On Tuesday afternoon, after giving the public less than ten minutes notice the Arizona Senate passed HB 2564, a far reaching broad bill that will undermine the ability of women to access abortion care. The Senators suspended their own rules so their vote could fly under the radar to further restrict a woman’s access to reproductive care, thus showing a reckless disregard for the health of women in our state. You can access the Planned Parenthood Fact Sheet on this bill here.

This is our last chance to stop this draconian piece of legislation. We urge you to call and email Governor Brewer today to let her know that she must VETO HB 2564 to protect the health of women in Arizona. Call her office at 1-800-253-0883 or email her at azgov@az.gov.

Please take action TODAY. Our voices cannot be silenced on this issue!

Below is suggested text for your message to Governor Jan Brewer.

Dear Governor Brewer,

As your constituent and an Arizona voter, I am writing to you today to urge you to VETO HB 2564, the bill that seeks to deny women access to abortion care.

This bill will do absolutely nothing other than increase costs, prevent access and erect barriers to health care. If we really want to make a difference in the number of unplanned pregnancies in Arizona, we must provide people with the vital information necessary to prevent unintended pregnancies from occurring in the first place.

HB 2564 is a broad, far-reaching bill designed to restrict women’s access to reproductive health care and birth control. It contains a number of draconian components that do nothing but interfere with a woman’s right to obtain abortion care.

Everything from mandated, biased counseling and a government imposed waiting period, to allowing medical providers and hospitals to deny critical health care services and information is included in this bill. Medical professionals are even allowed to refuse information about and access to emergency contraception.

This bill creates undue burdens in accessing care that do not apply to any other medical procedures.

We all want to reduce the need for abortion, but we must address this problem at its root, by addressing the epidemic that is unplanned pregnancy.

Please VETO HB2564.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Your name

Address

Rep. Pat Fleming (D-Sierra Vista), a member of the House Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee, had a letter to the editor in the Sierra Vista Herald discussing Senate Bill 1176 and asking for active support of its passage.

My fellow lawmakers and I came together last week to call attention to an important piece of legislation that supports our troops and their families.

Senate Bill 1176 addresses the red tape around Arizona’s Military Family Relief Fund that prevents troops and their families from receiving much deserved benefits.

The Arizona Military Family Relief Fund is administered by the Department of Veterans Services and was established in 2007 for the purpose of helping military families who suffer from the hardships presented when a loved one is injured or killed while serving our country.

Many generous individuals and businesses have donated to the fund over the past two years (you can still contribute at www.azmfrf.gov). Nearly $1.1 million is available to support Arizona’s military families who have sacrificed for us, but sadly, to date, only $20,000 has been distributed. Eligibility rules for the fund remain too stringent.

For example, some Arizona families have been ruled ineligible because the rules require that a service member be deployed from an Arizona military base. While the intention was to help Arizonans who were serving, it has unfortunately excluded residents who were deployed from non-Arizona bases.

Senate Bill 1176 will remedy this problem, but no action has been taken on the bill. It is difficult to understand why this simple fix has not been passed. Despite our current budget crisis, helping these service members and their families will cost the state nothing.  A similar effort for reform failed last year. This week I was joined by veterans and my colleagues who stood together and said, “the time for waiting has ended.”

We are calling on the governor and the Legislature to deliver reform for the Military Family Relief Fund before the end of the legislative session.

Our men and women are still fighting two wars overseas, and when they return to Arizona, I would like to see our service members in need given the assistance they deserve.

Please call your legislator (find them at www.azleg.gov) and tell them to support passage of Senate Bill 1176. Our troops do not deserve to wait until next year.

Rep. Pat Fleming, D-Sierra Vista

In the middle of these serious times with a budget showdown looming and choice under attack in our state legislature, Arizona List has some good news to report for our members.

Congratulations to our Most Recent Endorsements!

Dana Kennedy is running for the Phoenix City Council in District 6. Dana founded Emerge Arizona which trains women to run for elected office. She plans on knocking on as many doors as possible because she believes that grassroots participation is the way to change the direction of the Phoenix City Council. We believe Dana can defeat the appointed incumbent because of her political savvy, hard work and fund raising skills. Arizona List has made a PAC contribution to Dana’s campaign. Dana is walking her Phoenix district every weekend and has asked for help from our Arizona List members. You can check her walk schedule or make a donation at http://www.kennedyforphoenix.com/.

Sharon Wolcott, a former Minnesota State Legislator, is running for Surprise City Council in District 1. Her expertise in transportation issues will be an asset for the city of Surprise as it continues its rapid growth. Sharon is asking for Arizona List members to host house parties to help her meet people throughout Maricopa County. Please let us know if you are able to help with an event for Sharon. Find out more about Sharon at http://sharonwolcott.com/.

For those of you in Tucson don’t forget our endorsed candidates in the city council races there: Karin Uhlich at http://www.karin2009.com/ and Nina Trasoff at http://trasofffortucson.com/.

Attack on Women’s Health Care

Anti-choice legislators are aggressively pushing Senate Bills (SB) 1206 and 1138, companion bills to two pieces of legislation already approved by the House of Representatives. If adopted, these bills will be sent to Governor Brewer and surely become law. We are asking our members to take action by contacting your own Senator and asking them to vote NO on SB 1206 and SB 1138 today. Follow this link for sample language to send a letter to your Senator.

Arizona List Board of Directors Expands

Arizona List has formed its first statewide board. The fourteen community leaders will be working to bring the Arizona List message to all communities around the state.

Pam Grissom, Tucson will serve as Chairperson of the Board of Arizona List. Ms. Grissom is a native Tucsonan and long-time political activist. “We believe we need more progressive women as leaders in our communities. We know that when women make policy, the needs of women and families are front and center,” said Ms. Grissom.

Silvia Urrutia, Phoenix will serve as Vice Chair. Ms. Urrutia currently serves as Loan Officer at the Raza Development Fund (RDF), the largest Latino community Development Financial Institution in the nation.

Jessica Brandt, a Tucson native and a graduate of the University of Arizona with a Master’s in Social Work Administration from Arizona State University will continue to serve at Treasurer. Deya Nevarez, Tucson was elected as Secretary. Ms. Nevarez works for Congressman Raul Grijava in his Tucson district office specializing in women’s advocacy, children’s issues, health care and education.

Additional Board Members include Patricia Atlee, Rhonda Barnes, Beth Lipham, Beth Orrick, and Sharon Wilkinson in Phoenix; Betsy Buford  in Flagstaff; Deborah Dale, Megan Davis, and Catherene Morton in Tucson; and Theresa Ulmer in Yuma.

Our Incumbents in Action

Rep. Pat Fleming LD 25 is working on Senate Bill 1176. This bill addresses the red tape around Arizona’s Military Family Relief Fund that prevents troops and their families from receiving much deserved benefits. Pat has written a letter that calls on us to take action by contacting our legislators. You can read her letter by clicking here.

Upcoming Events

Tucson:

6-23-09: Join us for Mojitos, Margaritas, Music and Fun!

Stay cool while the political season heats up! Don’t forget out last big fling in Tucson before everyone takes off for summer vacation. Check out details here. There is still time to RSVP. It would be a great time to introduce a new friend to Arizona List.

Phoenix:

7-8-09: Arizona List Book Signing and Cocktail Party with Rep. Kyrsten Sinema!

Join us for a lively political discussion and book signing to toast the talents of enthusiastic, intelligent and engaging Rep. Kyrsten Sinema – a true voice for pro-choice women Democrats in Arizona politics! Watch for more details coming soon.

Share the Message

Did you know that you can forward the Arizona List newsletter to five friends by clicking on the link below? Let your friends and co-workers know how important it is to continue the work of Arizona List even through the long hot Arizona summer.

Today, I sent letters to the editors of newspapers around the state. Anti-choice legislators are aggressively pushing Senate Bills (SB) 1206 and 1138, companion bills to two pieces of legislation already approved by the House of Representatives. If adopted, these bills will be sent to Governor Brewer and surely become law.

For many years the Arizona state legislature has passed legislation that has been trying to undermine the rights of women. In the past we were lucky to be under the umbrella of Janet Napolitano’s vetoes, killing bills that would hurt the health of women.

In the next few days the Arizona Senate will consider House Bill 2564 /Senate Bill 1206. These legislators are very concerned about the government becoming involved in health care plans. There are certainly no such concerns about the government involving itself in the doctor/patient relationship when it comes to a woman’s decision about her health care.

Any state mandated “counseling” laws single out abortion from all other medical procedures. Implicit in the requirement of a mandated lecture is the assumption that women do not adequately think through their abortion decision and that the state must do their thinking for them. This assumption reflects a lack of respect for women’s decision-making ability.

Arizona List believes that women and doctors are intelligent enough to make competent medical decisions without the interference of the government and are insulted that the state legislature does not recognize this. Rep. Frank Antenori said there is “a duty to protect either our wives or our daughter from making decisions that may come back to haunt them further down the road in their lives.”

The legislature says the bill is helping women, but it is actually posing health risks. Advanced practice clinicians, certified nurse midwives, and physician’s assistants have been providing surgical abortions with impressive safety records for aver three decades. This legislation would overturn the will of the Arizona Board of Nursing and undermine its role in determining the scope of practice for Arizona nurses.

Either bill creates an unconstitutional undue burden and reduces access to care in rural and needy communities. According to Planned Parenthood abortion care will remain in only three Arizona communities. The mandated 24-hour waiting period will increase the costs these women will face in lost wages, child care and travel accommodations. If a woman is seeking an abortion because of a serious health situation, she would have already consulted with her doctor. The 24-hour waiting period could unnecessarily jeopardize her health.
The bill allows a pharmacist to override the directives of a doctor in filling a prescription and also allows a medical provider to refuse to proved services or information about services.

In January of 1999, Hillary Clinton said “we need to keep abortion safe, legal, and rare.” At the same time theses legislators are inserting themselves into a woman’s health care decisions they are unwilling to give a hearing to legislation which would actually reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies in Arizona. House Bill 2544 requires our schools to provide comprehensive, abstinence-based sex education. It is unlikely that this bill will even get a hearing.
The women of Arizona would be better served by legislators who focused on real solutions to our economic crisis rather than on reducing the health care services available to them.

Pam Grissom
Arizona List
P.O. Box 42294
Tucson AZ 85733
520-327-0520

We are asking our members to take action by contacting your own Senator and asking them to vote NO on SB 1206 and SB 1138 today.

Please click here to view the contact information of your district representatives and to view a sample letter to send them!

These bills must be stopped in the Senate to keep them from reaching Governor Brewer’s desk. Please ask your Arizona Senator to VOTE NO on SB 1206 and SB 1138 today!

With acknowledgement to Planned Parenthood the letter below contains sample language you can use to draft you letter.

Dear Senator______________

As your constituent, I am writing to you today to urge you to vote no on SB 1206, the bill that seeks to deny women access to abortion care and SB 1138, the abortion ban bill.

These bills will do absolutely nothing other than increase costs, prevent access and erect barriers to health care. If we really want to make a difference in the number of unplanned pregnancies in Arizona, we must provide people with the vital information necessary to prevent unintended pregnancies from occurring in the first place.

SB 1206 is a broad, far-reaching bill designed to restrict women’s access to reproductive health care and birth control. It contains a number of draconian components that do nothing but interfere with a woman’s right to obtain abortion care.

Everything from mandated, biased counseling and a government imposed waiting period, to allowing medical providers and hospitals to deny critical health care services and information is included in this bill. Medical professionals are even allowed to refuse information about and access to emergency contraception.

This bill creates undue burdens in accessing care that do not apply to any other medical procedures.

We all want to reduce the need for abortion, but we must address this problem at its root, by addressing the epidemic that is unplanned pregnancy.

Instead, I encourage you to pass HB 2544, a bill that will require Arizona schools to provide complete and responsible sex education to our youth.

We should all be a part of the solution and SB 1206 and SB 1138 are not a solution to any problem.

Please VOTE NO on SB 1206 and SB 1138.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Below is a list of Senators. If you are not certain of your legislative district you can look it up at this link.