South Dakota Planned Parenthood Advocate

They’re BAAAAAAACCCCCKKKKKKKK!

Yesterday was the day we’d all been waiting for, and the SD State Legislature did not disappoint. Introduced by Representatives Hunt, Brunner, Cronin, Greenfield, Haggar, Hansen (Jon), Hubbel, Jensen, Kloucek, Miller, Nelson (Stace), Olson (Betty), Sly, Stricherz, Van Gerpen, and Wick and Senators Kraus, Brown, Heineman, Hunhoff (Jean), Krebs, and Schlekeway is a bill very, very similar to 2011’s HB 1217:

An act to revise certain provisions pertaining to the decision of a pregnant mother considering termination of her relationship with her child by an abortion, to establish certain procedures to insure that such decisions are voluntary, uncoerced, and informed, and to revise certain causes of action for professional negligence relating to performance of an abortion.

You can read the entire bill here. http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2012/Bill.aspx?File=HB1254P.htm

No Woman, No Cry in Rapid City

Screening of NO WOMAN, NO CRY

A documentary by Supermodel Christy Turlington Burns

Date: February 4, 2012      

Time: 1:30 to 3:30 pm

Location: Rapid City Public Library, 610 Quincy Street, Rapid City upstairs in Room B (Elevator is available).

Join us for the screening of No Woman, No Cry, a documentary by Christy Turlington Burns, the supermodel, mom and global maternal health advocate. In her gripping directorial debut, Christy Turlington Burns shares the powerful stories of at-risk pregnant women in four parts of the world, including a remote Maasai tribe in Tanzania, a slum of Bangladesh, a post-abortion care ward in Guatemala, and a prenatal clinic in the United States.

Afterwards, stay for a discussion about global and local maternal health issues.

Brought you by the following sponsors: Planned Parenthood’s Global Program, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, WE - Women Evolving and Democracy in Action.

For more information, please call Mary Jo Farrington 605-716-5166 or email Heather.Sayette@ppfa.org

Planned Pregnancy Needs Role, Too

As a certified nurse-midwife with over 25 years of practice, including providing prenatal care to pregnant women and delivering babies, I applaud Gov. Dennis Daugaard, the first lady and the Governor’s Task Force on Infant Mortality in their efforts to reduce infant deaths in South Dakota.

Every effort should be made to reduce infant and maternal mortality in the United States and worldwide. However, one proven and fundamental way to decrease infant mortality was left out of the Task Force’s recent recommendations: planning one’s pregnancy in advance.

A Huge Victory for Women!

After a massive outpouring of concern expressed by Planned Parenthood supporters, President Obama has rejected efforts to cut off access to birth control for millions of women! Sign our thank-you card to President Obama.

Today United States Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius/the Obama administration announced that it will make no changes to the birth control coverage benefit under the Affordable Care Act. This decision is grounded in sound medical science and health policy and protects access to affordable birth control for millions of women, including women who are employed by a religiously affiliated hospital, university, or other religiously affiliated organization that serves the broader public.

Birth control is not just basic health care for women; it is an economic concern. This commonsense decision means that millions of women who would otherwise pay $15 to $50 a month will have access to affordable birth control, helping them save hundreds of dollars each year.

This benefit does not require that anyone dispense or use birth control.  It is simply a benefit that ensures women have adequate health insurance coverage that includes affordable birth control.

This policy represents one of the greatest advancements for women’s health in decades and ensures that millions of women will have access to affordable birth control. Thank you President Obama! Sign our thank-you card today.

The Team Roe Times January Issue!

We are excited to present to you the FIRST issue of The Team Roe Times in 2012, a joint project between Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and NARAL Pro Choice South Dakota!

Packed inside this informative newsletter are details on Women 4 Women Day 2012, updates on the 2012 SD Legislative Session and the 30th Roe vs. Wade anniversary, a list of upcoming events, the latest book in our TTRT Unofficial Book Club and SO MUCH MORE. Download The Team Roe Times Vol 2 Issue 1

In 1966 Martin Luther King Jr. was given the PPFA Margaret Sanger Award

In 1966, Planned Parenthood Federation of America inaugurated the PPFA Margaret Sanger Award to honor the woman who founded America's family planning movement. The PPFA Margaret Sanger Award is given annually to individuals of distinction in recognition of excellence and leadership in furthering reproductive health and reproductive rights.

Planned Parenthood Recognizes National Cervical Cancer Awareness Month By Urging Women to Get Regular Checkups

Making New Year’s resolutions? As part of Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS) is urging women in South Dakota to put preventive checkups, including cervical cancer screenings, at the top of their lists. 

Every year, approximately 13,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and about 4,000 American women die of the disease. 

Happy Election Year!

January is always such an exciting month at PPMNS. We are busy gearing up for the South Dakota state legislation session that promises to be as challenging as it is was 2011. Session starts next week on Tuesday, January 10^th and while SD  always has one of the shortest sessions in the nation at less than 40 legislative days long, it will be even shorter (read – compressed) in 2012. There are 35 legislative days scheduled and the last day of session before “veto day” is March 2. (To put this into perspective, the 2011 session’s last day was March 11.) Whew! It will certainly be a race to the finish for everyone. Let’s hope this gorgeous weather continues to hold!

In addition the session, we are planning a commemorative event for the 39^th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. The event will be in Sioux Falls, on Saturday, January 21 from 6-8pm. The speaker is a former Argus Leader reporter who will discuss reporting on the 2006 and 2008 abortion bans. It promises to be a lovely evening and should help us to focus our efforts on the upcoming weeks. For more information, including the event location, please email me at ctoft@ppmns.org.

The end of January is the best event of the year: Women 4 Women Day! Held at the Capitol in Pierre, this annual event hosted by the South Dakota Advocacy Network for Women is a chance for women and men from across South Dakota to have their voices heard on issues such as education, equal pay, domestic violence and reproductive rights. Registration is now open at SDAWN.net.

And finally, January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. Every year, about 13,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and about 4,000 American women die of the disease. Planned Parenthood encourages every woman to visit her health care provider regularly to receive a preventive checkup that includes a cervical cancer screening.  Appoints are available at both of our South Dakota health centers in Sioux Falls and Rapid City. Call for an appointment today!

~ Carmen, Planned Parenthood Advocate