Palm Beach County NOW

Statement from NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In yet another alarming proposed rule from the Trump-Pence administration, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks to gut portions of the Health Care Rights Law, otherwise known as Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. This was the the first law to prohibit discrimination based on sex stereotypes, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy-related conditions and termination of a pregnancy. But now HHS is proposing to eliminate many of these key protections.  Furthermore, the rule proposes yet another “conscience” protection that would allow employees to refuse to provide care based on their religious beliefs.

We cannot allow these attempts to roll back such critical protections. The National Organization for Women (NOW) firmly believes that if enacted, this rule would be devastating for LGBTQIA+ patients, particularly for those in the trans-gendered community, and for women in need of abortion counseling and care.

The Trump administration must end these efforts to jeopardize lives and return us to the dark days of religious-based sex discrimination being permitted in health care delivery. NOW remains committed to fighting any discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in all areas, including health services. We strongly oppose this proposed rule and urge our members and supporters to continue speaking out against these unjust, immoral and harmful regulations.

Contact

Kimberly Hayes, Press Secretary, press@now.org, 202-570-4745

Statement from NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

We’ve seen the frightening headlines from around the country, with state after state enacting 20- week abortion bans, six-week abortion bans and egregious laws that harm women’s health clinics. A legislator in Texas went to the most extreme measure of proposing a bill that would actually give women the death penalty for having abortions.

And the latest attacks are among the worst: Georgia’s governor just signed into law one of the most extreme bills in the country, which bans abortions at six-weeks, and the Alabama legislature just voted to ban all abortions in the state.

This dangerous legislation isn’t just happening at the local level. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee recently held a hearing for a bill requiring a nation-wide 20-week abortion ban, which if passed, would further victimize women typically facing a devastating medical crisis in their pregnancies.

The National Organization for Women (NOW) strongly opposes these dangerous and immoral proposed laws and is launching a petition that will be delivered to representatives in the U.S. Congress and in the state legislatures.

We want these policymakers to see that our thousands of grassroots activists in their states stand with the vast majority of the public who believe that women have the right to safe, legal, accessible and affordable abortion care.

NOW’s petition to stop abortion bans is available here.

Contact

Kimberly Hayes, Press Secretary, press@now.org, 
202-570-4745

Statement from NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Organization for Women (NOW) is proud to participate in today’s National Day of Action to Stop the Bans on abortion.  Speaking out, taking action and disrupting the patriarchy is in NOW’s DNA, and our collective voices, shared commitment and energetic activism is needed today to ensure reproductive freedom and justice.

The fact is that the laws rolling out around the country to ban or restrict abortions are out of step with the 7 out of 10 voters who believe that access to abortion care should be legal. Such restrictions eliminate access to quality family planning services and reproductive health care, perpetuate cycles of poverty, and disproportionately impact women of color, immigrant communities, young people and people with low incomes.

This is why national NOW and our grassroots chapters and activists across the country are participating in today’s events. We are letting lawmakers know that we will continue to provide fierce resistance to these extremist and immoral bans. NOW firmly believes women have the constitutional right to safe, legal, affordable and accessible abortion care and we are here to make sure that doesn’t change.

Contact

Kimberly Hayes, Press Secretary, press@now.org, 
202-570-4745