Repro Health Hub

The Sunday issue of The New York Times featured an article titled “Democrats Carrying Anti-Abortion Banner Put More Congressional Races in Play,” which discussed how the Democratic Party is running anti-choice candidates in some conservative districts in an effort to strip the RNC of its hold on culturally conservative voters.

The DNC has tapped twelve anti-choice Democratic candidates this year, “the highest number of anti-abortion candidates the party has fielded in recent memory to run either for open seats or against Republican challengers.” The article continues that this “is a strategy that has received little attention in an election year dominated nationally by a grim economic picture and an unpopular president.”

National Institute for Reproductive Health President Kelli Conlin called this strategy “misguided,” citing surveys conducted by the National Institute showing that even some Republicans express support for abortion rights when they consider the consequences of banning abortion.

As Conlin told the Times, “The movement to recruit anti-choice candidates ignores the larger reality that this is a pro-choice nation… It misses the larger point.”

By Tara Sweeney

Today the “How Much Time” campaign released its most provocative ad yet—the ad exposes the dangerous reality behind John McCain and Sarah Palin’s desire to ban abortion.

The video, which features real women being photographed for mug shots, forces viewers to consider the potential consequences of a McCain/Palin administration. On more than one occasion, Senator McCain has expressed the belief that Roe v. Wade should be overturned. His running mate, Governor Palin, is opposed to abortion even in cases of rape and incest.

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, the video explains, “21 states will immediately move to make abortion a crime. And women will be treated like criminals.” The campaign’s use of real women gives a human face to the women who, under John McCain, could be tried, or even jailed, for making the difficult decision to obtain an abortion. What would John McCain do then?

By Allison Farer

Recent anti-choice efforts throughout Indiana have resulted in several local regulations that seriously infringe on a woman’s access to safe and legal abortion care. Two counties have passed regulations that require doctors who provide abortions to establish “admitting privileges,” or formal relationships, with their local hospitals; another county is currently considering a similar ordinance. Neither of these counties currently has abortion providers. A spokesman for Indiana Right to Life confirmed that these ordinances were part of a new anti-choice strategy. Increasingly, these pernicious efforts to restrict rights and access are happening at the local level, reinforcing the urgent need for pro-choice advocates to also use the local level to push forward our own agendas. The Urban Initiative for Reproductive Health is working with local elected officials and public health leaders who are committed to progressive action to ensure and increase access to health care and protect reproductive rights. For examples of local pro-choice efforts, check out the materials from our 2008 National Summit, which featured innovative local strategies to improve reproductive health and reduce barriers to accessing critical health care.

By Emily Alexander

An article in The Boston Globe highlights Senator John McCain’s trivialization of women’s health in last night’s presidential debate. For those of you who missed it, McCain characterized measures to protect women’s health as “extreme.” What’s more, in what can only be interpreted as an attempt to delegitimize and mock the very real concerns of pregnant women, the senator placed air quotes around the word “health.”

“[H]ealth of the mother,” said McCain. “You know that’s been stretched by the pro-abortion movement in America to mean almost anything. That’s, that’s the extreme pro-abortion position. The quote ‘health.’” Throughout his campaign, McCain has struggled to secure the female vote. His actions, however, from the selection of anti-choice Sarah Palin as a running mate to the assertion that the power to make decisions about women’s bodies should rest in the hands of the state, have proved insulting to women everywhere.

“If McCain is going to regret anything from last night’s debate, it just may be his mocking women’s health to a national audience,” Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said in a statement. “His disregard for women’s health caused a national gasp as McCain let slip the truth about his extreme position on choice – a reality he tends to save for speeches to his far-right base. If women in this country are still undecided, they won’t be after watching last night’s debate.”

By Allison Farer

The Salt Lake Tribune reported on Wednesday that legislators in Utah are planning on sponsoring legislation that will ban abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and the endangerment of a woman’s health. Opponents of the bill criticize the threat it poses to women’s reproductive rights and health and also question the motives of the lawmakers who crafted it. According to the article, Representative Christine Johnson (D-Salt Lake City) referred to the proposed legislation as a “‘political stunt’ by lawmakers trying to get re-elected.” She argued that if lawmakers really want to reduce abortion rates, they should facilitate access to the methods that have proven time and again to reduce the number of abortions performed: birth control and comprehensive sex education.

By Allison Farer