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Thanks to your advocacy, the Blunt Amendment, which would have allowed any insurer or employer to refuse to cover birth control and any other health care service he or she deemed objectionable, was defeated by a close 51 to 48 vote!
"Had it passed, it would have meant that women and families could no longer count on a basic standard of health coverage, and could be denied access to a range of services, including maternity care, HIV/AIDS treatment, STD screenings, mammograms, or cancer screenings depending on where they or their spouses worked," commented NCJW CEO Nancy K. Kaufman.
Read the full statement about this extremist proposal.
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NCJW has a proud history of defending women’s civil rights and their health care. Today, the latest anti-choice attacks in Congress go after both priorities with a renewed vigor. Earlier this month, a House committee approved a bill they called the “Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act.” Anti-choice authors of this legislation used language from the civil rights movement to try to sell this bill, but it’s time to tell them we’re not buying it.
This legislation is not about civil rights. In fact, it would discriminate against minority women by restricting their access to abortion.
Take action today to urge your representative to reject this despicable proposal.
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"Could women actually make a difference and change the equation when it comes to peacemaking in the broadest sense? They could if permitted to represent the interests of communities and families on the ground ... When women's interests are not represented at the negotiation tables, in the post-resolution restructuring process, or in the governance bodies that are established, the interests of children and families are almost always omitted from discussions."
Read more from CEO Nancy K. Kaufman in this latest post to her blog on The Huffington Post.
In many states across the US, qualified lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals and couples are prohibited from becoming foster or adopitve parents by discriminatory laws.
More than 100,000 children are currently in foster care awaiting adoption, and approximately 27,000 of those kids will turn 18 without ever finding a permanent home.
For the sake of those children — and as a testament to our nation’s commitment to equal rights — it is time to make a change. Speak out today!
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Hear first-hand from director of the Israel office, Shari Eshet, about issues affecting women's rights in Israel, updates about NCJW's Israeli women's empowerment initiatives, how Israel Granting Program grantees are improving the lives of women, children, and families in Israel, and much more!
Featured in this edition: Ways to take action for International Agunot Day on March 7, exciting news about the Israel Granting Program, and an update from the Women and Gender Studies program started by NCJW at Tel Aviv University.
