Our March Forward

By Chris Taylor 

The thrill of marching down Pennsylvania Avenue last Saturday with 500,000 other people for basic human rights for women spurred my memory of the first march for women’s lives I ever attended. In 1989, I was a 21 year old college student marching at a time when protestors were physically blockading women’s health care clinics. Then, as now, I felt that we could change the world with the energy of the crowd. 

What I now realize decades later is that change doesn’t just come with marching, but with acting.  And the need to act is urgent.  Though individuals no longer blockade health center doors (but women seeking access to reproductive health services often face harassment), politicians here in Wisconsin, at the national level and in state legislatures around the country pass law after law that has the same effect—to deny women access to life-saving health care.  In the next several weeks, Paul Ryan will attempt to push through his bill to deny Medicaid patients the ability to seek birth control, cervical and breast cancer screenings and testing and treatment for STDs from Planned Parenthood.  No abortion services are provided with public funds.  Ryan’s measure will not only deny 6,000 individuals from his own district access to Planned Parenthood, but 50,000 patients throughout our state.

The Republican talking point is that other providers will step in.  But we need look no further than our own state to know that this is a lie.  When Governor Scott Walker in his first budget denied all state funds to Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin (PPWI), five rural health care clinics in Shawano, Johnson Creek, Chippewa Falls, Fond du Lac and Beaver Dam closed, impacting thousands of Wisconsin women and men.  No other provider stepped in to provide the critical health services no longer available in these communities.  A recent Guardian article entitled “Healthcare without Planned Parenthood:  Wisconsin and Texas point to dark future,” details the devastating consequences, including spikes in sexually transmitted diseases, increased pregnancy rates, and a void in the availability of these health care services.  The only option now for these counties is to refer women to Planned Parenthoods in other counties. The question is how long these Planned Parenthood providers will be around if Paul Ryan and Scott Walker have their way.  

The reality is that PPWI is one of the few charity health care providers to underserved people. Over 54% of PPWI’s health centers are in health professional shortage areas, which are rural or medically underserved areas.   In 73% of the counties that PPWI serves, there is no provider who has the capacity to absorb PPWI’s patients.  And PPWI loses money on every single Medicaid patient they serve, a result few providers can, or are willing to, absorb. PPWI’s mission is not profit, but to serve patients.

This week, my Democratic colleagues and I sent letters to both Paul Ryan and Scott Walker calling on them to cease their efforts to deny public funds to Planned Parenthood.  These politicians shouldn’t be jeopardizing the life and health of Wisconsin men and women to score political points.  Without a massive public backlash against their efforts, that will be the result.  And women and families will suffer. 

Please take time this week to call Paul Ryan’s office at (202) 255-3031 and Scott Walker’s office at (608) 266-1212 to urge them to fund the life-saving patient care provided to thousands of Wisconsinites and patients throughout the country at Planned Parenthood.  Women’s health and lives depend upon it. 

Office of Representative Chris Taylor

PO Box 8953

Madison, WI 53708

(608) 266-5342

Twitter.com/christaylorwi

Facebook.com/representative.taylor

Paul Ryan Builds A Wall - And We All Pay

By Jeff Simpson

H/T Teen Vogue(seriously):

Paul Ryan, who ducked all debates with his Democratic Opponent Ryan Solen, decided spending millions in his district to get re-elected to his heavily gerrymandered seat, has decided to tell us what he stands for AFTER the election.

Ryan has come out now and said he plans to defund Planned Parenthood.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that Republicans would slash federal dollars for Planned Parenthood as part of the GOP effort to repeal the health care law.

Of course the incredible benefits and importance of what Planned Parenthood actually does is another blog altogether.  I want to focus on Paul Ryan's cowardice here.   The guy who would not debate his opponents, or even campaign in his district (because people knew who he was), first order of business (well second, his first order of business was to try and gut the nonpartisan ethics watchdog agency) was to do something he never once campaigned on.  

In our Constitutionally limited representative democracy, how it is supposed to work, is people who want to serve the public good, lay out their positions when they run for office.  Then voters know who each person is and vote according to the people who best represent their views.

In our current version of something we call a democracy, we get inundated with millions of dolalrs of smear ads, poor press and celebrity worshiping and end up with politicians who campaign one way and govern completely opposite.

In our Constitutionally limited representative democracy, when your representatives are not representing you, you organize via getting together with friends or like minded people, and/or starting a petition to get the voice of many people in a short time and/or go speak with your representative and try and reason with them.

Planned Parenthood decided to do the petition and deliver it personally to attempt to reason with Paul Ryan (R-Wall St.)  A few dozen women, armed in pink Planned Parenthood logoed T-shirts, were sure they could visit the Speaker of the House, the third most powerful position in Government, and explain to him that the Government does not actually fund Planned Parenthood(along with delivering their petitions with close to 100,000 signatures).

The thing is, the federal government doesn’t actually “fund” Planned Parenthood. There’s no big check or bag of money that goes to the reproductive and sexual healthcare provider and their affiliate clinics throughout the country each year. Rather, the federal funds that do go to Planned Parenthood all happen in the form of reimbursements for services rendered through Medicaid, the federal and state program that provides health insurance to the working poor, and Title X, the federal family planning program for low-income Americans. Furthermore, because of the Hyde Amendment passed in 1976, no federal funding can in any way go toward abortion services; abortion is the only medical procedure explicitly banned from Medicaid coverage.

Of course  the guy who "opposed" Trump, and is good friends with this guy:

Decided that he was so secure in his argument that the best way to address a few dozen ladies in pink shirts, was to hide.   Not only did he hide, he spent a ton of  taxpayer money to do just that.

These are the women he is scared of:

Paul Ryan built his own wall, but this one was to keep fellow Americans and constituents out.   Paul Ryan called in 6 security officers to guard the doors to his office and shield Congressman Ryan from hearing any information that would not square up with pleasing his corporate masters.  

This is the scene of his office that needed taxpayer funded security called for:

Hmmm, Kind of reminds me of someone else who is afraid of a group of women speaking up:

Be prepared on January 29th, we will be part of the proverbial snowball, with you know who steering:

Grothmann: Planned Parenthood Unnecessary Because I'm A Guy

Just when you thought that when Wisconsin Congressman Glenn Grothmann couldn't get any more misogynous that when he said that pay inequality was all in the pretty little heads of women, he reaches down and gets even more stupid.

From Right Wing Watch:

Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wisc., perhaps best encapsulated today’s House hearing grilling Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards when he told Richards that her organization’s services aren’t necessary because “as a guy” he has plenty of health care options in his home state.

Grothman, who presumably receives very good health insurance through his job as a member of Congress, told Richards that “when I look at cities around me that have a Planned Parenthood clinic … usually in those cities, as a guy, I could go to many clinics locally that have all the machines that one would need, all these clinics as far as I know take Medicaid dollars, so you could go to any of those clinics to get any medical service you could.”

“I guess what I’m getting at is if Planned Parenthood disappeared tomorrow in those towns, there would still be three or four or five clinics or hospitals providing all the … medical care you would want,” he said.

Grothman went on to add that Medicaid was better than private insurance because it doesn't have the copays and deductibles that private insurance has (even though Medicaid does have copays).

While I'm sure we are all happy that Grothman isn't pregnant and doesn't need the services of Planned Parenthood, he may still want to get some professional medical attention to get his foot out of his mouth and his head out of his ass.

GOP Brings HIV To IN, WI Next!

By Jeff Simpson 

Republican test kitchen, Indiana has already been working to defund Planned Parenthood.   They passed a law that defunded Planned Parenthood, because some of them offered abortion services.

Luckily for some women in Indiana, a judge blocked this law from taking effect,  However, the Republicans in Indiana were able to slash funding, which with rising health care costs, has caused a few rural Planned Parenthood offices to close.

In 2005, Planned Parenthood of Indiana received a total of $3.3 million in funding from government contracts and grants. By 2014, that funding had dropped to $1.9 million. Five of Planned Parenthood’s smaller clinics in the state -- the health centers in Scottsburg, Madison, Richmond, Bedford and Warsaw -- were unable to keep up with the growing technology costs that were necessary to remain competitive as a medical provider. All five clinics that were forced to close had offered HIV testing. None had offered abortions.

What happens when we mix Hard Right Republican policies with the real world?   It usually turns into trouble for the people of America:

 Scott County, Indiana, the center of an exploding HIV outbreak, has been without an HIV testing center since early 2013, when the sole provider -- a Planned Parenthood clinic -- was forced to close its doors. The clinic did not offer abortion services.The Scott County clinic and four other Planned Parenthood facilities in the state, all of which provided HIV testing and information, have shuttered since 2011, in large part due to funding cuts to the state's public health infrastructure. Those cuts came amid a national and local political campaign to demonize the health care provider. Now, the state is scrambling to erect pop-up clinics to combat an unprecedented HIV epidemic caused by intravenous drug use.
The fact that Scott County was "without a testing facility until a few weeks ago is a glaring example of the kind of public health crisis that results when prevention and testing are left unfunded," said Patti Stauffer, Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky's vice president for public policy

But wait there is more:

In 2011, Planned Parenthood ran five rural clinics in Indiana. They tested for HIV and offered prevention, intervention and counseling for better health. The one in Scott County performed no abortions.
Mothers-to-be in Scott County must drive 50 miles to visit a gynecologist or an obstetrician. That's not an isolated insight. Of Indiana's 92 counties, Scott County has ranked 92nd in unhealthiness for five straight years.
Fewer high school kids there go to college than anywhere else in the state. There is one mental health provider for every 3,500 residents.
There is one physician in town. He saw the HIV outbreak coming and begged the state for help. None came.

How exactly is it "pro-life" to make a pregnant woman living in poverty drive over 50 miles to see a gynecologist?  

While the Republicans, due to long debunked videos,  are fighting each other to decide who can punish Planned Parenthood the most,   What better way to play to their hardcore pseudo Christian base?

While they do that, women are suffering and dying.



Are you ready for this story to come to Wisconsin? Where will it hit first?  Rusk County?  Monroe County?  Sawyer County?  or maybe Washington County!

How long do we have?

The Legislature was too preoccupied before 2013 trying to defund Planned Parenthood and finally succeeded despite court objections.
Scott County has been without an HIV testing center for two years. That's how long it took the epidemic to flourish.

Instead of naming the outbreak(when it gets here) the WI HIV outbreak of 2017, maybe we can name it the "Common Sense Pro-Life Conservative Values" outbreak,  

Sorry Wisconsin women, you get sick, or pregnant you are on your own!

Legislative Republicans Turn Their Attacks To Birth Control

By Representative Chris Taylor 

In what is the Republicans latest attempt to eliminate basic healthcare services for women across Wisconsin, including breast and cervical cancer screenings and access to birth control, the Assembly Committee on Health is holding a public hearing today on Assembly Bills 310 and 311.  This legislation will defund critical family planning health centers across Wisconsin, take money away from county health departments, and reduce access to needed health care services. 

“Over the past few days, the national spotlight has been on Governor Walker since he said he would consider building a wall between the US and Canada.  For Wisconsinites, this shouldn’t be surprising.  Governor Walker and legislative Republicans have been building barriers between women and needed health care for years.  Now they have turned their attention to attacking birth control,” Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison) said.

Assembly Bill 310 would exclude most Wisconsin women’s health centers from the federal Title X funding, which goes towards comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services.  Under current state and federal law, no public funding may be used for abortion services.  This bill conflicts with Title X regulations that require women to receive certain referrals under the program.  Over $3 million in federal funds are received annually under this program in Wisconsin.  

The second bill, Assembly Bill 311, slashes birth control reimbursement rates for Medicaid family planning services, 90 percent of which is paid for with federal funds, and will impact up to 51 family planning health centers.  A recent state fiscal estimate indicates that for county and city health departments alone this bill will result in reducing revenue by up to $788,800.  These changes will put many local family planning health centers across Wisconsin out of business, particularly those health centers in rural communities, where no other provider is available. 

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, the largest family planning provider in the state, alone cares for over 60,000 patients each year and in 2014, provided 3430 cervical cancer screens and 4799 breast exams.

“While our children return to school this week, it is clear that Republicans want to return to the 1950’s when women and families had few choices and options over their reproductive health.  Over the last four years, legislative Republicans have placed more abortion restrictions, with no exceptions for rape or incest victims in some cases, on our law books than almost any other state in the nation.  Apparently that conservative red meat wasn’t rare enough, since the two male authors have now set their sights on restricting women’s access to birth control and cancer screenings.  It is appalling that Republican politicians are willing to sacrifice women’s health and lives to score political points with the most extreme wing of the Republican Party,” said Rep. Taylor.  

Feeling Nostalgic

 

By Jeff Simpson

Feeling Nostalgic on A Sunday Morning, so I thought I would re-post this:

As Raw Story reported, a particularly contentious exchange began when state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, the only Democrat to testify, explained her opposition to the bill by reading letters from her constituents.
“The idea of -- quote -- small government is in direct conflict with big government Republicans sticking their nose in my vagina,” Vinehout read from a letter. “How can we get the conservatives -- mostly men -- to quit blaming women, many times girls, solely for unwanted pregnancies?”
Vinehout then went on to read a correspondence from a rape survivor in her district. The woman argued that supporters of the bill were not thinking about the "emotional toll" that those who had become pregnant through unreported rape may be subjected to when forced to submit to an ultrasound after choosing an abortion. Under the bill, technicians are required to describe the size, location and number of fetuses, as well as identify any viewable internal organs or external features, according to the Associated Press.
Vinehout then admitted that the story was especially powerful to her because she herself had struggled with the results of being sexually assaulted as a teenager.
But the issue extended beyond mandatory ultrasounds and detailed information, Vinehout said. She argued that the bill's new restrictions on abortion providers would work against the ultimate goal of reducing abortions, an objective that Vinehout said both she and her Republicans colleagues sought.
“And if we truly want to make abortion rare, Mr. President, why are we defunding Planned Parenthood?” she said. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and state Republicans have targeted funds for the women's health provider repeatedly in past years, forcing it to shutter a number of facilities.

Whatever happened to that Senator Vinehout,  hasn't she been in the news lately?


 

Another Abortion Showdown

Ever heard of the blogger Blonde Sagacity? Neither had I until yesterday, when a friend of mine shared her blog with me. I wasn't expecting much from the person who claims to be the "conservative liberals love to hate" (bad news honey, you're far from being the conservative we "love" to hate.) I scrolled through the useless gutter trash of vile and lie filled posts about the Affordable Care Act and President Obama, noticing the usual drivel. Conservative blogs are such a hoot. I think a drooling baby could write better, but that's just my opinion. However, the fun started I got to a post she has up about AB 154, complete with a photo of an aborted fetus. I'm fairly certain the anti-choice movement sits and stares at pictures of aborted babies all day, everyday. It's sort of their passion when you think about it.

AB 154 is a bill recently passed in California expanding abortion care in the state. One of the greatest things about this bill is that it gives a wider rage of healthcare practitioners who can provide abortion care in the first trimester of a pregnancy in the state of California. I noticed that she either didn't want to, or couldn't formulate an opinion on the bill, as she did no actual blogging about it. Instead our dear blogger then links to this, a site so full of right-wing misinformation that is almost laughable, only it's not because people actually believe it. I don't even know where to begin picking it apart. Whether it's the paragraph trying to scare readers into believing this bill simply allows any Planned Parenthood employee to provide abortion care:

"The bill permits licensed non-physicians to perform two kinds of abortion in the first trimester–by medication, and by aspiration, which requires the insertion of medical instruments into the uterus. Though many doctors agree that non-physicians could provide medications with few risks, the idea that a non-physician would perform an invasive procedure such as aspiration strikes many as rife with risks."

The bill allows nurse practitioners, certified nursing midwife's and physician's assistants to be trained to provide abortion services. Know what a nurse practitioner is? One step below being a doctor. That was how it was described to me by my dad's own nurse practitioner, who was working with his brain to figure out the best way to help treat his neurological disability. Hmm....I think I'd trust that person to know what's going on with one's body over a right-wing ideologue, wouldn't you? Someone who has had extensive schooling and work in this subject, who knows what they're doing? I don't know about you, but I wouldn't let someone like Miss Sagacity, or worse, someone like Boehner or Cruz make healthcare decisions for me.

Or this doozy about "back-street" abortions:

"One doctor–who identified himself as pro-choice–told Breitbart News that “the bill is a disaster since it sends us back 100 years to the problems of the complications from back-steet abortions.” The bill’s critics warn that the training provided to non-physician staff is weak, that supervision by physicians in clinics will be minimal, and that there is real risk of injury or death to women who will be treated in such conditions."

First of all, that's back alley, not 'back street' abortion. Sigh. Breitbart 'News' should know that if they're going to make up quotes from obviously fake people, they should at least make it sound legit by using the correct terminology. Secondly, it's this kind of attitude that takes women back to times where they were found dead in alleys, having bled out from their vaginas because the powers at be kept them that way.  When will America wake up and realize that the biggest threat to our healthcare is not Obamacare, or abortion or Planned Parenthood, but these right-wing wackos who have NO knowledge of healthcare period? Sure, let's not make abortions as safe and widely available as possible. Sure Doctor Anonymous, that sounds like it wouldn't have ANY horrific consequences on women at all. That's like suggesting a lock on a gun makes the gun less safe. It's as ridiculous as the morons who believe it.


You might be asking why I'm hounding on this specific blogger and it's because of her willingness to spread horrible misinformation about women's healthcare. I expect that sort of misogynist, backwards crap from conservative men, but women should know better. Frankly, she ought to be ashamed of herself. The biological warfare the GOP is waging against women knows no political bounds. Inside, women are all the same, and attempts and laws limiting our ability to make our decisions affects each and every one of us, not just those of us who are pro-choice. I refuse to believe no conservative or religious woman has never had an abortion or ever took advantage of the great range of services Planned Parenthood provides. Women, it's time to wake up and realize that this fight, the fight to tell us what we can and cannot do with our own vaginas, is every woman's fight. If we don't stand up now and stop these attacks on us, who will? No one can fight for our bodies better than we can.

I want to thank the great state of California for this legislation, which has tons of wonderful support from great groups. My wish is that more states follow this lead and expand in making abortion coverage easy for everyone who needs and wants it. It's my goal to one day see this state legislation, become a federal law.

Stand Up To Wisconsin Eye

 

Planned Parenthood put out an ad using some footage from Wisconsin Eye of OUR Elected representative Senator Mike Ellis.,  

Wisconsin Eye, which has a monopoly on footage in the people's house(I do not get it either) wants the spot pulled.  

So in true CogDis fashion. 

Here it is!   Watch it, share it, bookmark it and especially send it to anyone in Mike Ellis's district! 

It's Time For Women To Stand Up

Planned Parenthood is striking back against the barrage of attacks they have had to endure during the past two years.  Their target is State Senator Mike Ellis, one of the most misogynistic idiots in the state:



From their press release announcing this ad:

Today, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin launched the first phase of an ad campaign highlighting Senate President Mike Ellis and his abysmal record on restricting access to women’s health care. The ad features the public debate in the State Senate earlier this summer around a bill (SB 206) that was quickly passed to restrict women’s access to safe and legal abortion. The ad campaign comes on the heels of a successful rally earlier this week that gathered hundreds of people from across the state to call on their legislative leaders to stop the attack on women’s health and rights. The media campaign targets the Senate President Mike Ellis because he has used his power to shut down debate and facilitate the quick passage of an unprecedented number of bills that restrict women’s healthcare access and rights. Since the start of his reign as Senate President, Senator Ellis has facilitated the passage of many bills that include:

• 2011 Act 32: State Budget that ended funding at Planned Parenthood for patients receiving cancer screenings, wellness exams and birth control resulting in the closure of four rural Health Centers,
• 2013 Act 20: State Budget which cut thousands of hardworking Wisconsin citizens from Badgercare,
• 2011 Act 219: which repealed equal pay protections for women
• 2011 Act 216: which repealed medically accurate age appropriate sex education guidelines for our youth to reduce the incidence of teen pregnancy and the spread of STD’s
• 2013 Act 37: to restrict women’s access to safe and legal abortion by adding unnecessary regulations for doctors providing abortion and additional requirements for women seeking this medical care.

“Senate President Ellis has shown himself to be a career politician who doesn’t listen to his constituents and consistently votes against women’s ability to access essential healthcare,” said Tanya Atkinson Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin.

In Wisconsin right now, women are struggling more than ever before when it comes to getting health care. Over the last three years, Governor Scott Walker and the Legislature’s Republican leadership have introduced, moved and passed over a dozen bills restricting women’s access to everything from equal pay protections, health insurance coverage, sex education and birth control to abortion. Because of these laws women’s health will suffer. Our health care costs will increase. There will be more undiagnosed cancers, sexually transmitted disease, unintended pregnancies, delayed prenatal care and yes, more abortions. Walker and the Republican majority are playing politics with women’s health and reversing decades of bipartisan progress.

“Wisconsin voters who value commonsense, quality women’s health care have voices that matter,” concluded Atkinson. “It is up to us to insist that our leaders protect our health and wellbeing and stop this assault on women’s access to health care.”

As part of this campaign Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin will be educating our supporters to make sure they are aware of the dangerous bills that have already been passed restricting women’s access to healthcare and the danger of even more policies will have on the health and safety of women, families and Wisconsin communities.

“Through this campaign we will remind community members that we can prevail in protecting women’s health and rights, but only if we remain engaged and hold our elected leaders accountable and call on them to represent our best interests as a state.”

Planned Parenthood To Take Walker To Court

Hot from the inbox:

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin: We Are Going to Court to Protect Our Patients
Federal Lawsuit to be Filed Challenging Wisconsin Hospital Staff Privileges Requirement in SB 206

MADISON- WI — To protect women’s health and access to safe and legal abortion in Wisconsin, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin announced today that they will be challenging SB 206 in federal court as soon as the Governor signs it into law. On Wednesday, the Governor requested SB 206 - a fast tracked bill that was passed in less than 1 week - indicating his intent to sign the bill into law within the next few days. SB 206 will jeopardize women’s health by shutting down two abortion health centers and decreasing capacity by at least 50% in one of the two remaining abortion health centers in Wisconsin. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, represented by Cullen Weston Pines & Bach and attorneys at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Affiliated Medical Services represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, will be filing suit in federal court to block Senate Bill 206, which requires abortion providers to have staff admitting privileges at a local hospital. PPWI is asking the federal district court in the Western District of Wisconsin to immediately enjoin SB 206 which will significantly reduce abortion access in Wisconsin in violation of the federal Constitution. SB 206 violates both the due process rights under the Federal Constitution of both PPWI and its patients.

“We are going to court to protect a woman’s ability to make her own personal, private health care decisions,” said Teri Huyck, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. “For 78 years, Planned Parenthood health centers in Wisconsin have provided high-quality, nonjudgmental health care to women. Abortion is a deeply personal and often complex decision, but ultimately a decision that a woman should make — politics should not interfere.”

“We are confident that the Court will recognize that women in Wisconsin, including victims of rape and incest, will be restricted from accessing safe and legal abortion,” continued Huyck. “Senate Bill 206 is one part of the legislative majority’s goal to end abortion access in Wisconsin. Unfortunately, you do not need to overturn Roe vs. Wade to make abortion inaccessible. When abortion is inaccessible women’s health suffers and women die. It is critical that women still maintain access. This is why we are filing suit- for our patients, future patients and all of the women of Wisconsin. Women should be trusted and allowed to make their own health care decisions.”

Medical experts across the country oppose bills like Wisconsin Senate Bill 206 including the Wisconsin Medical Society and the Wisconsin Hospital Association. In fact, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), opposes laws or other regulations that require abortion providers to have hospital staff privileges.

“Requiring doctors who provide abortions to have staff privileges at a nearby hospital won’t make women safer and, in fact, could jeopardize their health by depriving women in Wisconsin access to safe, high-quality health care,” said Dr. Broekhuizen Medical Director for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. “Legal abortion is extremely safe. In fact, it is one of the safest medical procedures in the United States. Abortion complications are rare, but those that do occur are usually handled in the health center that provided the abortion. In the exceedingly rare event that a complication after an abortion requires hospital-based care, a woman would be provided emergency care at a hospital, and staff privileges at that hospital have no impact on a woman’s ability to receive high quality, timely care.”

In recent years, opponents of safe and legal abortion have been pushing for hospital privileges requirements that apply only to physicians who provide safe and legal abortion as part of a national strategy to limit a woman’s access to abortion. Admitting privileges are not an indication of quality of the physician. It is common hospital practice to grant only privileges to physicians who admit a minimum number of patients and the process itself can take 3 to 6 months.

Moreover, admitting privileges do not hasten a patient’s care in the event of an emergency. If a patient requires emergency care, an ambulance would be called and a patient would be taken to the closest emergency room and if necessary admitted for care by an appropriate physician at that hospital.

All I can say is "Go get'em!"

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin Closes Chippewa Falls Health Center

More sad news from the inbox:

Loss of Cancer Screens, Birth Control Supported by Governor Walker,
Senator Moulton, and Representative Bernier

MADISON- Today, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin closed its health center in Chippewa Falls after 28 years of caring for thousands of patients. This center closure and those in three other communities comes as a direct result of budget cuts directed at Planned Parenthood’s patients supported by Governor Walker, Senator Moulton and Representative Bernier in the last budget cycle. Despite the cost-effective health benefits and need for continued access to preventive, essential health care, Governor Walker, Senator Moulton and Representative Bernier voted to end care for their constituents at the only health care provider offering affordable, essential reproductive health care in Chippewa Falls. Patients seeking cancer screens, wellness exams, birth control, and STD testing and treatment will now need to travel to the Planned Parenthood health center in Eau Claire. The governor’s current budget proposal threatens the availability of existing affordable patient care at providers like Planned Parenthood unless the public responds.

“For 78 years, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has been providing high quality health care for up to 70,000 women and families and we will continue to put the needs of our patients first,” said Tanya Atkinson Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin. “Ensuring every patient continues to receive affordable, quality health care, without interruption, remains our top priority. Senator Moulton and Representative Bernier’s previous votes to block health care access, their implicit support of the governor’s health care proposals, and misunderstanding of their own community’s health care needs and provider options challenges the future availability of affordable health care. Voting to eliminate the only source of affordable, preventive, lifesaving health care in their own community underscores just how out of touch Senator Moulton and Representative Bernier are with the needs of their constituents.”

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin remains committed to maintaining access for patients in its 23 remaining health centers, but cannot do it alone. Governor Walker’s decision to turn away federal resources that would fill health coverage gaps in Wisconsin, coupled with his budget proposal to end BadgerCare coverage for women making over $11,490 a year is a challenge to the future of women’s health.

“We call on those who value continued access to affordable, lifesaving health care to call on Senator Moulton and Representative Bernier to reconsider their stance on shutting down patient care at Planned Parenthood,” continued Atkinson. “Hard-working families who are struggling in this economy need the security of quality health coverage so they can receive health care when they need it, without facing huge medical bills.”

As a leading provider and advocate for women’s health care across the state, Planned Parenthood knows firsthand that continued access to BadgerCare so often makes the difference between access to cancer screenings and birth control, or going without. According to a recent article in the Chippewa Herald the only other health center in Chippewa County that provides care to people without health insurance does not provide any reproductive health care, does not take appointments, and is seeing an increase in need. They used to refer to Planned Parenthood in their community and are now referring to the Planned Parenthood in Eau Claire.

One in five women in America has been to a Planned Parenthood at some point in her life. For many women, Planned Parenthood is their only source of health care. Planned Parenthood is their health care provider, community resource, and advocate. Without the continued availability of BadgerCare, many women will have no other affordable health care options.

###

Chippewa Falls Closure Quotes
According to Chippewa Falls County Public Health Director Jean Durch:
Durch said it is disappointing to see the center close. "Anytime there are decreased options for people to receive health care, it is a loss for the community," she said.
Eau Claire Leader Telegram February 19, 2013: http://www.leadertelegram.com/news/front_page/article_a03e4428-7a56-11e2-8d06-0019bb2963f4.html

According to a Planned Parenthood patient:
“I’m tired of politicians who have access to health care working to take away important health resources that people like me trust and rely on,” she said. “I implore the governor and our elected leaders to stop the attack on women’s health and instead work to protect and improve access to essential health care providers.”
Chippewa Herald February 18, 2013: http://chippewa.com/news/local/planned-parenthood-blames-funding-loss-for-closure-of-chippewa-falls/article_eed610e8-79de-11e2-93c0-001a4bcf887a.html

Background Information
Governor Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled Legislature eliminated funding for patients accessing reproductive health care at Planned Parenthood in the 2011-2013 Biennial State Budget. The services provided by Planned Parenthood include birth control counseling and options, lifesaving cervical and breast cancer screenings, annual exams, STD testing and treatment, Well Women Exams, pregnancy testing, HIV testing, and colposcopies (advanced cervical cancer tests).

Investing in women’s health is a non-partisan issue as it contributes to healthy women, men, and families for Wisconsin while saving tax payers money. For every $1 spent on family planning, taxpayers save $4 (The Guttmacher Institute).

The elimination of state funding to Planned Parenthood in 2012 resulted in the loss of funding in nine of Planned Parenthood’s 24 family planning health centers in Kenosha, Winnebago, Eau Claire, Shawano, Wood, Chippewa Falls, Dodge, Fond du lac, and Jefferson Counties. These health centers serve 12,000 women each year and in eight of the nine counties, Planned Parenthood is the ONLY family planning provider.

According to the latest data, there are 282,000 women in Wisconsin in need of publicly funded reproductive health care services. Current provider networks and funding sources provide care for only 95,000 patients. The vast majority of these patients do not have access to affordable health insurance and receive assistance from various public funding sources to access this basic care.

In 2008, the network of family planning providers in Wisconsin averted 24,300 unintended pregnancies, 12,100 abortions, and saved taxpayers $94 million in averted health care costs.

Closure Facts
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is closing four health centers in Beaver Dam, Shawano, Johnson Creek, and Chippewa Falls. Health center staff at the four affected health centers have been serving the communities for decades: Beaver Dam since 1977, Chippewa Falls since 1984, Shawano since 1979, and Johnson Creek since 1999.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin health centers will close on the following dates: Shawano April 19; Chippewa Falls May 16; Beaver Dam June 14; Johnson Creek July 19.

These four health centers provide birth control counseling and options, lifesaving cervical and breast cancer screenings, annual exams, STD testing and treatment, Well Women Exams, pregnancy testing, HIV testing, and referrals to a network of community resources.

In just the last 10 years, these four health centers have provided services to 26,951 patients.

Texas Here We Come...

We talked recently about if the far right gets their way, we can be more like Indiana. Now that the recall election is over, the far right thinks Indiana is too tame. Texas here we come!!

 From Sunday's Wisconsin State Journal:

Wisconsin Right to Life, which scored major victories last session thanks to Walker and the Republican-dominated Legislature, plans to push a series of anti-abortion rights measures that are almost certain to draw opposition from many Democrats.

Among their priorities are requiring doctors to conduct ultrasounds on women seeking abortions and make them available for patients to see; banning all abortions after 20 weeks' gestation, as six states do; banning abortion coverage in public workers' health insurance plans; and prohibiting gender-selection as a basis for abortion, said Susan Armacost, legislative political-action committee director for Wisconsin Right to Life.

Yes that has worked so well in Texas:

If learning that her son was sick was the single worst moment in Jones’ life, what followed just magnified the horror. Texas is one of seven states — along with Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana and Mississippi — that requires ultrasound prior to abortion. In July, Virginia will become the eighth.

When she arrived at Planned Parenthood, the doctor who was to perform the abortion first performed an ultrasound, as ordered by law — despite the fact that it was Jones’ third ultrasound of the day. He also had to describe in detail her baby’s anatomy. “It felt barbaric to have to listen to a description of a baby I had so badly wanted,” says Jones, who is 35. “I could barely breathe.”

Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath, pledging to do no harm. Yet it’s tough to argue that forcing Jones to look at and listen to the description of a baby she would never rock or cuddle didn’t cause her psychological harm. The doctor must have known this; he apologized to Jones and tried to minimize her distress. “I am so sorry,” she says he told her, “but if I don’t do this, I could lose my license.” He did his best to make the ordeal easier. He spoke softly. The nurse turned up the radio. But still Jones heard him

Read the full account of her story here! Nothing says smaller limited government more than Robin Vos passing a bill forcing transvaginal ultrasounds upon women who make the very personal and private decision to terminate a pregnancy.

Terrorism Strikes Wisconsin - Governor, Attorney General Are AWOL

One of the many sad stories in Wisconsin came from the Fox Valley, where a Planned Parenthood clinic was damaged by a homemade bomb:

A Planned Parenthood clinic in Wisconsin remained closed Monday after a homemade bomb was placed outside the building, the state organization said.

The explosive device was found around 7:40 p.m. Sunday at the Appleton North Health Center and had caused a small fire by the time Grand Chute fire officials arrived, Teri Huyck, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, said in a statement.

No patients or staff members were at the health care center at the time, Huyck said, and no injuries were reported. The clinic remained closed Monday as a precaution, but the organization says it will reopen Tuesday.

Fortunately, no one was hurt in this act of domestic terrorism.

But what is disconcerting is that our so-called leaders are mute about it.

Jud Lounsbury points out how Scott Walker has been silent about this attack in his own state.

I don't know why Walker would be mum about this. Maybe he was visiting his friend David in Cali, doing some grilling and loading up on "legal cooperation fund" donations.

But just as, if not even more alarming, is the silence from Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen. I was sure Van Hollen would have sprung to action, seeing how he was the one that warned us about the terrorists in Wisconsin.

With elected officials like these, who needs more bad guys?

Scott Walker Is Just Too Extreme

Planned Parenthood has put up their third online video highlighting the hypocrisy and the sexism of the McCain/Palin Walker/Kleefisch ticket:



The accompanying press release reads:

Today Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin launched a third online video, this one featuring Wisconsin women who highlight Walker’s record of embracing policies that increase government interference in women’s health care decisions. “Whose Side is Scott Walker On?” shows everyday Wisconsin women responding to excerpts from Scott Walker’s ads, including the widely-criticized “Takeover” ad released this week. Walker and now Kleefisch have been caught repeatedly contradicting themselves with public statements that are inconsistent with their actions.

“Time and time again, Scott Walker voted to increase government interference in health care decisions that should be between my doctor and me,” said Jeanne Bissell Rudd, of Madison. “Yet the Scott Walker campaign has the audacity to put out an ad claiming the exact opposite. This hypocrisy needs to be exposed, and every Wisconsin woman needs to know the truth about where Scott Walker really stands on women’s health.”

During his time in the state Legislature, Scott Walker advocated for some of the most extreme anti-women’s health policies ever introduced. He wrote a bill that would allow pharmacists to deny women’s doctor-prescribed birth control. He sided with big insurance companies who refused to provide coverage of prescription birth control as well as maternity care, mammograms and cervical cancer screenings. Scott Walker received endorsement from Pro-Life Wisconsin by pledging to support legislation that would ban abortion in all cases, including for rape and incest victims.

In contrast, Tom Barrett supports women’s health. He believes women and their doctors, not politicians or the government, should make private, personal health care decisions. Tom Barrett also supports prevention-based family planning health care. Family planning health care includes lifesaving breast and cervical cancer screenings, birth control, and STD testing and treatment. Recent reporting by the Wall Street Journal estimates Wisconsin’s BadgerCare Family Planning program prevented 11,064 unplanned pregnancies at a savings of $139.1 million to the state. Analysis by the Guttmacher Institute, a respected national reproductive health care policy organization, estimates an investment in family planning saves taxpayers more than $4 for every $1 spent. Wisconsin law prohibits any public funding from paying for abortion care.

This is the third video in a series of planned online media and voter mobilization aimed at exposing the extreme views of Scott Walker and other candidates opposed to women’s basic health care access. By Election Day, PPAWI will have made hundreds of thousands of voter contacts to turn out the vote for women’s health champions through the use of mail, phone, door-to-door canvasses and e-advocacy.

“Scott Walker’s record on women’s health is a clear indisputable foreshadowing of what is to come if he becomes governor,” said Tanya Atkinson, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin. “Walker's pursuit, acceptance and promotion of his endorsement by organizations that want to outlaw all birth control and abortions without exception is a continuation of Walker’s political work focused on ending women's health care access. Scott Walker is an extremist on women’s health and he has been his entire political career.”

For more information on how bad Walker's record is on women's rights, please click here.

Extremist Singers

Planned Parenthood made a video warning of the dangers if Mark Neumann or Scott Walker were to be elected governor:



It is kind of scary how they so accurately portray the right's fascist ways and the way they want to control everyone.

What is even scarier is the way they had Walker dancing. They must have heard the same rumors I have...