Read Carol Roye's Piece on the Global Gage Rule...

Women's eNews published a story today written by Carol Roye, WeNews Commentator, Nurse Practitioner, and Professor of Nursing at Hunter College's Bellevue School. This is a MUST READ for anyone who cares about women's reproductive health and rights.

Roye's piece, entitled "Global Gag Rule Must Not Be Domesticated," warns of the dangers of the United States bringing its own Gag Rule policy, which it has exported to developing nations that receive U.S. Aid for the better part of the past 25 years, to bear here at home. The Global Gag Rule has had alarming implications for the women, girls, and families that have been subjected to it through its implementation by the U.S. in the developing world. Nevertheless, anti-choice and anti-family planning groups such as Focus on the Family are lobbying hard for the Bush Administration to put this Gag Rule in place here and restrict all Title X funds for U.S. family planning clinics that provide abortion in addition to a wide range of family planning and sexual health services, before the next President takes office.

First Step: Read Roye's article for more information on the impact of the Gag Rule and for her first-hand experiences of having to comply with this policy while practicing as a nurse and providing adolescent health services.

Next Step: Visit www.accessdenied.org to learn more about how you can help advocate to repeal the Global Gag Rule and to prevent it from ever making its way back to the U.S.

New Disability Rights Fund Introduces New Resources for Disability Issues within the Global South and Global Eastern Regions

Information about a new foundation created by human rights and disability rights funders has been announced recently by the Foundation Center. According to a new RFP issued by the foundation, which is called the Disability Rights Fund (DRF), grant guidelines for the 2008 cycle are available and open to agencies in the following countries within the Global South:

*Ghana
*Namibia
*Uganda
*Ecuador
*Nicaragua
*Peru
*Bangladesh

Grants will be awarded to organizations that work to bring more focus on the participation of people with disabilities in community life and those that advocate for and work towards the passage of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). For more information on this year's grant making cycle, entitled "Building Community Advocacy," click here.

Women Beware: Chilling Refusal Trend Sweeps Pharmacies Across the US

News about pharmacists refusing to provide contraceptives and emergency contraception (EC) to women who have been prescribed these LEGAL drugs by their physicians is beginning to resonate and be represented within the mainstream media. Unfortunately, this is also because the trend of so called "pro-life pharmacy" is increasing nationwide as more pharmacists are becoming emboldened to impose their own beliefs upon individual women and families and deny access to family-planning. For more information, read the pieces below:

From the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association's Reproductive Health Watch Newsletter:

The War on Contraception Rages in DC Metro Area
Chantilly, Va. is the most recent casualty in the war on contraception, becoming the home of what is being called a "pro-life pharmacy." The Washington Post reports that a Chantilly pharmacy has joined the ranks of such pharmacies proliferating around the country, which not only refuse to provide emergency contraception (EC), but go so far as to deny women and men access to the most basic forms of contraception - the pill and condoms.

Divine Mercy Care, or DMC, runs the pharmacy and is a nonprofit organization that subscribes to Catholic Church dogma, which expressly forbids contraceptives. The group also runs the Tepeyac Family Center in Fairfax, Va.,-an obstetrics-gynecology practice that does not prescribe any contraceptives, or perform abortions or sterilizations. Instead, patients are only offered "natural family planning" methods. One of their OB-GYNs also made a statement at the American Life League's press conference announcing their nationwide protest of the Griswold v. Connecticut decision.

DMC pharmacists say that they do not interfere with women who want contraception, despite many accounts from patients who have gone to similar anti-contraception pharmacies. Patients have described pharmacists who go so far as to keep prescriptions so that they cannot be filled elsewhere. However, DMC neglects to post signs describing their policy and refuses to refer women to other pharmacies that will fill their prescriptions. Patients in Chantilly and Fairfax, part of the sprawling suburbs of the Washington, D.C. metro area, have the luxury of going elsewhere, but the proliferation of these groups in rural areas has reproductive health advocates concerned.

The Post quoted R. Alto Charo, a lawyer and bioethicist at the University of Wisconsin, who sums up those concerns: "We may find ourselves with whole regions of the country where virtually every pharmacy follows these limiting, discriminatory policies and women are unable to access legal, physician-prescribed medications."

Read the Washington Post's article, "Pro-Life" Drugstores Market Beliefs by clicking here.

K-Mart Readies Girls for Abstinence-Only Education through "Pledge" Clothing Line

K-Mart will release a new line of clothing featuring the slogan "True Love Waits," the brandname of a popular Abstinence-Only Until Marriage curriculum that receives federal funding despite findings by a Congressional Oversight Committee that reveal the program's inaccuracies and deficits in teaching young people about sexuality. The clothing line is designed ONLY FOR GIRLS, and includes sweat pants with the "True Love Waits" slogan sown across the posterior section, much like the popular "Juicy" brand shorts and pants.

Check out the creepy clothing description on Kmart's website:
"Whether she is lounging around the house, going to practice, or doing her
chores. These soft athletic style crop pants will keep her comfy. Perfect for
wearing with her favorite sweatshirt or tee. These athletic pants boldly
proclaim just where she stands by pointing out that "True Love Waits" in a large
screen print on the front and back of these pants.

* Drawstring waist
* Bold abstinence screen print
* Elastic cuffs. Cotton/Polyester blend
* Machine washable
* Imported"

Want to let Kmart know what you think about selling propagandist loungewear to girls? Call 1-866-KMART-4U(1-866-562-7848) or send them an email at: help@customerservice.kmart.com Reports from callers say that Kmart is currently denying the merchandise even exists, however you can follow the description link above to view it in all of its "glory."

Abstinence-Only Appropriations Update brought to you by NFPRHA:According to an alert sent out by the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), "Later this month, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees will take up the FY 2009 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bills, which fund Title X, along with the Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) program. In the House, the Subcommittee markup is scheduled for June 19, with the full Committee taking up the bill June 25. The Senate's subcommittee markup is scheduled for June 24."

Watch "Sexism Sells" Video on You Tube from the Women's Media Center

"Sex Sells But We're Not Buying It" is a great short film on the big-box, 24-hour news channels' media coverage of the 2008 Presidential Primary Campaign which repeatedly included lewd and lame misogyny, mostly initiated by the fratastic-Chris Matthews, who unfortunately gave the key note address to Hunter College's graduating class this year (an odd choice for an undergraduate and graduate instition which is comprised by a student body of over 50% women). Cut and paste this rather long link to check it out on You-tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-IrhRSwF9U&eurl=http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/feature/2008/05/27/sexism_sells/

Anniversary of Equal Pay Act Occurs in Times of Inequality

Today is the 45th Anniversary of the passage of the Equal Pay Act, signed by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, which codified women (and men's) right to earn equal pay for equal work and made it illegal for employers to pay employees more or less based upon their gender. 

Although this law is long-settled, we know today that women make significantly less than men in many fields, and we also know that young women and women who belong to various ethnic groups are even further subject to this pay differential. For a more in-depth breakdown of the wage gap by gender and background, click here to view a Pay Equity Fact Sheet by the National Women's Law Center, a great resource for information on economic, education, legal, and health issues that impact women and girls. 

Currently, there are several pieces of pending legislation that, if passed, would create a policy framework to help women achieve pay parity across fields and regardless of ethnic background. They are:

1) The Fair Pay Act, which establishes equal pay guidelines for workers in female-dominated professions, who are historically paid less than those in male-dominated professions;

2) The Paycheck Fairness Act, which expands the provisions of the 45 year-old Equal Pay Act and creates a research-based set of guidelines developed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for employers on how to eliminate pay discrimination when determining an employee's pay rate or salary. 

Unfortunately, regressive policies and decisions such as the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear have weakened the already tenuous anti-discrimination protections of the past, and women are now severely limited in their recourse options by time statutes for pay discrimination. 

For more information on pay equity, progressive policy initiatives, and an update on the Ledbetter case, visit:

The National Women's Law Center

The Committee for Pay Equity

Friday Resource Round-Up!

Some excellent resources on sexuality and reproductive health and rights have recently been rolled out. Check out some of NWG's favorites below...

Reproductive Justice Briefing Book: A Primer on Reproductive Justice and Social Change
(Contributors include Girlmom, SisterSong, and the National Women's Law Center)

Science and Success, Second Edition: Sex Education and Other Programs that Work to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections
(Published by Advocates for Youth)

Ensuring a Healthier Tomorrow in Central America
(Published by the Guttmacher Institute)