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Cecile Richards Reminds Us To Get Out The Vote!

November 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

From left to right: Molly Hendrix, Harmony Cox, Cecile Richards, Adrienne Gavula, and Nancy Pitts

On Saturday, November 3, our board chair was asked to gather a group for coffee with Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Why? Because we know some of the most amazing pro-choice activists in central Ohio!

Attendees included WHO/O board members, Planned Parenthood supporters, and others who were interested in discussing the state of politics and reproductive health care. It was a great opportunity to get energized and discuss the importance of women’s voices and votes in the upcoming election. We are grateful to Cecile Richards for inviting us to the conversation, and we hope all supporters of WHO/O— regardless of your politics—will be ready to get out the vote tomorrow!

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Guest Post: What’s on Your Reproductive Justice Agenda?

October 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Learn more about how board members like Elizabeth support reproductive justice at emafund.org!

Today we have a guest post from Elizabeth Miller, a board member with one of our sister abortion funds, the Eastern Massachusetts Abortion (EMA) Fund. The anniversary of the Hyde Amendment got her thinking about reproductive justice, and what it means to her. Read her thoughts below:

So, yesterday was the 36th anniversary of the Hyde Amendment, the law that prevented using Medicaid to fund abortions. That law serves to make abortion accessible to people with money to pay for it, or to pay for private insurance, or in states that have chosen to use their own funds to make it doable. Essentially, the law is a penalty on poor people. Part of my reproductive justice agenda is to overturn Hyde. But the anniversary also made me think about all the other things that I want when it comes to repro justice. A partial list (spoiler alert: most of them are really about ending capitalism):

  • I want people to never have to choose to have an abortion because they can’t afford another child. I want people to have their needs met enough that questions of economics can be separate from questions of family raising.
  • I want people to never have to choose to have an abortion because of disablism. This goes both ways: I want kids with disabilities and their parents to be supported enough that it isn’t a question of resources when it comes to raising kids with disabilities, and I want parents with disabilities to be supported enough that they know that they can parent well and thoroughly and that they will have a support network around them, whatever that needs to look like.
  • I want people to not be excluded from foster parenting and adopting based on disablist and classist criteria. I want rules like “People with certain mental illnesses cannot be foster parents” to be eliminated and I want actual reviews of actual people when it comes to parenting.
  • I want state services (if we have to have a state) to get people the supports that they need to parent and resources around addiction, instead of often racist and classist removal of kids from their homes. I also want clear and thorough and trained and resourced abuse screenings/screeners.
  • I want teen parents to be supported with whatever resources they need to live the lives they want and to raise their children with the networks they need.
  • I want an end to forced and coercive sterilization. This includes, for me, figuring out wtf to do with our legal guardianship system where people can speak for others (kids, adults with disabilities) and sterilize them. It also includes coercive rules around welfare, and pressure to get IUDs after abortions, and racism in our health care system that pressures women of color to be sterilized, and laws about trans people’s reproductive capacity in relation to legal status, and over-economically-incentivized clinical trials for sterilization and long-term birth control, and undisclosed clinical trials.
  • I want people to be able to choose abortion freely, without needing to take economics into account, without having to wait/wade through roadblocks, without the number of weeks gestation playing into what they can do, without needing to travel hundreds of miles to the nearest clinic.
  • I want people to have full (comprehensive, sex-positive, body-positive) sexual health information, full information and training and expectations around consent, full access to reproductive and physical and psychiatric health care, full access to both hormonal and barrier methods of birth control (oh, and the copper IUD if they want it).
  • I want an end to rape, to coercion, to sexual abuse and assault, to street harassment, to misogyny, to heteropatriarchy, to racism, to disablism, to capitalism and the view of sexuality as an exchange. I want an end to non-consensual power dynamics. I want an end to domestic violence. I want people to be able to freely make decisions about their bodies and their sexualities.
  • I want the end to nations and borders. Failing that, I want having kids to not be impacted by nationhood or citizenship. I want kids to be able to get educated, I want preventative and ongoing health care for all people, I want families to be able to access supports and services regardless of whether or not they have documentation or citizenship status.
  • I want enough resources put into AIDS and other STIs that we actually fix that shit. No more super-gonorrhea.
  • I want people to make their own decisions about how they want to birth children, what interventions they want used, and how they want to raise their children. I want those decisions to be supported with physical and economic resources as needed. I want people to be able to make these decisions with full information about how their bodies, health statuses, etc., can be supported in each context.
  • I want us to look at parenting outside of heteropatriarchy. I want us to figure out how to talk about misogyny and how that impacts reproduction and parenting, but I want us to do it in a way that is trans*-inclusive and doesn’t reduce people to language that they wouldn’t use.
  • I want everyone to have access to anti-racist and culturally-oriented/specific/sensitive health care and education, throughout their lives. I want a culture that values the contributions and work of people of color, particularly women of color, and that centers their concerns, needs, and voices.
  • I want people to be able to decide what is important to them around reproduction, families, and children, and be able to easily and consistently access the resources to make those things happen.

I am sure there is more! What am I missing?

Thanks to Elizabeth for sharing her reproductive justice agenda with us, and reminding us of the importance of recognizing people’s unique ideas and perspectives when we talk about the work we do. Any advocate can tell you that reproductive justice is not as simple as a bumper-sticker slogan. Reproductive justice is anchored in the complex intersections of race, class, gender, sex, and hundreds of other things. It represents not just access to a medical procedure, but a far deeper imperative for women—indeed, all people—to have control over their bodies and their lives. We applaud Elizabeth’s work to define her own activism and push for justice that is true to it.

We also think Elizabeth is right: there must be more to say! What’s on your own reproductive rights agenda?

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Why We Need to Keep Abortion in the Health Care Conversation

August 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

On August 1, something truly momentous occurred. Thanks to the new health care law—known as the Patient Protection and Affordable

This chart has a nice breakdown of some of the ways that women will benefit from health care reform. A great list, but there's something missing...

Care Act, or just the Affordable Care Act, or even Obamacare—insurance companies are required to cover women’s preventive health services without additional charges, such as co-pays. For many women, this means that they can now afford the contraceptive method that is best for them. Now, there are some important caveats to this—not every insurance plan provides the same benefits, and only newly written plans have to comply with the law at first so not everyone’s insurance will offer this benefit for now, and the vast numbers of uninsured women in the United States will still be paying out of their pockets for their reproductive health care—or, even worse, not getting the health care they need.
But it’s still exciting to see birth control on the health care reform agenda. The August 1 deadline ushered in many other benefits for women too, including diabetes screenings for pregnant women, STD screenings and counseling, screening for domestic violence , breastfeeding equipment and support, and other services that insurance companies can no longer choose to ignore or only partially cover. It doesn’t fix all the problems women face when they seek health care, but it’s definitely something to celebrate. The August 1 coverage changes represent a big step, one of many steps that women have been waiting for when it comes to being able to access the health care they need to make decisions around their own reproductive agency.

While there’s no denying that the new health reform law is a huge victory for women’s health, there’s a quieter defeat that underlies the conversation. We’ve asked before, and we ask again: Where’s the health care reform when it comes to abortion?

We’ve talked about the Hyde Amendment before, and how it prevents women from accessing the abortion services that they need. The Affordable Care Act only reinforces the Hyde Amendment. Health insurance plans will not be required to cover abortion, and any federally funded benefits (like tax credits) won’t be able to be used for abortion coverage or care. While insurance companies will have the option to provide abortion coverage in the health care exchanges that will start in 2014, states are already lining up to pass laws that prevent women from purchasing abortion coverage through this system. Nine states have already passed this legislation—and, unsurprisingly, our home state of Ohio is one of them. In fact, Ohio has done virtually nothing to set up a health insurance exchange except ban insurance policies that cover abortion from being offered in the not-yet-created exchange. The unspoken message is that abortion isn’t worth the same consideration as other forms of health care—that it’s optional  health care, a bargaining chip that a politician or political party can use to rally support with their base or afford to lose if push comes to shove.

We know that this isn’t the case. Abortions are not elective health care. They are necessary procedures that allow women to take care of their bodies, take care of their minds, and sometimes even save their own lives. We know that the reality of abortion in women’s lives is complex and different for every person, every pregnancy. Those who are in desperate need of abortion are the hardworking female heads of households who don’t have the resources to care for another child, the young women who are still planning the path of their lives, the victims of rape and incest, and those whose minds and bodies cannot withstand the physical toll of a pregnancy—in short, they only reinforce the idea that abortion is necessary and needed health care.

Our clients do not deserve to meet roadblocks or discrimination when they seek that care. We also know the clients who choose abortion because they simply cannot or do not desire to have a child, for whatever reason, and we respect their right to make that choice. Abortion is a legal medical procedure in the United States, and women deserve access to it as they deserve access to any other form of care. Denying them that care for reasons related to creed or religion is unacceptable. Health care reform that ignores the realities of abortion access and continues to quietly reinforce the idea that we don’t “need” abortion coverage does American women a great disservice. We can’t just accept that abortion will not be a part of it, and we will not see true reform until abortion is acknowledged as a necessary part of health care.

The Affordable Care Act is slowly coming into effect, and while we have gained a great deal, we have also lost a major opportunity to make sure that every woman can access ALL the health care she needs to make choices about her body and her life. As the health care reform conversation continues, let’s make sure to raise our voices in support of true reform, and not let our policymakers forget that we’re paying attention. In the meantime, we will celebrate the new and improved access to contraception without co-pays.
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Uniting Against The War on Women

July 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

With the upholding of the Affordable Care Act (and all of its benefits for women!) still fresh in our minds, it’s easy to forget that there’s a

Friends and volunteers representing WHO/O at Unite Against the War on Women on April 28, 2012. Thanks to our awesome board member Molly Hendrix for this photo!

larger political battle still going on. A woman’s right to make decisions about herself and her body is still under attack in Ohio. Supporters of the so-called Heartbeat Bill are still pushing for it, personhood is fighting for a spot on Ohio’s ballot (though it may not succeed), and Ohio still has an openly anti-choice House of Representatives, Senate, and governor. Our communities need to be ready to advocate for women and against the dangerous legislative climate in our state. Luckily, Ohio has a strong progressive community that we are proud to be a part of. When they hear the call, they take to the streets—or the statehouse—and they get heard!

On April 28, Women Have Options was asked to speak at the Columbus rally in conjunction with the national Unite against the War on Women event. This rally was a part of a nationwide network of rallies and marches designed to draw attention to the staggering amount of legislation that was proposed last year to strip women of their rights. Hundreds of people from all walks of life gathered at the Ohio Statehouse on a blustery Saturday morning to wave signs, march, and cheer for speakers who called on state and national legislators to defend women’s rights. Current and former representatives from Ohio’s legislature attended, including former congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy and current senator Michael Stinzano. Groups such as NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, Planned Parenthood of Central Ohio, the Ohio Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and others were represented. Speakers ranged from college-aged Planned Parenthood volunteers to State Senator Charleta D. Tavares. Women—and a few men too—from all walks of life came forward with the same message: that they were ready to stand up for Ohio’s women. The message of the day was conveyed by words from our own board chair, Nancy Pitts:

“It’s time for the women and men across the country to raise our voices and say stop. Stop this attack on women. Stop punishing. Stop hurting. Stop shaming. To the mostly men waging this war inside buildings like this who claim to value life, I’d like to call your bluff. There’s plenty of life all across the country that needs your help: the kids in our schools, and families without jobs or health insurance. We knew you weren’t pro-choice, now we see you’re not pro-life either. You’re simply anti-woman. [...] The women and men here today, and women and men across the country, are tired of politicians who try to score political points with women’s health. Women’s health isn’t a political game to be won or lost. These are our lives.”

You can see further media coverage of the event here and here, and there are some beautiful photos on our Facebook page. With the election in November coming up soon, now is the time to get active and start holding legislators accountable for the way that women fare under the laws they pass. If you agree, now’s a great time to start getting involved with WHO/O. Get up, get loud, and raise your voice for choice!

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Dear Pro-Choice Women Of Means (in Ohio)

March 28, 2012 By 1 Comment

We're here to support you, Ohio!

Recently, Katha Pollitt wrote a piece for The Nation about why women of means should donate to abortion funds. We won’t recap the piece here–we encourage you to read it for yourself!–but the point of it is that a contribution to an abortion fund is a direct way to impact a woman’s life while making a stand for choice. We agree 100%! In fact, we wanted to tell you a little more about why the points in the article ring true for us here at WHO/O:

1. As hard as it is to get an abortion when you’re broke, it’s even harder in Ohio.

When it comes to abortion access, Ohio is a tough place to live. NARAL has consistently given Ohio an F in their ranking of abortion laws due to the wide variety of legislation that restricts access. Many of those restrictions add to the cost of an abortion in a straightforward way, such as restrictions on covering abortion in state employees’ health insurance policies or restrictions on public funding  for abortion procedures. Other laws add cost and stress in multiple ways.

Consider the mandatory counseling and 24-hour waiting period required in Ohio. Say you’re an hourly worker with no health insurance–your time is literally your paycheck–and you’re spending hours, days, weeks of it jumping through legal hoops to access the health care you need. Oh, and did we mention that you live in one of the 91% of Ohio counties that don’t have an abortion provider? So you have to travel to obtain an abortion. If you don’t have a car, you have to find a ride or pay for a bus ticket, which can cost up to $75 or more. Even if you have a car, how much will it cost to fill the tank with gas for a trip or two–since the 24-hour delay requires you to make two visits with the provider, you have to travel twice or find a way to stay overnight in another town. Even if you do have the money to pay for your abortion, these are major roadblocks to overcome.

Now imagine that you don’t have that money. After all, an abortion can typically cost between $350 and $1,000 depending on multiple factors. In a state where nearly 20% of adult women live in poverty, financial barriers are significant ones and absolutely prevent some women from obtaining a medical procedure they desperately want. Many of the women we help are within $20 of being able to afford their choice. Your donation really can make the difference.

2. Your donation makes a real difference in your community.

Women Have Options is Ohio’s statewide abortion fund. Our funding is distributed directly through 10 clinics throughout Ohio. We also partner with and advocate for choice on the state and local level in…you guessed it, Ohio. We are grateful for every single dollar we receive because we know it’s going directly to help women in the communities that we live in. Women Have Options has helped thousands of Ohio women make choices about their bodies and their lives. Those are women from your communities: your state, your city, maybe your neighborhood. Maybe someone you know. When you donate to Women Have Options, you are giving it directly to the women in Ohio that need it the most. You literally give them the power to change their life. Isn’t that worth being proud of?

3. Donating to an abortion fund is a great way to be an effective activist in a state where we need it.

Women Have Options is a proud member of the activist community here in Ohio. You’ve seen us at Walk for Choice, FOCO Lobby Day, our annual Bowl-A-Thon and anywhere else that people are advocating for reproductive justice. You’ve seen us at our pro-choice partners’ phonebanks, rallies, and maybe even at one of our own fundraisers. We’re out there supporting a woman’s right to choose every day. But we don’t do it alone–we do it with the donations of every person who has ever supported us.

In 1992, our fund was born because a friend of one of our founders needed help paying for an abortion she couldn’t afford. Twenty years later, we have thousands of friends helping women in their communities afford their reproductive choices. In a state where legislation like the Heartbeat Bill abortion ban gains more traction every day, we need all the friends we can get! The time and money you give to Women Have Options–the handful of bills you donated, the crafts you bought at our winter fundraiser, the afternoons you spent lobbying and rallying with us–those are all the things that keep WHO/O fighting. By supporting WHO/O, you are a part of our mission, and we need you now more than ever. We dream of an Ohio where every woman can make meaningful reproductive choices. Until that day comes, we’ll be working for it. We hope you’ll be there with us.

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I Lobbied, and I Liked It

March 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

One of the most exciting events that WHO/O participates in is Freedom of Choice Ohio’s annual Lobby Day. This year’s event is called 2012 Lobby Day: Storm the Statehouse. On Wednesday, March 21, from 9:30am to 1pm, we will gather at the Downtown YWCA and meet face-to-face with our state senators. This year we’ll be speaking out against Ohio’s mounting War on Women, and encourage our senators to oppose the so-called Heartbeat Bill abortion ban. We’ll be there in solidarity with our pro-choice allies, and we want you to join us! To register, sign up here.

We would like to share the experience of someone who attended the 2010 FOCO Lobby Day for the first time. Kay serves on the Emeritus Board of Women Have Options, and although she is a longtime supporter of women’s choice in Ohio, she had never tried to talk to her state legislators—just like most of us! We wanted to share her story of gaining the courage to talk to her legislators, so that you might join us at Lobby Day. Here is Kay’s story…

Some people have a fear of flying. I, as I discovered to my dismay a month or so ago, have a fear of lobbying. I became aware of that fear when I first heard about the Freedom of Choice Ohio (FOCO) Lobby Day scheduled for April 21, 2010. Although I feel strongly about the need to protect women’s reproductive choices, I was uncomfortable about the prospect of sharing my feelings with a state legislator, especially the rather conservative ones who represent my district. So I tried to ignore the nagging little voice inside that told me I should at least give lobbying a try. My husband, however, has more faith in me and my powers of persuasion than I do, and he urged me to sign up. Not wishing to disappoint him nor my WHO/O colleagues, I finally signed up as a participant, more or less at the last minute.

For the next week I worried about my rash act while trying to prepare for my encounter with Rep. Jay Hottinger and Sen. Tim Schaffer. (I even asked my husband to role play and ask tough questions so that I wouldn’t “freeze” during the interviews.) Fortunately, FOCO had posted detailed information on its web site so I was able to familiarize myself with the bills we were supporting. In the House, the Compassionate Assistance in Rape Emergencies bill would require hospitals to provide emergency contraception and information about sexually transmitted diseases to rape victims. The Senate bill, called Prevention First, would offer the same guarantees for rape victims as the CARE bill; in addition, it has other provisions to facilitate access to contraception and information related to pregnancy.

Four of us from WHO/O attended the Lobbying Day: Nancy Pitts, Linda FreemanWalker, Angie Shyrigh, and myself. When we arrived at the Lobby Day headquarters, we were trained on how we might best approach the legislators, then sent off to our appointments. Linda and I met with Rep. Hottinger. He was unfamiliar with the CARE bill, but listened attentively as we explained its broad outlines. The father of three teenage daughters, he seemed genuinely concerned about how rape victims are treated. As we were leaving, we asked if he could support the CARE bill, and he indicated that, although he would need to give it closer study, he was in principle in favor. (Senator Schaffer was not in his office, so we were only able to drop off materials there.)

Our lunch program featured three speakers: Sondra Miller of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, Elizabeth Williams (a rape victim who founded Survivors to Alivers) and Rep. Dan Stewart, who sponsors the CARE bill in the house. It was inspiring to see Williams’s personal courage and Stewart’s political courage, and I left our meeting feeling hopeful about the long-term prospects of this important legislation. We were able to chat with Representative Stewart for an extended period, as well as networking with other pro-choice advocates.

Have I conquered my fear of lobbying? Not entirely, but it was definitely a worthwhile day, and I’m glad to be involved in such an important movement. I also felt more optimistic about the future of democracy, both because of Dan Stewart’s support of women’s right to choose and because even conservative representatives like Jay Hottinger took time to listen to our presentation, no matter what their own personal views might be.

As you can see from Kay’s experience, lobbying is worth the effort. It can be intimidating, but it’s empowering, and a great chance to ensure that your voice is heard. We hope that Kay’s story has convinced you to join us on March 21. Let’s storm the statehouse together!

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5 Things You Should Know About the Heartbeat Bill

November 23, 2011 By 4 Comments

2011 has been a brutal year for abortion access in Ohio. One of the most controversial pieces of legislation, the so-called “Heartbeat Bill,” is being considered by the Ohio Senate. Here are 5 things you should know about it:

1. The Heartbeat Bill would require a medical provider to perform an ultrasound and look for a fetal heartbeat as a part of pre-abortion medical counseling. According to this legislation, if a heartbeat can be found, the doctor must play the sound for the woman, show her the image on her ultrasound, and explain what it is. Terminating the pregnancy would then be forbidden. A fetal heartbeat can be detected as early as the sixth week of a pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant.

2. The bill includes no exception for rape, incest, or the life of the mother. This is a point of contention for supporters and opposition alike.

3. The stated purpose of the Heartbeat Bill is to contribute to incremental legislation that pushes fetal viability criteria back to the point of conception. As stated in the official Heartbeat Bill Q & A: “Once we draw the line of protection [at the detection of a fetal heartbeat] . . . our goal will actually be within reach. One strategic approach would be to introduce legislation to move the line back to ‘presence’ of a heartbeat instead of detection of one. That moves the line to 18 days and would protect virtually every child. Then, with the unique DNA which appears at conception, we move the line 18 days from there: a short distance has always been easier to travel than a long distance.”

4. The Heartbeat Bill is being supported to provide a direct challenge to the Roe v. Wade decision.
The Roe v. Wade criteria of fetal viability is that a fetus is considered “viable” after 22 to 24 weeks. Under the Heartbeat Bill criteria, if a fetal heartbeat is detectable, an abortion is prohibited regardless of the amount of time that has passed since conception. States can restrict abortion access after fetal viability is established, but not before. The Heartbeat Bill is in direct conflict with this federal ruling, and may be considered constitutionally unenforceable. Supporters of the bill are hoping that it can force a challenge to the Roe v. Wade decision at the U.S. Supreme Court.

5. Even if the Heartbeat Bill isn’t enforceable, if it is signed into law, it will still affect pre-abortion counseling requirements. Even if some parts of the Heartbeat Bill are found to be unconstitutional and are struck down, other parts of the law will remain: notably, the part of the law requiring a health care provider to make a fetal heartbeat visible and audible to the mother as part of the process of giving informed consent. This is insensitive to those who are seeking abortions due to rape or incest or to preserve their health, and it interferes in the doctor-patient relationship.

The Heartbeat Bill is only one example of the Ohio Senate’s ongoing war on a woman’s right to choose. For more information on legislation you should know about, check out the Bill Watch at NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio.

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Support Abortion Access and Fight the Hyde Amendment

October 14, 2011 By 1 Comment

 

http://repealhydeartproject.org/site/home.html

The Repeal Hyde art project lets women speak out about the Hyde Amendment. You can participate at http://repealhydeartproject.org.

On September 30, the Hyde Amendment celebrated its 35th year of preventing low-income women from accessing abortion. The Hyde Amendment bans federal dollars from being used to pay for abortion except in the case of rape, incest, or life endangerment of the mother. The way this legislation is enforced varies from state to state, but in most states it creates a significant barrier between women and the services they need.

This legislation has long been opposed by advocates for choice, as it effectively prevents the majority of low-income women from accessing abortion services. Many opponents see it as a direct attack on low-income families that rely on public benefits. When you consider that the Hyde Amendment is traditionally a rider on the yearly legislation that funds those programs, it’s a hard point to ignore.

The public debate over the Hyde Amendment has fired up recently with the  completion of a study of publicly funded abortion. According to the results, which were published in the American Journal of Public Health, the majority of abortions that should qualify for public funding still do not receive it:

“The researchers found that 37 percent of the 1,165 abortions provided for cases of
rape, incest, or life endangerment included in the research were ultimately covered by
Medicaid. The rest were paid by the women themselves, by the abortion providers
or by nonprofit, contribution-based abortion funds.

. . .‘Ibis’ research has shown that in states where abortion coverage is limited
to the Hyde Amendment exceptions, it is extremely challenging for providers to get
reimbursed,’ said Kelly Blanchard, principal investigator of the study and president of
Ibis.”  —On Anniversary Of Funding Ban, Even Allowed Abortions Often Go Unpaid For,
 NPR

In other words, if you live in a state that does not provide Medicaid funding for abortion, you may not be able to access state or federal abortion funding—even when you technically qualify for it. This may seem shocking, but it is reality—and it is a reality that advocates for women’s health have been aware of for a long time. The bottom line is that the legislators who write funding bans like the Hyde Amendment may include “compassionate” exceptions to the rule on paper, but don’t support putting them in practice. Medicaid fights the claims, and low-income women end up footing the bill or being forced to carry pregnancies to term because they can not afford the same rights as women of means.

This is where funds like Women Have Options step in. We believe that every woman has the right to make choices about her healthcare, regardless of financial circumstances. We disagree with politicians who feel they have the right to stop women from making those choices, be it through bans on funding, restricting providers and clinics, or contributing to the shame and stigma for those who choose to terminate a pregnancy. We stand in solidarity with our pro-choice allies and will continue to fight for women to have real choices about their health and their bodies. Most importantly, we put our money where our mouth is by providing direct funding to the clients who need it. This is why abortion funds are important, and this is why we need your support!

Don’t let the anniversary of the Hyde Amendment pass without making a stand for choice. Sign the NNAF petition to see this dangerous and shortsighted legislation repealed for good. Call or write your elected representatives and tell them you want abortion funding bans eliminated. And most importantly, keep supporting Women Have Options—because as long as these funding bans exist, we’ll be working hard to keep choice alive for every woman in Ohio!

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Suffragette Protests at the Statehouse

September 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It can be easy to get frustrated with how things never seem to change and we continue to fight the same fight, especially with the extreme attacks that we have seen in Ohio in 2011. But we need to remember that it took decades—at least 50 years—for women to achieve suffrage. Harkening back to those days, the Freedom of Choice Ohio (FOCO) coalition is planning small suffragette-style protests outside the Ohio statehouse each day that the Senate is in session for the rest of 2011.

At the protest on September 20, a local blogger talked to our Board Chair:

Join us from 11:30am-1pm—and if possible wear white—on the 3rd Street side of the statehouse on these dates:
September 20, 21, 27
November 9, 15, 16, 29, 30
December 6, 7, 13, 14

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