You Should Run for Office

Times will not change for women until their needs/concerns are more fully represented in government. You should run for office!

From our friends at Pennsylvania Women's Campaign Fund, a workshop series for feminist candidates:

The Pennsylvania Women’s Campaign Fund has devised a rigorous and comprehensive training program to teach candidates what they need to know for an edge against their competition. The 3 ½ day training in January will cover topics from messaging and dealing with the media; to fundraising and number-crunching the margin of victory; to opposition research, polling and volunteer management. Download the full agenda by clicking here (download a PDF of The Winning Edge Agenda).

Show your confidence in someone by suggesting that she attend The Winning Edge campaign training led by the Pennsylvania Women’s Campaign Fund, January 26-29 in Shippensburg PA. Send her this link www.pwcf.com/training-resources/campaign-training and remind her that she has your support when her campaign kicks off!

Participants will save $100 when they register before December 16.

More info: http://www.pwcf.com/2011/12/preparation-for-the-campaign%E2%80%A6/

Call Corbett to VETO SB 732 TODAY!

Urgent! SB 732--the anti-choice regulations bill-- was passed.

Please call the Governor's office at 717-787-2500. Tell him that SB 732 should not become a law. His approach to the Gosnell indictment has been a measured one up to now, but SB 732 could cause a public health crisis in our state. There's no medical association that supports it, and some, including the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the American Academy of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against rape, are strong opponents of the bill.

SB 732 threatens public health in our state, and we need the Governor to say no to it. Please call right away.

More info at http://www.wevehadenoughpa.org/about-the-attacks.html

Humor for the Holidays

Please join us December 29th for a night of laugh-out-loud fun! Philadelphia NOW is organizing a "feminists night out" to go see 1812 Productions' hilarious This Is the Week That Is, an ensemble send up of politics both national and local.

1812 Productions
This Is the Week That Is
8pm, Thursday, December 29th
Plays & Players Theater
1714 Delancey St.
Philadelphia PA 19103

Tickets are $32, part of which will go to Philadelphia NOW to aid us in the advocacy work we do protecting women's rights. If you'd like to join NOW, for $50 we'll throw in a ticket to the show. That's a one-year membership plus a great night out! But you have to let us know by this Wednesday, December 14th. RSVP to info.phillynow@gmail.com.

Philadelphia NOW News 12-7-11

OFFICER ELECTIONS, EXCHANGE WITH NICARAGUAN FEMINISTS, HOLIDAY POTLUCK

Join us next Monday, December 12th, 1606 Walnut, 3rd Fl., 5:30-7, when we will meet with Nicaraguan feminist leaders to exchange information and ideas about feminist organization building and confronting domestic violence. We will also be electing a new slate of officers for the new year, reviewing recent news and reporting on some of the campaigns the chapter is involved with. It's our holiday meeting so bring something for our potluck, if you can. No worries if you can't.

"THIS IS THE WEEK THAT IS" FUNDRAISER- 12/29

Join us for a fun night out Thursday, December 29th for 1812 Productions' This is the Week That Is, a hilarious send up of politics both local and national. Tickets are $32. Pay $50 and get the ticket plus a year membership to Philadelphia NOW- a great deal! There will be a get-together before the show in South Philadelphia, 6-7:30, show starts at 8PM. RSVP to info.phillynow@gmail.com by next Wed, 12-14.

That is all the good news, here's the bad:

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION DECIDES AGAINST FDA RECOMMEND ON PLAN B

"Stunning" is the word most used by feminist groups responding to this news. Yesterday HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius decided to overrule the recommendation of FDA scientists and physicians charged to determine whether or not emergency contraception should be considered an over the counter drug, made available to all women of child-bearing age to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Read NOW's statement, and RHRealityCheck.com.

TELL OBAMA NOT TO CAVE ON BIRTH CONTROL ACCESS

Send a message to President Obama telling him not to cave on providing access to birth control to ALL women. The Administration has signaled that it is willing to allow religious employers- including hospitals and colleges- the right to refuse birth control coverage to women employees. It's simple: women should be in charge of fertility decisions, NOT their employers!! Send a message today!

ANTI-CHOICE BILLS MOVING IN PA HOUSE

HB1977 and SB732 are two anti-choice bills on the move in the House. HB1977 would ban private insurers participating in the state insurance exchange from covering abortion. SB732, under consideration in the House, would force additional, unnecessary regulations, including ridiculous physical plant and personnel changes, on standalone abortion providers. The effect (certainly intended) would be to shut down most of them. Call your State Representative TODAY to make sure he/she knows you are pro-choice! More info at wevehadenoughpa.org. Follow their Twitter feed for continuous updates.

Fall 2011 Endorsements

Sheriff
CHERI HONKALA

City Commissioner
STEPHANIE SINGER

Council At-Large
WILLIAM GREENLEE
BLONDELL REYNOLDS-BROWN

Council District 7
MARIA QUINONES-SANCHEZ

Council District 8
CINDY BASS

For Judge:
DIANA ANHALT, COMMON PLEAS
BARBARA McDERMOTT, COMMON PLEAS
KATHRYN BOOCKVAR, PA COMMONWEALTH
DAVID WECHT, PA SUPERIOR

See our current newsletter for Bucks & Montgomery County Endorsements

PA NOW CONVENTION THIS SATURDAY IN BUCKS

"UNITED WE RISE" PA NOW CONVENTION - 10/1

Join National NOW President Terry O'Neill and Pennsylvania NOW at the PA State biennial NOW Convention October 1, 2011 at Crowne Plaza Hotel Philadelphia Bucks County, 4700 Street Road, Trevose, PA 19053 (215-364-2000), 8AM- 6:30PM. We will be focusing on the war on women and how, united, we can fight back.

Philadelphia NOW member Julia Ramsay will be running for State President, so please come and vote for her!

If you are a NOW member already, payment for the conference is on a sliding scale. It's $75 for non-members, which includes a one year membership. You can become a member of Philadelphia NOW here, just click on the "Buy Now" button and then on the membership button. Membership starts as low as $20. To register for the PA Conference, go to http://panowconvention.eventbrite.com/.

For more information, see below, or click to panow.org.

DESCRIPTION

This all-day conference starts with breakfast and is followed by a day of speakers and workshops. The workshops will focus on:

• reproductive rights attacks,

• school vouchers,

• single-payer healthcare,

• maternity care, and caregiving,

• working in coalitions,

• voting rights, and

• election work to make sure our united voice is heard.

In addition, we will be electing new officers, holding a luncheon PAC fundraiser, voting on the proposed by-laws change, and hosting a cocktail reception in the early evening. Breakfast and the reception are included in the Convention Registration Fee.

Featured Speakers

There will be two featured speakers at the convention and luncheon.

PA PAC Fundraiser

The featured speaker at the PAC luncheon will be Siobhan “Sam” Bennett, President and CEO, Women’s Campaign Forum (WCF). The WCF, founded in 1974, is the only national, non-partisan political organization supporting women at all levels of office, during the earliest stages of their public life, when that support is needed most. The luncheon will also present current and past NOW PAC-endorsed candidates to the attendees.

Siobhan “Sam” Bennett has served as the President and CEO of the Women’s Campaign Fund (WCF), The She Should Run Foundation, and WCF PAC since March 2009. Under Sam’s leadership, WCF's and She Should Run's combined budget has more than doubled and the organization’s programmatic reach has expanded to every state in the country and been featured in national syndications, including USA Today and over 200 AP newspapers. Sam has lent her unique perspective as a candidate at the local and federal levels to broaden WCF’s impact on women leaders at all levels of government who support reproductive choices and options, and women who may run for office in the future.

This fundraiser will help get out our Voters’ Guide and to also support our endorsed candidates. Cost is a minimum $50.00/person. Deadline for registering for the PAC luncheon is Tuesday, September 27 at noon.

Convention Keynote

The featured speaker during our afternoon session is Terry O'Neill, National President of the National Organization for Women. Terry is a feminist attorney, former professor and activist for social justice; she was elected president of NOW in June 2009. She is also president of the NOW Foundation and chair of the NOW Political Action Committees, and serves as the principal spokesperson for all three entities. O'Neill oversees NOW's multi-issue agenda, which includes: advancing reproductive freedom, promoting diversity and ending racism, stopping violence against women, winning lesbian rights, ensuring economic justice, ending sex discrimination and achieving constitutional equality for women.

Philadelphia NOW News 8-1

HHS GUIDELINES A VICTORY FOR WOMEN'S HEALTH

Great news!! HHS issued guidelines today to require new health insurance plans to cover women's preventive health services without co-pays or deductibles including: well-woman visits, breastfeeding support, contraception and family planning counseling, screenings for sexually transmitted diseases, and domestic violence screening and counseling. Find out more at the Raising Women's Voices website.

TELL YOUR LEGISLATOR "WE'VE HAD ENOUGH"! RALLY 9-27

Despite today's good news, women in Pennsylvania should expect more attacks on women's health and particularly safe abortion access when Harrisburg re-convenes in September. Tell your legislator you've had enough!! Join Pennsylvania women in Harrisburg, Tues, 9-27, in the Capitol Rotunda, 11AM to 1PM. PA lawmakers have spent about a third of their days at the Capitol this year in relentless attack on women's rights, following the lead of rabidly anti-abortion Kansas. Expect these attacks to continue when the House takes up a bill aimed at closing down health centers. Learn more and take action to fight anti-choice legislation NOW!

TOMORROW- SAY NO TO VOUCHERS 8-2

Please attend the School Voucher Roundtable TOMORROW, Tues, 8-2, 10AM - noon, at Philadelphia Community College, NE Regional Center, in the Community Room, 12901 Townsend Rd, 19154 for a public discussion of vouchers. Key legislators will be there to listen to presenters opposed to and in favor of school vouchers. It's important that our legislators see that there is significant opposition in Philadelphia to SB1, so try to attend. Learn more about vouchers at the Education Voters PA site.

SUPPORT BREASTFEEDING FRIENDLY PHILADELPHIA WEDNESDAY 8-3

Maternity Care Coalition provides lactation support programs for working mothers and encourages hospitals to promote breastfeeding after delivery. This Wednesday, 8-3, a film crew will be here in Philadelphia documenting the Latch On America cross-country tour which promotes breastfeeding. The film covers how cities are responding to the Surgeon General's call to support breastfeeding. Please attend this event at Houston Hall at UPenn from 2-5PM. More info at Milk for Thought site.

REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE NOW on PHILLYCAM

Reproductive Justice NOW, sponsored by Philadelphia NOW, examines sex education, contraception, maternity care and abortion as a continuum of related healthcare needs for women. Episode 1 is an interview with historian Heather Munro Prescott about the "morning after" pill, and how anti-abortion restrictions erode women's legal right to contraception. You can watch it "on demand" at PhillyCAM here, just click the "NOW" channel.