Letter to the Editor: Alabama Callous to Women's Health Care

Originally published in the Albany Times Union on June 4, 2019

The majority of Americans are outraged at the hatred sweeping across Republican-controlled states. Alabama is the most recent extreme example of denying women health care. The callousness of the legislators is stunning. Women's lives will be in jeopardy, but they don't care.

If these legislators truly cared about saving lives, they should be working to fix a worsening health care problem in their state, not dismantling what little access to health care Alabamians have left. Watching the 25 white, male state senators who voted, it is clear they just want to control women and not allow them to have control over their own bodies and lives. Their hypocrisy is incredible since there are no laws restricting men's access to any form of health care. Medical decisions for a patient should be made by the patient and her doctor, not politicians.

This is a concerted effort to ban abortions. It is an attack on all women and everyone who loves them. Nearly a dozen states have passed restrictions or bans on abortion so far this year. With President Donald Trump in the White House and Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, state politicians are emboldened to try to fully ban safe, legal abortion. It is a scary time to be a woman.

People across the country want more health care, not less. They want representatives who will fight the unethical Title X gag rule and increase support for crucial public health programs like sexually transmitted infections testing/treatment, cancer screenings and other essential care furnished by quality providers such as Planned Parenthood.

Cathie Love

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.

Letter: Reproductive Health Act empowers women

Originally published in the Albany Times Union -- March 4, 2019

It is a power shift, empowering women. It is justice and aligning with the law of the land. It is one's right to self-determination. It is New York state's Reproductive Health Act, made law on Jan. 22.

It took nearly five decades of tenacity, advocacy and leadership, but finally the women of New York have been given the power that previously was denied them. Now, women coming from many backgrounds and holding different beliefs have this in common: the power of self-determination with respect to their own reproductive health. Each woman is now guaranteed the right to make her own personal health care decisions with her health care provider throughout the course of her pregnancy. Should complications arise later in pregnancy, medical professionals may now provide needed care.

In short, the women of New York are no longer subject to political ideologies that jeopardize their health, and they are now allowed to make their own compassionate decision with a health care professional that they trust.

The passage of the Reproductive Health Act is cause for celebration indeed. However, misinformation and fearmongering are the watchwords of many, and it is imperative that we who believe in access to safe, legal abortion and oppose restrictions on that access raise our voices in continued support of reproductive health for all women.

Dawn Jablonski

The Trump-Pence Gag Rule: The Facts

After months of waiting, the Trump Pence Administration finally released the text for the Title X changes that include the Gag Rule. The new rule does three things:

1. The rule prohibits Title X projects from referring patients for abortion—the so-called “gag rule”—and also removes the current requirement that patients must be given access to non-directive counseling on all of their options, including abortion unless the patient’s life it at risk.
2. The rule imposes cost-prohibitive and unnecessary “physical and financial” separation requirements on Title X recipients, which are aimed at excluding abortion providers like Planned Parenthood from Title X.
3. The rule contains a host of other provisions that are designed to reduce access to quality family planning care in communities across the country

It’s infuriating that the Trump-Pence administration is once again trying to control women’s bodies and take away our rights. The Trump Gag Rule bans doctors from providing their patients with full information about their health care options, including abortion. It would also effectively dismantle the Title X program, which provides birth control, cancer screenings, and other essential reproductive health care to folks with low incomes.

Know this — Planned Parenthood will always be here for our patients and will continue to fight for everyone’s ability to get affordable, quality health care. We are still working toward a world in which everyone has the freedom and opportunity to control our lives at the most basic level: our bodies, our families, and our life’s path. Health care is a human right and we will not let this stand. The Trump-Pence administration may not think our patients deserve care, but we do.

This rule is opposed by the general public, the medical community, lawmakers, and public health experts. When the rule was announced, nearly 500,000 Americans submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services voicing their opposition.

Remember, this rule is so much bigger than Planned Parenthood. It prohibits ANY health care providers in Title X across the country — doctors, nurses, hospitals, and community health centers — from referring their patients for safe, legal abortion, and it removes the guarantee that patients are getting full and accurate information about their health care.

The ruling was just released Friday and already the Attorney General of Washington State has announced they have filed a lawsuit against it. UHPP is working with our statewide partners, the national office, our legislators and the Governor’s office to protect Title X funding in New York State. In addition, we will continue to raise funds for our Patient Access Fund in order to protect us from anything the federal government throws at us. This is going to be another long fight but we are confident we will prevail and we know that the work we do for our patients must continue. No matter what.

Katherine Bruno, CXO

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!

WARNING: 'Crisis Pregnancy Centers' Are Not Legitimate Health Centers

It's no secret that with the current political climate, anti-choice and alt-right fanatics have been emboldened by rhetoric that enables and even encourages reckless behavior.  While this particular issue isn't exactly new, it is becoming more widespread in the face of this encouragement.

The Hendrick Hudson Buuilding
200 Broadway, Troy

The downtown Troy, NY Planned Parenthood is currently being plagued by one such anti-choice organization. They have purchased a van and are attempting to lure women away from the Troy Planned Parenthood office by offering them ultrasounds (in a van? Oh that's not creepy). This is made more confusing by the fact that the building that currently houses the Troy health center will not allow any outside branded signage, so sometimes patients aren't sure they are in the right place. We have heard reports of women being given bad directions to Planned Parenthood by the van's inhabitants, and made to wander around Troy, missing their appointments.

The van does not currently have a permit, and we don't know if there are even any legitimate trained medical professionals on board. Katherine Bruno, Chief Experience Officer for Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood (UHPP), has this to say about the van:

This mobile ultrasound unit has been parked in cities across Upstate New York and is most often parked in the city of Troy very near the Planned Parenthood Health Center on Broadway.

UHPP has spoken with the Troy Mayor's Office and the City Clerk. The clerk confirms that in order for anyone to be on the streets of Troy offering services of any kind, they need a permit. This mobile unit does not have one, nor have they applied for one once it was made clear that it was required. The City Clerk has communicated this with the Deputy Mayor and the Chief of Police. All city officials are aware that the van cannot be on the street offering services of any kind without a permit.

When the van arrived on Broadway across from the UHPP Health Center entrance in July, the police were called and the police did nothing. UHPP has been reassured by city officials that this is not what is supposed to happen. Once again UHPP has voiced concern and has clarified that should the van reappear, Troy Police should ask them to leave until they acquire a permit.

These anti-choice organizations make it their mission to mislead young women. Patients reported not understanding the difference between Planned Parenthood and one of these other centers, and more and more of them are popping up around the country, a situation to which this post from Lifehacker can attest.  Apparently, one of them in West Virginia was so convincingly misleading, that they were vandalized by other anti-choice fanatics. This is the sign they put up addressing their vandals:

Kudos on the trickery, Women's Choice Pregnancy Center; it looks like it really paid off for you. In fact, the very name "Women's Choice Pregnancy Center" is a fallacy, because it implies that they actually care about women's choices.

Elizabeth Clark, Director of Media Health for Planned Parenthood, offers this advice for recognizing a phony health center:

“Crisis pregnancy centers often purposely use language, in their advertising or signs, that mimic legitimate, licensed health care providers. They use names that are similar to actual healthcare providers. Be really suspicious of what you’re reading. Crisis pregnancy centers are not required to be true medical facilities and are not required to provide accurate information about health care. Look to see if there are licensed medical staff. Are there licensed clinicians? What are the services they say they provide?”

When in doubt, call Planned Parenthood directly, at 1-800-230-PLAN, and they will help set up an appointment at your closest health center, or visit www.plannedparenthood.org and make your appointment online.  If you see something super shady, tell someone. And whatever you do, definitely don't get into some creepy van.

Letter to the Editor: Gag Rule is Unethical

Originally posted in the Hudson Register Star

To the editor:

I am writing to express my concern regarding the gag rule recently proposed by the Trump-Pence administration. This gag rule is medically unethical and a blatant attempt to infringe on women's basic rights.

Title X is a federal program which has for decades provided funding for reproductive healthcare, like preventative cancer screening and birth control, for women who could not otherwise afford this care.

Not only would this proposed gag rule make it illegal for health care providers in the Title X program to inform their patients on how to access safe, legal abortion; it would also implement other regulations designed to keep millions of women from accessing birth control and other preventative care, from providers like Planned Parenthood.

It is 2018. The fact that something like this is on the table is frightening and absurd.

Recent polling has shown an overwhelming opposition to Trump's gag rule as 73 percent of Americans - myself included - disapprove of these efforts to restrict women's rights and access to health care. More than 200 members of Congress, over 110 public health organizations, major medical associations such as the American Medical Association, and PlannedParenthood's 11 million supporters are coming out against this dangerous rule because it is just that: dangerous.

I urge your readers to stand against this proposed rule and see it for what it is: an assault on our basic rights.

Deborah Shakotko
Claverack

Letter to the Editor: Gag Rule is a Full Frontal Attack

Originally posted in the Catskill Daily News

To the editor:

I am a Registered Nurse writing to express my concern regarding President Trump's recently proposed gag rule. Frankly, it is a full frontal attack on women's basic rights. Not only would this rule prohibit health care providers under the Title X program from informing their patients on how to access safe, legal abortions; it would also implement other rules designed to keep millions from accessing birth control and preventative care, including cancer screenings from providers like PlannedParenthood. Fundamentally, it removes the guarantee that patients will receive complete and accurate information about their health care from their providers. I finds this absolutely frightening. No one should ever be denied basic information about their health care.

This proposed gag rule has already been met with opposition, especially from the medical community. The American Nurses Association has stated that this rule "violates basic ethics of the nursing profession." In addition, new polling shows 73 percent of Americans oppose administration actions like the domestic gag rule.

Planned Parenthood plays an enormous role in providing care and consistently outperforms other publicly funded providers. In New York, in 2015, Planned Parenthood served 144,640 or 52 percent of women in the Title X program. If Planned Parenthood were to be excluded from Title X, other Title X-funded sites would have to increase their caseloads by 111%. That is not only infeasible but morally wrong as this will result in a major blow to health care access for low-income people.

I urge your readers see this as what it is: an attack on our basic rights.

Christine Primomo, R.N.
Ravena

Letter to the Editor: Title X gag rule only hurts those in need

Reposted from the Times Union

I am a 72-year-old retired obstetrician/gynecologist. Before my retirement, I had my own private practice and also had various roles at our local Planned Parenthoods.

I am writing to express my dismay at the institution of what is a domestic gag rule on Title X providers (doctors, nurses, community health centers, etc.) as of May 22. Title X is the federal program that provides funding to subsidize people needing reproductive health care and contraception. None of the Title X money funds abortions.

The gag rule makes it illegal for health care providers to mention the word abortion. We cannot say that it is legal, that it is safe or how to obtain one.

What will the effect of this gag rule be? The underserved women who rely on Planned Parenthood clinics for their birth control and reproductive health care will not be able to go there anymore because Planned Parenthood will steadfastly continue to provide counseling and access to safe, legal abortion. Women who have the resources to see a private OB/GYN will not suffer from the gag rule.
Planned Parenthood serves 40 percent of Title X patients. A third of women who rely on Title X funding live in counties where Planned Parenthood is the only provider of contraceptive and reproductive services.

The obvious end result of this is that women with limited resources will not get contraception. No contraception will mean increased rates of unintended pregnancies and abortions for this marginalized group. They also will not get screening for sexually transmitted infections and cancer.

My question is: Why does our government want to make life even harder for women who are struggling with adversity already?

Margaret Craven, M.D.
Voorheesville

Political Courage and the Reproductive Health Act of 1970

By Dwight Smith
Ally for Reproductive Justice

Assemblymember
George Michaels

April 9, 1970 is a special day in New York State legislative history; Assemblyman George Michaels changed his vote from "No" to "Yes", thereby enabling the 1970 Reproductive Health Act to pass the Assembly (the state Senate had passed it previously; Governor Rockefeller signed it into law the following day).  The story of that day, and the history of illegal abortions in New York over the 150 years preceding it, are documented in "From Danger to Dignity: The Fight for Safe Abortion", produced by Concentric Media in association with KTEH-TV, San Jose, CA.  It is available on YouTube and is well worth watching.  Indeed, in today's political climate in which reproductive rights are under fierce attack its message may be more important than when it was released in 1995.

Yet even though significant in content and praiseworthy for its production values, the documentary glosses over two contributing elements of the 1970 story.  They concern Michaels himself, and the atmosphere in which that final vote took place.

First, a word about Michaels.  A native of Queens and a graduate of Cornell and Brooklyn Law School, he established a law practice in Auburn, New York, an upstate, largely conservative and Roman Catholic city.  A Democrat, he represented Auburn and Cayuga County in the legislature from 1961-1966, when through reapportionment his district was merged with its neighbor that encompassed Cortland County.  He declined to run in the new district until 1969, when he rejoined the Assembly.  At the time, he was noted primarily for his support of expanded state aid for rural school districts and (in 1970) for promoting the bluebird as the state's official bird.

He also favored a woman's right to choose to have an abortion on a personal basis, but how widely his position was then known is not clear.  He had twice complied with requests from his District's Democratic Committee to vote against reproductive rights, including legalized abortion.  April 9, however, was a different story.  As it is described in "From Danger to Dignity" Michaels' decision is clearly a significant event. But by incorporating only the final two sentences of his remarks that day it misses a tense, emotional drama.

That absence may reflect the fact that the documentary was prepared 25 years after the event by a team that had not been there to witness it.  My family and I were there, and we still recall it as an occasion that merits a more complete description.

That we were in the Assembly Gallery at all that afternoon was entirely happenstance.  We had gone to Albany City Hall that afternoon to apply for passports for a forthcoming trip abroad (in those days the process began by having your signature notarized by the town or city clerk).  The process took less time than we anticipated and as we walked back to our car parked by the State Capitol I sensed a teaching moment for our three young sons.  With no knowledge of what was up, I suggested: "let's go see what is going on in the legislature".  Since we were on the Assembly side of the building, we went up to its gallery just as Michaels was beginning to talk.

To set the stage: when a roll call vote is being taken in the Assembly, an electronic wall display shows each member's vote as well as a running total of all Yes and No votes.  Ultimately, the Speaker instructs the clerk to close the voting process and a final tally is announced and recorded.  Seventy-six Yes votes are required for passage of the matter at hand, and the Speaker votes only when his vote will make a difference.  On this occasion, the electronic display showed a tie vote, 74-74, so even if the Speaker had voted the measure would not pass.

While a roll call is in process members may address the Assembly to explain their votes, but this is not common.  When Michaels rose to speak no one knew what he was going to say, and given the voting deadlock, the atmosphere in the packed galleries was palpably tense.

I don't know how long he spoke; it seemed like ten minutes or more.  He rambled as he took us through his inner thoughts.  His intent became clearer when he told the Assembly of pressures from his family.  "One of my sons just called me a whore for the vote I (previously) cast against this"; a second son insisted: "Dad, for God's sake, don't let your vote be the vote that defeats the bill".  "I had hoped that this would never happen," Michaels said; "(my constituents will) condemn me for what I am about to do.  But what's the use of getting elected, or reelected, if you don't stand for something. … I realize, Mr. Speaker, that I am terminating my political career, but I cannot in good conscience sit here and allow my vote to be the one that defeats this bill."

He asked the Speaker, Perry Duryea, Jr., a Republican from Montauk, to change his vote to Yes.  The now- 75-73 vote required Duryea to vote: he voted Yes, declared the bill passed, and immediately adjourned the session.  A highly-charged incident ended in a collective sigh of relief and joy.

From my perspective, Michaels’ story deserves repeating in an era where #MeToo seems to be controlling the headlines. Despite current notorious examples of misogyny, there are men who have stood and continue to stand with women in the fight for equality. These are men who actively reject the premise that women are a subordinate class when it comes to managing their own lives. They don't do it for recognition and thanks but simply because they believe it is the right thing to do.  And some, like Michaels, have even been willing to accept the accompanying personal cost of standing up to established ways.

Watch the historic moment in this video:

BOWLATHON!

#Abortion Access Bowl-A-Thon 2018 Say NO to back alleys, and YES to bowling alleys! Join Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood at Del Lanes in Delmar on April 29th at 2pm to #FundAbortionBuildPower. We're lacing up our bowling shoes and getting to work! Want to show up for abortion access? Support us by making a donation to our team or join the squad! The process is fast, easy, and secure! Bowl with the UHPP staff, invest in abortion funds and raise money with us. *FREE SWAG FOR ALL TEAM MEMBERS* Pre-registration is required - Get more info on the UHPP team here! Send a message that you believe we all should be able to access abortion, no matter how much money we make or where we live. Care, no matter what!  Sunday, April 29th at 2:00pm Del Lanes in Delmar 4 Bethlehem Ct, Delmar, NY 12054

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!

Letter to the Editor: Patients deserve good health care

(FILES) This file photo taken on August 5, 2010 shows a pregnant woman walking outside the State Department in Washington, DC. Morning sickness is linked to a lower risk of miscarriage, according to research out September 26, 2016 that suggests a woman's nausea and vomiting early in pregnancy may have protective effects for the fetus. Between 50 and 80 percent of pregnant women report feeling nauseous or throwing up during their first trimester, said the findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine. 

Originally posted by the Times Union

Published 4:14 pm, Saturday, May 13, 2017

Photo: TIMOTHY SLOAN

As a health care provider in Albany, I know firsthand that Planned Parenthood health centers are a necessary resource. Without Planned Parenthood's care, the health of thousands of people across the state is at stake. Many of the patients I serve have nowhere else to turn for proper health care or education. I see people every day who rely on our health centers for preventive services like birth control, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, and cancer screenings.

I've consoled the fearful and spoke honestly and compassionately with the frustrated. I've celebrated the overcoming of fears — from getting vital test results to having a pelvic exam. I've rejoiced in the pride of being able to make an informed decision — about things from birth control to treatment options.

This is care that people deserve and these are services that public health experts say cannot be absorbed elsewhere if Planned Parenthood is defunded. The Senate needs to block any attempt to attack the care Planned Parenthood provides to thousands of people in New York state and here in Albany.

Brianna Samson

Slingerlands

Letter to the Editor: Planned Parenthood Funding is Needed

Letter:  Planned Parenthood Funding is Needed

Sunday, January 22, 2017

In hundreds of health centers, Planned Parenthood has supported and treated a large number of people who would not have access to health care. This will not happen if Planned Parenthood is defunded.

The care that is given helps millions of low-income women and men, many of whom are young people who are able to access quality preventive and basic health care like cancer screening, birth control, STD testing and treatment, including HIV testing.

Defunding Planned Parenthood will also negatively affect those patients who rely on Planned Parenthood health centers for safe and legal abortion.

The loss of Planned Parenthood health centers will cause a major health disaster for this country. This will primarily impact the underserved, including people of color, people who live in rural areas and people with low incomes. These people are the majority of Planned Parenthood's patients, and they are already facing unfair barriers to accessible health care. Where will they go then for care?

I have been a patient of Planned Parenthood in the past when I was unable to get care through other sources. The care was great, and I was treated well and with respect. With their help and caring, I am doing well today and a strong supporter of Planned Parenthood for 30-plus years.

Joan Csaposs

Albany

Reprinted with the author's permission

Some Thoughts for an Emotionally Charged Time

I promise, I'm not here to chastise or scold. I'm not even asking you to feel differently than you do.We are comprised of a delightful blend of different hopes and ideals, and that can be wonderful! I'm coming from a place of sincere hope of spreading a little understanding and education. This has been a divisive, ugly time, and it's time to mend the schism and come together again.

Please do take care when telling people to 'get over it.' Emotions are high, and the implications of the election will be felt in very real ways. Chances are that a lot of the people you're gloating at are people you actually care about; friends, relatives, even a partner.

Here are just a couple of the ways in which this outcome could affect people.

There is a vacancy in the supreme court. The president-elect has said that he will appoint an anti-choice, anti-equality judge. This could mean a number of things, namely:

1. The reversal of Obergefell v. Hodges, the supreme court decision that legalized same sex marriage. It would go back to being a state issue, which means many states would ban it altogether. That would be devastating to so many people. Also, how is it okay to say, 'you're married here, but not there?' Married is married! Also, couples would lose access to federal benefits, like social security.

2: The repeal of Roe v. Wade. Women will no longer be able to obtain safe and legal abortion. It will go back to being a state issue, and places like Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, et al will ban it altogether, returning us to a time of back alley abortion where women die of sepsis or perforation of the perineum. Those who oppose abortion are well within their rights to do so, but if you think banning it will stop it, you're delusional.

3. Family Planning Centers could lose Title X funding, which was established by Richard Nixon in 1970, allocating federal funding for family planning services. This does not include abortion. Nixon understood the importance of making sure young men and women had access to education and preventative care so that they could better plan their families. Numbers 2 and 3 of this list combined could result in the mass-closing of family planning centers and jobs will be lost (potentially my own, but I'm probably safe here in New York). This is why people are freaking out and getting IUDs now; because they would be covered for several years if they lose access to birth control. Also, google what has happened to states that have cut off funding for preventative care; the STD and teen pregnancy rates go through the roof. It's not good.

There's so much more I could go into, but this is just a slice of it. You might not care about these things, but if you care about someone who would be affected by any of the above, please take a moment to consider their feelings. Now, there is the possibility that the future POTUS will choose not to go after any of these things, and even appoint a more moderate judge, but right now we just don't know. But if anything happens to his presidency, which-- considering he has to stand trial-- is a real possibility, and Pence takes over, that would be very bad for advocates of equality and choice. This is a guy who pushes for gay conversion therapy-- a draconian practice that is actually banned in five states because it has been proven to be so harmful. He also wants to overturn any and all anti-discrimination laws protecting the LGBT community. These are all things that could really, genuinely hurt people.

The election didn't go as I hoped, but I'm choosing to shake it off and move forward with hope. One thing is for sure, OUR DOORS REMAIN OPEN!

Please. Lets stop the divisive rhetoric. We're all in this together. I quote the great prophet John of Liverpool when I say, 'give peace a chance.' BE NICE!

Planned Parenthood, 100 Years Strong

Letter to the Editor: Protect women's right to abortion

Hi everyone! I just wanted to share this letter to the editor of the Times Union, written by a loyal donor and advocate for Planned Parenthood on our behalf.  Read it at TimesUnion.com or just continue on after the jump.

The Shocking-Poster Attack- still a trusty fallback for radical antiabortionists!

Submitted by UHPP Board Member Dyrleif Bjarnadottir

It's been a rough few weeks for Planned Parenthood supporters. A radical group of antiabortionists is on the offensive, releasing tapes from what they are calling an "undercover sting operation", supposedly showing Planned Parenthood employees callously talking about selling human body parts. One look at any one of the tapes quickly confirms that this is not actually what is happening. But the insinuation has been made and the climate created for discussing this as if it were a real possibility. So we must endure for a while answering questions about legitimate practices carried out according to the strictest government standards by highly trained professionals in certified state of the art clinics, as if unscrupulous individuals were engaged in shady unethical doings for profit. Endurance is the name of the game here - the bully is on the playground who cannot be reasoned with, we must stand patiently and endure the taunting and teasing and even the occasional injury, knowing that we have the high ground, that we are right, but the bully still gets the attention of the hour.

So what can we learn from the recent and ongoing "Undercover tape" events? No new and interesting facts about Planned Parenthood have come to light. We already knew that a few Planned Parenthood clinics in the country collect fetal tissue for research. We already knew that Planned Parenthood follows the strict rules set out by government agencies about human tissue samples, collecting, storing, and use. We know there is informed consent from the women who make the choice to donate their fetuses for scientific research and we know that the money that changes hands as a result of the collection of these samples is solely for the storing and proper shipping. (As a side note here: It is always useful to remember that informed consent is a big deal in modern medical research. Many people, scientists, doctors, clinicians, ethicists, philosophers, and policymakers, spend good portions of their careers making sure that we get both parts of the process right, the informed part and the consent part).

What we have been reminded of is that facts were not the issue in the first place. The people who spent 3 years gaining access to and secretly taping Planned Parenthood employees, the people who lied about who they were and presented fake identification, who collected hours upon hours of footage so they could edit it to make it say whatever they wanted, those people didn't care about the facts. Again, nothing new here. What is mildly interesting is how completely without shame this radical wing of the anti-abortion movement is. There is no accountability anywhere in this chain of events. Accountability, as in having a reference point in reality that guides your actions. Without the minimal integrity provided by a standard of honesty or accountability you can pretty much reach your goal by any means you can come up with. In this case the anti-abortionists took a leaf out of an old playbook, and in the absence of any facts to support their claim, they appealed directly to emotion. The edited snippets in the tapes shown to the public and the politicians they want to influence are a much more elaborate and high tech version of the gruesome posters of aborted fetuses we have seen paraded in front of health centers, designed to shock and evoke negative emotions. They have set out to create an emotional response of disgust amongst people who are already inclined to support their views. They do this to create an environment of confusion and emotional upheaval because, in such an environment, the levelheaded scrutiny that prevents their agenda from going forward, may temporarily take the backseat.

A prime example of how the 'shocking poster effect' works can be seen in some of the media coverage of the past several days. Take a look at George Stephanopoulos interviewing Cecile Richards on NBC a few days after the first tape hit the airways.  Mr. Stephanopoulos hones in on the "tone" of the PP employee in the video. Not on the facts diligently presented or on the points repeatedly made that exonerate Planned Parenthood of any of the accusations made. It is the tone of the woman on the tape that is incriminating. If we learn nothing else from this episode of attacks, let’s take note of this: The case against Planned Parenthood relies on gruesome posters and the many forms they take in our technologically advanced world. This time it took the form of the "wrong tone of voice". Thankfully our elected representatives still see the difference between shock tactics and facts. At least some of them.

Facts about the Latest Video Smear Attack on Planned Parenthood

"On July 14, anti-abortion activists with a long record of deceiving the public released their latest campaign — the latest in a seven-year string of false bills of goods they seek to sell to the media and the public."

Click here to read:

Some additional points:

● I will not back down. I will not be silenced. I will continue to fight for what is right and stand with #PlannedParenthood— no matter what.

● Anti-abortion extremists trying to silence me will be sorely disappointed. I won't back down from speaking truth.

● This harassment is unacceptable. I refuse to be bullied. I refuse to be undone by triggering comments. I refuse to be silenced.

Remember, Planned Parenthood is the most trusted women’s health care provider in this country, and we have provided high-quality care for nearly 100 years. Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our patients.

This is just the latest political attack on women's health. The group behind this fraud has done 10 separate attack campaigns like this over the last eight years.

These tapes are heavily doctored, and the full tapes show that it is false and outrageous to suggest that Planned Parenthood profits from women’s decisions to donate fetal tissue. To be clear: There is nothing in these videos that suggest any violation of law.

In this new video, extremists badgered and hounded a longtime physician for hours, trying to get her to discuss unethical and criminal activity that she doesn’t engage in or know anything about.

The real agenda here is becoming clearer every day. These false claims are being used to advance a political agenda to ban abortion and to defund Planned Parenthood, which would cut 2.7 million people off of birth control, lifesaving cancer screenings, STD testing and treatment, and other preventive health care services.

Also, check out PPFA president Cecile Richards' statement about the attacks.