by Emily Bridges, Director of Public Information Services

Yesterday the Senate dropped the Nelson-Hatch Amendment to the health care bill, which would have prevented under the public plan the purchase of healthcare policies which cover abortion.  Advocates for Youth applauds this action.

However, against science, parents' wishes, and all logic, Senator Harry Reid has also introduced a provision which would restore funding for abstinence-only programs - those same failed, misleading, and homophobic programs for which President Obama ended funding in his federal budget.

Keep an eye on this space - we will update with how you can take action against this ridiculous step back into the Bush administration. 

Read about yesterday's actions on health care in the Washington Post

by Nicole Cheetham, Director, International Department

It is hard for me to believe that it is almost 2010, we have a democratic-controlled Congress, a Democratic in the White House and a health care reform bill that may compromise women’s health. Granted, creating a health care plan that includes all Americans is daunting and requires compromises, but why is the concept of health care for all, to begin with, so difficult to embrace?  And why should fifty-one percent of the population carry the full weight of these compromises?

by Nicole Cheetham, Director, International Department

Last week I attended a World AIDS Day event that was hosted at the World Bank, with prominent global HIV/AIDS stakeholders on a panel, including Ambassador Eric Goosby, the US Global AIDS Coordinator; Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria; Joy Phumaphi, Former Minister of Health of Botswana; Julian Schweitzer, Acting Vice President of the Human Development Network at the World Bank, and Beldina Atieno, a teacher and mother living with HIV in Kenya.

While the event was focused on linking HIV/AIDS, food security and maternal and child health, it surprised me that not once during the 1hour and 45 minute presentation did anyone mention young people.

It is no secret that 45 percent of all new HIV infections globally are among young people 15-24 years of age.  It is also no secret that complications due to pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death among young women ages 10-19 around the world.  And it is no secret that infants of adolescent mothers are 1.5 times more likely than those of older mothers to die before their first birthday. 

Or wait: Are these facts in fact still secrets?? You might think so.

by Emily Bridges, Director of Public Information Services

 Have you heard of The Family?

- It is a powerful religious fundamentalist group housed in Washington, DC.
- It is a bipartisan organization with at least 20 current members of Congress, and many other high-placed government officials, as members.
- Its members act in full cooperation with one another, believing that God has chosen them as tools.
- It has been involved in a dazzling series of horrors, from anti-abortion legislation, to abstinence-only requirements, to homophobia and transphobia.

And get this:  both Representative Bart Stupak and Representative Joe Pitts, authors of the Stupak-Pitts amendment banning any insurance companies which cover abortion from receiving subsidies under the new healthcare plan, are members.

Stupak lives in the residence on Washington DC’s C Street owned by The Family – and Pitts is in even deeper.  Pitts is a “core member,” meaning that according to Family beliefs, he is entitled to a special relationship with and message from Christ that others are not privy to. 

by Brian Ackerman, Program Manager, International Policy

I just finished a first quick review of the long-anticipated PEFPAR Five-Year Strategy which was released today by OGAC (the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator). (The full strategy can be found here.

• PEPFAR’s Targets from Fiscal Year (FY) 2010-FY 2014: Prevention
  
  "In every partner country with a generalized epidemic, provide 100% of youth in PEPFAR prevention programs with comprehensive and correct knowledge of the ways HIV/AIDS is transmitted and ways to protect themselves, consistent with the Millennium Development Goal indicators in this area."
  


• Programmatic Strategy for Linking HIV/AIDS to Women's and Children's Health (p. 7):
  
  "Expanding integration of HIV prevention, care, support, and treatment services with family planing and reproductive health services, so that women living with HIV can access necessary care and so that all women know how to protect themselves from HIV infection."

December 2 is the National Day of Action to stop abortion coverage restrictions in health care reform.  Thousands of people across the United States will join together by calling their Senators to fight to remove the Stupak Amendment from the bill. Get involved through phone-ins, Facebook, and Twitter!

Join the Call In Day! 

It’s simple.  Dial 1-888-423-5983 and ask to speak with one of the Senators from your state.  When you get through to your representative’s office, simply tell them that you oppose including the Stupak Amendment in health care reform – or use the more detailed script after the jump.

Facebook Actions

Join the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=180873019811!  Use the Facebook group to connect with other people from your state to coordinate local events and lobby visits in Washington for December 2.

Change your status Message: Use our social network of friends and other contacts to inspire action on December 2. A status message can easily go viral and ensure our STOP STUPAK message is heard by elected officials. Consider donating your Facebook status with a message like this: “Today’s the day! Call 888-423-5983 and tell your Senators to keep anti-choice amendments out of healthcare reform. Women deserve better! Repost this as YOUR status message.”

by James Wagoner, President, Advocates for Youth

The Stupak amendment, which robs women of insurance coverage for abortion, has caused all of us to mobilize to redress the damage done by this historic assault on a woman’s right to choose. While this campaign should be our immediate focus for the coming weeks, it should not prevent us from analyzing the factors that brought us to this debacle in the first place.

A few provocative questions come immediately to mind. For starters, how does a pro-choice President and pro-choice House leadership end up moving a bill that seriously undermines a woman’s legal right to abortion? Has the political arm of the pro-choice movement been so co-opted by the Democratic Party that the pro-choice constituency is not just being taken for granted, but being taken to the cleaners on key legislative issues?

Has the refusal of pro-choice leaders to hold anti-choice Democrats accountable during primaries earned the movement the dreaded “paper tiger” label thus broadcasting a clear message that you can attack pro-choice policies in congress without suffering any real political consequences?

Has the decision of pro-choice leaders to acquiesce, implicitly or explicitly, with the decision of Democrats after the 2004 elections to vigorously recruit anti-choice candidates to build the Catholic “brand” within the party, set us on the inevitable path towards marginalization?

by Sarah Audelo, Youth Activist Network Manager

As we all prepare for the next steps in the fight to stop abortion restrictions in health care reform, one critical question remains unanswered:

Why did 20 pro-choice House Democrats vote to approve the Stupak amendment, the most serious assault on abortion rights in a generation?

Advocates for Youth is partnering with CREDO Action to send these Democrats a message.
Sign our petition and CREDO Action will send a coat hanger to the 20 formerly pro-choice Democrats who voted to take away women's rights.

http://www.sendacoathanger.com