Indy Women for Choices & Education

I went to Caring for Women's Health today on the south side and was very impressed. The staff was pleasant and the NP I saw, Debra Taylor, was knowledgeable and not at all patronizing, which I find can often be the case. She definitely has a progressive outlook and made sure she discussed Gardasil with me. I don't know for a fact that she is pro-choice, but that is certainly the impression that I got. Overall, I would highly recommend this practice to anyone.

The Dept of Health and Human Services is now attempting to redefine "birth control" as "abortion.

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog…

Is it obvious to everyone yet that this is about CONTROL, and not about morality? Sick.

* Tuesday, February 26 – Evansville, Mishawaka and Valparaiso health centers
* Tuesday, March 4 – Bloomington, Fort Wayne, Hammond, Lafayette, Muncie and Terre Haute health centers
* Tuesday, April 8 – Madison health center

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Don't forget, Tuesday is Blog for Choice day. This year's topic is why it's important to vote pro-choice.

I'll post my here as well as in my personal LJ and I encourage you to do the same.

War, economy have red state thinking blue
74% of Hoosiers say nation is headed in wrong direction, leading some to rethink party loyalty

Disillusioned with President Bush's handling of the war, the economy and immigration, nearly half of likely voters in Indiana appear poised to buck 40 years of tradition and vote for a Democratic presidential ticket -- if it includes Sen. Evan Bayh, according to a new Indianapolis Star-WTHR (Channel 13) poll.

The poll of 600 Hoosiers -- including 449 who say they will definitely vote in the November 2008 election -- revealed a growing sense of pessimism, with nearly three-quarters saying the nation is headed in the wrong direction and 28 percent approving of George W. Bush's performance as president.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points for all respondents and plus or minus 4.6 percentage points for likely voters. It was conducted by telephone Nov. 13-16.
The results also hint at a slight shift away from traditionally conservative Hoosier views on some issues, said J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer & Co., a Des Moines, Iowa-based public opinion research firm that conducted the poll.

That includes 60 percent who support universal health coverage and 87 percent who favor requirements to make vehicles more fuel-efficient.

"What you have are a lot of disaffected Republicans," Selzer said, "and an overall theme that what we have now just isn't working for many Hoosiers, and something has to give."

Growing discontent among Indiana voters shows up clearly in views on next year's presidential race: Forty-seven percent said they anticipate voting for the Democratic presidential candidate if Bayh is on the ticket, compared with 33 percent who said they anticipate voting for the GOP candidate.

That would be a dramatic reversal for a dyed-in-the-wool "red" state where voters have backed the GOP's presidential candidate in all but three elections during the past 100 years.

The last Democrat to win Indiana was Lyndon B. Johnson, who pulled about 56 percent of the vote in the 1964 race with Barry Goldwater. Bush carried the state in 2000 and 2004 with nearly 56 percent and 59 percent of the vote, respectively. ( Collapse )

Indiana gets 'F' for women's health
By Barb Berggoetz

“By and large, states are failing to meet minimum standards when it comes to women’s health,” said Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center vice president for health and reproductive rights in a written release.

“The states’ patchwork policies regarding women’s health result in far too many women falling through the cracks and not accessing the services they need to maintain optimal health.”

Nationally, the overall status of women’s health looks grim, according to this report. No state received an overall “satisfactory” grade, the highest rank. The top three states – Vermont, Minnesota and Massachusetts – received “satisfactory minus” grades. Most states earned an “unsatisfactory” grade.

Women’s health status in Indiana is among the worst in the nation, found a comprehensive national and state-by-state analysis of state policies and female health conditions released today.

Indiana ranked 40th among the states and Washington D.C. and received an “F” grade on the report card developed the National Women’s Law Center and Oregon Health and Science University.
“By and large, states are failing to meet minimum standards when it comes to women’s health,” said Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center vice president for health and reproductive rights in a written release.

“The states’ patchwork policies regarding women’s health result in far too many women falling through the cracks and not accessing the services they need to maintain optimal health.”

Nationally, the overall status of women’s health looks grim, according to this report. No state received an overall “satisfactory” grade, the highest rank. The top three states – Vermont, Minnesota and Massachusetts – received “satisfactory minus” grades. Most states earned an “unsatisfactory” grade.

“It’s rather depressing, I think, to be 40th,” said Dr. Robert Deaton, co-director of the St. Vincent Center for Women’s health. “But as a nation as a whole, no state did well.”

Eleven other states, mostly in the South, received an overall “F” grade. Kentucky was the only other Midwest state to get that grade. The last time this triennial report was released in 2004, Indiana ranked 41st, but got an “unsatisfactory” — the grade just above failing.

“We’d do better if we’d work harder at preventive care, wellness and prevention,” said Deaton.

The analysis is based on 27 health status benchmarks developed largely by using goals set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy People 2010 initiative. Among the issues measured were women’s access to health care services, including insurance and prenatal care and percentages of women who receive Pap Smears, mammograms, colorectal and cholesterol screenings.

Indiana’s relatively high percentages of women who are obese (26 percent), smoke (25 percent) and don’t exercise (28.7 percent) garnered individual “F” grades. Similarly, the percentages of women with high blood pressure (25.9 percent) and diabetes (7.8 percent) also were high enough to get a failing grade.

The report, called Making the Grade for Women’s Health, is the fourth in a series of triennial reports. The full report is available at http://hrc.nwlc.org/.

What's being organized in our great state in response to today's Supreme court decision?

Please share anything you're doing and/or hearing!

Please excuse the misspelling of little katelynn's link
Here is the correct spelling.  I am sorry for any inconvience. Thank you.

Sugar and spice and everything nice.

This is suppose to every little girls life.

What happens when life is not like that?

What if your life is filled with constant abuse by the people who suppose to protect you?

For little Katelynn of Indiana, her life is filled with this from a father, stepmother and father's family; everyone but her the relatives that love her have been deined the ability to see her.

What happens when the police will not stop this?

Than try Child Protection Service, but they will not stop this either.

The next thing to do is go to the court.

What would you do if the Child Protection Services and the court helped the abusers hurt her?

The media might work but they ignore majority of average people.

In this search for help, several politicians ignored or said stop bothering them.

If these people will not help little katelynn than who will?

Will this little girl have to pay the ultimate price for these adults mistakes?

Now, what will you do?!

This is Indiana's Shame and these are Teardrops for Katelynn


referral sources:

www.courageouskids.net

Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation :: Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories Aired on PBS http://www.mkacf.org/BreakTheSilence.html

Breaking the Silence
http://sev.prnewswire.com/entertainment/20051019/CLW50819102005-1.html
http://www.tatgelasseur.com/pages/bts.html

Battered Women, Abused Children, and Child Custody: A NATIONAL CRISIS
http://www.batteredmotherscustodyconference.org/ 



Petition for Justice for Katelynn:
http://www.gopetition.com/online/5918.html 




Don't let these little abused children be abused in silence anymore, please.

Tell someone!

Demand answers!

Demand the children's truth!

Above all break through this silence for theses abused childrens sake!

No adults rights is greater than the right of the child to be safe!

****Please don't forget us!****

I'd like to pass on a few notes which may be of interest if you're going to be in the Evansville area any time soon...


First, there is an event planned for March 20 on USI campus to rally for the prevention of violence against women. In the past, USI has participated in "Take Back the Night" with Albion Fellows Bacon Center, but this year they're hosting an earlier event, with intent to get men more involved, so the march is titled "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes." Guys have the option of doing the walk in flowered flip-flops, with a few pairs of high heels available (only a few because men's sizes in heels are expensive). And yes, of course, women can go too.

I think it's an admirable effort. It's hard to get men involved in this kind of march, because apparently a man showing compassion toward the violence-against-women issue is fodder for teasing. Sad world this is. I'm happy about this event, though. Hopefully there'll be a decent turnout.

Registration starts at 5, under the University Center bridge. The march begins at 5. Contact event coordinator Stephanie Walden-Schwake at 812-461-5269 for more info.

I'll keep my ears open for this year's "Take Back the Night" rally, too. I hope that, since apparently USI's not involved this year, they still have a venue for the rally.


After the march, anti-sexist activist Jason Katz will speak in Carter Hall (on the second floor of the University Center) at 7 p.m. He's also leading a workshop in Carter Hall from 1-4 p.m. titled "More than a Few Good Men: Strategies for Inspiring Men and Boys to be Allies in Gender Violence Prevention."

You bet your boots I'll be there for the march and the speech. Can't go to the entire workshop because of classes, but if you're in or near Evansville, I highly encourage you to stop by for these events.


And finally, Planned Parenthood of Indiana is having a free EC day! That's right, a dose of emergency contraception that usually sells for around $45 is going to be FREE on April 3. The Evansville center is on Weinbach, close to UE. I'm willing to offer rides to anyone in the USI area who wants to take advantage of this awesome offer, but doesn't have transportation to the East Side.