Last weekend’s Women’s March was a big event in Washington, DC. All the national media was there, and the program was broadcast live on C-Span.

As you know, Toni Van Pelt was one of the featured speakers, and she spoke powerfully and from the heart. The reporter from Politico who was covering the March quoted Toni:

“Today we’re sending Trump another message, look out your window,” Toni Van Pelt, president of the National Organization for Women, told marchers in Washington. “See us, hear us, feel our power. You can’t stop us with your tweets, you can’t stop us with your bullying and you can’t stop us with your hate speech.”

For the full story in Politico, click here. And here’s a clip of her full speech.

This Tuesday, during Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech, Toni will be joining leaders of other women’s groups at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, at an event called the State of Our Union to showcase plans to unite, organize, and vote for a better future. We’re keeping the pressure on Donald Trump, and speaking our truth to power every chance we get!

Contact

Emily Imhoff, press@now.org, 951-547-1241

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

Forty-five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that the constitutional right to privacy extends to a woman’s right to make her own personal medical decisions.

Today, Donald Trump and Mike Pence are determined to repeal Roe and turn back the clock on abortion, putting women’s lives at risk.

Abortion care is health care, and women’s health care is a human right. When Donald Trump took office, we took to the streets to march and raise our voices in defense of our rights. One year later, our cause is just as great, and our voices just as strong.

The threat to Roe may be one Supreme Court vacancy away. But in the states, extremist laws that mandate harmful, medically-unnecessary restrictions on abortion are already proliferating. And extremist anti-choice Republicans in Congress are pushing laws that will restrict access to safe and legal abortion and threaten abortion providers with jail.

We must tell Donald Trump and the Republican Congress to respect the law of the land. Women need Roe, and today, Roe needs us.

Contact

Emily Imhoff, press@now.org, 951-547-1241

HHS’s New Division of Conscience and Religious Freedom Targets Women:

The Trump Administration has announced the creation of a new “conscience and religious freedom” division within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that will have the effect of fostering further discrimination against women, transgender individuals and others seeking full access to health care.

This dangerous move upends the core principles of medical care—the Hippocratic Oath that tells physicians, “first, do no harm,” and opens the door to medical care bigotry.

Allowing a doctor, nurse or other healthcare workers to deny medical care that goes against their so-called moral or religious beliefs would do tremendous harm, not only to individuals suffering from a medical emergency but to the fabric of society itself.

We must not tolerate a two-tier system for health care, one for “good Christians” and one for everyone else. Women have made their personal health care decisions based on their own moral and in some cases religious convictions.

The opening of this division puts in place systematic, intrusive oppression and must not be allowed to stand. If healthcare workers including doctors, feel they can not perform their professional duty they need to find other work instead of pushing their personal belief system on others. That’s what bullies do.

There’s no such thing as a religious exception to providing basic healthcare for women, LGBTQIA+ people or anyone else. This egregious act of gender bigotry must be overturned.

Contact

Emily Imhoff, press@now.org, 951-547-1241