Standing up for pro-choice champions
By Laura Terrill Patten of Portland, Oregon. Laura is the executive director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon.
There are a growing number of Republicans who are taking a "see no evil, hear no evil" approach to the 2012 election. They're denying the existence of the "war on women," claiming it's a myth imagined by the left to score political points.
The attacks on choice are very real.
-
Just look at our neighbors in Idaho, who tried to force doctors to perform invasive, medically unnecessary ultrasounds.
-
Just look at Tennessee, where a bill was introduced that would publicize intimate details about every abortion patient including how many times she has been pregnant and even the name of her doctor.
-
Just look at Congressman Trent Franks of Arizona, who falsely claims that women choose abortion based on race and gender -- and then has the nerve to name his regressive legislation after Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony.
Instead of focusing on fixing the economy, these politicians have decided instead to play doctor. They claim that we don't need health care reform, except apparently when it comes to women's health. They claim they want smaller government, yet they have no problem telling women how to live their lives. Enough is enough.
That's why it's more important than ever to elect candidates who believe in a woman's right to choose and who support access to affordable preventative health care. Planned Parenthood PAC of Oregon is proud to promote three extraordinary candidates in their primary election campaigns:
-
Mary Nolan for Portland City Commissioner: Mary Nolan, has an illustrious record in advancing reproductive rights. Among her many accomplishments in the state legislature, Nolan helped extend access to health care to more than 100,000 Oregonians while greatly increasing funding for women's health care and family planning.
-
Jennifer Williamson for Oregon House District 36: Voters are fortunate to have a strong advocate to carry on Representative Nolan's legacy in the Legislature: Jennifer Williamson, a Portland attorney who has served as board chair for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon since 2009. When the Susan G. Komen Foundation cut off funding for Planned Parenthood, Williamson cut her ties with Komen: She resigned from the local Komen board and stood with Planned Parenthood until the national Komen group abandoned its attempts to stop funding critical women's health services.
-
Kitty Piercy for Eugene Mayor: A longtime advocate for reproductive rights, Kitty Piercy served as Public Affairs Director for Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon, has a solid voting record in her years as a State Representative in the Oregon Legislature and continues her dedication to reproductive rights as mayor of Eugene. We know that to keep Oregon a pro-choice state, our work begins with electing local allies into office.
All of these candidates earned a 100% score on our PAC questionnaire, and we are proud to stand by them. Please remember to submit your ballots by 8 p.m. Tuesday.
|
May 13, 2012
|
More Recent Posts | |
Albert Kaufman |
|
Guest Column |
|
Kari Chisholm |
|
Kari Chisholm |
Final pre-census estimate: Oregon's getting a sixth congressional seat |
Albert Kaufman |
Polluted by Money - How corporate cash corrupted one of the greenest states in America |
Guest Column |
|
Albert Kaufman |
Our Democrat Representatives in Action - What's on your wish list? |
Kari Chisholm |
|
Guest Column |
|
Kari Chisholm |
|
connect with blueoregon
9:52 a.m.
May 14, '12
So why did you endorse Schaufler? Your endorsement process leaves many people at a loss.
12:06 p.m.
May 14, '12
As far as I know the main opponents for both Nolan and Williamson are also strongly pro-choice and supportive of women's health services--and, in both cases, are also women. FWIW.
12:10 p.m.
May 14, '12
With all due respect to PP, I must point out that in both metro-area races, the PP-endorsed candidates are far from the only pro-choice candidates. In HD36, Sharon Meiran has a green light from NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon, also scored 100% on her PP questionnaire, and as a physician has provided reproductive health care to countless women. And Amanda Fritz has a long record of pro-choice policies as well.
1:04 p.m.
May 14, '12
It's important that we elect people who don't just have a philosophy of choice, but people who have actively advocated for a woman's right to choose and worked to ensure women have access to the health care they need. I'm excited to vote for Mary Nolan and Jennifer Williamson because they are two women who don't just talk the talk, but they fight the fight. I'm one of thousands of Oregonians who depends on C-Care, our state's family planning program, to access basic care like annual exams and birth control. I have benefited from work Mary Nolan did when she increased the budget for family planning, as have many of my peers. We need need active advocates for choice at every level of government if we want to ensure that Oregon remains one of the most pro-choice states in the nation.
(Full disclosure, I volunteer with PPAO and work on Mary Nolan's campaign. I speak only for myself.)
3:08 p.m.
May 14, '12
It's important that we elect people who don't just have a philosophy of choice, but people who have actively advocated for a woman's right to choose...
Got it. Now the Mike Schaufler endorsement TOTALLY makes sense.
Sigh.
5:22 p.m.
May 14, '12
Dont worry. Schaufler is being voted out by our district 48 in favor of Reardon who is 100% prochoice and personally endorsed by pro-choice feminist legislators, by Governor Roberts, and by me.
5:46 p.m.
May 14, '12
Also: champions champions champions
7:33 p.m.
May 14, '12
Can't believe Laura only used the term in the title. That's such underuse!
The environmental community would never be so sparse with our praise. ;)
9:58 p.m.
May 14, '12
I hate it when pro-choice organizations "endorse" one pro-choice candidate over another who is equally pro-choice in a primary, thus implying that somehow the other candidate is less enthusiastically or fully pro-choice. It's offensive and counterproductive.
I voted for Amanda Fritz, who is a MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL for God's sake, and no less pro-choice than her opponent. To withhold an endorsement from her is just sad.
12:03 p.m.
May 15, '12
I'm voting for Amanda Fritz, in part because she is staunchly pro-choice. It is unfortunate that voters might be told that one candidate is more pro-choice than the other in this race, when that is simply an untrue statement.