email from VA Planned Parenthood on VA bills (BARF ALERT)

[Gopher Broke]

Dear xxxxx xxxxxx,

We've been working hard in Richmond for two weeks now and a lot has happened! We've included some highlights here, but the full bill chart and fact sheets are always available on our website at http://www.ppav.org/keyissues/2008billchart.html.

Also, we are only one week away from Pro-Choice Lobby Day on Thursday, January 31st. Earlier this week, your legislators were visited by the Virginia Family Foundation and lobbied on bills to close Planned Parenthood's clinics and restore funding for abstinence-only programs. Make sure your voice is heard too! Sign up now at http://www.ppaction.org/ppav/events/2008prochoicelobbyday/details.tcl.

Legislative Update

HB 894 Hospital Licensing Requirements, a bill that would close nearly all of our clinics if passed, was approved by the House of Delegates this week (60-Y,37-N). Before the vote was taken, Del. David Englin (D-45, Alexandria) stood up for women's health and challenged the false claims being made by the bill's patron, Del. Matt Lohr (R-26, Harrisonburg). He listed the numerous ways in which our health centers comply with safety regulations and licensing requirements in order to provide quality health care. You can watch his floor speech at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP9yqYOQLdY. We put up a good fight in the House and gained two more "no" votes this year, but now it's time to start lobbying to kill this bill in the Senate.

TAKE ACTION: Tell your Senator to oppose HB 894 >> http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/hb894senate/x7enn82qmnm7i7?

HB 1071 Birth Control Protection Act was referred to the Courts of Justice Criminal subcommittee in the House. We are working hard to make sure BCPA doesn't meet the same fate as last year when it was killed in an unrecorded party-line vote (4-3). We've already got 27 co-sponsors* and we are still working to get more.

TAKE ACTION: Ask your legislator to sign on as a co-sponsor of HB 1071 >> http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/bcpacosponsor2008/x7enn82qmnm7i7?

*Please note, if your legislator has already signed on, you will not be able to participate in this campaign and you will be directed to a "campaign unavailable" page.

HB 89 HPV Vaccination Repeal and HB 188 HPV Vaccination Delay were sent to the House Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee for consideration. Last year, Virginia became the first state to add this groundbreaking vaccine to a list of required immunizations, and extra care was taken to provide an additional opt-out provision. Keeping this vaccine on the list is critical to ensuring access for all families through government funded vaccination programs. HB 89 to repeal the law was defeated and HB 188 was amended to decrease the delay from 2011 to 2010 and passed by the House of Delegates (57-Y, 39-N).

HB 422 and HB 1315 Mandating Medically Uneccessary Procedures will be considered in the House this week. Both of these bills seek to interfere with the doctor-patient relatioship and mandate ultrasound procedures when they are not medically necessary, leading to increased costs and delays for women seeking to terminate a pregnancy. HB 422 would actually require a woman to visit two physicians before receiving abortion care.

TAKE ACTION: Tell your Delegate to oppose HB 422 and HB 1315 >> http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/USmandate_house/x7enn82qmnm7i7?

Stay tuned for more updates! The session is already 1/4 of the way over. Bills will continue to move quickly and we appreciate your attention and response to these important messages. Also, don't forget to let friends and family know what is going on in Richmond using Tell-A-Friend.

[Edgerunner]

The Pro-Death lobby...

[weegee]

[weegee]

So does Planned Parenthood actively push for new fertility treatments too?

Or do they only plan to END families and not extend them?

[vpintheak]

The pictures of the insane. Sick.