California NOW

Roe v Wade Turns 40 Today!

On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court overturned a Texas interpretation of abortion law, making abortion legal in the United States. The Roe v. Wade decision held that a woman, with her doctor, could choose abortion in earlier months of pregnancy without legal restriction, and with restrictions in later months, based on the right to privacy.

During the case, forty-two briefs were filed on behalf of "Roe." One of those came from the California chapter of the National Organization for Women.

Let's face it, access to a safe and legal abortion has always been about women’s full participation in our society. It’s about women being able to decide when and if to begin and/or expand their families, which is why it is constantly under attack. Last year, 19 states enacted 43 new measures to limit abortion access. That came on the heels of 24 states enacting similar measures in 2011.

The sad reality is that with each new restriction, the impact is being seen disproportionately on women who are not white and middle-upper class. Instead, those most impacted by anti-abortion legislation are lower-income women. Six in ten women who have abortions already have one child, and according to the Guttmacher Institute, most chose abortion so that they can take care of the children they already have. When laws are passed that impose unnecessary regulations which close clinics, force women to check with more than one doctor prior to an abortion, or make women wait a full 24 hours after seeing a doctor to have one, poor women are the ones affected. Women who can’t afford to take more than a few hours off work, or can’t afford childcare, or do not have a car to travel (sometimes to another state) are the ones negatively impacted by these new restrictions.

While we’re lucky here in California that our state assembly and senate is pro-choice, we unfortunately have some of the most extreme anti-choice voices in Congress and local officials who have been quietly trying to shut down clinics in their communities. We also have Crisis Pregnancy Centers popping up in most of our major cities and Birth Choice mobile units are on our college campuses. And as progressive as our state is, less than half of our 58 counties have a single abortion provider.

So, as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the landmark Roe v Wade decision, California NOW will continue – as we have done for more than 40 years – to be on the front lines fighting for women’s equality and empowerment, including the right to a safe and legal abortion.

For Equality & In Solidarity,

Patty Bellasalma
President, California NOW

Let's Stop Shackling Pregnant Women

In California, we shackle pregnant women, even though it puts their health at risk. Women in jails across the state are forced to walk with shackles around their swollen ankles, chains around their waists, and handcuffs behind their backs.

Last year, even though the Legislature voted unanimously to end this barbaric practice, Governor Brown vetoed the bill.

So this year, it's back on his desk (with modifications to sections he had trouble with last round).

AB 2530 would prohibit the use of dangerous shackles on pregnant women who are incarcerated.  There’s no fiscal impact, and no reason to stall progress.

California NOW stands with the ACLU in urging women across our state to let Governor Brown know that there is strong public support to stop shackling pregnant women who are incarcerated.

Click here to take action today, urging Governor Brown to join bipartisan support in stopping this inhumane treatment of pregnant inmates.

Monday's Action List

This week we're focused on health.  Women's health, children's health, our family's health.

Here in California, there's a proposition on the November ballot (Prop 37) that will require clear labels letting consumers know if foods are genetically modified. We already have food labels showing nutrition, allergy information and other facts consumers want to know. This measure adds information telling us if food is produced using genetic engineering, which is when food is modified in a laboratory by adding DNA from other plants, animals, bacteria or viruses.  Over one million people have contacted the FDA and told them we have a right to know what’s in our food. Become part of this growing movement and join them today. Take Action NOW:  Sign this important petition to the FDA and make sure your voice is heard!

No one should have to spend every working day in a toxic environment, and this week dozens of salon workers from across the country are descending on Washington, DC, sharing their stories with lawmakers and demanding safer products and safer hair and nail salons--and they need your support! While each of us is exposed daily to a cocktail of toxic chemicals when we use personal care products, salon workers are also exposed to highly toxic products as they work (like hair dyes and straighteners and nail glues and solvents) -- all day, every day. And, due to a labeling loophole, salon products aren’t required to list ingredients, which means workers (and their customers) can’t make informed decisions about what they’re using.  Take Action NOW:  Stand with salon workers in demanding safer products for a safer workplace! Write to your member of Congress today!

Did you know that that air pollution can stunt growing lungs, particularly in children who spend a lot of time outdoors? Exposure to air polluted with nitrogen dioxide, acid vapors and particulate matter (soot) has been found to have the greatest association with impaired lung growth.  The EPA has proposed new Soot Standards, which would decrease the allowable limit of soot in the air from the current 15 micrograms per cubic meter to as low as 11 micrograms per cubic meter.  The EPA is now taking public comments that will be used to determine the final standard.  Your voice will be critical in this comment process to help drown out the specious arguments of pro-polluters! Take Action NOW:  Ask the EPA to say "no" to soot!

Monday's Action Checklist

We believe that the Department of Defense should make the film, "The Invisible War" required viewing for all future commanders as well as for military personnel who train incoming recruits.  The current policy of Zero Tolerance is not backed by a realistic training program. This award-winning film explains sexual predation in a clear and compelling manner, leaving the viewer with an honest explanation of the problems facing our US service members. Using the DoD's own numbers, the film makes a direct connection between incapable commanders and incidents of rape. Take Action NOW:  Tell the DOD that it's time for those taking on the responsibility of command and of those training our new recruits to understand what they are up against.

California Assemblymember Charles Calderon has written a new United Farm Workers-sponsored bill (AB 2676) that applies criminal sanctions for employers whose mistreatment of farm workers causes their deaths or illnesses from exposure to extreme heat. Longstanding penalties in the state Penal Code apply to anyone who "inflicts unnecessary cruelty upon the animal, or in any manner abuses any animal, or fails to provide the animal with proper food, drink, or shelter or protection from the weather." Now AB 2676, called the Humane Treatment of Farm Workers Act, says agricultural employers must treat farm workers at least as good as animals or face the same criminal penalties.  Take Action NOW:  Tell the state senate to pass this bill which protects our state's farmworkers.

Here in America, nearly 80% of low wage workers and 40% of private sector workers don't have access to a single paid sick day which means that many people have little choice but to go to work sick--rather than staying home to get better and risk losing a day’s pay or even losing their job.  That's 40 million employees.  Take Action NOW:  Tell Congress that paid sick days are critical for American families’ economic security. It’s not okay for families to be one virus away from losing income or becoming unemployed. We need you to support and pass the Healthy Families Act.

Monday's Action Checklist

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and its allies are ramping up for a huge fight over contraception — and demanding a huge step back for women's health.  They're calling for a dramatic reversal of the Obama administration's groundbreaking decision requiring insurance companies to treat contraception like basic health care. This was a major advancement for women's reproductive rights — providing access to affordable, effective contraception to millions of women.  But now, nearly 50 Catholic-affiliated institutions have filed lawsuits challenging the rule.  Take Action NOW:  Tell Secretary Sebelius not to allow one religious group to impose their narrow beliefs on the rest of us.

Each year, millions of women and men face a gut-wrenching decision: stay home to care for a newborn baby in the crucial first weeks after birth, or return immediately to work to make sure the family can make ends meet.

In the US, only 11% of workers have access to paid family leave through their employers— barely one in 10 people. In fact, the United States is the only developed country that doesn't ensure that parents can take paid family leave after a child is born or gets sick, or to take care of aging family members.  Take Action NOW:  Click here to sign the petition asking Congress to support working moms and dads by providing paid family leave.

It's unbelievable but in just a few days subsidized Stafford loan interest rates will double, and Congress has had plenty of time to get their act together to prevent it -- but they haven't. Millions of American students from working class families are able to obtain a college education thanks to low-interest federal student loans. But now Congress is putting those loans in serious jeopardy at a time when students and their families can least afford to pay higher interest rates.  Take Action NOW:  Tell Senator Reid not to double the interest rate on student loans.

For several years, new mothers who receive support through the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program have been receiving breastfeeding support and information through peer counselors. For women who live in communities where breastfeeding rates are low, these peer counselors may be the only person they can turn to for breastfeeding advice and support. And once these new mothers become comfortable with breastfeeding, they may become trusted resources in their own communities to help their friends in the future.

However, this low-budget, common sense peer breastfeeding support program is under direct attack.  The U.S. House Committee on Appropriations has passed a Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA and Related Agencies 2013 budget bill that no longer provides dedicated funding for WIC breastfeeding peer counselors.  Take Action NOW:  Urge Congress to continue to support the WIC peer counseling program.