The Supreme Court hear oral arguments against Texas’ extreme 6-week abortion ban;
The Supreme Court side with the Albany Diocese AGAINST New York State, potentially overturning health insurance requirements concerning abortion;
Ohio’s introduction of HB 480 that is a total ban of all abortions and is structured like the Texas law, making citizens vigilante bounty hunters;
Anti-choice Republican candidates, including the gubernatorial one, win across Virginia; and
Close to home, in Nassau County, anti-choice Republicans win everything.But here in Westchester, it was different. WE WON!
We couldn’t have done it without you.
On Election Day, 90% of WCLA PAC’s endorsed candidates, rated 100% pro-choice by Choice Matters, WON! The “wins” for County Executive and County Clerk were overwhelming, in both cases 62% to 38%. The legislative races were tight, with our pro-choice voters making the key difference between winning and losing. (YEAH YOU!)
Candidates who ran on a pro-choice platform won, and anti-choice ones lost.
We proved again that abortion rights is a defining issue. Help us to continue to drive home this truth as we move forward into 2022. Contribute.
And in New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy proved that abortion rights is a core issue when he won re-election – the first Democratic governor in New Jersey to win a second term in 4 decades! And he won as proudly pro-choice, pounding the airwaves and mailings with ads that highlighted his opponent’s extreme anti-reproductive rights, anti-woman positions.
This week must be a wake-up call for anyone concerned about reproductive freedom or access to abortion care. Our rights are under attack in Washington and in state-houses across the country. But that doesn’t mean we’re throwing in the towel.
This is why Choice Matters, together with its two political action committees WCLA PAC and ProChoice Voter, is laser focused on electing pro-choice champions in our communities — locally, statewide and nationally. They are key to defending our reproductive freedoms.
As we move forward, into 2022 and beyond, please know that we will stand with those who stand with us today and moving forward.
Our champions must protect reproductive healthcare clinics, birth control, and science-based sex education. They must stand for access for all, not just some.
TODAY the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments against the most restrictive abortion ban in the country – Texas’ SB 8 law.
As the Court hears the two cases challenging Texas’ ban on almost all abortion, it has never been more clear, WE MUST ACT.
We – together with our allies across the country – are taking action, demanding a federal safeguard for abortion access – the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA). The passage of the WHPA is the first step in ensuring equal access to abortion care—everywhere and for everyone.
Today’s Agenda
The first of the cases the Court will hear today is brought by Whole Woman’s Health and a broad coalition of providers and advocates, followed by a challenge brought by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Supreme Court will rule on whether federal courts even have the authority to block the law, and whether the U.S. Department of Justice has the power to challenge it. This question is raised because of the structure of SB 8 which relies on making bounty hunters out of average citizens for enforcement.
The Court will decide whether that doctors, clinic staff and others are able to sue in federal court to block this vigilante-structured law, and also whether to block the ban while litigation continues. They will not be deciding on the constitutionality of SB 8 when they hear these two cases today.
SB 8, now supported by SB 4, is a full-scale assault on privacy and reproductive health care.Bodily autonomy is a fundamental human right.
Choice Matters is pushing back against this massive assault and we are asking you to join us.
Florida state lawmakers are passing their own abortion ban legislation that copies Texas and lets private citizens, rather than the government, enforce the law. South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and North Dakota have indicated they intend to do the same.
Alert: Below are THE 6 US Senators who will decide the future of the nominee for the US Supreme Court, and thus the future of Roe v. Wade, the course of health care, and the direction of the US Supreme Court’s decisions for decades to come.
Getting these 6 to do the right thing is hard because the 4 Democrats are up for re-election in “red” states and the 2 Republicans don’t want to be at odds with their political party.
So we must show them the facts. Kavanaugh is Bad for Their Constituents.
We must call the 6 senators below and tell them “Vote NO on Kavanaugh. He will take away our coverage of pre-existing conditions.”
We need to make sure they know the facts. Here are just a few of the many impacting their constituents:
Joe Manchin needs to know that his state of West Virginia has THE highest number of people with pre-existing conditions and THE highest rate of diabetes in the country, and the 2nd highest in cancer deaths.
Joe Donnelly needs to know that his state of Indiana has the 7th highest rates of autism and is the 11th highest state in cancer deaths. Approximately 695,832 people (12.9%) of the population have diabetes, with another 1,719,000 (35.6%) of the adult population suffer from pre-diabetes. Every year approximately another 33,000 are diagnosed with diabetes.
Heidi Heitkamp needs to know that in her state of North Dakota, 33.9% have diabetes and pre-diabetes out of a state population of 755,393 (2017) – and that’s about one in two North Dakotans, 50 percent, lives with a pre-existing condition. North Dakota is one of the top 13 states in new lung cancer cases and survivals.
Claire McClaskill needs to know that in her state of Missouri, 51% of the population – more than 1 out of every 2 Missourians – has a pre-existing condition. 332,300 Missouri children already have been diagnosed with pre-existing conditions, and that Missouri has the 6th highest rate of lung cancer in the country – and that approximately 699,992 people in Missouri (13.2%) have diabetes, and another 1,625,000 people, (35.9%), have pre-diabetes.
Susan Collins needs to know that her state of Maine53% of the population – more than 1 out of every 2 Mainers – is living with a pre-existing condition. Maine is 9th highest in cancer deaths and 11.1% of the adult population has diabetes. 28,000 people in Maine are living with Alzheimer’s disease, affecting an additional 69,000 family and friends.
Lisa Murkowski needs to know that in her state of Alaska 1 out of every 2 Alaskans has a pre-existing condition. Also, Alaska has the highest number of annual diagnosed cases of Alzheimer’s per year. 59,186 people in Alaska, (10.9% of the adult population) have already been diagnosed with diabetes, and that another 194,000 people (36.7% of the adult population) have pre-diabetes. The cancer rate in Alaska is higher than the national average. This is just a smattering of the facts about people who will be thrown off of health insurance.These 6 Senators need to know THEY MUST VOTE NO on Kavanaugh.
Brett Kavanaugh, the president’s nominee to become the next US Supreme Court, has already made clear that he believes companies cannot be required to cover pre-existing conditions as mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This is not a party-based issue. It is in no way a partisan issue. Everyone in the country needs health care and there are over 130 million folks in the United States with pre-existing conditions.*(Find your state.)
(Kavanaugh also believes sitting presidents cannot be held accountable for their actions.)
We need to get the senators to focus on is that Kavanaugh’s first attack will be on the ACA’s coverage of pre-existing conditions. He has over 2.5 million people’s health care in the crosshairs.
In June, the Department of Justice joined a lawsuitbrought by 20 states challenging that ACA requirement that pre-existing conditions must be covered. They are asking that the courts eliminate these ACA protections. (The Lawsuit)
According to The Wall Street Journal, the adverse impact of this lawsuit will be felt on the individual market, including approximately 175 million people who get health coverage from small and large employers.*
This lawsuit is expected to make it to the US Supreme Court.
If Kavanaugh is confirmed, he will be the deciding vote to take away health insurance coverage from hundreds of millions of people with pre-existing conditions.
Examples of people who will lose coverage If Brett Kavanaugh becomes the next Supreme Court Justice:
Any person on the Autism spectrum will be deemed having a pre-existing condition and will not be able to get coverage – AND IF THE FAMILY CAN FIND COVERAGE, the cost will likely be through the roof. This is true for all special needs conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) April 2018 report, 1 in 59 children are living with an autism diagnosis.
Dementia, Alzheimer’s: both pre-existing conditions. “An estimated 5.7 million Americans of all ages are living with Alzheimer’s dementia in 2018. This number includes an estimated 5.5 million people age 65 and older and approximately 200,000 individuals under age 65 who have younger-onset Alzheimer’s.” “It is estimated that nearly 500,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s disease will be diagnosed this year.”
Diabetes: 30.3 million people in the United States (9.4% of the population) have diabetes, according to the 2017 National Diabetes Statistics, 2017, published by the CDC. West Virginia has the highest rate of diabetes in the nation.
Pregnancy will be deemed a pre-existing condition as it was before the ACA became law. According to Dr. Leah Kaufman, Legislative Chair of District II of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a pregnant woman could end up paying $17,000 a year for health insurance.*
These 6 US Senators will determine the future of Roe v. Wade and direction of the US Supreme Court’s decisions for decades to come.
The U.S. Supreme Court just ruled,
in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt,
that Texas’ HB 2 admitting privileges & surgical center requirements areunconstitutional!
This is a huge win for women everywhere!
Although this case only addresses this Texas law, the effect of this decision should have a much broader impact.
Approximately 24 other states have passed similar restrictions into law. Although the majority of these laws have been challenged, they have not made it to the U. S. Supreme Court.
Now there is a strong case to strike down similar laws in these other states.
The Details in the Ruling
It was a 5-3 decision with Justice Stephen Breyer writing the majority opinion on behalf of Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Kennedy and himself.
> The ruling throws out an earlier Appellate Court decision which – had it been upheld – would have resulted in the closing of the vast majority of abortion clinics in Texas, leaving only 9 of the more than 40 that were functioning before the law was passed.
> This case centered on the question, had Texas lawmakers placed an “undue burden†on the constitutional right to an abortion with the new restrictions? The language “undue burden†was established in the 1992 landmark case Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
> In the Majority Opinion, the justices explained that the two parts of the Texas law being challenged create a “substantial obstacle in the path of women†who are seeking abortions and neither provision “offers medical benefits sufficient to justify the burdens upon access that each imposes.†In other words, YES, Texas’ HB 2 did place an “undue burden†on women!
(Texas’ HB 2 had required doctors who performed abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles. The law also had required abortion clinics to meet the stricter standards of hospital-style “ambulatory surgical centers.â€)
> Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt is the first major Supreme Court decision on abortion since the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Let’s Be Perfectly Clear
> Texas’ HB 2 was never about protecting women’s health.
It was always about ending access to abortion!
> Texas’ HB 2 is only one of the many anti-choice laws extremists have already passed in states across our nation. These laws are about obliterating abortion rights and access to birth control – nothing less.
>Â The Republican National Platform includes a plank dedicated to opposing abortion.
(From the 2012 Platform: “Faithful to the “self-evident” truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.â€Â )
We Have Only One Choice!
>Â We must continue to fight on every front:
from County governments to State Governments to the Federal Government.
>Â Every Election Matters!
> We must now go on the offensive and fight for a Country where women’s comprehensive rights are valued and guaranteed!
