Road Trip!

As many of you know Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania, in coalition with many local organizations, is planning a trip to Washington DC on December 2nd. We need to bring thousands of supporters from across the country to the nation's capital to show the overwhelming support for women's health! To do this, we need your help.

Join us in Washington, DC on Wednesday December 2nd for a day of lobbying and visibility to pass a health care reform bill that protects women and comprehensive reproductive health services. The tentative agenda is as follows:

6 a.m.: Leave Pittsburgh. We will be renting passenger vans and providing breakfast to those joining us. If anyone remembers the ride to March for Women's Lives a few years back, the ride down is fun and inspiring! There is nothing like rejuvenating our resolve with like minded supporters. We will also host a mini-briefing once the coffee kicks in :)

10 a.m. to 12 p.m.: Lobby with members of house. We will be asking for meetings with Congressman Doyle and Altmire. We will make additional meetings based on the constituents that participate in the event. If you are a constituent of a different congressperson, please let me know! We are happy (excited, even) to make additional meetings.

12 p.m to 2 p.m.: Coalition press conference in Upper Senate Park with Members of Congress where we will present the petition signatures we have collected against Stupak-Pitts language in the health care bill. If you would like to sign the online petition visit http://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/healthreform/index.htm. If you would like a hard copy of the petition, contact me and I will send it right over to you.

2 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Additional meetings with members of the house and visits to Senators Specter and Casey.

4 p.m to 8 p.m.: Drive back to Pittsburgh

Aftermath of the Stupak Attack

So, let's start by calling it what it is. Saying that what Rep. Bart Stupak attached to the health care reform bill was an 'amendment' is misleading. He did not just propose amending the bill, he dramatically reduced the impact of the bill for a certain class of Americans. As is typical, the ladies got the shaft. Let's agree right now not call it the "Stupak Amendment" and go with the "Stupak Attack". I think that more accurately names the atrocity that he delivered to American women on Saturday night.

Now that we have that out of the way, on to the impact of the Stupak Attack on women's health care. Primarily, the attack violates one of the underlying principle of health care reform. That no one will lose the benefits they currently have. The truth is that under the attack, millions of women would lose the private coverage for abortion services that they already have and millions more would be prohibited from buying it even with their own money if the insurance carrier is part of the new exchange. Charming.

EMERGENCY!!! We need your phone call right now!

What follows is an urgent message from Cecile Richards, CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Please, please, please pick up your phone right now and call your representative. A handful of bishops should not determine the fate of women in the US. Let your representatives know that we elected them, they answer to us! Let us know if you make the call! I know its Saturday morning and as alarmist and extreme as this is going to sound, its true...THE FATE OF WOMEN'S ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE RESTS IN YOUR HANDS!!! Pick up the phone.

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I’m writing to you with an urgent request.

Late yesterday, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops met with leaders in the House of Representatives in their bid to eliminate women’s access to abortion care under health care reform.

Pittsburgh Medical Safety Zone Ordinance Modified

It has been a rough week for us here at PPWP.We have had a lot of questions about the Third Circuit's ruling concerning our buffer zone ordinance. It has not been "struck down" as was implied in the Post-Gazette and Associated Press articles but modified so that we must choose either the 15 ft buffer zone or the 8 ft bubble zone. We aren't happy with that either but at least both halves of the ordinance were deemed to be constitutional. Just not together unfortunately. I will never understand why the right to harass and intimidate is more important than the right of patient access to health care. Below, is PPWP's press release concerning the matter. We will be updating as we get more information.

PITTSBURGH, PA – Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania responds to court ruling striking down city ordinance designed to protect the safety and privacy of patients.

Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania is troubled and disappointed by the recent ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit which effectively reduced the protection of women seeking out medical care at family planning centers in Pittsburgh. While pleased that the court approved a modified version of the original ordinance, Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania is concerned with the reduced protections this rule offers patients and others impacted by protesters at medical facilities.