NOW President Toni Van Pelt Joins March for Life Protest at U.S. Supreme Court:

As a “peaceful counter-presence” to the divisive, anti-abortion March for Life, supporters of reproductive freedom will gather at noon on Friday, January 19 in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Imagine what it would be like if Roe v. Wade had never happened,” said Toni Van Pelt, President of the National Organization for Women (NOW).

“Imagine a return to back-alley abortions. Imagine low-income young women forced to travel hundreds of miles across multiple state lines to find a state where abortion remains legal. Imagine a meteoric rise in maternal and infant mortality rates.

“This nightmare is the fondest dream of anti-choice extremists who want to repeal Roe v. Wade. They’re using today’s Roe anniversary to double down on overturning the law of the land.”

Friday’s protest is supported by the National Organization for Women, the Feminist Majority Foundation, Lady Parts Justice and allies.

Contact

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

NOW President Toni Van Pelt To Address Women’s March On Washington:

National Organization for Women President Toni Van Pelt will be among the speakers on Saturday, January 20, Women’s March on Washington 2018.

Women and allies will once again take to the streets of the nation’s capital to make a powerful statement to the current administration and the rest of the world. In a follow-up to the largest demonstration in U.S. history, people from across the country will meet at the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial at 11a.m., for a rally followed by a march on the White House.

“This year’s elections are crucial—they will either signal a turnaround in Donald Trump’s ability to perpetuate his racist, sexist and intolerant agenda, or another two years of more of the same,” says Toni Van Pelt. “We know that women can determine the outcome in close elections. We need to build excitement and enthusiasm right now for a massive get out the vote campaign in November.”

Sponsored by March Forward Virginia, the Women’s March on Washington 2018 is part of the national Women’s March organization state-level network. Anniversary sister marches are being planned throughout the country.

Contact

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

Statement on Religious Freedom Day by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

Today is Religious Freedom Day—a federal observance to commemorate Thomas Jefferson’s determination that the United States would not be considered a “Christian nation.” Jefferson’s original statute disestablished an official state church for the new nation, and provided that no one be compelled to attend any religious institution or underwrite it with taxes, and that individuals are free to believe as they will and that this “shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.”

Today, we observe Religious Freedom Day by recognizing that women are at grave risk from Donald Trump and those who are using their personal religious views to discriminate against women especially women of color, trans women and women living in poverty. They would deny women birth control and access to abortion care, divert them towards fake crisis pregnancy centers and hold them back from economic advancement with jobs that oppress them, put them at risk of sexual harassment and abuse, and perpetuate a culture of submission.

False religious justifications are used to discriminate against LGBTQIA+ people in public accommodations, jobs and housing, and also against secular humanists and atheists as well as those who practice other religions.

The religious right must not be allowed to hijack Religious Freedom Day for their own propaganda purposes. Their America is not the Founders’ America, and it’s not ours.

Women know the truth: religious freedom does not mean freedom to discriminate.

Contact

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