National Abortion Federation Blog: Saporta Reporter
| News about reproductive choice from the President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation, Vicki Saporta. |
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Massachusetts Governor Signs Buffer Zone Law
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed a law Tuesday expanding the buffer zone around reproductive health care facilities to 35 feet. In 2000, the state passed a law, which designated a "floating" zone of 6 feet, within a larger radius of 18 feet, inside which no one may approach a patient entering a clinic without her consent. However, the vague consent language made it difficult to enforce the law. Officials, including Attorney General Martha Coakley and Boston Police Captain Bill Evans, testified in support of this legislation. Patrick said the legislation strikes the right balance between freedom of choice and freedom of speech.Massachusetts now has one of the strongest buffer zone laws in the nation. >Learn more about clinic protection bills.
Anti-Abortion Extremist Ordered to Remove Violent Threats from Website
Yesterday, a federal judge ordered an anti-abortion extremist in Pennsylvania to remove threatening content from his website and blog. For years John Dunkle has harassed and threatened abortion providers in person and on the Internet. One posting to his website, which featured an abortion provider’s name, photo, and address, encouraged readers to kill her by shooting her in the head. Prosecutors claimed the postings violated the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. The FACE Act makes it a federal crime to use force, the threat of force, or physical obstruction to prevent individuals from obtaining or providing reproductive health care services. U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Golden said, “ There’s no question threats were made.” Dunkle is also banned from publishing similar messages containing names, addresses, or photographs of reproductive health care workers. >Learn more about the FACE Act.>Learn more about violence and disruption against abortion providers.
New York Times Profiles Abortion Provider
Today’s New York Times profiles an abortion provider who travels by plane to clinics across underserved regions in the Western U.S. Dr. Susan Wicklund recently wrote a book about her experience as an abortion provider aimed at encouraging more open discussion of abortion. “We don’t talk about it,” she said in a telephone interview. “People say, ‘Nobody I know has ever had an abortion,’ and that is just not true. Their sisters, their mothers have had abortions.” At current rates, about one-third of American women have an abortion during their child-bearing years, according to the Guttmacher Institute. However, many women do not talk about their experience. The real stories of women who have obtained abortion care can have a profound impact on policy makers, the media, and the public debate. Like many of our members, Wicklund is proud of her work and dedicated to the women she serves. “It is one of the few areas of medicine where you are not working with a sick person, you are doing something for them that gives them back their life, their control,” she added. “It’s a very rewarding thing to be part of that.” >Share your story about your experience and why you are pro-choice.>Find a quality abortion provider in your area.
LA Times Examines Legal Abortion in Mexico City
Since Mexico City legalized abortion in May, more than 3,400 women have obtained abortions at 14 of the capital's public hospitals. The availability of safe, legal abortion care has helped reduce the public health concerns and stigma associated with abortion. "When people think of abortion, they no longer think of a hidden, shameful, illegal, clandestine and expensive procedure that is full of risks," said Marta Lamas, who founded Mexico's leading abortion rights group in 1992. Illegal abortion is a serious public health issue in Mexico, resulting in the injury or death of thousands of Mexican women. According to the LA Times, more than 3,500 women die from illegal abortions each year in Mexico. Abortion remains illegal in the rest of Mexico, and abortion opponents have petitioned Mexico’s Supreme Court to have Mexico City's law overturned on constitutional grounds. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on this early next year.
Editorial Supports Massachusetts Buffer Zone
The Boston Globe ran an editorial in support of proposed state legislation that would create a fixed 35-foot buffer zone around reproductive health care clinic entrances. The bill would also eliminate the vague consent language present in the current law, which creates a "floating" zone of 6 feet, within a larger radius of 18 feet, inside which no one may approach a patient entering a clinic without her consent. However, the debate over what constitutes consent has made the law difficult to enforce. For this reason, Boston police district Captain William Evans testified in favor of the new bill. Last week the Massachusetts Senate passed this bill, and this week it was approved in the House as well. The Boston Globe said “the bill protects public safety, medical privacy, and free speech.”
Sign the Petition to Repeal Hyde!
Make Your Voice Heard!For nearly 35 years, women in the United States have had the right to obtain safe, legal abortion care. However, bans on public funding have severely restricted the ability of low-income women, who depend on the government for their health care, to obtain the care they need. Since 1977, the Hyde Amendment has prohibited federal Medicaid funding to be used for abortion care except in cases of rape, incest or life endangerment. Under this restriction, even when an abortion is necessary to preserve a woman's health, the procedure is not covered. As a result, a woman may delay her abortion while seeking funds to pay for care, or continue a pregnancy at risk to her own health. The Hyde Amendment is grossly unjust and the time has come to address this inequity in women's health care. Join over 60 groups in the Hyde - 30 Years is Enough! Campaign and call on Congress to repeal the Hyde Amendment and restore coverage of abortion care for low-income women. Sign our petition today! Together, we can create a society in which all women have the resources necessary to obtain the health care they need. > Learn more about the "Hyde - 30 Years is Enough! Campaign"> Read the National Abortion Federation's fact sheet about the Hyde Amendment.
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