Author: Choicematters

You Did It! We Did It!

Last night was a great night for Choice!

Choice Matters had one heck of a great night. With only two exceptions, every single one of our endorsed candidates won!

Our bright yellow pro-choice voting guide, the WCLA PAC get-out-the-vote calls, and the rides to the polls all came together to make the difference.

We are particularly proud of the role Choice Matters played in the victories in the 37th NYS Senate District where George Latimer was victorious, despite being outspent by historic proportions for a state race, and in the 93rd NYS Assembly District where David Buchwald defeated an anti-choice incumbent.

Choice Matters’ winning endorsements:

  • Barack Obama (President)
  • Joe Biden (Vice President)
  • Kirsten Gillibrand (U.S. Senator)
  • Gerald Loehr, Maria Rosa, Sandra Sciorino (NYS Supreme Court Justices, 9th Judicial District)
  • David Zuckerman (Westchester County Court Judge)
  • Eliot Engel, Nita Lowey, Sean Patrick Maloney (US House of Representatives)
  • Jeff Klein, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Ruth H. Thompson, George Latimer, David Carlucci, (NYS Senate)
  • Amy Paulin, Gary Pretlow, Shelley Mayer, Steve Otis, Tom Abinanti, David Buchwald, Sandy Galef (NYS Assembly)

Choice played a vital role in the election again this year. We found ourselves defending our right to use birth control, and were repeatedly told by anti- choice extremists such crazy notions like pregnancy by rape never occurs but when it does it is a blessing from God.

Our bright yellow voting guide again proved its power. All over Westchester you saw people carry Choice Matters’ bright yellow voting guide in with them to vote.

Our mailed voting guide is still the best way to ensure that people vote for pro-choice candidates. Please help us continue our work! Contribute.

Full results can be viewed here.

George Latimer vs. Bob Cohen – The Facts

David vs. Goliath
George Latimer vs. Bob Cohen
– The Facts –

George Latimer (D, WF) and Bob Cohen (R, C, I) are running for the open seat being vacated by retiring pro-choice Senator Suzie Oppenheimer.

Choice Matters’ endorsements are made solely on the issue of Choice. We have, however, received a significant number of inquiries regarding the State Senate race in the 37th district. Therefore, we are sharing additional information.

On the issue of Women’s Reproductive Rights:
George Latimer is 100% pro-choice.
George Latimer has worked to advance a reproductive rights and health agenda in the Assembly since 2004, including sponsoring the Reproductive Health Act and voting to ensure women have access to emergency contraception.

As an Assemblyman and former Chairman of the Westchester County Board of Legislators, Latimer has been an outspoken advocate for legislation that ensures access to vital health care services for women.
Bob Cohen is anti-choice.
Bob Cohen refused to stand up for even the most basic of needs, safe access to reproductive health clinics – despite repeated requests addressed to Cohen and to his campaign.
Cohen also refuses to tell the public his position on the Reproductive Health Act – a bill New York desperately needs to pass.
To get the facts, click here and read our piece titled “Bob Cohen is anti-choice!  NO if’s and’s or but’s about it“
On the issue of New York State’s Fair Pay Act – Equal Pay for Equal Work legislation:
George Latimer is a supporter and voted in favor of its passage in 2011 and 2012. (www.assembly.state.ny.us Bill Search: A.06130).

Bob Cohen is silent on the issue. There is nothing on his website concerning the Fair Pay Act – Equal Pay for Equal Work legislation

On the issue of Cancer and Cancer Research:
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is the nation’s leading cancer advocacy organization. Its Cancer Votes initiative has produced a questionnaire to establish the candidates’ position on cancer. They distributed questionnaires but are not endorsing. (Click here to see the questionnaire.)
14 people are diagnosed with cancer each and every day right here in Westchester.

George Latimer returned his questionnaire promptly.

Bob Cohen was silent on the issue, refusing to answer the questionnaire despite repeated requests.

On the issue of Taxes:
George Latimer has: 1. Voted to cut State Income Tax rates to the lowest levels in 58 years (www.assembly.state.ny.us Bill Search: A.40001); 2. Voted to eliminate the MTA Payroll Tax for over 25,000 small businesses, and all public and private schools (www.assembly.state.ny.us Bill Search: A.40002); 3. Sponsored legislation to eliminate the 1989 tax surcharge on home sales (www.assembly.state.ny.us Bill Search: A.307); 4. Sponsored bi-partisan legislation for full elimination of the MTA Payroll Tax (www.assembly.state.ny.us Bill Search: A.5616 and A.8193); 5. Cut taxes for 3 straight years (1998-2001) as Chairman of the Westchester County Board of Legislators (Westchester County Board of Legislators, 914-995-2800).

Bob Cohen has no voting record.
Click here for more information on the race and particularly tax issues,  The Hottest Race for the NYS Senate: George Latimer vs. Bob Cohen, by David Singer, 10/18/2012.
N.Y. Board: “Slumlord” ad against GOPer is accurate, Salon, by Jillian Rayfield. 10/19/2012.

Anti-Choice Castelli Puts Religion above Women’s Health

Every year Choice Matters sends all candidates a questionnaire to establish her/his position on women’s reproductive rights.

This year Robert Castelli–the assemblyman for the 93rd district—used the New York State Catholic Conference’s language on his questionnaire to argue against the Reproductive Health Act.

Castelli claimed that “it [the Reproductive Health Act] would close Catholic hospitals.”

That’s patently false and Castelli knows it. Ask him to show you where in the bill it says anything about requiring hospitals to provide specific services. He can’t because it doesn’t exist.

The Reproductive Health Act has nothing to do with hospitals. It is a bill, that if passed, would bring New York’s reproductive rights legislation in line with 21st century medical practices and the protection of women’s health.
In fact, the bill specifically references existing state and federal law that allows hospitals to NOT provide reproductive services if it is against its religious or moral principles.

Many reproductive rights advocates have met with Castelli to educate him about the Reproductive Health Act. I have also spent a lot of time speaking with him about the issues raised in our questionnaire.

It should be noted, Castelli did not say, “it will close religious hospitals.” He said, “Catholic hospitals.”  Why? Maybe because that’s the argument with which he was provided.

On October 28, 2010, in a speech to the Bishops of Brazil, the Pope declared, “Bishops have the right to tell their citizens how to use their vote to promote the common good.”

And that is exactly what the public policy voice for New York Bishops, the New York State Catholic Conference, does.  Members meet with elected legislators, lay out the bills to which they object and provide the arguments legislators can use. (That is not separation of church and state!)

Castelli could have used other language like, “I oppose abortion” or “I oppose contraception.” But he didn’t because he wants to claim he is pro-choice. Castelli knows that if Westchester voters knew the truth, that Castelli is anti-choice, he never would have been elected.

“Pro-choice” has become a marketing term in Westchester because Westchester voters vote Choice. Candidates who don’t support women’s reproductive rights can be found announcing to a group of women, “I am pro-choice.”– even if they only believe in abortion in cases of rape and incest— and that we know is definitively anti-choice

Nan Hayworth claimed to be pro-choice. But once elected, Hayworth became a favorite of anti-choice groups.  Hayworth currently boasts an 80% approval rating from the National Right to Life Organization; she has co-sponsored two of their bills and voted to de-fund Planned Parenthood.  That sure doesn’t sound like someone who is pro-choice to us.  Does it to you?

Castelli has turned his back on Rockefeller Republicans and, instead, aligned himself with the far right agenda coming out of Washington.

Castelli has a record of voting against women.  In each of the last three legislative sessions, Castelli opposed the Domestic Violence Escalation Prevention Act — a measure that would prevent domestic violence incidents from increasing in frequency and intensity by making it more difficult for perpetrators with a history of domestic violence to obtain guns.

Castelli also voted against the so-called microstamping bill in June that would have required all semi-automatic pistols manufactured or delivered to any licensed firearms dealer in the State of New York to be capable of micro-stamping ammunition resulting in a unique alpha-numeric or geometric code appear at least twice on each cartridge case. The code would make it easier for authorities to identify the make, model and serial number of the firearm. This bill was strongly supported by law enforcement agencies and opposed by gun manufacturers.

Candidate Bob Cohen is Anti-Choice!!

Bob Cohen is anti-choice!  NO if’s and’s or but’s about it.

This man will say anything to get elected and that makes him the most dangerous kind of candidate there is.

Bob Cohen already has a history of turning his back on the women of Westchester.

In the spring of 2012, Choice Matters tried to give Cohen the opportunity to stand up for the rights of women. After all, he’d been a NYS Senate candidate in 2010 and was already campaigning for the newly redrawn 37th Senate district seat.

Choice Matters asked Cohen to submit a letter in support of the most basic right—the right to access reproductive health clinics safely, right here in Westchester, without fear of being kicked, grabbed, hit, physically menaced or blocked from entry. Cohen was non-responsive.

As many of you may remember, that proposed law had been carefully reviewed by the New York Civil Liberties Union to make sure that all first amendment rights were protected, and they were. All aspects of speech were protected, including prayer.

The proposed law — simply put — made clear that women should be allowed to access reproductive health care safely.

Choice Matters contacted Cohen’s campaign manager Matt several times. Matt even gave Choice Matters Cohen’s email address so we could contact him directly. And we did.

(Click here to see Choice Matters’ email to Cohen, to the address provided by his campaign manager Matt.)

Cohen never responded. Despite more calls to campaign manager Matt, Cohen refused to stand up for Westchester women.

Why was such a simple and easily satisfied request rejected?  Probably because Cohen has taken the Conservative Party line and the Conservative Party has merged with the extremist anti-choice Right to Life Party.  (We noted that on the cover of the last bright yellow 2011 Voting Guide.)

Cohen does not want the right wing of the Conservative Party to know he is speaking out of both sides of his mouth, making contradictory promises to opposing groups.

For further proof that Bob Cohen is Anti-Choice, we just need to look at his Choice Matters questionnaire and his interview responses for this 2012 race.

The Choice Matters questionnaire asks whether a candidate would make his/her support of the Reproductive Health Act (RHA) a public part of his/her campaign.  (RHA is a bill that would bring New York’s abortion law into the 21st century.)  Cohen refused to answer the question!

When pushed in an interview to explain, Cohen said that he absolutely would not put anything about RHA on his literature, but if someone asked, he would tell them. Cohen is on the record in his questionnaire for not wanting to make reproductive rights part of his campaign.

Why? Simple. Because Cohen does not want to lose the votes of the extreme right, anti-choice voters of the Conservative Party.

Bob Cohen is Anti-Choice.

Imagine what Cohen has promised the Conservative Party — a party that has as key planks in its platform anti-choice and anti-gay  resolutions!! If Cohen cannot be public about his position on women’s rights, you can be certain that he will never stand up for us.

It is important to note that “Pro-choice” has become a marketing term in Westchester because Westchester voters vote Choice. And it is absolutely essential that Choice voters know who is telling the truth and can be trusted.

For example, Nan Hayworth ran in 2010 claiming she was “pro-choice.” But once elected, Hayworth became a favorite of anti-choice groups.  Hayworth currently boasts an 80% approval rating from the National Right to Life Organization; she has co-sponsored two of their bills, and, among other things, voted to de-fund Planned Parenthood.  That sure doesn’t sound like someone who is pro-choice to us.  Does it to you?

WCLA – Choice Matters’ mission is clear: “to keep abortion legal and to ensure that all women, regardless of age, race, class, status, geography or ability to pay, have full, unimpeded access to reproductive health care.”

We tell you the truth about the candidates because the women in our lives depend on us.

First Email to Bob Cohen

From: Catherine Lederer-Plaskett [mailto:catherine@choicematters.org]
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2012 5:33 PM
To: ‘Bob@bobcohen2012.com’
Subject: Clinic access legislation

 Hi Bob.

I have attached the clinic access bill. We have asked electeds to submit statements in support to be read at the Public Hearing. It only seems right that as you are running for Senate and we rated you as pro-choice that we reach out. (I explained all this to Matt in your office.)

The bill is modeled after the NYC law and has been reviewed by NYCLU to make sure that fully protects First Amendment rights.

The difference between the NYC law and our is based on the difference between an urban environment and a suburban one, where we live more in our cars.

The public hearing is 4/30 and the vote is 5/7.

It would be great to have a statement from you in support of the bill to read at the Public Hearing

Thanks so much. Call with any questions. Have a good weekend!

Catherine Lederer-Plaskett
President
WCLA – Choice Matters

Choice Matters 2012 Endorsements Are….

2012 Endorsements
(As of September 14, 2012, WCLA – Choice Matters has announced the following endorsements for the 2012 election cycle.)

Endorsed Candidates Appear in BOLD .

U.S. PRESIDENT/VICE PRESIDENT
►BARACK OBAMA/JOE BIDEN 
Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan (anti-choice)
Gary Johnson/James P. Gray (anti-choice)
Virgil Goode/Jim Clymer (anti-choice)

U.S. SENATOR
►KIRSTEN E GILLIBRAND  
Wendy Long (anti-choice)

(Please note that the following are the new districts which are the result of redistricting.)
U.S. House of Representatives
â–ºDistrict 16 – Westchester County: Eastchester, parts of Greenburgh, Mamaroneck, Mt. Vernon, New Rochelle, Pelham, City of Rye, Scarsdale; plus parts of the Bronx.
â–ºELIOT ENGEL
Joseph Mclaughlin (anti-choice)
JOSEPH DIAFERIA  (pro-choice)

â–ºDistrict 17 – Westchester County: Cortlandt, parts of Greenburgh, Harrison, City of Mount Kisco, Mt. Pleasant, New Castle, No. Castle, Ossining, Peekskill, Rye Town, parts of Yorktown; plus Rockland County.
â–ºNITA LOWEY
Joe Carvin (anti-choice)

â–ºDistrict 18 – Westchester County: Bedford, Lewisboro, parts of New Castle, parts of North Castle, North Salem, Pound Ridge, parts of Yorktown; plus Beacon, East Fishkill, Fishkill, Poughkeepsie (city & town),  Wappinger in Dutchess County; plus Putnam and Orange Counties.
â–ºSEAN PATRICK MALONEY
Nan Hayworth (anti-choice)

NEW YORK STATE SENATE
â–ºDistrict 34 – Westchester County: Pelham; plus parts of the Bronx.
â–ºJEFF KLEIN
Elizabeth Perri (anti-choice)
CARL LUNDGREN (pro-choice)

â–ºDistrict 35 – Westchester County: Greenburgh, Scarsdale, parts of New Rochelle, of White Plains and  of Yonkers.
â–ºANDREA STEWART-COUSINS

â–ºDistrict 36- Westchester County: Mt. Vernon; plus parts of the Bronx.
â–ºRUTH HASSELL-THOMPSON
Robert l. Diamond (anti-choice)

â–ºDistrict 37- Westchester County: Bedford, Eastchester, Harrison, Mamaroneck, No. Castle, Rye (city & town), parts of White Plains and Yonkers.
â–ºGEORGE LATIMER
Bob Cohen (anti-choice)

â–ºDistrict 38- Westchester County: Ossining; plus Clarkstown, Orangetown, Ramapo in Rockland County.
â–ºDAVID CARLUCCI
Janis A. Castaldi (anti-choice)

â–ºDistrict 40- Westchester County: Cortlandt, Lewisboro, Mt. Pleasant, New Castle, No. Salem, Pound Ridge, Yorktown; plus Beekman, Carmel, Patterson, Pawling,Southeast in Putnam County.
â–ºJUSTIN WAGNER
Greg Ball (anti-choice)

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
►District 88- Westchester County: Eastchester, parts of New Rochelle, Pelham, Scarsdale, parts of  White Plains.
â–ºAMY PAULIN

â–ºDistrict 89- Westchester County: Mt. Vernon, parts of Yonkers.
â–ºJ. GARY PRETLOW

►District 90- Westchester County: parts of  Yonkers.
â–ºSHELLEY MAYER

â–ºDistrict 91- Westchester County: Mamaroneck, parts of New Rochelle, Rye (city & Town.)
â–ºSTEVE OTIS
William Villanova (anti-choice)

â–ºDistrict 92- Westchester County: Greenburgh, Mt Pleasant, parts of Yonkers.
â–ºTOM ABINANTI

â–ºDistrict 93- Westchester County: Bedford, Harrison, Lewisboro, Mt. Kisco, New Castle, No. Castle, No. Salem, parts of White Plains.
â–ºDAVID BUCHWALD
Bob Castelli (anti-choice)

â–ºDistrict 94- Westchester County: Somers, Yorkstown; plus Putnam Valley, Carmel, Southeast, Patterson in Putnam County.
â–ºANDREW FALK
Stephen Katz (anti-choice)

â–ºDistrict 95- Westchester County:Cortlandt, Ossining, Peekskill; plus Phillipstown, Kent in Putnam County.
â–ºSANDRA GALEF
Kim Izzarelli (anti-choice)

WESTCHESTER COUNTY COURT JUDGE
â–ºDAVID S. ZUCKERMAN
Matthew J. Troy lll  (anti-choice)

NYS SUPREME COURT JUDGES
endorsements to be announced week of 9/24/2012

Paul Ryan’s Close Ties with Westchester’s Hayworth & Carvin

— The National News Won’t Tell You About Ryan’s Foot Soldiers —
Some of them are right here in Westchester!
There is no question about it – Romney’s VP Pick Paul Ryan is an anti-choice extremist.
A Few Highlights:
â–º Ryan believes it should be illegal to end a pregnancy under any circumstance — even when it results from rape or incest, or endangers a woman’s health
â–ºRyan co-sponsored the Let Women Die bill that would permit hospitals to allow women to die if saving their lives meant performing an abortion.
â–ºRyan co-sponsored a federal bill defining fertilized eggs as human beings, which, if passed, would criminalize some forms of birth control and in vitro fertilization.
(And that’s just for starters. If your stomach and heart can take it, check out Paul Ryan’s radical right voting record and positions at the end of this email.)
In keeping with this anti-woman stance, Paul Ryan also voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which helps women fight for equal pay for equal work.

The National Right to Life Committee scored Ryan’s voting record 100% [anti-woman] every year since he entered the House in 1999.

It is perfectly clear that Paul Ryan is bad for women and a woman’s right to Choose. That’s the national news.

Now let’s bring it back home to Westchester and talk about Ryan’s foot soldiers…
… the local candidates in Westchester who support Paul Ryan and will do whatever he says. 

And what pro-choice voters will only find in their Bright Yellow Pro-Choice Voting Guide – if there is one this year – because we cover the local candidates.  (Remember, we need your help to distribute the bright yellow ProChoice Voting Guide this election year!  Please, make a contribution today.  This election may very well define our future.) [Click Here to Contribute.]

Let’s start with good ol’ Nan Hayworth who claimed to be pro-choice when she ran in 2010 and now just two years in office has become the poster child for Ryan’s anti-choice extremist organization The National Right to Life Committee.

In her term in office, Hayworth has co-sponsored 2 of the anti-choice extremists’ bills, and voted in support of just about all of them. (She only voted against one, and ‘present’ for another.)

The anti-choice zealots at the National Right to Life love her so much that they gave her an 80% approval rating. That means Haworth VOTED AGAINST YOU AND ME 80% of the time.

Nan Hayworth calls extremist Paul Ryan “a friend”, “a teacher and mentor” and “a leader with a vision.” 

Hayworth has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Paul Ryan on just about every anti-choice vote including:
► Supporting the ‘Let Women Die Act’;
â–º Cutting of all funding to Planned Parenthood and Title X;
â–º Banning of abortion coverage in state health-insurance exchanges;
► Imposing of a tax on any business or individual who purchases private  health plans that include abortion coverage; and
â–º Permanently denying low-income women, civil servants, and military women access to abortion services, even in emergency situations.

In addition, Hayworth is on the record with Choice Matters as being totally in support of the horrific Stupack amendment which came up for a vote before she took office.

Nan Hayworth lied to New York’s residents to get elected in 2010 and she is doing it again.  Hayworth has made it perfectly clear that she will stand 100% with Paul Ryan—against women, against Choice, against seniors, against Medicare — and we must show her that we will NOT tolerate her lies and stand strong and 100% against Nan Hayworth come November!

Nan Hayworth is being challenged by a strong ally of all pro-choice groups and coalitions–our advocate Sean Patrick Maloney–in the 18 CD.

Another Anti-Woman/Anti-Choice Face in a local Congressional Race that has eluded the national radar is Joe Carvin who is running on the Republican and Conservative lines and challenging one of the greatest pro-choice advocates in the House of Representative – staunchly pro-choice Congresswoman Nita Lowey.

Carvin openly declared, “Paul is my hero. I’m running because Paul Ryan needs help. Paul Ryan is my hero.”

What’s that say about Carvin?
Joe Carvin tries to present a positive picture, but in reality he is an anti-choice conservative who will flip flop to gain extremist support.

Carvin is on the record — Carvin wants to place a lot of restrictions on a woman’s right to obtain a safe and legal abortion.  Yet, he claims to be ‘pro-choice’ because he knows that in Westchester we vote this issue.

But Carvin isn’t quite sure on where he stands on funding for Planned Parenthood (even though all funding goes to preventative care like contraception and cancer screening) given his hero, Paul Ryan, voted to cut all federal funding to Planned Parenthood and the Title X family planning program.  And Carvin refused to stand up for women seeking safe access to reproductive health care right here in Westchester!

Carvin said that social issues [like abortion and contraception] are distraction from fundamental ones. (Again, it boils down to the idea that women and our “social issues” are just a distraction to the right wing!)

If elected, there is no doubt that Carvin will do exactly what Paul Ryan asks him to, just like Nan Hayworth has already done.

Remember: There will be no bright yellow ProChoice voting guide in your mailbox this election year unless we can raise $33,000 by September 30th.

________________________________________________________________
Paul Ryan is staunchly anti-choice. Ryan on Ryan: “I’m as pro-life as a person gets.”
â–ºRyan voted 59 times against abortion and other reproductive rights issues which was as often as he could while in the House.
â–ºRyan opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest.
â–ºRyan co-sponsored the Sanctity of Human Life Act and the Right to Life Act, both of which claim that life begins at the moment of fertilization.
►Ryan co-sponsored the Federal Abortion Ban, which would effectively overturn Roe v. Wade and make performing an abortion a criminal offense for physicians, punishable by two years in prison.
►Ryan co-sponsored the so-called ‘No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,’ a bill that would ban abortion coverage in state health-insurance exchanges, impose a tax on any business or individual who purchases private health plans that include abortion coverage, and permanently deny low-income women, civil servants, and military women access to abortion services, even in emergency situations.
►Ryan co-sponsored and voted for the ‘Let Women Die Act’ that would allow hospitals to let women to die even in emergency circumstances if saving her life meant allowing her to have an abortion. This bill would have also used supposed “conscience” clauses to deny women access to other preventative health care services such as contraception.
►Ryan co-sponsored several fetal “personhood” bills, that if passed would not only outlaw all abortions, but ban use of various methods of contraception as well as in-vitro fertilization and stem cell research.
â–ºRyan voted to defund Planned Parenthood and eliminate the Title X family planning program; this funding cannot be used for abortion but for preventative reproductive health services and screenings which saving taxpayer dollars, prevent unintended pregnancies, and abortions.
►Ryan voted for the infamous Stupak amendment, the proposal to deny abortion coverage to women in state health-insurance exchanges, even if women purchased insurance with exclusively their own money.
►Ryan co-sponsored a bill requiring women to submit to a forced ultrasound before receiving an abortion, even if it is against both her will and her physician’s professional recommendation.
►Ryan repeatedly voted to make it a criminal offense for anyone other than a parent – including a grandparent, adult sibling or even religious counselor – to accompany a young woman across state lines for abortion care, when home state parental notification mandates could not be met.
â–ºRyan repeatedly voted to deny women in the military the ability to use their own funds to pay for an abortion at a military hospital, whether at home or while fighting abroad– where abortion is less likely to be safe or accessible.
â–ºRyan repeatedly voted against international family planning programs.
â–ºRyan repeatedly voted to deny federal employees the right to choose health insurance that includes abortion coverage.
►Ryan voted against contraceptive equity for federal employees – a law that would require birth control to be treated like every other prescription medication.**
And the list goes on
(**Special thanks to Republican Majority for Choice for help compiling this list.)

News Alert: There will be NO ProChoice Voting Guide This Year unless…

There will be no bright yellow ProChoice voting guide in your mailbox this election year unless we can raise $33,000 by September 30th.

The implications of this are huge, and all are negative for the pro-choice community.

Anti-choice candidates will win, and pro-choice candidates will lose, because you will not know one from the other.

Albany will not pass the Reproductive Health Care Act and all funding to Planned Parenthood could be cut — and that’s only for starters.
 
All because — for the first time since we began our mailing decades ago — you will not have received your ProChoice Voting Guide.
 
The most effective way to reach voters is the US Postal Service mail, not email.

Unfortunately, no one—not Planned Parenthood, not NARAL, not the League of Women Voters—mails guides anymore because it is simply too costly.

And emails are not the answer. Some people receive hundreds of emails every week, and some even hundreds each day. But, where an email doesn’t stand out, a Bright Yellow Voting Guide in your mail does.

Until now, WCLA – Choice Matters has always mailed because it is THE BEST WAY to communicate with voters.

We have over 90,000 pro-choice identified voters in our database!

Pro-choice voters rely on our ProChoice Voting Guide. They grab it out of their mail, read it in the car, or while having a quick cup of coffee, or even as they go to vote. With real-life schedules that start long before dawn and go late into the night, many pro-choice voters have no time to access a personal computer. Click Here to Help Save the Voting Guide

And don’t forget our seniors. Pro-choice seniors are the population most likely to vote, by a large margin. Many do not use computers. They value the mail, specifically the mailing of our Bright Yellow ProChoice Voting Guide, easy to see and to hold.

That is exactly why — despite the ever-growing cost of postage and printing — we have fought to mail the ProChoice Voting Guide every year.  Every year it has gotten harder.  And every year we’ve had to struggle to live within our ever decreasing budget going from mailing three newsletters a year, to two, to just the Voting Guide, cutting them down from 24 pages to 16 to now just 4.  There is simply just no where else to cut – except the Voting Guide itself.

Choice Matters trumpets the truth in its guide. We endorse only those candidates who are 100% pro-choice — and we expose the imposters. We endorse candidates based on their answers to our questionnaire, interviews, voting records, and who is best positioned to help protect and advance a woman’s right to comprehensive reproductive health care.
 
It has always been difficult to fund the newsletters and voting guide — and every year it gets harder.

And make no mistake about it, this comes at a terrible time.  There is an all out war being waged locally and nationally against women and the rights that we have fought for all these years since we won the right to vote.  From attempting to legislate forced vaginal ultrasounds, to battles to deny women contraception, to the veto of the Clinic Access Bill here in Westchester, to Albany’s failure to pass the Reproductive Health Care Act – everything is on the line.  Remember, if they win, we lose. We lose our control over our bodies and with it our  independence, socially and economically. This election –  with the state, congressional and presidential offices all up for grabs –  may very well decide our fate for decades to come.

This is not a story of the boy who cries wolf. It is a sad fact for the women of Westchester County and New York State, and the country.  This year, without your help, there will be no Bright Yellow ProChoice Voting Guide in thousands of mailboxes all over Westchester. We Need Your Help

We need your contribution to save our voting guide. Please donate today to help us mail the voting guide to all pro-choice households in Westchester County.

Abortion Stories: Coming Out of the Proverbial Closet & Sharing

From RH Reality:

The New Public Face of Abortion: Connecting the Dots Between Abortion Stories

by Steph Herold

Over the last few months, there’s been an electric energy around the sharing of abortion stories. We’ve seen  two  stories in the New York Times, a Jewish abortion story on  Kveller, a continuation of an abortion story on  Thought Catalog, an early abortion story on  Boing Boing, and a  piece by a woman reflecting on the consequences of telling her abortion story in the Texas Observer. One woman even documented her abortion in photos. And that’s just recently.

What’s going on here? Why are so many people “coming out” now? There are no simple answers to this question. Are women responding to the onslaught of anti-choice legislation? Has the uptick in media reporting on abortion policies eased some of the stigma around speaking about abortion? Are the calls to come out about abortion from pro-choice activists, politicians, and advocacy organizations actually working?

Without asking every person whos shared her story, we wont know the answers to these questions. By looking at what theyve decided to publish, we can consider more basic issues: what are women saying when they come out? What kinds of experiences are represented? Who is coming out about their abortion experience, and who is silent?

To map the patterns and gaps in these published narratives, I created a tumblr to collect these stories:  ihadanabortion.org. Here’s what I’ve found so far.

Continue reading The New Public Face of Abortion: Connecting the Dots Between Abortion Stories now…

Tuesday June 26th – A Very Important Democratic Primary

Pro-choice Congressman Eliot Engel is being challenged in the Democratic Primary by an anti-choice extremist.

An outspoken leader on the issue of women’s reproductive rights, Engel has been  endorsed by WCLA – Choice Matters and other major pro-choice groups.

After the onslaught of attacks in Congress, we must keep this seat in the pro-choice column.

**Many of you may not know it yet, but your congressional district may have changed because of redistricting which occurs every ten years after the census.

Call the Board of Elections (914) 995-5700 or Choice Matters (914) 946-5363 if you have any questions.