RI NOW - ARCHIVE

Welcome to the RI NOW Archive

Check here to read articles, view photos, and for information about past events and RI NOW activities.

Here are some old action alerts

Women's Rights Groups Announce Massive March on Washington in Support of Reproductive Rights

June 10, 2003

Washington, DC - Today the nation's leading women's rights groups announced that they have joined forces to organize an historic march on Washington for reproductive freedom. Organized by the Feminist Majority, the National Organization for Women (NOW), NARAL Pro-Choice America and Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Save Women's Lives: March for Freedom of Choice is set for April 25, 2004. Efforts to mobilize supporters of abortion and reproductive rights are already underway.

"Roe v. Wade hangs by a thread," said National Organization for Women (NOW) president Kim Gandy, "and rumored anti-abortion replacements on the Supreme Court could serve for the next 40 years. In other words, the reversal of Roe would last for generations, and the entire reproductive life of my 10-year-old daughter hinges on what we do in the coming year. NOW will be mobilizing women and men across this country to March on Washington for our mothers, for our daughters, and for ourselves - there will never be a more important time to stand up for women's lives."

"Everywhere that I go in this country people come up and ask me: 'When are we going to march again?' The time is now. We must sound the alarm that women's fundamental rights are in danger," said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority. "The overwhelming majority of Americans will not go back to the days of back alley abortions."

"We have a simple message for anti-choice leaders who control the White House and Congress - don't tread on us, don't tread on our right to choose and don't tread on our right to privacy." Kate Michelman, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America concluded, "Americans will not stand by silently as our rights are trampled. Pro-choice Americans are on the move - ready to take to the streets to protect the health, lives and rights of American women."

"With nearly 900 health centers in 49 states providing reproductive health care and well-being to almost five million Americans each year, Planned Parenthood is literally on the front line of a war on women being waged today here in Washington and in state capitals and in courtrooms across our country. We refuse to be the generation that both won and lost the rights to birth control and abortion. We stand for the principle that women -- in consultation with their families and their physicians -- should make their own reproductive and health decisions. Not politicians and not the government. The Bush administration, the U.S. Congress, and the nation need to see hundreds of thousands of Americans showing their vocal support for reproductive freedom," said Gloria Feldt, President of Planned Parenthood Foundation of America.

For more information and to sign up, go to www.MarchforChoice.org

"Partial Birth" Abortion

Here is a link to an article that goes a good job in explaining in medical terms exactly what a partial birth abortion is and exactly what is going on in the senate with the bill that was recently passed, etc. If anyone has asked you questions about this, refer them to this article.

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2002/07/24/late_term/

Both Senator Reed and Semator Chaffee voted against the bill that makes partial birth abortions- actually called intact dilation and extraction-illegal. Yeah for them! Shoot them an e-mail thanking them for their support!!

Text of President Bush's Phone Call To March for Life Participants

THE PRESIDENT: Nellie, thank you very much. I want to thank you very much, and I want to wish everybody a good afternoon. I'm calling from the state of West Virginia. (Applause.)

I want to begin, Nellie, by praising you and your dedication to the cause of human life. For almost 30 years, Americans from every state in the Union have gathered in the Washington Mall in order to march for life. This march is an example of an inspiring commitment and of deep human compassion.

Everyone there believes, as I do, that every life is valuable; that our society has a responsibility to defend the vulnerable and weak, the imperfect and even the unwanted; and that our nation should set a great goal that unborn children should be welcomed in life and protected in law. (Applause.)

Abortion is an issue that deeply divides our country. And we need to treat those with whom we disagree with respect and civility. We must overcome bitterness and rancor where we find it and seek common ground where we can.

But we will continue to speak out on behalf of the most vulnerable members of our society.

We do so because we believe the promises of the Declaration of Independence are the common code of American life. They should apply to everyone, not just the healthy or the strong or the powerful. A generous society values all human life. A merciful society seeks to expand legal protection to every life, including early life. And a compassionate society will defend a simple, moral proposition, life should never be used as a tool, or a means to an end.

These are bedrock principles. and that is why my administration opposes partial-birth abortion and public funding for abortion; -- (applause) -- why we support teen abstinence and crisis pregnancy programs; adoption and parental notification laws; and why we are against all forms of human cloning. (Applause.)

And that is why I urge the United States Senate to support a comprehensive and effective ban on human cloning, a ban that was passed by an overwhelming and bipartisan vote of the House of Representatives last July. (Applause.)

We are a society with enough compassion and wealth and love to care for both mothers and their children, and to seek the promise and potential of every single life. You're working and marching on behalf of a noble cause, and affirming a culture of life. Thank you for your persistence, for defending human dignity, and for caring for every member of the human family.

May God continue to bless America. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

New Book a Good Resource for NOW Members

Abortion and Common Sense.

Compassionate and pragamatic, the book draws on women's experiences of unwanted pregnancies and safe and unsafe abortion in the U.S., Canada, and worldwide. It lays out out clearly and logically the reasons why abortion must be legal and universally accessible, and why safe services are an essential element of a rational social and health policy.

Given NOW's pro-choice activism, I think you'll find this book not only a "good read" (it's interesting and informative) but also a useful advocacy tool. You might consider organizing a discussion around these issues at one of your meetings. It's a good complement to the materials already on NOW's web site about Bush's war against women's sexual and reproductive rights and health, and could be helpful at the state and local levels as well.

HEALTH

Sham Prescription Drug Benefit Would End Medicare

June 19, 2003

Please use the message below to urge your senators and representative to oppose a phony prescription drug benefit that would harm women and spell the demise of Medicare.

The Bush administration and Congressional Republican leadership are steam-rolling sham prescription drug benefit proposals through both the House and Senate. The proposals do not make prescriptions any more affordable for low and moderate income senior citizens, leave seniors at the mercy of managed care plans, and won't take effect until 2006 (well after the 2004 elections!) These bills do nothing to address the high cost of prescription drugs. Even more appalling is the predictable outcome if this legislation is adopted, that is, the dismantling of the Medicare program, starting in 2010!

Medicare is one of our most important social programs for millions of seniors and disabled persons. Most of the 40 million people covered by Medicare would be harmed by privatizing the program and having to pay more, yet receive less. Older women would especially be harmed by these changes because of their heavier dependence on prescription medications and higher rates of chronic illness.

Members of your Congressional delegation need to hear that this approach is totally unacceptable. Even if you aren't a senior citizen yet, you eventually will be one. Please send your message to Congress now.

Background:

George W. Bush and right-wing Republicans are ramming through Congress legislation to destroy the federal Medicare program under the guise of providing seniors a prescription drug benefit. Their plan is to entice seniors to leave the traditional Medicare program and enroll in private managed care plans in order to get a subsidized prescription drug benefit—a very poor one. The federal government would subsidize the private managed care programs, but would leave the eligibility, premium amounts and reimbursement determinations up to the companies. It is, in effect, a scheme to enrich private insurance companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers, many of whom are generous contributors to Bush. At the same time, the Republican plan would dramatically reduce federal spending on health care coverage for the most vulnerable and would forestall efforts to control the escalating cost of prescription drugs.

Details of the bills have just been released, so few members of Congress are aware of the provisions, yet the House mark-up sessions on H.R. 1 are taking place this week to be followed shortly by floor votes. On the Senate side, the Finance Committee approved S. 1, the Prescription Drug and Medicare Improvement Act of 2003, and a two-week debate on the legislation has begun. Both proposals spell a profound change in this 38-year-old social insurance program that has proven to be successful (though not perfect) in extending health care coverage to seniors who otherwise would go without. Medicare is especially important for women, as older women tend to live longer, with fewer financial resources and more chronic health problems. To lose traditional Medicare in order to get a sham prescription drug benefit would be a disaster for many thousands of older women just getting by on very modest incomes.

The Senate Bill (S. 1, sponsored by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.) was passed out of the Finance Committee last week by a vote of 16-5. It would fund the prescription drug benefit at $400 billion over 10 years—a woefully inadequate amount. To get the subsidized prescription benefit, seniors and disabled persons would have to leave the Medicare program and join a managed care plan. They would pay a $35 per month premium, a $275 annual deductible and a 50 percent co-payment for each prescription filled.

According to an analysis by the Older Women’s League (OWL), there is a gap in coverage from $4,500 up through $5,800 in out of pocket prescription costs where seniors would have to continue paying premiums but receive NO benefits. After $5,800 in annual prescription drug expenses for a senior or disabled person, beneficiaries will receive a 90 percent benefit with 10 percent co-pays for the rest of their prescription drugs for that year. Coverage for prescription drugs would be through private insurers and there would be no uniformity plans with the possibility of the plans changing every two years.

Older people, living on restricted incomes and facing increasingly higher prescription drug costs, deserve better. Older women, especially, who have been penalized over their working lives by pay discrimination and uncompensated care giving, will be disadvantaged by the Republican approach. Please use the message below to contact your senators and representative today to urge them to oppose these regressive bills.

For more information:

Medicare Watch, a project of The Century Foundation
A Place at the Table: Women's Needs and Medicare Reform

TAKE ACTION directly from the National NOW Website.

Women and Infants Hospital losing more money than other hospitals in cuts to Disproportionate Share Money

The Disproportionate Share for Hospital money is funding that hospitals receive from the state and from the federal government to cover the uninsured. (It's usually called DSH money -- pronounced "DISH.") As I understand it, all the hospitals together are being cut about $9 million. But I learned today that Women and Infants Hospital is losing an additional million dollars under a new calculation that only penalizes them and distributes their share to every other hospital. This is the only hospital in the state serving women as a prime constituency. Kind of makes you go hmmmm.

It's time to call some legislators -- here's a list: Speaker Bill Murphy & Majority Leader Fox: 222-2466 Leave messages for both of them at this number. Representative Steve Costantino: 521-1313. Senate President Bill Irons & Senate Finance Chair Stephen Alves: 222-6655 Leave message for both of them at this number.

The message is:

"Hello -- my name is ___________. I understand that while all hospitals are losing DSH money, Women & Infants Hospital is being specifically targeted for more cuts. I'm very concerned that the Assembly is targeting the state's only hospital for women. It's a serious problem for women's health care, and it needs to be changed."

Then, leave your name and address and phone number so they can get back to you! Thanks so much -- these calls really work. We know because we've used them to get changes made in the budget! Thank you

Bush Announces Anti-Choice Nominee for FDA Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee Chair

President Bush has announced his plan to select Dr. W. David Hager to head up the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee. The committee has not met for more than two years, during which time its charter has lapsed. As a result, the Bush Administration is tasked with filling all eleven positions with new members. This position does not require Congressional approval. The FDA's Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee makes crucial decisions on matters relating to drugs used in the practice of obstetrics, gynecology and related specialties, including hormone therapy, contraception, treatment for infertility, and medical alternatives to surgical procedures for sterilization and pregnancy termination. Dr. Hager's views of reproductive health care are far outside the mainstream of setback for reproductive technology.

Dr. Hager is a practicing OB/GYN who describes himself as "pro-life" and refuses to prescribe contraceptives to unmarried women. Hager is the author of "As Jesus Cared for Women: Restoring Women Then and Now." The book blends biblical accounts of Christ healing women with case studies from Hager's practice. In the book Dr. Hager wrote with his wife, entitled "Stress and the Woman's Body," he suggests that women who suffer from premenstrual syndrome should seek help from reading the bible and praying. As an editor and contributing author of "The Reproduction Revolution: A Christian Appraisal of Sexuality Reproductive Technologies and the Family," Dr. Hager appears to have endorsed the medically inaccurate assertion that the common birth control pill is an abortifacient. Hagar's mission is religiously motivated. He has an ardent interest in revoking approval for mifepristone (formerly known as RU-486) as a safe and early form of medical abortion. Hagar recently assisted the Christian Medical Association in a "citizen's petition" which calls upon the FDA to revoke its approval of mifepristone in the name of women's health. Hager's desire to overturn mifepristone's approval on religious grounds rather than scientific merit would halt the development of mifepristone as a treatment for numerous medical conditions disproportionately affecting women, including breast cancer, uterine cancer, uterine fibroid tumors, psychotic depression, bipolar depression and Cushing's syndrome.

Women rely on the FDA to ensure their access to safe and effective drugs for reproductive health care including products that prevent pregnancy. For some women, such as those with certain types of diabetes and those undergoing treatment for cancer pregnancy can be a life-threatening condition. We are concerned that Dr. Hager's strong religious beliefs may color his assessment of technologies that are necessary to protect women's lives or to preserve and promote women's health. Hager's track record of using religious beliefs to guide his medical decision-making makes him a dangerous and inappropriate candidate to serve as chair of this committee. Critical drug public policy and research must not be held hostage by antiabortion politics. Members of this important panel should be appointed on the basis of science and medicine, rather than politics and religion. American women deserve no less.

This is a very scary appointment that he is about to make. Reproductive health drugs are not just used for birth control. His position on this Committee should have no bearing on his position on choice. A women's health treatment should depend upon a medical course not a personal opinion. Many women are prescribed birth control to help regulate their cycle and many women choose tubal ligation to prevent pregnancy in order to save their own life (I have a friend who almost died giving birth so in order to ensure she was able to care and nurture this child to adulthood, she needed to ensure her continued existence - another pregnancy would certainly have taken her life.)

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1. SEND THIS TO EVERY PERSON WHO IS CONCERNED ABOUT WOMEN'S RIGHTS.
2. OPPOSE THE PLACEMENT OF THIS MAN BY CONTACTING THE WHITE HOUSE AND TELL THEM HE IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE ON ANY LEVEL.

Please email President Bush at president@whitehouse.gov and say "I oppose the appointment of Dr. Hager to the FDA Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee. Mixing religion and medicine is unacceptable. Using the FDA to promote a political agenda is inappropriate and seriously threatens women's health."

Hormone Replacement Therapy: There are Answers

Elizabeth Plourde, Clinical Laboratory Scientist and medical researcher, who has appeared as a featured guest on ABC's 20/20, Berman & Berman: For Women Only, Good Morning America, and The Gary Null Show, as well as numerous TV network news programs and radio shows across the country, clears up the confusion surrounding the hormone replacement controversy as she

Explains why the recent results of the Women's Health Initiative Study (WHI) and the Heart Estrogen-progestin Replacement Study (HERS) were found

What type of hormone therapy can be beneficial for women's hearts and bones, without the detrimental side effects seen in these studies

Available for Presentations In New England Between June 10 -30, 2003 Elizabeth Plourde, C.L.S., M.A.

949 551-3397

elizabeth@newvoice.net

The Formative Years: Pathways to Substance Abuse Among Girls and Young Women Ages 8-22

This report examines the pathways to addiction for girls and young women between the ages of 8 and 24. It contributes to CASA's goal of looking seriously at substance abuse among American women of all ages.

Click here to read more.

MISCELLANEOUS

NOW Brings "Merchant of Shame" Campaign Into Wal-Mart Stores Nationwide

"As the shareholders of the world's richest company gather to count their profits, NOW will be kicking off the next phase of its campaign to bring economic justice to the workers of Wal-Mart," said NOW President Kim Gandy.

NOW's Women Friendly Workforce campaign named Wal-Mart a "Merchant of Shame" last June in response to the company's well-documented unfair labor practices. Wal-Mart is the largest employer in the United States and has been charged in the largest employment discrimination lawsuit in history. The next step in the campaign begins this summer, as NOW chapters and activists take the "Wal-Mart ALWAYS discriminates" message directly into local stores.

"Wal-Mart may have the lowest prices in town, but who pays for those low prices? How does the company make a profit with such cut rates?" asks Gandy. "The answer is women. Women hold most of the low-paying jobs in Wal-Marts across the country and the corporation's abuse of women employees helped it net $8 billion last year, and allows it to continue opening stores at the rate of one per day!"

Just a few of the facts:

Women employed at Wal-Mart make an average of $1.16 per hour LESS than men, and are promoted at a much slower rate than men.
Women sales associates make an average of $15,000 per year—at least $1.00 per hour less than the retail industry average.
More than three out of five Wal-Mart workers cannot afford the company's health insurance.

As part of the "Adopt a Wal-Mart Store" initiative, activists will distribute flyers, notecards and buttons inside and outside of stores in an effort to get the facts directly to customers. Activists will also request meetings with store managers to discuss issues concerning women employees and customers. Participating in the campaign with NOW are the United Food and Commercial Workers and the Coalition of Labor Union Women.

"Wal-Mart workers need a voice. If the corporate big-wigs won't listen, then we will walk right into the stores and talk to the customers," said Gandy. "NOW calls on Wal-Mart to set an example of good business practices. We want their famous smiley faces to represent happy customers and employees."

New FCC Rules Threaten To Shut Out Women and People of Color From Media Industry

"The National Organization for Women strongly opposes Monday's decision by the Federal Communications Commission to re-write the rules governing media ownership," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "This is just another gift to huge conglomerates at the expense of local programming and diverse viewpoints. By the time most people realize what has been taken from the public trust, the consolidation will be complete and it will be too late to undo the damage. Congress must act now to protect free speech and freedom of expression. A.J. Liebling famously said, "freedom of the press is limited to those who own one'—and this level of consolidation jeopardizes that cherished freedom in ways that would have been unimaginable even 20 years ago."

In a 3-2 vote, the FCC instituted "the most sweeping and destructive rollback of consumer protection rules in the history of American broadcasting," according to Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein, who voted against the de-regulation. Of the six rules under review, the Republican members of the FCC voted to maintain one rule, slightly modify another and significantly relax four more. Most notably, a new version of the cross-ownership rules will allow a single corporation to own, in one city, up to three TV stations, one newspaper, eight radio stations, the cable TV system and numerous cable stations. Also, a national TV network may now acquire enough local stations to control up to 90 percent of the national TV audience. The other dissenting commissioner, Michael J. Copps, stated that the June 2 decision bestows upon media conglomerates "unacceptable levels of influence over the ideas and information upon which our society and our democracy so heavily depend."

"Women and people of color already own less than five percent of broadcast media outlets. Our media content is being filtered through five profit-driven corporate giants that care first and foremost about their own revenues and profit," said Gandy. "How much worse can it get? Much worse. The new FCC rules threaten to shut out women and people of color from top-level participation in the media industry and virtually eliminate local programming. Furthermore, the free marketplace of ideas will suffer as the already small number of independent voices in the media wither under concentrated ownership."

NOW has a long history of advocating for media diversity, recognizing its importance to disseminating feminist viewpoints. "For years, NOW has been communicating with the FCC and educating our members about the dangers of media consolidation," said Gandy.

At a final May 27 FCC meeting on the proposed de-regulation, NOW's Vice President Terry O'Neill explained: "Women only won the right to vote in 1920. But that right is meaningless without exposure to a broad range of information —information that will let women know when their rights are at risk and allow them to make informed decisions about their future and the future of this country."

NOW will continue to work to protect "the public interest" in media, ostensibly the job of the FCC. "The people of the U.S. own the airwaves," said Gandy, "and we refuse to cede control to corporate interests." Gandy points out that the FCC is establishing a Federal Advisory Committee to explore opportunities for women and people of color in communication, and NOW has offered to participate in that effort.

Court Packing in the New Millennium

If ultra-conservatives are confirmed to the circuit courts of appeals, they will have the power to tip the scales of justice away from the protection of a woman’s constitutional right to choose and the other civil and constitutional protections such as individual liberties, privacy, health and safety, and environmental concerns.

Click here to read more.

New York Times Editorial: The War Against Women

Sunday 12 January 2003

Running for the White House in the fall of 2000, George W. Bush did not talk about ending the right to abortion. To avoid scaring off moderate voters, he promoted a larger "reverence for life" agenda that also included adoption and tougher drunken driving laws. Voters were encouraged to believe that while Mr. Bush was anti-choice, he was not out to reverse Roe v. Wade.

Yet two years into the Bush presidency, it is apparent that reversing or otherwise eviscerating the Supreme Court's momentous 1973 ruling that recognized a woman's fundamental right to make her own childbearing decisions is indeed Mr. Bush's mission. The lengthening string of anti-choice executive orders, regulations, legal briefs, legislative maneuvers and key appointments emanating from his administration suggests that undermining the reproductive freedom essential to women's health, privacy and equality is a major preoccupation of his administration --second only, perhaps, to the war on terrorism.

As the 30th anniversary of the Roe decision approaches, women's right to safe, legal abortions is in dire peril. President Bush's assault on reproductive rights is part of a larger ongoing cultural battle. If abortion were the only target, the administration would not be attempting to block women's access to contraceptives, which drive down the number of abortions. His administration would not be declaring war on any sex education that discusses ways, beyond abstinence, to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Scientifically accurate information about contraceptives and abortion would not have begun disappearing from federal government Web sites.

A big thrust of Mr. Bush's aggressive anti-choice crusade has been to undermine the legal foundation of the Roe decision by elevating the status of a fetus, or even a fertilized egg, to that of a person, with rights equal to, or perhaps even exceeding, those of the woman. This desire to recognize the personhood of zygotes is part of the rationale behind the Bush policy prohibiting federal financing for research on all new embryonic stem-cell lines, despite the hopes that this research could lead to breakthroughs in treatments for diseases like Parkinson's, cancer and diabetes. Tommy Thompson, the secretary of health and human services, was following the same drumbeat when he made "unborn children" rather than pregnant women eligible for coverage under the Children's Health Insurance Program.

Mr. Bush has begun packing the judiciary with individuals whose hostility to Roe v. Wade matches his own and that of his famously anti-choice attorney general, John Ashcroft. In Congress, he backs a radical measure called the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act, which would further reduce the already thin availability of abortion services. It would allow government-supported health care providers to decline to include abortion in their reproductive health services. The providers could even forbid their doctors from mentioning abortion as a legal option to female patients.

Unsurprisingly, Mr. Bush is also a strong supporter of the other pending anti-choice initiatives, including the ban on so-called partial-birth abortions. Like so much of the president's policy on this issue, the ban masquerades as a modest initiative that has wide popular support -- eliminating already rare late-term abortions -- while its actual effects are far more sweeping. This effort to criminalize certain abortion procedures would actually restrict a woman's right to choose abortion by the safest method throughout pregnancy. So concluded the current Supreme Court, hardly a bastion of liberal abortion rights sympathizers, when it rejected an earlier version nearly three years ago.

The effects of the new anti-choice agenda are also affecting women abroad. On his very first day on the job, the president reimposed the odious global "gag" rule first instituted by President Ronald Reagan, then lifted by President Bill Clinton in January 1993. It bars health providers receiving American family planning assistance from counseling women about abortion, engaging in political speech on abortion or providing abortion services, even with their own money.

In resurrecting the gag rule, the new president broadcast a disdain for freedom of speech to emerging democracies, while crippling the international family planning programs that work to prevent hundreds of thousands of infant and maternal deaths worldwide each year.

Most Americans would be shocked at the lengths American representatives are going to in their international war against women's right to control their bodies.

Last year, Bush administration delegates to the United Nations Special Session on Children tried to block a plan to promote children's well-being and rights, taking offense at language promising "reproductive health services." This same crackerjack delegation also opposed special efforts to help young girls who are victims of war crimes -- which most often means rape. The delegates were worried that the measure would be construed to provide these victims with information about emergency contraception or abortion.

The administration's anti-choice obsession has also prompted it to freeze millions of dollars in financing for valuable programs run by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Population Fund to advance reproductive health and combat H.I.V. and AIDS.

Last summer, the president withdrew his support for Senate ratification of a women's rights treaty that requires nations to remove barriers of discrimination against women in areas like legal rights and health care Just last month, at a United Nations' population conference in Bangkok, the American delegation made an embarrassing, and ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to block an endorsement of condom use to prevent AIDS.

On the surface, the Bush administration's war against women's rights is a series of largely unnoted changes. It is intended to look that way. In reality, it is a steady march into the past, to a time before Roe v. Wade, when abortion was illegal and pregnancy was more a matter of fate than choice.

People can debate whether Mr. Bush's various efforts to dismantle Roe and block women's right to choose around the globe flow from his own deeply felt moral or religious beliefs, or merely cater to extreme elements within his party. What is important is the actual impact of the presidential assault: women's constitutional liberty has been threatened, essential reproductive health care has been denied or delayed, and some women will needlessly die.

Hundreds of Rhode Islanders marched together on Sunday, April 25, 2004 in the March for Women's Lives. If you'd like to share your experience in words or pictures, please email them to us. Check out the online photo album here.

Were you there too? Buy the T-shirt!

In July, a number of leaders of RI NOW went to Washington, DC to attend the National NOW Conference. Click here for pictures from the trip and summaries of the workshops we attended.

RI NOW Celebrates a Reason for the Season

Celebrants gathered in Providence to ring in the holiday season and to wish each other a Happy New Year. Despite the first winter storm of the season, RI NOW members and guests braved the snow to enjoy the tree lighting and a warm evening of lively conversation and friendship.

RI NOW members celebrated the season by re-committing to improving the lives of women living in Rhode Island. Members discussed plans for the winter retreat, the upcoming 30th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and their hopes for a peaceful 2003.

Members also did a bit of shopping, purchasing buttons, bumper stickers, t-shirts, and NOW gift memberships. Thank you to all RI NOW members for your support in 2002 and we hope to see you at one of our events in the new year.

RI NOW Celebrates 30 Years of Protection

RI NOW members joined forces with the Rhode Island Choice Coalition to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Despite the sub-zero wind-chill factor, a record number of pro-choice activists marched in recognition of a woman’s right to make private medical decisions based on her conscience and her needs.

After turning the anti-choice funeral procession away, RI NOW members attended a press conference, hosted by pro-choice RI Senator Rhoda Perry and pro-choice RI Representative Edie Ajello, at the State House. Senator Perry and Representative Ajello acknowledged the pro-choice legislators in attendance and vowed to lead the fight to ensure that women in Rhode Island continue to have access to safe, legal abortions.

The day’s events ended with a "Come as You Were in 1973" party. Music, lively discussion, and hot food warmed the celebrants as speakers urged the group to mobilize and stand ready to take on the battle that is sure to come in this new year.

RI NOW and all pro-choice Rhode Islanders need your help as we face an anti-choice Governor and a majority of anti-choice legislators. The time has come to rally - the fight is on! Join RI NOW. We need pro-choice Rhode Islanders to call their legislators, to write letters, to provide financial support, and to stand ready to mobilize to protect all women.

NE Leaders NOW Northeast Region Elects Leadership 2002

NOW members in the Northeast Region elected four members to represent our interests on the National Board. Kris Moody, NH NOW, was elected to serve as our Regional Director. Kris will be joined by three National Board members; Galen Sherwin, NYC NOW, Greta Edwards, Boston NOW, and Nina Selvaggio, MA NOW.

RI NOW wishes these four activists many successes and we look forward to hosting our Regional leadership in the Ocean State.

Stay tuned for an update on Regional Board activities.

Janurary 2002: RI NOW Celebrates 29th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

March 2002: RI NOW Leadership Meeting Summary

Summer 2002: Open Letter to RI NOW members.

Dear RI NOW Members and Prospective members:

The past four months have provided me with an exhilarating experience. The opportunities to talk to thoughtful, powerful, and empowered women throughout Rhode Island motivates me to continue the fight to build our organization and make it a home for all. Meeting women who lead our most important social service agencies, women who are proud to say "I am the CEO" when they introduce themselves, victims of domestic violence who are working to help others, Senators and Representative who fight for our rights everyday, a woman who builds steel cages that serve as the foundation for our bridges, and ah! a woman who is running hard to be our next Governor, all serve to inspire me.

In my conversations, I also hear from young women who "just aren't sure they want to be called a 'feminist' and are not sure if NOW is right for them" and I talk to women who tell me that they were involved in RI NOW 30 years ago and marched in support of the equal rights amendment. They tell me that "NOW isn¹t really doing anything and they are too busy to become involved." Finally, I talk to women who say, "NOW does not understand the problems of minority women and never has." These valuable discussions led me to a review of what we have accomplished and more importantly, these comments make me pause because we have so much more to do and we haven¹t spoken to the hearts and minds of both women and men of conscience.

Success is always easy to highlight and RI NOW has achieved many successes in a short time. Briefly, we hosted 150 women and men of conscience at our kick-off celebration, we collaborated on our first successful action in celebration of the 29th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we joined forces with the Million Mom March leaders to fight for safer gun laws, we continue to stand side-by-side with more than twenty women-led organizations demanding pay equity, and we will forever support fair housing laws, ending poverty, and equal rights. But, as easy as it is to talk about success, it is much more important to talk about what RI NOW has yet to do.

First, to the young women who tell me that they "don¹t believe that they won't have the continued option of seeking a safe, legal abortion", please consider the 5-4 Supreme Court leaning and the views of judges nominated to all levels of the judiciary. Do not assume that the current administration has your best interests at heart. There is a powerful force fighting to ensure that you will not have the power to control what happens to your own body. Furthermore, look at the continued push to erode your rights here in RI.
Second, to the women who tell me "I am too old and tired, I fought these same fights 30 years ago, let the young women fight their own fight", I say, now is not the time to sit back and watch events unfold. Strong leadership and experience are critical to our ability to raise our voices, educate all, and defeat those who wish to weaken our rights.
Finally, to the women who say, "I am so tired of hearing about abortion, what else is RI NOW going to do", I say give us a chance. Join us and find out that we care about raising opportunities for ALL women and their children.

Whether we are reviewing how RI¹s largest businesses treat women or looking at the voting record of those seeking your vote this election season, we do care. We care about everything that affects you. And, that is a large charge for any organization. RI NOW offers you a forum to vent your frustrations in a place where you will be heard and then offers you an opportunity to develop a strategy (and find friends) to fight for your cause.

I can only promise that I will work very hard with you and for you. I hope that you will join us as we move forward with our agenda to make the world a safer, smarter place where women are free to succeed.

Respectfully, Melody Drnach