There are some major anti-abortion protests happening in Atlanta right now, in an effort to shut down clinics in the area.  The Feminist Majority Foundation is seeking support to help keep the clinics open and help protect choice for women all over the country.

We blogged about this back in February, and now the supreme court in Kansas has reached a decision.  Late term abortions do not violate any laws.  You can read this story over at ABC News:

A Kansas grand jury declined Wednesday to indict one of the nation’s few late-term abortion providers, saying it did not find enough evidence to indict him on any crime related to abortion laws.

While speaking about the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Republican Presidential Nominee and Arizona State Senator failed to mention abortion or Roe Vs. Wade in his speech. Read the article below from the Daily Women’s Health Policy Report:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) failed to mention Roe v. Wade in a speech Tuesday outlining his judicial philosophy at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., the Miami Herald reports. The speech led some abortion-rights advocates to criticize the senator for his lack of “straight talk.” McCain’s campaign also announced its “Justice Advisory Committee,” which will be co-chaired by former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) (Stearns, Miami Herald, 5/7).

(more…)

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia recently spoke with Lesley Stahl on 60 minutes about abortion.  Scalia said that he is against abortion, but finds that there is nothing in the constitution that would forbid any woman from seeking it.  You can read more below, and watch the 60 minutes interview.

When asked about abortion and other topics during an interview with Lesley Stahl on CBS’ “60 Minutes” Sunday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia confessed “to being a social conservative” but said it “does not affect [his] views on cases,” USA Today reports (USA Today, 4/25). “On the abortion thing, for example, if indeed I were … trying to impose my own views, I would not only be opposed to Roe v. Wade, I would be in favor of the opposite view, which the antiabortion people would like to see adopted, which is to interpret the Constitution to mean that a state must prohibit abortion,” Scalia said. When Stahl asked, “And you’re against that?” Scalia replied, “Of course,” adding that there is “nothing” in the Constitution to support that view

South Dakota has once again put a measure on the ballot that would ban nearly all abortions, allowing exceptions only in cases of “rape or incest, to save a woman’s life, or in cases of a “substantial and irreversible” health risk of impairment to “a major bodily organ or system.” This is taking away a woman’s right to choose and that’s not ok. Speak out, and let your voice be heard. South Dakota tried to ban abortion before, and we revoked that. Let’s not let that happen again – stop this ban from passing!

Click below to read more
(more…)

From Feminist Daily News (emphasis is mine):

The Mississippi House approved an anti-abortion bill last week that would further restrict abortions in the state, and possibly violate federal privacy laws. According to the Clarion Ledger, most members said they did not fully understand the measure when they voted to approve it. When state Rep. Bennett Malone (D) challenged members to raise their hands if they understood the bill, only about a half dozen of the 122 members did so, according to the Ledger.

The bill, HB 520, originally established penalties for falsely reporting child abuse. However, the Mississippi Senate added eight pages of changes, including provisions to allow parents or guardians to sue anyone who helps their pregnant minor obtain an abortion, and to require fetal tissue on abortions performed on minors under the age of 14 to be saved for DNA testing in order to identify the father.

According to the Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, Tom Head, secretary of the Mississippi chapter of the NOW, said the measure could endanger the lives of pregnant minors by “denying them confidential access to medical care.” Head stated, “I can understand the efforts to try to reduce the number of abortions, but this would threaten lives.”

The House voted against allowing more Senate/House negotiations over the bill, and the decision whether or not to send the bill to Governor Haley Barbour (R) rests with the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Willie Bailey (D). If Bailey does not send the bill, it will die when the House sessions ends April 19th, according to the Associated Press.

The U.S. Senate today passed U.S. Sen. David Vitters amendment prohibiting the use of federal Indian Health Service funds for abortions, except to save the life of the mother, or in cases of rape or incest of a minor. Read the rest of this article here.

Restricting women from having abortions is in no way going to prevent women from getting pregnant. It simply prevents them from having the means to pay for an abortion, thereby lowering their income status even more with the cost of another child. This has been proven over and over again – taking money away from reproductive health services is like putting a Bandaid on a slit wrist.

Anti-abortion extremists are trying to close down Dr. George Tiller’s clinic, one of the few remaining late term abortion providers in the country. Abortion is every woman’s right, and we cannot let those who are against the mere concept make decisions that could have dramatic and negative affects on the lives of a multitude of women. I urge you to learn more on the issue, and consider making a donation.

Read more here!

Hillary Clinton won the New York Primary yesterday, showing America that New York cares about choice.  While Choice Matters believes that both Obama and Clinton are pro-choice, Hillary has the voting record to prove it.

One of the biggest words in this campaign has been “Change.”  Voting for Clinton is voting for change – with the conservative right out of office, women’s health will take a front seat in the issues our country’s leadership cares about.