2011 was the year of the War on Women.
Anti-choice politicians ignored the American people's call to focus on jobs and the economy, and instead made attacking a woman's right to make personal, private medical decisions one of their "highest legislative priorities."
The U.S. House of Representatives held more choice-related votes in 2011 than in any year since 2000, and states enacted 69 anti-choice measures -- one shy of the record number set in 1999.
In the more than 30 years I've spent defending a woman's right to choose, I can't recall a time when politicians have been more out of touch with our nation's values and priorities.
And we're not out of the woods yet. The very same politicians behind the War on Women are ready to resume the legislative attacks in 2012 here in Washington, D.C. and in state legislatures throughout the country.
America's pro-choice majority will have to prepare itself for yet another year of attacks on everything from women's insurance coverage of abortion to public funding for birth control and cancer screenings.
But here's the good news: this November, many of the politicians behind the War on Women will face the voters. And from the looks of it, they're going to have a pretty hard time explaining why they spent the better part of two years attacking women's freedom and privacy.
Already, NARAL Pro-Choice America and our network of state affiliates are hard at work making sure these extreme anti-choice politicians don't come back to office after the 2012 elections.
To paraphrase anti-choice former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.), we like being able to fire politicians who put attacking choice ahead of creating jobs and growing our economy.
And make no mistake about it, choice is a key issue in the 2012 elections. You don't have to take my word for it: a recent poll conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research on our behalf shows that President Obama's pro-choice position is shaping up to be a key asset for him.
The poll revealed a key bloc of women voters who supported the president in 2008 but are currently unsure about supporting his reelection. Choice provides an opening for President Obama and other Democrats to win back these critical women voters, and thus create a sharp contrast with anti-choice Republicans.
So, we have quite the contrast to make, as all the Republican presidential candidates oppose a woman's right to choose.
That includes Gov. Romney, the current frontrunner.
Romney wants to see Roe v. Wade overturned, and threatens to "eliminate Title X family-planning programs," which include federal funding for birth control and cancer screenings. As Massachusetts governor, he even vetoed a bill giving rape survivors information about and timely access to emergency contraception.
The difference between Gov. Romney's record on contraception and President Obama's couldn't be starker.
Furthermore, the Obama administration resisted pressure from anti-contraception groups to allow many employers, including universities and hospitals, to refuse to cover birth control. As a result, millions of Americans will get access to contraception -- and they will not have to ask their bosses for permission.
We'll work day-in and day-out to make sure these key women voters -- and all voters -- know that Gov. Romney is far outside the American mainstream when it comes to choice.
We'll also work to keep the U.S. Senate under pro-choice leadership and send more pro-choice representatives to the House.
In the coming weeks and months, NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC will endorse pro-choice candidates for the House and Senate. These include incumbents who have stood up against the War on Women time and again, as well as pro-choice challengers who are taking on anti-choice incumbents.
We're making sure that voters know where their candidates stand on choice. Those politicians who voted for the War on Women can run, but they can't hide from their bad records.
Next month, we'll unveil our 2012 Voter Guide, so that you can learn more about which candidates are heroes and which ones are zeroes.
I'll be traveling throughout the country this year, rallying pro-choice voters to turn out for a tidal wave at the polls in November. Make no mistake -- America is a majority pro-choice country, but we need the energy and the turnout to ensure that our elected officials reflect our nation's core values.
This fall, I'll be helping pro-choice Americans register to vote and helping them vote early. And the staff here at NARAL Pro-Choice America, our state affiliates, and our one-million member activists are focused like a laser on ensuring pro-choice victories at the polls.
This year, let's elect more people who share our values -- and, together, we'll end the War on Women.
Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, wrote this Blog for Choice Day 2012 post in response to the question: "What will you do to help elect pro-choice candidates in 2012?"
Paid for by NARAL Pro-Choice America, www.ProChoiceAmerica.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
Follow Nancy Keenan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/NARAL
Carolyn Miller: Championing Women's Right to Choose
Marianne Mollmann: The Problematic Framing of Abortion as an Issue of Privacy
"And after this manner pray to your Earthly Mother: Our Mother which art upon earth, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, and thy will be done in us, as it is in thee. As thou sendest every day thy angels, send them to us also. Forgive us our sins, as we atone all our sins against thee. And lead us not into sickness, but deliver us from all evil, for thine is the earth, the body, and the health. Amen.
And they all prayed together with Jesus to the Heavenly Father and to the Earthly Mother.
http://reluctant-messenger.com/essene/gospel_of_peace.htm
What would you do?
And Democrats need a BIG VICTORY in order to preserve their Senate majority and perhaps even achieve a majority that is filibuster proof as well as a BIG VICTORY to take back the House.
Fortunately for Democrats, the Party has the two biggest vote getters in the nation. By putting them at the top of the ticket, Democrats can be assured of the BIG VICTORY that they need and that is required if the nation is to continue its progress towards prosperity for all.
My choices for top of the ticket:
Barack Obama for President.
Hillary Clinton for Vice President.
The Democrat's one-two punch.
And I have no doubt that Mrs. Clinton will heed the call when it comes.
Men and women of both political parties as well as independents like Mrs. Clinton a lot, especially women voters who can be counted on to flock to the polls in record numbers to lend her and what they stand for the strong measure of support it deserves.
President Obama has a sterling record of support on women’s issues and combined with the support Mrs. Clinton enjoys, indeed it is the Democrat’s one-two punch and the GOP’s worst nightmare.
With an Obama-Clinton ticket, we won't be talking squeaker, we'll be talking landslide.
Count on it.
www.bls.gov The Bureau of Labor Statistics, ''Womens Earnings In 2009''
The Democrats still run virtually everything....
Even if Romney becomes POTUS, he will be working on fixing obama's broken economy. NARAL people have nothing to be worried about.
LOL
This is 2012, where majority are pro-life.
The next right step in the fight to preserve the sanctity of life is to see Roe v. Wade overturned.
The current bill orders religious based employers to include the pill and other birth control in their employee contracts even if their church objects on moral grounds w/o redress. The dilemna offered is this: violate your morals or go broke. This crosses the line from simple reproductive rights in the rights of a Conscientious Objector.
Supporters of this clause should do well to remember that the political spectrum swings both ways. If we protect the rights of people to say no now, we protect the rights of people to say yes later.
THAT'S how you say no. Not by taking women's tax dollars and objecting to the way their bodies work.
Your argument suffers from the opposite perspective: If one wants her employer to pay for the Pill, she should look for an employer who is okay with that.
Seems anti choice to me.
You have lost track of the definitions of words. Like "mandate."
And discrimination has been against the law for awhile now, sport. Keep up. Because HELLO! You are advocating for gender discrimination. Has that not dawned on you yet?
It never does, for so many.
I'd stop yawning if I were you.
A little self-centered, aren't you?! Sorry if the country does not revolve around your..."entertainment needs." I will be sure to notify the downtrodden.
Kansas has Personhood bill waiting in the wings that's said to be worse than the Mississippi bill, and I don't think for a minute they'll be foolish enough to submit it to a vote of the people. The bill is said to ban and criminalize abortion and to ban most forms of birth control. There's no doubt it will pass the nearly 80% Republican state legislature and will be signed by the anti-choice, anti-birth control governor.
Sponsors hope the bill will wend its way through the courts until it reaches the SCOTUS, where they believe they have a strong chance it will be upheld and then serve as a model and precedent for all the other states that want to follow suit.
The only "good" news is these same legislators are so busy trying to defund safety net programs that would help women and children that they're not spending 100% of their time on this bill. (snark)