Orlando NOW Announces New Leadership

Jenna Cawley has officially stepped down as Orlando NOW’s President. She’s not going far, though! She’s our new VP.

Cicely Scheiner, Orlando NOW’s former VP is now our new President! Also, Vanessa Bernstein has joined us to manage membership and treasury. Vanessa will work as an officer with our chapter, and will also remain the President of the NOW UCF Campus Action Network. Cicely and Vanessa can be seen fighting the good fight (as always) in the picture below. Cicely is on the left, (fighting the radical right) and Vanessa on the right (saving roe!).

Conference was a hit!

Orlando NOW unveiled the winning design of the license plate contest at the 2007 state conference the first weekend of January. Thom Cicchelli submitted the winning design! We have received a lot of press on this project and now we are collecting signatures and money to make it a reality.

Please visit www.licensetochoose.org to sign the petition!

Thank you to everyone who came out and made our first conference so amazing. Special thanks to Bill Baird for being a terrific keynote speaker!

License Plate Design Contest OVER!!!! thanks for playing.

Thank you so much for all the entries. The deadline for submissions has now been met, and the top three entries will be announced soon. We got some awesome submissions and quite a bit of money raised, but of course we still need a lot more. So if you still have not donated don’t worry, the link to donate is still on the website, you can go there now and check.

Orlando NOW at the National NOW Conference in Albany

Jenna, Kim Gandy and Cicely

The Equal Marriage Rally

We also went out and had a good time…

Things got a little blurry.

Florida Senator Bill Nelson votes to put the lives of young women at stake - WITHOUT EVEN UNDERSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF THE LAW

Click Here to Write to Senator Nelson.

Today, Orlando NOW activists arrived at a rally for Senator Bill Nelson to demand an answer as to why he voted for the harmful, “Child Custody Protection Act.” This act is more appropriately labeled the “Teen Endangerment Act” or the “Grandmother Incarceration Act,” since the bill will lead to more unsafe and now illegal abortions for minors who are most at risk and seeks to incarcerate caring relatives, clergy and other adults who are reaching out to help young minors escape unjust laws on their bodies.

The law states that a relative or clergy member may not transport a minor out of state to obtain an abortion unless they have met the parental involvement requirement of their state. As many of you know, Florida has a harmful parental notification for abortion law in place (which Bill Nelson supported). However, many states now have parental consent laws, meaning that a minor may not obtain an abortion unless her parents say she may. In that case, a minor may be forced to carry her pregnancy to term and may now not seek to escape refuge from this unjust law by going to another state with a trusted relative or clergy member. The law is punishable by up to 1 year in prison and $10,000.

When asked why he supported this so-called “Child Custody Protection Act,” Florida Senator told elected NOW Orlando President, Jenna Cawley that he supports parental notification but opposes parental consent. Ms. Cawley repeatedly asked why he supported a bill which does not allow minors to escape consent requirements if he believes they are unjust and he stated to Ms. Cawley that the CCPA enforces notification laws only and not consent laws and that Ms. Cawley should “go back and read the act again.” Senator Nelson further condescended Ms. Cawley by asking “how old are you?” and then stating that he has been in politics for 34 years and has always supported women’s rights, since “before you were born.”

We would like Senator Nelson to know that we have read the CCPA and we understand what it says. It says that if a young girl cannot get her parent’s permission to have an abortion, that she is held captive in her state and cannot get help from a relative to obtain an abortion. It says that parents can force their children to carry pregnancies they do not want. This law enforces consent requirements, and from our conversation with Bill Nelson, it became abundantly clear that he had not even read this law nor understood its provisions.

Because Senator Nelson implied by repeating “I support parental notification but oppose consent” and because he further stated that his understanding of the CCPA was that it only enforces notification requirements, Orlando NOW is requesting that Florida Senator, Bill Nelson, publicly apologize for his misguided support of the CCPA and further that he vow to uphold a woman’s right to choose when given another chance. It is clear that Senator Nelson did not understand this act when he voted for it, and we should hold our elected officials to a higher standard than mistakenly voting for laws which put young women’s lives at risk.

Please call or write to Senator Nelson to express your disappointment at him for putting women’s lives at risk.

Phone: 202-224-5274
Email: senator@billnelson.senate.gov

Orlando NOW Takes a Stand Against Oppression in Local Parks

Yesterday, July 24th, was the second reading of the ordinance to ban feeding the homeless in Lake Eola Park. In protest of this ordinance and to speak out against oppression, many of us attended the City Council meeting to speak with the Commission.

I spoke and, if I do say so myself, really let ‘em have it!

You can see it
Here!

Click on the link to the July 24th at 2:00 pm meeting. You’ll need Real Player.

My segment is from 4:47:20 to 4:50:45

Of course, the ordinance passed. Apparently 12 wealthy property owners are more influential than the other 45 people who spoke against the ordinance, including the powerful testimonies from the (mostly african-american) homeless residents begging that the commission not make their friends who feed them into criminals.

But, not to worry! The feedings will continue on Wednesdays at 5:00 pm at Lake Eola. In protest of the ordinance, FNB will continue their compassionate humanitarianism and in an act of civil disobedience, will be arrested for their right to share food with the needy in a public place. And the ACLU will be there to represent them in court.

We are proud to be a part of the S.T.O.P. Coalition (Stop The Ordinance Partnership) with religious humanitiarian groups, the American Civil Liberties Union and Students for a Democratic Society. As feminist activists, we in Orlando NOW are working to end all oppression.

For more information, click here.

Jenna Cawley
President, Orlando NOW

Thank Representative Carolyn Maloney!

NY Representative Carolyn Maloney is pushing legislation which will make it illegal for “crisis pregnancy centers” to trick women into entering their clinics by posing as Planned Parenthoods or using signs that say “abortion.” Please take a minute to email Rep. Maloney to say “thank you!!” for standing up for women. The following is a story about CPC’s:

By Marlee Ginter (Indiana Reporter)

It’s a difficult decision for many women having an abortion. But now, across the country, some are pointing at what they call a new tactic being used by anti-abortion groups.

You’ve seen Planned Parenthood facilities, and you may have noticed Crisis Pregnancy Centers near them or even right next door. But is the clinic there to inform young girls of their choices, or to compete with Planned Parenthood and talk women out of an abortion?

A local 17-year-old girl had an abortion eight months ago. What made the decision even more difficult was that she thought she was going to this Planned Parenthood facility, which is now closed. She accidentally ended up at a Crisis Pregnancy Center.

“I could die, I was going to ruin my life, ” the 17-year-old said the center told her after she had already made the decision to get an abortion.

At one location, you have to go through a parking lot to get to Planned Parenthood. But first you see a sign that says “Considering Abortion?” The Planned Parenthood facility is actually in the next building over.

“I think it’s very confusing and I think they should be banned. I think there should be at least a mile distance between them,” the girl’s mother said.

24-Hour News 8 spoke with Dan Steiner, the Central Indiana Crisis Pregnancy Center president over the phone. We asked if he thought the organization was misleading people. He said no. We then asked if they were trying to come across as a Planned Parenthood facility. He said they were not.

Planned Parenthood officials disagree.

“No matter what side of abortion you sit on to put someone through that again and again and make it that much harder that’s just not fair on a personal level,” Amie Allen-Smith with Planned Parenthood said.

We asked Steiner if the goal of the agency was to try to keep girls from getting an abortion.

“The goal of our agency is to speak the truth to girls so they can make an informed decision about their pregnancy. We do believe abortion hurts women,” Steiner said.

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney out of New York is pushing legislation prohibiting clinics from leading women to believe they provide abortion services or referrals. The bill targets any centers believed to be using false advertising to lure young girls to their clinics.

Women’s Rights Leader Punished for Vocal Opposition to South Dakota Abortion Ban

Tribe President Suspended for Supporting Women

By Jessica Hopper, Communications Intern

June 15, 2006

Cecelia Fire Thunder, president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, was suspended by the tribal council after its members voted to ban abortion on the tribe’s Pine Ridge Reservation.

Fire Thunder has been a long-time advocate of women’s rights through her counseling of rape victims and her work in domestic violence education and prevention. Not surprisingly, she responded to South Dakota’s anti-abortion law by vowing to defend women’s reproductive rights.

“To me, it is now a question of sovereignty,” she announced to the press on March 20. “I will personally establish a Planned Parenthood clinic on my own land which is within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Reservation where the state of South Dakota has absolutely no jurisdiction.” NOW President Kim Gandy defended Fire Thunder, an upcoming speaker for NOW’s national conference in July. “Cecelia Fire Thunder’s actions demonstrate great courage in support of women’s lives. Her actions should be heralded, not attacked,” Gandy said.

Unfortunately, tribal elders who had been critical of Fire Thunder’s election seized this opportunity to seek her ouster. On May 30, the tribal council voted to suspend Fire Thunder for 20 days pending an impeachment hearing. The council claims that Fire Thunder solicited funds for the proposed clinic without the council’s permission, and that in supporting abortion rights Fire Thunder misrepresented the tribe.

Fire Thunder told Aberdeen American News on June 1, “The whole thing was an ambush.” She notes that those opposing her are the same people who have opposed her since she became the first female president of the tribe in 2004.

Her current suspension, which my violate the tribe’s constitution, has left her without pay and banned from telling her side of the story to the media.
In an interview with Rapid City Journal, Fire Thunder disobeyed the gag order by saying, “That’s a violation of my constitutional rights.”

“Just like Cecelia Fire Thunder, we must never allow ourselves to be silenced,” Gandy said. I hope NOW members will come to the conference in large numbers next month, to hear Fire Thunder and let her know that we support her courage in protecting and defending women.” Get more
information on the conference

Take Action Against the Federal Marriage Amendment NOW!

Call Florida Senator Bill Nelson TODAY!

Senator Bill Nelson has expressed that he will not vote for the Federal Marriage Amendment, and will not allow George W. Bush to write discrimination into our Constitution. We need to let him know that we appreciate his opposition to this measure! Please call him today!

(202)224-5274

Office of United States Senator Bill Nelson

(please call between 9am & 5pm)

Talking Points:

1) I am calling to thank Senator Nelson for his continued opposition to the discriminatory Federal Marriage Amendment. Millions of Floridians like myself will be standing with him next week when he votes “NO” on the amendment.

2) I also wanted to thank the Senator for his opposition to the proposed Florida constitutional amendment and his unwavering support of equality and fairness for ALL Florida Families.

Orlando NOW President’s Response to UCF Future Editor

Dear Ms. Howell,

I am stunned that you allowed the article, “Emergency contraceptive available at UCF for $24: Decision to Sell Pill Prompts Students to Consider its Morality,” to run in this week’s UCF Future. This article contained information, presented as fact, which was not only misleading and inaccurate, but dangerous to the women of UCF.

Emergency Contraception is a form of hormonal birth control. It is a higher dose of normal contraceptive pills, and its use is opposed by Right to Life groups who oppose not only abortion, but also birth control. Had your journalist actually had the intention of exploring its morality and safety, she may have stumbled upon student groups such as the National Organization for Women (NOW) and Voices for Gen-X (VOX), who not only recognize EC as a backup form of birth control, but who advocate for its sales over-the-counter.

Emergency Contraception is safer than aspirin. It is so safe, that the American Pediatric Association has approved of its use for children of reproductive age with no restrictions. Emergency Contraception is sold over-the-counter in over thirty-eight countries.

This article pitted the interests of one religious student group against the UCF staff who care enough about the student population to offer Emergency Contraception to female students at a reduced price (Pharmacies sell the drug for close to $50). Emergency Contraception is safe, smart and effective. The young women who choose to use Emergency Contraception as an alternative to an unwanted pregnancy should be praised, not forced to carry a pregnancy to term for some type of moral punishment as alluded to by one student quoted in this article.

I encourage you to print a retraction to this article clarifying that the Right to Life group President who alleged that Emergency Contraception was an abortion had her facts wrong. You should consider quoting a doctor, or a more authoritative voice on reproductive health such as the President of Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando. I would also encourage you to print several of the more accurate and thoughtful letters that you received from concerned students in the Letters to the Editor section in order to more accurately represent the thoughts of your student population, and to show the student population who has their facts straight.

Thank you for your time. We anxiously anticipate your response to this matter.

Sincerely,

Jenna Cawley
President, Orlando NOW
UCF Political Science Graduate Student