Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy

June 6, 2007

At the very core of our liberty as modern women is the ability to control our fertility and plan our families, but there is an all-out attack on birth control in this country.

Religious and political extremists are trying to make it impossible for women to fill their birth control prescriptions or get the morning-after pill to prevent pregnancies. Their efforts to limit pharmacy access especially affect women in rural areas with few pharmacies, and low income women with limited transportation.

We congratulate Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) for introducing the Access to Birth Control Act (ABC) to restore contraceptive options to those who most need them.

Thursday, May 17th from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. at Tazza, 250 Westminster St., Providence

Join RI NOW members for a drink and/or a meal and some interesting conversation about issues affecting the lives of women and girls in Rhode Island. It’s a great way to meet like-minded people and learn what RI NOW is all about. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Vanessa at vevolz@hotmail.com.

Each gift package includes the following in a silver gift box:

- One-year MEMBERSHIP in RI NOW

- RI NOW-exclusive EARRINGS with a woman-shaped charm in your choice of SILVER or GOLD

- RI NOW T-SHIRT in purple with white lettering (specify S,M,L,XL)

- RI NOW BUTTON and BROCHURE as well as our most recent NEWSLETTER

Mother’s Day Gift Packages are available for $50 (includes shipping). Quantities are limited. Contact Carolyn at president@rinow.org for more information or to order.

This new website is Targeted at the Proposed 24hr Waiting Period Legislation in the RI General Assembly and other Imminent Threats to Women’s Health Privacy.

Did you know that in Rhode Island’s democratically-controlled legislature,ONLY 12 out of 75 representatives and ONLY 10 out of 38 senators are pro-choice?

Don’t let anti-choice legislators decide what is best for you:
We hope YOU will Decide, RI! http://YouDecideRI.blogspot.com

April 18, 2007

Providence, RI – Today the US Supreme Court upheld the nation’s first abortion procedure ban – a ban enacted by George W. Bush and conservatives in Congress. The grave impact of this ban will undoubtedly impact women in Rhode Island.

“The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the federal abortion procedure ban usurps a woman’s ability to make critical health care decisions with her physician. That this ruling includes no exception for the health of the woman immorally places a higher value on the fetus than on the living, breathing human being who is carrying it,” said Carolyn Mark, President of the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Organization for Women.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in making this decision, has potentially opened the floodgates to ending safe, legal abortion and provided an opening for a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, which has been the law of the land for 34 years. With this decision, the women’s health exception enshrined in Roe and protected in Casey has been virtually eliminated.

The law is so vaguely written that it may ban the most common abortion procedure used after 12 weeks of pregnancy, and there is no exception to allow its use if the woman’s health is in serious danger. The joint ruling in Gonzales v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood is a major step in the campaign to outlaw all abortions, first by chipping away at and then by fully overturning Roe v. Wade.

Said Ms. Mark: “President Bush used his allies’ control in Congress to push through anti-abortion legislation, and he used their power to confirm anti-abortion justices to the Supreme Court—justices who have now upheld that same legislation. We must stop the stacking of the federal courts and work toward a congressional majority – at the state and national level - that supports women’s rights.”

Legislative Agenda

On Thursday March 15th, RI NOW members will get together to share a meal, get to know each other better, and talk about issues that are important to women and girls in Rhode Island. This is a great “first-event” to attend, if you’ve been wanting to learn more about RI NOW and meet some of our members. This ‘Food for Thought’ will be at Twist on S. Angell St. in Providence at 8 p.m. Please join us for dinner or just coffee. Please RSVP to Carolyn at president@rinow.org so we can reserve a table. Hope to see you there!

On March 7th, the National Coalition on Immigrant Women’s Rights (NCIWR) will address members of Congress and their staff on the dire need to improve the lives of immigrant women living in the United States. NCIWR is a coalition of progressive, grassroots women’s organizations advocating for immigration reform legislation that ensures the rights of all immigrant women, and their families, living and working in U.S.

This is the first time that members of Congress and their staff will be briefed on the issue of improving immigration reform legislation with regard to immigrant women. The comprehensive stories and the real needs of immigrant women have not been adequately brought before Congress and the press. Millions of immigrant women’s voices have been silenced long enough, and it is time for Congress to listen and do the right thing.

Speakers will include:
Kiran Ahuja, Executive Director, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
Olga Vives, Executive Vice President, National Organization for Women
Joanne Lin, Senior Staff Attorney, Immigrant Women Program, Legal Momentum
Hannah Sin, Community Outreach Director, Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project
Aishia Glasford, Policy Analyst, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health

RI NOW will be holding a very important membership meeting on March 1 from 7-9pm at Westminster Unitarian. The primary purpose is to finalize our legislative agenda. This is a great opportunity to get up to speed on legislative issues of concern to women and girls in Rhode Island and to help us set our priorities. Refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP to Carolyn Mark at president@rinow.org.

Directions to Westminster Unitarian Church, 119 Kenyon Avenue, East Greenwich, overlooks the intersection of Route 401 and Kenyon Avenue.

From the North: From Rt. 95 South, take Rt 4. Take the first exit, exit 8. Then follow the directions below from Rt. 4.

From the South: From Rt. 4 North, take exit 8A (Rt. 401). Then follow the directions below from Rt. 4.

From Rt 4: At the end of the exit ramp, turn right (east) on Division Street (Rt. 401). Follow Rt. 401 past the second traffic light. At the fork in the road, bear right onto First Avenue. At the next (third) traffic light, at Kenyon Avenue turn left on Kenyon, and turn into the church parking lot at the first driveway on your left.

The Women’s Fund of Rhode Island recently released a mid-decade update to its report on the status of women and girls in Rhode Island, originally released in 2002. The report indicates that Rhode Island women continue to face barriers to political, economic and social equality and that the status of women in the state has deteriorated on several key measures. To see the full report, visit www.wfri.org.

Problem Solved T-Shirt Campaign

RI NOW received a notice from Hardy Girls, Healthy Women, a non-profit organization in Maine, alerting us to the fact that Kmart (parent company Sears Holding Corporation) is carrying an incredibly offensive “Problem Solved” t-shirt in the children’s department. The t-shirt depicts a male stick figure physically assaulting a female. They are running a campaign to have these shirts removed from the shelves. To learn more about this campaign, and to see the t-shirt, visit www.hghw.org.

NARAL Publishes Who Decides? The Status of Women’s Reproductive Rights in the United States

Go to the following link to the recently released report to see how Rhode Island stacks up. You may find some surprising facts you didn’t know.

Read the Report

Planned Parenthood Rhode Island announces its new radio show: “Real Life. Real Talk.®… Sex Education for the Real World”

This new PPRI radio show is hosted by: Pablo Rodriguez, M.D., PPRI Medical Director & Jim Miller, Ph.D., URI Professor and Certified Sex Educator

WHJJ 920AM — Saturdays, starting on February 3 at 5:00 pm

Tune in!