online accounts, showing videos in which the plaintiffs laid out their strategies and goal, to overturn Hill v. Colorado, upon which all clinic access buffer zones are based. CATCH photographed and videotaped demonstrators in front of clinics in Westchester County, documenting anti-choice zealots exercising their First Amendment rights. The Westchester County Attorney’s Office based its entire objection to the motion for an immediate injunction on materials provided by CATCH and won. The motion was denied! “The judge relied upon the photos and videos you [CATCH] provided in his decision.” —Westchester County Attorney John Nonna

CATCH will continue to provide assistance to the Westchester County Attorney’s Office, including most recently with the filing of an amicus brief.

About Our Fiscal Sponsor, The Center for Transformative Action (CTA)

The Center for Transformative Action (CTA) is an independent 501(c)3 organization affiliated with Cornell University. Founded over 50 years ago, in 1971, as the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy (CRESP), CTA’s purpose is to help create communities that are socially just, ecologically sound, and work for everyone. Because of CTA’s fiscal sponsorship status, all donations to CATCH are tax deductible. Their website is The Center for Transformative Action.

Together We Deliver

Together We Deliver

Dear Friends,

#GivingTuesday is one of the most important events of the year, and it’s only 9 days away. We hope you will choose to support Choice Matters.

Help us build a healthy, thriving democracy  in which every woman has a say in her future. Please donate today.

For over 50 years, Choice Matters has fought for full, unimpeded access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare for ALL. We’ve never wavered. Our work creates lasting, systemic change.

For Choice Matters, 2023 was a BIG year.
💥 94% of the candidates we supported won!

💥 In Albany, Choice Matters saw bills signed into law that we consider key to protecting and advancing reproductive health care, including legislation:
1.Requiring all 89 SUNY and CUNY universities to provide access to medication abortion on campus or with a referral;
2. Expanding protection to healthcare providers when providing medication abortion via telehealth to patients living in states where it may be restricted or outlawed; and
3.Permitting  specifically trained pharmacists to distribute self-administered contraceptives, even if patients don’t have a prescription from their doctor or nurse practitioner.

💥  Choice Matters established CATCH (Center for Analysis and Tracking of Clinic Harassers). This unique national resource center tracks anti-abortion terrorists, compiles strategic resources for clinics, and will showcase legal strategies to successfully halt harassers from violent attacks.

💥 Choice Matters joined together with Citizens for a Democratic Judiciary to demand a more transparent process in the selection of judges.

Your support will help Choice Matters mobilize more women to advocate for their rights and expand their participation and impact.#GivingTuesday!

Abortion Rights – The BIG Winner!

Abortion Rights – The BIG Winner!

Abortion Rights WON BIG on Tuesday, November 7th!

Abortion was on the ballot across the country — from Ohio to Kentucky to Virginia to Westchester County — and voters were decisive and unequivocal They voted to protect abortion rights and the candidates who stand for comprehensive reproductive health care, by a clear margin.

Ohio passed its proposition, putting abortion rights into the state constitution despite an onslaught of intentional deception by anti-choice zealots. With the passage of the ballot measure, Ohio’s six-week abortion ban is derailed. Ohio will be prevented from restricting abortion access before fetal viability.

Kentucky re-elected pro-choice Democratic Governor Andy Beshear in a bright red state. Beshear ran openly and proudly as a champion of comprehensive reproductive health care while his Republican opponent Daniel Cameron’s anti-abortion record became a key issue in the race. Cameron supports a total abortion ban with very limited exceptions.

Virginia defeated anti-choice Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin who wasn’t even on the ballot. Youngkin invested heavily in supporting GOP candidates to take control of the state’s Senate and House of Delegates. Youngkin — promoting what would have resulted in a GOP trifecta state win — promised a 15-week abortion ban. He LOST! Not only did the Democrats maintain control of the Virginia State Senate, they flipped the House of Delegates in their favor!

Westchester has re-elected its pro-choice Board of Legislators — a pro-active board that in the face of violence against women, providers and reproductive health care facilities — passed the first safe clinic access bill to ever become law in our County.

The candidates running on the Republican line for Westchester County Board of Legislators (and in several of the towns and villages) were anti-choice and many were extreme MAGA Republicans  — with a primary focus being to overturn the “Safe Clinic Access” legislation passed into law in 2022. There were enough contested seats on the ballot to change the balance of the Board on Legislators from pro-choice to anti-choice.

Our voters came out in force here in Westchester and pro-choice voters came out across the country. That did not happen by accident.

A lot of hard work, sweat and, yes, tears goes into this work. It cannot happen without your support. We need to keep our eyes on 2024 and use this election to propel us forward.

WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO! 

THE 2024 Elections are HERE! The ERA will be on the ballot in New York AND all the seats in the NYS Senate and Assembly. Please make a donation now in support of our work that starts today as we turn our focus to the 2024 elections. 

CAN WE COUNT ON YOU?

The Post-Roe Monologues – Don’t Miss Out!

The Post-Roe Monologues – Don’t Miss Out!

Dear Friends,

On November 6th, the night before Election Day 2023, you have the unique opportunity to see The Post-Roe Monologues, written by Mimi Zieman, an OB/GYN, researcher and interviewer. Zieman wrote this play in direct response to the Dobbs decision. It was and is inspired by the true stories from her work.

Those of us who care “know”.

What do we know? That the past 16 months have been hell for anyone seeking or providing abortion care in the United States.

The Dobbs decision brought with it a tidal wave of assaults on access to abortion care.

But it has also brought very loud voices, spanning the country, coming from every single state, fighting back. Whether for candidates who support comprehensive reproductive health care or referendums demanding the inclusion of abortion care in state constitutions, our voices are loud. We will be heard.

THIS PLAY – The Post-Roe Monologues – IS INSPIRATIONAL!!!!!

https://www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org/mch/event/the-post-roe-monologues/  

Special availability for Seniors and Students.
To Become a Sponsor – Click Here!

The Post-Roe Monologues
 

The Post-Roe Monologues, a play with music, was written by an OB/GYN in the trenches of caring for people affected by the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The play uniquely delivers on all levels, presenting a diverse cast of characters—inspired by true stories, interviews, and research—who deliver poignant monologues, and who interact in surprising ways. Those interactions underlie the theme of “we are all connected,” because although people may think that the Dobbs Supreme Court ruling doesn’t affect them – it does. These stories are intimate. These stories increase understanding, compassion, and motivate action.

We are planning a timely and urgent one-night presentation of The Post-Roe Monologues and are reaching out to you to join our team.

This performance will feature star actors, followed by a panel discussion to raise funds for reproductive rights groups including the National Abortion Hotline, and Choice Matters.Will you join us?

Sponsorship* Opportunities, and listing in the program:
Co-Producer: $5,000.00, includes four tickets to the show and post-panel reception.
Associate Producer: $2,500.00 includes two tickets to the show and post-panel reception.
Champion: $1,000.00 includes two tickets to the show and post-panel reception.

The Post-Roe Team
Amas Musical theater (Donna Trinkoff/Artistic Producer) is a non-profit theater devoted to the creation of new American musicals, celebration of equity and minority perspectives, and the emergence of new artistic talent.

Executive Producer:Jim Kierstead is a Grammy-nominated, Emmy, Olivier, and six-time Tony Award-winning producer of the Broadway, touring, Toronto, and London productions of Kinky Boots, Pippin, Hadestown, The Inheritance, The Lehman Trilogy, and Company.

Producer:Lisa Reich co-produced regional, and Off-Broadway shows, and executive produced several award-winning short films and was associate producer for an Emmy nominated series.

Director:Maria Torres is a world-renowned choreographer, director, producer, and performer whose contributions have led the way for Latinos in the arts. She is an active member of the League of Professional Theater Women and founded the Maria Torres Emerging Artists Foundation to mentor aspiring artists.

Playwright and Producer:Mimi Zieman, MD is the author of Managing Contraception, the forthcoming memoir, Tap Dancing on Everest, and numerous published essays.

*tax-deductible and payable to Amas for “Post-Roe.” ID: 23-7057226. Address: 630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1400, New York, NY 10036

Co-Hosts Include:
in formation


 

 

 

 

 

2022 Accomplishments – A Timeline

2022 Accomplishments – A Timeline

We were joined by the many who know how much Choice Matters has done to advance abortion rights — including US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, NYS Attorney General Tish James, NYS Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado, Congresswoman Nita Lowey, Assembly members Amy Paulin, Tom Abinanti & Sandy Galef and Emmy-Award winning comedian Judy Gold. It was a night spent toasting accomplishments & strategizing for the future.

Texas, Oklahoma, Idaho, Tennessee, Indiana

Texas, Oklahoma, Idaho, Tennessee, Indiana

Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, and Idaho begin enforcing near-total abortion bans today and North Dakota is set to do so tomorrow. As of tomorrow, 12 states will have outlawed abortion in almost all instances. These bans will contribute to growing regional abortions deserts.* 

This is what the United State looks like today, August 25, 2022.

1 in 3 women cannot access abortion care. Doctors are frightened to provide abortion care to women even in cases of a life-or-death emergency, for fear the state will disagree with their evaluation and, as a result, revoke their licenses and sentence them to a term of up to life in jail.

Tennessee’s ban has added to a regional abortion desert in the Southeast. Now, people seeking abortions in the South have few options — they can travel to North Carolina, Illinois or Indiana (where an abortion ban takes effect September 15). People who are under 15 weeks can also travel to Florida.

This is the reality and it is horrific. All who can procreate have a target on their backs.

BUT we can change the future. Not by sitting around and licking our wounds but with hard work. It will be a long haul. BUT We Can Do This! And We Must!

Choice Matters has been doing heavy lifting for a long time. We saw this coming, and we are prepared.

Join Us!

TOGETHER WE DID THIS! Equality Amendment PASSES!

TOGETHER WE DID THIS! Equality Amendment PASSES!

YOU DID THIS! 

>The NYS Legislature heard you and at their Special Session they voted to pass the Equality Amendment. (Click here to read it.)

> Tell your legislators Thank You! They passed the Equality Amendment.

> Call them and say, “Thank You!” 

  • Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins – (518) 455-2585
  • Speaker Heastie – (518) 455-3791; AND
  • your own NYS Senator and Assembly representative. Find their contact information here: https://openstates.org/ny/legislators/

The Bill numbers are: (A10468A/S8797A)

Here is a Sample Script you can use:
“Hello, my name is __________ from zip code ________. I’m contacting {legislator’s name} to say THANK YOU for passing the Equality Amendment. With the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the protections it provides, we must protect abortion in our state constitution. New York State has taken one step closer. Thank you.”

DO IT TODAY. 

> What happens next: The Equality Amendment will now start the three year process needed to put Roe on the ballot in New York in 2024. Next year, the NYS legislature must again pass the Equality Amendment. Once that happens, it will be placed on the ballot.

> Summary of the Equality Amendment: “Provides that no person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws of this state or any subdivision thereof; provides no person shall, because of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, creed, religion, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, reproductive healthcare and autonomy, be subjected to any discrimination in their civil rights by any other person or by any firm, corporation, or institution, or by the state or any agency or subdivision of the state.”