Join Planned Parenthood in HUDSON for #StopTheBans: National Day of Action on Tuesday, May 21st!

As you may have heard the BANS on abortion keep coming so we KEEP RALLYING! In an effort to include our Columbia and Greene County advocates and highlight our new center, our rally for the National Day of Action will be in Hudson.

Here are the details:

On May 21, activists in all 50 states will take to the streets with rallies and mobilizations happening at state capitols, town squares, courthouses and health centers to say #StoptheBans. If you are outraged by recent restrictions and limitations on abortion access join Planned Parenthood outside our new Hudson Health Center for a Honk and Wave event to show you STAND STRONG FOR ABORTION ACCESS. We will provide the PINK swag!

This is a terrifying time for women in America. Anti-women’s health politicians are pushing dangerous policies that will endanger women’s lives and the public’s health. Planned Parenthood will not sit by and watch as politicians take our rights and freedoms to women's health care away. We will fight in Missouri, Georgia, Alabama, and everywhere else politicians interfere with medical care, because women’s health care is health care and health care is a human right.

JOIN US! 

Location: 804 Columbia Street in Hudson (Planned Parenthood in Hudson)
Date: TUESDAY, May 21
Time: 5:30 to 6:30 pm

We will provide the PINK! PLEASE RSVP AND SHARE our Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/917041565307584/

Letter: We Will Not Go Back!

I am a retired female OB/GYN.

Doctors and nurses in my field are fortunate to live in the great state of NY where women are respected and valued. Here a woman enjoys privacy and trust in her relationship with her medical care provider in the most intimate part of her life, deciding when she is capable of becoming a good mother.

I graduated from medical school the year NYS legalized abortion and then began my OB/GYN training. The difference legalization made was profound.

Before that wealthy women had access to legal abortions by traveling out of the country, and the rest of the women had to seek out illegal providers (including mafia) or try to do it by themselves. As gynecology residents, we took care of the results in the Emergency Room; bleeding, febrile victims often in extremis.

It is alarming that presently politicians (usually well-off white males) in many states are targeting the health care safety net of women and their families by criminalizing abortion as well as threatening Medicaid and Title X with the gag rule. The cruel result of this will of course be to disrupt families that have a tenuous grip on middle class life and to take away the hope of the poor. Medical care for all women will be degraded, and sisters, mothers and daughters will suffer and die unnecessarily.

I am grateful to live in NYS where medical professionals do not have to worry about going to jail for doing our job properly. Access to the life saving benefits of modern health care should not depend on one’s wealth and gender.

Margaret M. Craven, M.D.

Roe v Wade Anniversary Event and RHA!

Hey all, sorry it's been a while since we've had an update. Things, as you can imagine, have been a little nuts around here.

This Tuesday, Jan 22, is the anniversary of the passage of Roe v Wade, making access to safe, legal
abortion the law of the land. With the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court, we have been worried about the future of Roe v Wade. Therefore, we decided to have our annual Roe v Wade event on the actual anniversary this year.

The event begins at 5:30PM on 1/22/19 at the Renaissance Hotel in Albany. Tickets include beer, wine and soda, and hot and cold hors d'oeuvres. We will be honoring Eleanor's Legacy and the NYS Bipartisan Pro-Choice Legislative Caucus, and our Keynote speaker for the evening will be NYS Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.  We would love for you to join us, and you can purchase your ticket here.

The other amazing thing going on that day, is the long-awaited passage (we hope) of the Reproductive Health Act (RHA).  If you're not sure what that is, here are some cliff's notes.

• NYS legalized abortion three years before Roe v Wade, and is out of date. RHA will make it consistent with federal law.
• One of the ways it is inconsistent with federal law, is that it is listed in the NYS penal code, not the health code. We hope to remedy that with RHA.
• Our antiquated state law lacks a health exception, forcing individuals to leave our state for care later in pregnancy, in the rare and tragic cases when their health is at risk or a fetus is not viable.

This has been ten years in the making, so we will be gathering at the Capitol to rally and hopefully witness the passage of the bill on the Assembly and Senate floors. Please join us for this exciting and important moment. We will be gathering at three. The details are in the facebook event I linked to above, but it is important that you register if you plan to join us. This is a free event, but we need to have a tally of who will be joining us for security purposes.

This is a very exciting time to be a New Yorker, which is refreshing when juxtaposed with all the terrible nonsense happening in Washington. We hope you will join us!

Great Stuff Coming up for Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood

Coming up with Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood Galentines Day! Channel your inner Leslie Knope and come join us on Tuesday, February 13th at the Savoy Tap Room in Albany for a fabulous evening celebrating Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood! We'll have raffles, prizes, live music, food, and drink specials going throughout the evening. Tickets are $15.00 in advance, and $20.00 at the door. Each ticket comes with 3 raffle tickets - additional raffle tickets are $5.00. All proceeds benefit the Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood. Thank you to Assemblywoman Pat Fahy for emceeing, and Savoy Taproom for hosting. We can't wait to see you there Get your tickets HERE  Savoy Tap Room 201 Lark Street Albany, NY Tuesday, February 13, 2018 “The Vagina Monologues” Cafe 217 in Albany for the 11th year will host an evening of a three-course meal and a staged reading of Eve Ensler’s play “The Vagina Monologues.” Scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Feb. 18 through 20 at the cafe, located at 12½ Delaware Ave., the program costs $35 per person, plus tax and tip. The event is presented by ABB Event Productions, which since launching the performances has donated a portion of the proceeds, so far totaling $23,000, to Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood. Reservations are required; call 518-253-9821.  Cafe 217  121/2 Delaware Avenue,Albany, NY 12208 February 18 to 20   #CelebrationForChoice   For more than forty years, the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed that under Roe v. Wade, the constitution protects every woman’s right to make her own personal medical decisions about abortion. The landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case was decided on January 22nd and each year we hold our Celebration For Choice event around this time in commemoration. This event honors leaders in our community who work to promote reproductive justice and protect access to health care. Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood supporters, including local and state legislative leaders, clergy, health care and women’s health advocates will attend this annual celebration to commemorate the 45th anniversary.   We hope you will join us and our supporters at this remarkable occasion on Thursday, February 22nd 2018 from 6:00pm - 8:00pm GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY!    The Renaissance Albany Hotel 144 State Street Albany, NY 12207 “10 Inches for Planned Parenthood” Art Auction and Fundraiser Art auction and cocktail event to raise money for Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood. Music by the amazing Honey Slider! The event is being hosted by Albany Sister March Action Group and The Hollow Bar + Kitchen. For more information, visit the Facebook page HERE! If you are interested in submitting a 10 inch by 10 inch original artwork, please visit this FORM.     The Hollow Bar and Kitchen. Wednesday, February 28 6 PM - 9 PM #RegisterToday   Join Reproductive Health Advocates from Across New York State! Our reproductive health care and rights are under constant attack, but YOU can make a difference. Mark your calendar now to save the date for New York State’s Day of Action for reproductive health on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, at our state capital, Albany, NY. There is no charge for our state’s Day of Action which includes: Educating lawmakers on reproductive health care issues  Lunch  Planned Parenthood rally  Pre-event educational webinar  Don’t miss this – plan now to use YOUR VOICE in Albany on  Tuesday, March 13, 2018.  REGISTER HERE TODAY!

45 Years of Roe v Wade!

45th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

#45thAnniversary of Roe v. Wade   Today is the 45th Anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, giving women across the country the right to access safe, legal abortion. This year, leading up to our annual Roe v. Wade Reception, Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood will be hosting a series of FREE film screenings on access to abortion and reproductive health care across the country.  Our first screening will be of Birthright: A War Story. Birthright is a feature length documentary that examines how women are being jailed, physically violated and even put at risk of dying as a radical movement tightens its grip across America. The film tells the story of women who have become collateral damage in the aggressive campaign to take control of reproductive health care and to allow states, courts and religious doctrine to govern whether, when and how women will bear children. This is the real-life “Handmaid’s Tale.” Our FREE SCREENING of Birthright will be held TONIGHT on the 45th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Monday, January 22nd at Albany Law College.   GET YOUR FREE TICKETS NOW!  The Dean Alexander Moot Court Room 4th floor at Albany Law 80 New Scotland Ave, Albany Film starts at 6:15pm, panel discussion to follow #CelebrationForChoice   For more than forty years, the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed that under Roe v. Wade, the constitution protects every woman’s right to make her own personal medical decisions about abortion. The landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case was decided on January 22nd and each year we hold our Celebration For Choice event around this time in commemoration. This event honors leaders in our community who work to promote reproductive justice and protect access to health care. Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood supporters, including local and state legislative leaders, clergy, health care and women’s health advocates will attend this annual celebration to commemorate the 45th anniversary.   We hope you will join us and our supporters at this remarkable occasion on Thursday, February 22nd 2018 from 6:00pm - 8:00pm GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY!    The Renaissance Albany Hotel 144 State Street Albany, NY 12207 #RegisterToday   Join Reproductive Health Advocates from Across New York State! Our reproductive health care and rights are under constant attack, but YOU can make a difference. Mark your calendar now to save the date for New York State’s Day of Action for reproductive health on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, at our state capital, Albany, NY. There is no charge for our state’s Day of Action which includes: Educating lawmakers on reproductive health care issues  Lunch  Planned Parenthood rally  Pre-event educational webinar  Don’t miss this – plan now to use YOUR VOICE in Albany on  Tuesday, March 13, 2018.  REGISTER HERE TODAY!

What's Going on at Planned Parenthood

A Public Affairs update from VP for Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs, Katherine Bruno.

Things are moving quickly in Public Affairs and we want to keep you all up to date on everything that is happening!

Day of Action: There was an exciting event Monday at the State Capitol in Albany! More than 1,500 people from across the state came to Albany to show they stand with Planned Parenthood. PPFA President Cecile Richards and Governor Andrew Cuomo, in addition to many other representatives and activists, spoke on behalf of reproductive rights and UHPP’s own Omiyea Stanford served as the co-host of the event. Photos can be found on our Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/UHPPANY/.

Upcoming events:

RESIST! for Reproductive Justice Albany NY
On February 11 there will be anti-choice activists around the country protesting Planned Parenthood and calling for us to be defunded. Supporters all over the country caught wind of this and began organizing counter protests before we knew what was happening. The list of locations to protest included the Troy Health Center. Our local supporters began to plan a counter protest but once we touched base with them and let them know that we do not encourage counter protests we began to work with them to change the location and host it at our Albany Health Center parking lot.

Please join on Saturday, February 2:30pm to 4:30pm. We will send out more details as we get closer.

Please remember, this event is a work in progress and it is a partnership with community activists. We are working with them on the details and are hoping for a very successful turnout. If you have questions about this event, please contact Nicole C. at nicolec@uhpp.org.

The details can be found on the Facebook page they created to promote the event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1227997093949102/

UHPP Teach-in
UHPP will host our third Teach-in event Monday, February 13 at the Albany Health Center 6 to 8 pm. Teach-in: Legislative Agenda. How can you help? will be hosted by Dan Carpenter, Field Manager at Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts (formerly Family Planning Advocates of NYS). We will review the NYS Legislative Agenda set forth by our statewide organization, learn how to talk about the issues and how to lobby elected officials in our area.
Find out more and RSVP through the event page on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1804561619791550/

Roe v Wade Anniversary Event
UHPP will commemorate the 34th Anniversary of the passage of Roe v Wade on February 17 from 6-8pm at the Albany Renaissance Hotel.  Awardees include Assemblymember Didi Barrett, Rev. Sam Trumbore, the Boys and Girls Club of Albany, Citizen Action, and the Pride Center.  Click here for more information and to RSVP.

If you have any questions or want to get involved, feel free to reach out to nicolec@uhpp.org or Katherine at Katherine@uhpp.org.

Thank you!