Katherine Ragsdale

Some Context for the Tempest

2009-04-03T17:18:00.002-04:00

So, let’s talk about context. I delivered the speech that’s getting so much attention, “Our Work is Not Done”, for a rally in support of clinic defenders in Birmingham, AL. Protesters had staged a week-long siege of a clinic – a clinic that had, not so very long before, been shot up. The owner still had the bullet-ridden door. Protestors had, once again, surrounded the clinic, screaming, threatening, and otherwise harassing and terrorizing the staff and patients. Defenders had stood in the hot sun, providing a buffer and absorbing the vitriol spewed at them. At the end of the week we rallied for speeches, encouragement, and celebration of our success at keeping the clinic open, safe, and available to the women using it – for all sorts of family planning services. The speech worked well for that audience and that occasion. It spoke to those who had put their comfort and safety on the line to care for others.

It works less well as a sermon. Actually, it doesn’t work at all as a sermon and I wouldn’t preach it as one. It works less well as a blog read by people who may still be struggling with the aftermath of difficult decisions and thinking they were going to find a sermon. I apologize for the mischaracterization. It was entered on my sermon blog site because that’s the holding spot I have for things I’ve written. If I were more technologically sophisticated I might have avoided the problem with a more clear division of genres. And I do apologize to anyone who was hurt when looking for a pastoral word and encountering a political one, instead.

So, there’s my format disclaimer and apology. Now let’s talk about substance.

I would certainly never suggest (and I didn’t, actually – read it) that decisions about abortion are never morally complex and difficult. They often are. But that’s part of being made in the image of God, created to be God’s stewards on earth. We are called to be moral decision-makers – and moral decision-making rarely involves choosing between unmitigated good and unmitigated bad. Rather, it means weighing competing goods, needs, and costs and making the best decisions we can – confident not that we will always be right but that God will always be with us. To be created in the image of God, entrusted with such responsibility, is often difficult, sometimes painful, but always a blessing.

The power to conceive, nurture, and sustain new life is an awesome one. It is a profound blessing – even though a daunting responsibility (whether we ever exercise that power or not). When a woman’s exercise of that power is constrained – by violence, deprivation, lack of information…; when she is unable to choose to bear children because she lacks health care, child care, a living wage, or a supportive community – that is a tragedy. When she is unable to prevent an unwanted or unsupportable pregnancy because of violence, inadequate sex education, lack or access to contraception (or its failure – or to an abortion, when she determines that she needs one) … that is a tragedy. When modern science and moral theology and social supports allow her to embrace her sexuality and manage her generative power and responsibility -- that is a blessing.

I think we venture into faithlessness and ungratefulness when we decline to name something a blessing just because it is painful or difficult for us. Someone I love recently had heart surgery. I wish he hadn’t had to. The arterial blockage I could happily have done without. Given that he had a blockage though, the heart surgery was, indeed, a blessing. A messy, uncomfortable, scary … blessing.

I realize that this becomes more complex if you believe that a fertilized egg is a full human being (a fairly new idea in history but one that some people do hold and to which they are entitled). To have to weigh the needs and the rights of such a full “person” against those of another person – one on whose sacrifices (sacrifices sometimes embraced with delight and other times deemed untenable) the first is utterly dependent for at least 9 months – to have to weigh such competing needs is hugely complex.

If, on the other hand, one views a fertilized egg, a blastocyst, an embryo, or even a fetus as not yet an ensouled, full person but rather as potential, – on its way to personhood if the person in whose body it resides is willing and able to embrace and nurture it (proleptic personhood) – then the decision becomes less, or differently, complex although it may, or may not, become less difficult or painful.

The responsibility to wrestle with these decisions, regardless of their level of complexity or pain, goes hand in hand with being one of God’s people. The ability to act on our decisions, to fulfill our responsibilities, is a blessing.

We get to choose the lens through which we view the trials we encounter. We get to choose how we tell (and understand) the stories of our lives. Right now, I’m going through the pain of leaving a congregation I have served for 14 years. My mind races and my heart rejoices as I contemplate the new challenges and opportunities, the new responsibilities, before me. Even so, every time I pull into the parking lot of the church my heart sinks to the pit of my stomach. As each person comes through the door, meets my eyes, and starts to cry – again – my heart breaks. And yet, my breaking heart, too, is a blessing. As my companion continues to remind me, “it’s all about love; you have to allow yourself to feel it.” It has been a blessing to serve these people for 14 years. It is a blessing to love, and be loved by, them. It is a blessing that my heart is breaking, for it is love that breaks it.

We get to choose the lens, the story we tell. We can tell the story of our pain and the ways we’ve been broken. Or we can tell the story of God’s blessings and redemption seen in our lives. Both are present – real and true; but which is the focus – the point?

We can focus on our sorrows or on our joy – on crucifixions or on resurrection power. I believe God invites us to be whole, to live in joy. In every season, through every trial, we are blessed, called to joy, and called to name all our lives as grace.

About Time

2009-04-03T07:13:00.000-04:00

The Democrats have removed "safe, legal, and rare" language about abortion from the platform. About time! I was reminded of a speech from last year that never made it onto this site.

Better late than never, perhaps ...

Our Work is Not Done
Rev. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale
Birmingham, AL
July 21, 2007

Well Operation Save America came, they saw, they harassed, and they annoyed; but they did not close the clinic. The clinic stayed open, no patients were turned away, and the doors never closed. We remain victorious. And that victory is a good thing – but, make no mistake, even though OSA has gone home; our work is not done.

If we were to leave this park and discover that clinic violence had become a thing of the past, never to plague us again, that would be a very good thing, indeed; but, still, our work would not be done.

If we were to find that, while we were here, Congress had acted to insure that abortion would always be legal, that would be a very good thing; but our work would not be done.

If we were suddenly to find a host of trained providers, insuring access in every city, town, village, and military base throughout the world, that would be a very good thing; but our work would not be done.

When every woman has everything she needs to make an informed, thoughtful choice, and to act upon it, we will be very close; but, still, our work will not be done.

As long as women, acting as responsible moral agents, taking responsibility for their own lives and for those who depend on them, have to contend with guilt and shame, have judgment and contempt heaped upon them, rather than the support and respect they deserve, our work is not done.

How will we know when our work is done? I suspect we’ll know it when we see it. But let me give you some sure indicators that it isn’t done yet:

- When doctors and pharmacists try to opt out of providing medical care, claiming it’s an act of conscience, our work is not done.

Let me say a bit more about that, because the religious community has long been an advocate of taking principled stands of conscience – even when such stands require civil disobedience. We’ve supported conscientious objectors, the Underground Railroad, freedom riders, sanctuary seekers, and anti-apartheid protestors. We support people who put their freedom and safety at risk for principles they believe in.

But let’s be clear, there’s a world of difference between those who engage in such civil disobedience, and pay the price, and doctors and pharmacists who insist that the rest of the world reorder itself to protect their consciences – that others pay the price for their principles.

This isn’t particularly complicated. If your conscience forbids you to carry arms, don’t join the military or become a police officer. If you have qualms about animal experimentation, think hard before choosing to go into medical research. And, if you’re not prepared to provide the full range of reproductive health care (or prescriptions) to any woman who needs it then don’t go into obstetrics and gynecology, or internal or emergency medicine, or pharmacology. Choose another field! We’ll respect your consciences when you begin to take responsibility for them.

- Here’s another sign. Did you notice the arguments that were being shouted at us in front of the clinic? They’ve been trying for years, and seem to be pushing especially hard now, to position themselves as feminists – supporters of women. You heard them – yelling that they understand that it’s all men’s fault. That men must do better at supporting women and children so that women, presumably, won’t feel the need to abort. They yelled that they understood that the women going into the clinic had been hurt by men and were reacting to that pain and betrayal. They pledged to help men be more responsible so that women wouldn’t want abortions.

Let me tell you something. Any argument that puts men alone at the center – for good or for bad -- any discussion of women’s reproductive health that ends up being all about men, is not feminism. Nor, for that matter, is it Christian, or reflective of any God I recognize. And as long as anyone can even imagine such an argument, our work is not done.

- And while we’re at it, as long as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States can argue, as Justice Kennedy recently did, that women are not capable of making our own informed moral decisions, that we need men to help us so that we won’t make mistakes that we later regret; as long as a Supreme Court Justice can deny the moral agency of women simply because we are women – and can do it without being laughed off the public stage forever – our work is not done. What has happened to us that he could even think he could get away with publishing such an opinion? Our work most certainly is not done.

- Finally, the last sign I want to identify relates to my fellow clergy. Too often even those who support us can be heard talking about abortion as a tragedy. Let’s be very clear about this:

When a woman finds herself pregnant due to violence and chooses an abortion, it is the violence that is the tragedy; the abortion is a blessing.

When a woman finds that the fetus she is carrying has anomalies incompatible with life, that it will not live and that she requires an abortion – often a late-term abortion – to protect her life, her health, or her fertility, it is the shattering of her hopes and dreams for that pregnancy that is the tragedy; the abortion is a blessing.

When a woman wants a child but can’t afford one because she hasn’t the education necessary for a sustainable job, or access to health care, or day care, or adequate food, it is the abysmal priorities of our nation, the lack of social supports, the absence of justice that are the tragedies; the abortion is a blessing.

And when a woman becomes pregnant within a loving, supportive, respectful relationship; has every option open to her; decides she does not wish to bear a child; and has access to a safe, affordable abortion – there is not a tragedy in sight -- only blessing. The ability to enjoy God’s good gift of sexuality without compromising one’s education, life’s work, or ability to put to use God’s gifts and call is simply blessing.

These are the two things I want you, please, to remember – abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Let me hear you say it: abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done.

I want to thank all of you who protect this blessing – who do this work every day: the health care providers, doctors, nurses, technicians, receptionists, who put your lives on the line to care for others (you are heroes -- in my eyes, you are saints); the escorts and the activists; the lobbyists and the clinic defenders; all of you. You’re engaged in holy work.

Thank you for allowing me to join you in that work for a few days here in Alabama. God bless you all.

2009-03-29T22:21:00.001-04:00

SATURDAY, AUGUST 02, 2008
Lambeth Snooze

Here in the no-news zone (all of Lambeth) faux news (in the generic, not the FOX network, sense) has come to fill the vacuum. On Wednesday, NY Suffragan Bishop, Cathy Roskam was tagged to present at the TEC bishops' post Indaba group press briefing. The theme of the day had been Abuse of Power and, consequently, violence against women. Roskam noted the prevalence of violence throughout the world and the statistical likelihood that, in a gathering of over a thousand bishops and spouses, some present are victims and perpetrators of violence. The headlines the next morning screamed: "US female bishop Catherine Roskam: male prelates 'beat up wives'

Not what she said, of course, and she is (justifiably) angry about the misrepresentation. But it did the trick. Attention was diverted from the real issue of violence (on which, one hopes, the whole Communion could agree). Yet again the Communion's problem was framed as: the US is awful, women are awful, liberals disdain everyone else. And, instead of dealing with real issues, conservative bishops, and their wives, could spend the day telling the press that there's no wife-beating in their homes. I actually heard a reporter ask the wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury, "does your husband beat you"?

And yesterday, at the regular faux press conference that +Keith Ackerman and puppeteers schedule and locate to conflict with the offiicial TEC briefing, Bishop Mouneer Anis of Egypt complained that everywhere the bishops go they are forced to encounter gays and lesbians. Of course, all non-bishops are locked out of the plenary meetings, bible-studies, and Indaba groups, and various other bishops-only events. There's even a fence around the area where the bishops meet and security guards to keep the rest of us out. But, nonetheless, there we are -- in restaurants, on the pavements, breathing the air. A huge imposition for us to exist in his presence. But, to be fair, apparently we are doing more than just existing. He also reports that he and other bishops are being "chased" everywhere they go by "hundreds of gay and lesbian activists .... too many to count." For the record, we can count only about 25 -- and that's stretching it -- and none of us have the energy (or the desire) to chase Anis or his friends.

So -- time will tell what non-news springs forth today. Actually, no-news is what we're all hoping for. The several of us who have been doing this kind of work with/in the Church for decades have learned from long, sad experience to be extra wary at the end. Early assurances and the lack of any notable activity can lull us into complacency. Then, when we've stopped looking, packed up and gone home, they spring the Church's latest version of a Saturday night Massacre. We're keeping our fingers crossed that Lambeth stays true to the ABC's promises that this event is about conversation, not legislation. But we still worry about a last minute attempt to create a loyalty oath that requires throwing the lives, ministries, and persons of the gay and lesbian faithful under the bus.
posted by KHR+ | 6:38 AM | 0 comments

THURSDAY, JULY 31, 2008

More Lambeth

Sitting in a press briefing where we're being told that the laity's voices. Lesbian and Gay voices, are included in the bishops' conversations because they "represent all the people." I'm guessing the gays and lesbians whose bishops have said they don't exist aren't feeling very "represented." Neither, for that matter, am I. Any more than I suspect a person of color would feel "represented" if an all white (or passing) group gathered to make decisions about their lives -- decisions whose impact, by the way, doesn't reach to the people making it but only to the people, very different from themselves, whom they claim to "represent."

Sheesh!!

posted by KHR+ | 9:08 AM | 0 comments
Lambeth -- Part IV
No chance to log on yesterday. A colleague got word that her mother had jut died so I spent the day and evening sitting with her. Awful as the circumstances were, it did provide an excuse to leave Canterbury and drive to Whitstable to put our feet in the water and try some of the oysters for which they are famous.

In the meantime, the wonderful folks who are working the conference for the progressives put out a great edition of The Lambeth Witness that dealt with preparation for today's planned focus on sexuality as well as with the reports of 100+ bishops who had walked out of the domestic violence study on Tuesday. Read more here:

http://www.integrityusa.org/lambeth2008/newsletter/LW%20issue%209%20FINAL.pdf

So far nothing much has actually happened here -- which is, in fact, as it should be. Stay tuned.

http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/

posted by KHR+ | 7:25 AM | 0 comments

TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2008

Lambeth -- Part III

July 29, The Feast of Mary and Martha, and the anniversary of the ordinations of the Philadelphia Eleven. Thanks be to God for those women ad the three daring bishops who ordained them, forcing the hand of the Episcopal Church, USA and changing the Church, all over the world, forever.

Here, the brouhahas of the day are:
* For the full Conference -- a proposal from the Windsor Continuation Group (which includes no representatives who approve of LGBT rights) that all Churches in the Communion (read -- the U.S. and Canada) put a moratorium on blessing gay marriages and electing gay bishops. In return, foreign bishops will no longer assist seceding parishes and dioceses and invade (their word) the dioceses of American bishops. There would, under these recommendations, be provisions made so that parishes and dioceses which have already disaffiliated from the Episcopal Church will be cared for by third parties rather than forced to work things out within their own jurisdictions. This is described as creating a "safe space" for them. No similar provisions for safety have been envisioned for cast out gays and lesbians and the parishes and dioceses that support us.

* In the Communication Centre of the inclusive church movements the discord of the day has to do with whether our friends should have been called, publicly, on the "Inclusive Service" they designed and hosted which offered not a minute of respite from exclusive language. The manifestation of male privilege and entitlement even in this crowd has been hard for the women to take. I was designated to write the article critiquing the service and the on-going pattern -- and thus have been the focus of much of the anger that attends questioned and wounded privilege. Such fun -- ugh.

More on all of this in the daily paper published by the inclusive coalition and found here:

http://www.integrityusa.org/lambeth2008/newsletter/LW%20issue%207%20FINAL.pdf

and here:

http://www.integrityusa.org/lambeth2008/newsletter/LW%20issue%207%20Supplement%20FINAL.pdf

Have fun

posted by KHR+ | 4:40 AM | 0 comments

MONDAY, JULY 28, 2008

Lambeth -- Part II

Jim Naughton notes, on www.Episcopal Cafe.com :

"(At this point it may be worth pointing out that the bishops do not have the authority to speak for the Church on this issue of gay ordination. That power belongs to our General Convention. However, because a majority of diocesan bishops must assent to the election of any bishop, the bishops can effectively bar gay candidates from the episcopacy.)"

He's absolutely right, of course. But let's also note that diocesan Standing Committees, a majority of which also must assent to the election of any bishop, can also effectively bar candidates from the episcopacy. I hereby propose -- should the bishops decide to refuse to consent to any elections of gay bishops the rest of the church should refuse to consent to the election of any male bishops.

Eradicating sexism in the House of Bishops (which a change in the gender balance should help accomplish) will go a long way to eradicating heterosexism, as well.

posted by KHR+ | 10:00 AM | 0 comments

Lambeth

Let's take a break from the posting of sermons (not that I've done that lately) to provide reflections and updates on the doings at the Anglican Church's Lambeth Conference.

We've been here, in what one veteran church journalist refers to as "a no-news zone" (said about the press briefing room!) for a week now. Actually, others have been here longer than that as bishops arrived for local visits and for a bishops' retreat earlier on and activists and journalists came early to observe and prepare. In that time little has happened. More about the few almost newsworthy things that have occurred later. For now -- links to various progressive or liberal sources of information and reflection:

http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/
http://www.integrityusa.org/lambeth2008/index.html
http://lambethgenepool.blogspot.com/

More later

KHR

posted by KHR+ | 8:00 AM | 0 comments

Quote of the day

2008-11-08T09:16:00.002-05:00

Just now --

"Well, the question of homosexuality is not really an issue in my country, as we are struggling with other things."
The Rt. Rev. Suheil Dawani, Diocese of Jerusalem

Let's hear a big AMEN.

Canadian Bishops Act (so to speak)

2008-10-31T13:49:00.001-04:00

Anyone else tired of waiting? Show of hands -- how many can put our lives on hold until 2010 (at least). I'm too old.

===================================
a c c w e b n e w s
The Anglican Church of Canada
http://www.anglican.ca/
===================================

A Statement from the House of Bishops

October 31, 2008 -- The following statement was released by the House
of Bishops at the conclusion of its meeting in Niagara Falls, Ont.

A Statement from the House of Bishops
We being many are one body for we all share in one bread. (1 Cor 10:17)

The meeting of the Canadian House of Bishops which concluded today was
our first time together since we were in England at the Lambeth
Conference last summer. We spent considerable time -- more than two
days -- sharing impressions of the conference, discussing events in
the Canadian Church since Lambeth, and seeking agreement among
ourselves on a way forward for our Church and its dioceses in the
context of the proceedings at Lambeth.
During this extended discussion, the Conference of Bishops of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, our partner in Full Communion,
accompanied us in conversation, bible study, prayer and mutual
support. We are grateful for their presence and contributions.

We acknowledged with gratitude the key role played by the Archbishop
of Canterbury in leading us at Lambeth. In particular we noted with
thanksgiving the retreat addresses and the three presidential
addresses. We share with him the understanding that the Anglican
Communion is a gift from God and commit ourselves to working together.
We also rejoiced in the clear sense from the bishops gathered at
Lambeth that we wished to continue to walk together while addressing
the theological issues arising from discussions about same-sex unions.

One of our main topics of conversation was the agreement by many
bishops at Lambeth on three moratoria: on the blessing of same-sex
unions, on the ordination to the episcopate of people in same-sex
relationships and on cross-border interventions. This discussion was
in the context of decisions made recently by several diocesan synods
in the Canadian Church that asked their bishop to prepare and
authorize rites for the blessing of same-sex couples.

Our discussion initially comprised two parts. The first consisted of
reports to the House from several bishops of whom such requests have
been made -- Ottawa, Montreal, Niagara, Huron, and the Anglican
Parishes of the Central Interior -- as well as bishops from other
dioceses who anticipate such requests in the not-too-distant future
and bishops whose dioceses have received unnecessary and unwelcomed
"cross-border interventions."

For the second part, we formed an indaba group to reflect on what we
had heard in the previous session. (Indaba -- a model for discussion
used at Lambeth -- is an African word meaning "a gathering for
purposeful conversation among equals.") Several themes emerged in this
discussion.

* Some dioceses have not yet engaged in the listening and
discernment process and some are just beginning;
* Some have been listening and discerning for many years and have
reached differing conclusions;
* Even in the face of difference, there was a desire expressed to
"stay at the family table."
It became clear during this process that many individual bishops
wanted something from the House as a whole "to take home" with them to
share with members of the church.

In response to that request, we added to our agenda a third session on
this vitally important topic. In April, 2005 at its meeting in Windsor
Ontario, this House responded to a number of requests made in the
Windsor Report including a commitment to the moratoria proposed in
that document until General Synod makes a decision.

In this third session, the House heard from the Primate who set out
for us his understanding of what was being requested of us by Lambeth
and the Archbishop of Canterbury. He noted the Pastoral letter from
the House of Bishops to General Synod in 2007 which asked for the
greatest pastoral generosity possible to gays and lesbians, consistent
with the current teaching of the church. He also reminded us of our
agreement in 2004 for a process of Shared Episcopal Ministry (SEM) and
indicated to us his desire for "gracious restraint," to use the
language of the Archbishop of Canterbury, on the matter of same-sex
blessings.

The Primate said to us:

"I come to this meeting of the House of Bishops mindful of our
Canadian context and the call for authorization of public rites for
the blessings of same sex-unions in a number of our dioceses. I am
also mindful of the place of the Anglican Church of Canada in our
worldwide Communion.

"I trust the House of Bishops will support my call for respect for due
process through the General Synod in this matter. In 2007, General
Synod concurred with the opinion of the St. Michael Report (produced
by the Primate's Theological Commission) that the blessing of same-sex
unions is a matter of doctrine. It is not creedal in nature but
nonetheless it is doctrine. The same General Synod called for further
work by the Primate's Theological Commission in assisting the Church
to determine if this matter of blessings is a Spirit-led development
of doctrine. I believe that these deliberations across the church will
have a significant impact on discussion at General Synod in 2010 and
on the subsequent authority of dioceses through due synodical process
to proceed with blessings.

"Please know that I am mindful of the continuing havoc created in
several of our dioceses through cross-border interventions on the part
of Primates and bishops from other jurisdictions. I believe we must
call them to account. They too must honour the Lambeth call for
'gracious restraint.' I remain committed to addressing this issue
within the Communion. "

We spent several hours in conversation on the implications of the
appeal from the Primate.

As a result of these conversations a large majority of the House can
affirm the following:

A continued commitment to the greatest extent possible to the three
moratoria -- on the blessing of same-sex unions, on the ordination to
the episcopate of people in same-sex relationships and on cross-border
interventions -- until General Synod 2010. Members of this House,
while recognizing the difficulty that this commitment represents for
dioceses that in conscience have made decisions on these matters,
commit themselves to continue walking together and to hold each other
in prayer.

The House also affirms:

A commitment to establishing diocesan commissions to discuss the
matter of same-sex blessings in preparation for conversations at
General Synod 2010.

Continued commitment to exercise the greatest level of pastoral
generosity in keeping with provisions approved by this House in
Spring, 2007 and continued commitment to the Shared Episcopal Ministry
document approved in Fall, 2004.

We ask for your continuing prayers as we steadfastly seek to discern
the mind and heart of Christ for the wholesome care of all members of
his Body, the Church. We share a deep hope that though we may never
come to consensus over this matter of the blessing of same-sex unions,
we will live with differences in a manner that is marked by grace and
generosity of spirit, one toward another.

October 31, 2008

Links:

* This document in PDF format
http://www2.anglican.ca/pdf/HofB-Statement-08-10-31.pdf
* Shared Episcopal Ministry
http://www2.anglican.ca/primate/tpo/sem-intro.html
---

THe Pledge Drive

2008-10-31T11:30:00.002-04:00

It's that time of year again.

Here's the Vicar's contribution to the Nov. newsletter:

FROM THE VICAR

The leaves are turning, Advent appraoches, another year draws to an end as we prepare to welcome the next. Always, we are drawn into the future even as we are called to live fully in the moment. The delicate, joyful (one hopes) balancing act/dance of the people of the God who is always calling.

I invite you, as the days grown short and the nights lengthen to carve out some time for yourselves to think about who you are and who you want to be, to live in the moment and face into the future.

And, as we always do at this time of the year, I ask you also to consider your stewardship for the coming year. I ask you to do this not primarily for the sake of your contribution to the life of Sain David's, although that, too, is important to us. But I ask you to consider it primarily as a part of your thinking about who you want to be -- who God is calling you to be. If you want to be a generous person, the only way to get there is to practice generosity. As for whether you want to be a generous person -- let me remind you, generous people live with a sense of abundance. They always seem to feel as if they have enough and then some. Ungenerous people, on the other hand, never have enough -- no matter how much they have. Not only does God call us to generosity, but our own happiness, peace of mind, and joy depend on our answering that call.

I ask you, as your pastor, to consider how much of yourself you need to give away in order to be and become a generous person, living with a sense of abundance. As the Vicar of Saint David's I ask you to consider, as a next step, how much of what you need to give away you want to designate to the life and work of this community. You know that we are facing a struggle to gte our feet back under us. You know that prices continue to rise. Keeping this community alive and available for you, for one another, and for the broader community is expensive. I ask you to consider what this community means to you -- now and for your future. What does it mean to you to have this community available to you every week (every day, if you ask)? What does it mean to you to know that we're here to celebrate and mourn with you -- to support you through the passages of your and your families' lives? What would it be like not to know that you could call on a community that knows and loves you when tragedy strikes, when life becomes too stressful, or when you want to celebrate new jobs, births, or the myriad joys that life brings? What are you willing and able to contribute to keep this community alive and available?

The diocese has taken a strong interest in St. David's. They often comment on the remarkable spirit of this place. (Truly, you are remarkable. The love, humor, tenderness, and strength of this community are not found just everywhere). And they have put their money where their mouths are. +Bud, on behalf of the diocese, has made a $5,000 challenge pledge. The diocese will match (up to 5K) each new dollar St.David's brings in during our pledge drive this year. That means every new pledge will be matched, dollar for dollar, by the diocese. Those of you who have been supporting this community with your pledges and are able to increase your giving next year will have that increase matched. So, $500 in new or increased pledge, will bring St. David's $1000. $50 gets us $100.

And for the kids -- 25 cents a week, which would be $13/yr, becomes $26. In fact, because I think teaching our children to be good stewards, generous people, excited about giving, is so important, I'll also issue a challenge to our kids (under 16). I'll add a match of my own to their pledges. So, 25 cents a week would, with both the diocese's and my match, mean $39 to St. David's. $1/wk would mean $52/yr from the kid, $52 from the diocese, and $52 from me for $156 to St. David's.

Please think first about how much you need to give away for your own soul's health.Then, please, think about how much of that total you'd like to pledge to St. DAvid's. Six members of our financial viability committee have agreed to go out, in pairs, to meet with member of the congregation to talk with you about the life of St. David's. What do you value here? What do you wish we would/could do? How would you like to support this work? Where can you volunteer? How can we help you help? And, of course, what do you think you'll be able to give next year? May we have your pledge?

As always, please feel free to give me a call, drop me an email, make an appointment, or grab me after a service if you'd like to talk more about this, or anything. And, again as always, thank you for all you do to make St. David's the extraordinary place it is. Your time, your financial support, and, most important of all, the spirit you bring through the door with you make all the difference. I can't thank you enough.

God bless you,

KHR+

(of course our struggling little church is happy to accept donations from friends from afar, as well. Feel free to send a check to St. David's Church, PO BOx 192, Pepperell, MA 01463!)

Vacation

2008-10-20T16:36:00.002-04:00

Doesn't matter how long they are, they're always too short.

This one was 16 days -- well sort of. I did lose an entire day driving to Norfolk to catch a plane to MD to give a speech at a hospital merger/acquisition rally and then back. Took 20 hours. Gotta watch those hospital mergers and acquisitions. Too often it means a local community system gets bought by an RC system and all of a sudden the RC rules apply -- no abortion, no birth control, no emergency contraception, no family planning, no sterilization, no HIV counseling and prevention... It matters enough to be worth the trip. And why not? The extra day wouldn't have made a difference anyway. It would still feel too soon to leave now.

Earlier this year, as I contemplated the approach of 50, I began to think about what I wanted my life to be like. I decided I needed to spend more time at the water, in general, and at my house on the ocean on the Outer Banks of NC, in particular. So, I spent just under 2 weeks here right after Easter, the usual family vacation for a week in June, and 16 days (including travel) now. It's not enough! It's more vacation than I've taken at one time in years (ever?). But not enough. Is it ever enough?

Just as I finally begin to settle into a routine -- convince myself that NOW I could finally start to write, eat right ... -- it's time to return to the chaos. Not that the chaos ever completely left. There were calls and emails from the offices all along but at least there was some down time for sleeping, reading, running on the beach, swimming in the surf, and gorging on all the Southern foods that I can't find in MA.

Back now, though, to the chaos. Home for an hour on Tuesday (to unpack and repack)-- then away for the night. Back to the PRA office Wednesday morning, rush through catching up, and out the door to Western MA for a 3 day conference. Hit the ground running and don't really see home until Saturday -- when I'll still be running to catch up there and get ready for church on Sunday. (Anybody know an organist/choir director up this way who needs a job?)

And I'm so not ready to go home that I'm doing the narcissistic journalling on line thing. Sheesh!

KHR

Action Alert from the Women's Sports Foundation

2005-04-25T18:39:00.000-04:00

Female Athletes need you to act now!
Just a reminder, in case you haven’t sent an e-mail to your Congressperson yet.
We really need for you to do this! Two years ago, we were able to defeat Department of Education (DOE) efforts to weaken Title IX. Unfortunately, the situation is different this time around. Without public notice or comment, the deed has been done. Because of a March 17 directive from the Department of Education, colleges now have a way to stop adding women's sports teams even though women's participation is significantly lower than men's - just by administering an e-mail survey. Overturning an existing action is much more difficult than stopping one in the first place. Legislation will be required. In order for our legislative initiative to be successful, your Congressperson must hear that his or her constituents are distressed about the current DOE action. Only then will he or she be likely to sign on as a cosponsor of the legislation or vote for it. So, e-mailing, calling or visiting your Congressperson is a critical first step. (Don't use snail mail because it will never get there due to anthrax screening procedures!)So, we need you to help in two ways: (1) Please send your e-mail now. The link below will take you to an automated site...plug in your zip code/identity as a constituent, personalize if you want and it's done. (2) Pass this e-mail on to every friend you have who cares about investing in the health and future success of girls through sports. Ask your friends to help. Donna A. Lopiano, Ph.D.Chief Executive OfficerWomen's Sports Foundation
Write to your Senator
Help us get 1 million girls physically active by joining our GoGirlGo! Campaign! Visit http://www.gogirlgo.com/ to find out how you can help and why it's critical that we get girls moving! Founded in 1974 by Billie Jean King, the Women's Sports Foundation is a national charitable educational organization seeking to advance the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity. The Foundation's Participation, Education, Advocacy, Research and Leadership programs are made possible by gifts from individuals, foundations and corporations. Get to know the Women's Sports Foundation!

Where's the Justice in "Justice Sunday"? (From NARAL Pro-Choice America)

2005-04-23T10:52:00.000-04:00

The Reverend Katherine Ragsdale on Frist's shameful ploy to use religion to pack the courts

This Sunday at 7:00 pm EDT, Senator Bill Frist is partnering with radical conservatives like James Dobson and Tony Perkins to launch "Justice Sunday" - a national telecast to churches across the country which claims that opposing the far-right's "nuclear option" is tantamount to discrimination against "people of faith."

NARAL Pro-Choice America asked me - a lifelong Christian and Episcopal priest - what I thought about "Justice Sunday." Frankly, I don't recognize the God Senator Frist and company speak of.

The God I know does not ask the government to impose one person or group's moral beliefs on all others. The God I know would not have us pit believers against one another in the service of a purely political agenda.

The God I know is less concerned with our bedrooms than with seeing our faithfulness and love reflected in our budget, our foreign policy, our social and economic policies.

Sen. Frist and others certainly have the right, even the responsibility, to let their judgment about who and what they support be informed by their own values and faith commitments. You and I may wish that those values more closely mirrored what we understand to be spiritual and democratic principles. Nonetheless, as irrational and unfaithful as some of their positions may appear to others of us, they have the right to them. What they do not have the right to do is to impose them on us all - and most certainly not to destroy our democratic system in order to do it.

Frist and Dobson's "Christian" objection is not to the filibuster, but to its outcome in this case - the refusal to confirm some judges. They argue that these judges are Christians, and are being opposed because of their faith. I'd argue that we're opposing these judges because of their policies and history, and many of us oppose those policies and that history precisely because we are faithful, spiritual people of many religions.

These judges have histories of rulings that dilute the rights and protections afforded to various categories of disadvantaged people (elderly, poor, people of color, disabled, immigrants, women, gay and lesbian). People within many religious traditions are charged to care especially for just such people.

Are you a person of faith?
Tell Senator Frist that you have religious values AND you support a moderate, independent judiciary that respects the religious freedom upon which this country was built and will continue to oppose any attempt to impose one group's beliefs on others. Send the message to Senator Frist, and we'll send a copy to your senators, too:

A message to Senator Frist from pro-choice people of faith...I am a person of faith, and I oppose the nuclear option. I am outraged that you would manipulate the Christian faith to alter 200-year-old Senate rules with the goal of rubber-stamping all of President Bush's judicial nominees - many of whose records indicate they would use the bench to force their religious views on others. I urge you to unequivocally oppose the use of the "nuclear option."
Send it here!

Although our opponents like Sen. Frist may continue to use religion to divide our country, you and I can show America that it's okay to speak out against the injustice being spread by the Bush Administration.

~ The Reverend Katherine RagsdaleNARAL Pro-Choice America board member

Title IX Victory

2005-04-06T16:27:00.000-04:00

Let's hear it for Walter Dellinger -- who argued this case on behalf of the good guys. There are several awful fights still ahead of us but that's all the more reason to celebrate our victories. Dellinger, a veteran of these fights, did another great job. Read on for the National Women's Law Center's report. Supreme Court Protects All Who Stand Up for Title IX Rights, Including Coaches and Teachers
Even though recent attacks on Title IX are cause for serious concern, last week the National Women’s Law Center fought off one major threat to Title IX by scoring a key victory in the U.S. Supreme Court. In Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education, the Court decided that individuals who protest sex discrimination may sue to challenge retaliation if their schools punish them as a result. This critically important Title IX retaliation case represents a huge win for women and girls and will enhance fundamental protectionsunder numerous civil rights laws.
In this case, Roderick Jackson, a teacher and girls’ basketball coach, was fired from his coaching position for protesting the unequal treatment of his team at Ensley High School in Birmingham, Alabama. The inequities Mr. Jackson and his team faced were dramatic: unlike the boys’ team, for example, the girls’ team had to practice in an old, unheated, non-regulation gym and had no access to funds earned at their games to pay for game officials and equipment.
Instead of fixing the problems, school administrators stripped Mr. Jackson of his coaching duties. When Mr. Jackson sued to challenge his firing, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed his complaint. The Supreme Court has now overturned the Eleventh Circuit’s decision.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Jackson makes clear that civil rights laws by their very nature include a prohibition on retaliation in order to be effective. The decision will affect not only Title IX but also laws that bar discrimination on the bases of race, disability, and age. The case also recognizes that educators are often in the best position to speak out about sex discrimination against students. Congratulations Mr. Jackson!

RED LAKE TEEN: NOT ALONE IN HIS DESPAIR -- From the Public Education Network

2005-04-01T08:45:00.000-05:00

The recent murders at Red Lake Indian Reservation highlight the problems that American Indian teenagers have been quietly suffering in greaternumbers than most adolescents: suicide, violence, depression andpregnancy. By themselves, the numbers for the Red Lake Indian Reservationare staggering. A state survey conducted last year of 56 ninth-gradersshowed that 81 percent of the girls and 43 percent of the boys hadconsidered suicide. Almost half the girls said they'd actually tried tokill themselves, reports Deborah Hastings. Twenty percent of boys said thesame -- numbers about triple the rate statewide. The Minnesota survey ofRed Lake students said they assaulted other classmates and used morealcohol and drugs than other students across the state. Nationwide figuresshow that American Indian teenagers commit suicide at three times thenational rate; are involved in alcohol-related arrests at twice thenational average, and die in alcohol-related incidents at 17 times thenational average. They are third-highest in teen pregnancies, behindHispanics and blacks. ''Only the most gifted students can overcome thisstuff," said Bill Lawrence, publisher of the Native American Press-OjibweNews.http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-shoot27.html

For more news about public education see PEN’s weekly newsblast at http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast-past.asp

African American Women Work More, Earn Less: (From the Institute for Women's Policy Research)

2005-03-30T15:42:00.000-05:00

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, March 29, 2005Despite recent news stories implying the contrary, on most measures of economic status, U.S. Census Bureau data show that African American women are worse off than white women. This holds true when comparing the median earnings of white and African American full-time, full-year workers at every education level, and when comparing poverty rates and unemployment rates for the two groups. Both white and African American women earn less than comparable men.
According to recently released 2004 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, African American women working full-time, full-year earn $26,992 in median annual earnings, compared with $32,036 earned by comparable white women workers.Among those with a bachelor's degree alone, African American women earn $38,160 compared with $40,700 earned by comparable white women. African American women are also less likely than white women to hold bachelor's degrees or higher, with only 16.7% of African American women holding bachelor's degrees in 2004, compared with 24.6% of white women.
When comparing the median earnings of all workers (regardless of work schedule or amount of time worked), college-educated African American women do earn slightly more than white women. This is likely due to the greater work effort shown by African American women who tend to work more than other women with the same educational background. Recent analysis conducted by the Economic Policy Institute shows that college-educated African American women work, on average, 1,923 hours per year, compared to the 1,734 hours per year worked by college-educated white women.
"That disparity adds up to over a month of additional full-time work by African American women. With that level of work effort, it would be a tragedy if African American women weren't earning more," comments Avis Jones-DeWeever, Study Director at the Institute for Women's Policy Research.
But for many, working more is not enough. Census Data from 2003 also show that African American women are far more likely to live in poverty than are white women, with 26.5% of African American women, and 9.1% of white women living in poverty.
African American women have also been much harder hit by unemployment during the recent jobless recovery. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the February 2005 unemployment rate for African American women at 9.2%, was also more than double that experienced by white women at 4.0%.
"Taken together, these data point to the need to strengthen policies designed to improve educational and work opportunities for African American women," said Dr. Jones-DeWeever. "Such policies include protecting and strengthening the enforcement of affirmative action policies, improving access to financial assistance for low-income students, and allowing more education and training to count as work under welfare reform."
Hispanic women fare especially poorly on most economic measures. Their median annual earnings in 2003 were $22,369, and in 2003, 24.4% lived in poverty. Only 10.6% of Hispanic women held bachelor's degrees or higher in 2004.
Asian American women had relatively high median annual earnings for all full-time workers, at $32,774 in 2003. Median annual earnings for full-time, year-round Asian American women workers with a bachelor's degree were even higher at $45,105 in 2003. Asian American women have higher educational levels than other groups, with 42.7% holding bachelor's degree or higher in 2004. However, Asian American women experienced higher rates of poverty compared with white women, with 12.0% of Asian American women living in poverty.
The Institute for Women's Policy Research is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization dedicated to informing and stimulating the debate on public policy issues of critical importance to women and their families. The Institute can be found on the web at www.iwpr.org.
-30-
CONTACT:
Jean Sinzdak
Institute for Women's Policy Research
email: sinzdak@iwpr.org
phone: (202) 785-5100
www.iwpr.org

From the National Women's Law Center

2005-03-23T15:39:00.000-05:00

Senate Medicaid Amendment Narrowly Passes, But Threats to Health Care and Other Services for Low-Income Families Remain – Act Now! Click on the Title link to find out more and to take action.

Halting Homophobia In Sports -- from Women's Sports Weekly

2005-03-23T10:09:00.000-05:00

The sporting arena is often a second home for most athletes. It is a place where teammates and coaches should respect and accept all players, regardless of racial backgrounds or sexual orientation. Unfortunately, creating a fair and equal playing field for all players is easier said than done. Pat Griffin, Ph.D., the new director of our It Takes a Team! Campaign, explains how every coach has a responsibility to address issues of homophobia with their teams.
Get tips on how to stop homophobia on your team (If this link doesn't work try clicking on the title above to link to the full article)

But Do We Believe Him? (News on Emergency Contraception from FMF)

2005-03-19T11:55:00.000-05:00

FDA Acting Commissioner Indicates EC OTC Will Be Approved

The nominee to become the next Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner indicated at a confirmation hearing yesterday that the FDA will approve over-the-counter status for emergency contraception (EC)...
LEARN MORE http://feministcampus.org/act/prescribechoice/index.asp
TAKE ACTION http://capwiz.com/fmf1/issues/alert/?alertid=5773586

Republicans Nix Pregnancy Prevention

2005-03-18T17:11:00.000-05:00

Showing their true colors, a majority of Congress rejected bill to reduce abortions by working to reduce unintended pregnancies. Click on the link above for the Reuters report.

Public Education Network News

2005-03-18T12:54:00.000-05:00

Click on the link for up to date news on the No Child Left Behind Act, religion in the schools, and all the news that is news about the state of public education.

Quit Trashing NOW

2005-03-18T09:55:00.000-05:00

Here's a bit of a conversation from an Anglican listserve. A bit of a rant, I guess. But you shouldn't be trashing NOW!

>Excuse me, Katherine, but I did not call women strident, I called NOW strident. Their rhetoric >leaves no room for the option other than abortion. I never said i am opposed to women's right >to choose, I said the Democratic party needs to be more nuanced in its platform, and Christians >need to articulate the truth that abortion is a tragedy. I was not being dismissive, but trying to >use an example about how the liberal/conservative labels are not very helpful.
>Perhaps you would rather just subscribe to a list of official positions and not think for yourself?
>Getting cranky in Texas,
(Name removed – ‘cause it’s the right thing to do)

Excuse me, N___, but I heard you the first time. You called NOW strident. IOW, you called women who are standing up for themselves, and for all of us, strident. I objected. I still do.

Rather than engage their arguments you dismiss them by calling them "strident" and calling their well thought-out positions "rhetoric." Actually, it seems to me you're the one engaging in inflamatory and shallow rhetoric. You've made them straw "men" and dismissed them without citing a single argument you disagree with.

You say they leave no room for options other than abortion. That's nonsense. They support wage equity and family leave and day care and educational opportunities and contraceptive awareness and availablility -- all the things that make abortion less necessary -- things that enable women not to get pregnant or to raise children if they choose. And they deserve more respect than to be misrepresented and then cavalierly dismissed while being used as a prop to make someone's point.

You're getting cranky? You don't want to get me started on cranky. All this talk about shooting bishops, murders in churches ... yet no acknowledgement of all the murders, bombings, arsons, stalkings ... against women's health care providers. Upset about listing the names of bishops someone wants killed on the web? Me, too. It's awful. But let's show some of the same furor about the old Nuremberg Files site. Loooong lists of people they recommended killing. Names of those who had been killed featured with a black line through them. Names of those who had "only" been injured had a grey line through them. True, they never listed any clergy, but they did have a link to a very good picture of me with my name and state identified. I'm sure they didn't mean anything by it, though. After the Olympic bombing there was a bombing of a women's clinic and a gay bar, right? Wrong. It was a lesbian bar. Think this isn't about women? Think I'm not cranky?

Finally, I've preached at too many doctors' memorial services, sat in the kitchen where Dr. Slepian was shot listening while his widow and children re-lived that night, spent too much time surrounded by body guards and refusing security staff's advice to buy a kevlar vest --- way too much time, to be sanguine about the kind of language that dismisses us (and by us I include NOW). Dismissing is the first step to demonizing and dehumanizing and that's the first step to making us fair game for violence. I know that you weren't going anywhere near that far down the road, N____. I know you'd decry the violence. But I also know that demonizing NOW really is the first step. It may be so far away from the bad consequences that most folks who do it don't recognize it as such a step. But those of us who've been shoved further down that road -- who've had to see and deal with the consequences -- know where it leads. Cranky? Oh, yeah.

And, by the way, those folks you dismiss as being strident, engaging in rhetoric, whom you misrepresent as not allowing for (much less fighting for) other options? Many of them (maybe most of them) share many of the same values you do. For the record -- I first met Kim Gandy (the current pres. of NOW) at a church service, I first met Patricia Ireland (past pres. of NOW) at a religious conference, and the night Dr. Slepian was killed he and his family had just returned from temple.

Those are my friends and colleagues (in some cases people whom I pastor, though not members of my congregation) you're insulting.

I didn't want to get into this. As you may recall, I simply asked in what way NOW was strident (still haven't received an answer except to be told, incorrectly, that the only option they allow is abortion. Nonsense), and thanked others for continuing the conversation so I didn't have to. But if you're going to persist in going after my friends ...

Utterly out of patience in MA

KHR+

The FDA Is Holding Over-the-Counter Sale of Emergency Contraception Hostage

2005-01-25T13:12:00.000-05:00

On Friday, January 21, 2005 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) once again gave in to right-wing pressure in deciding to delay its decision on over-the-counter (OTC) status for the emergency contraceptive, Plan B, for women ages 16 and older. Click on the link above for more information and to take action now.

Help Families Get Tax Credits in 2005 and Get Your Copy of Credit Where Credit Is Due -- from the NWLC

2005-01-24T15:21:00.000-05:00

The National Women's Law Center, working with child care advocates across the country, is launching our 2005 national tax credits outreach campaign this week. The campaign is designed to help child care providers and parents who use child care learn about important tax credits and to help eligible families claim these tax credits. The Center is collaborating with advocacy organizations in eight states on intensive outreach campaigns. In addition, state-specific outreach materials are available for many other states. No matter which state you live in, tax credits outreach can help to inform low- and moderate-income families about valuable federal, and in some cases state, tax credits that can help put thousands of dollars in their pockets! We need your help to make this year’s campaign a success.
Visit our Lower Your Taxes page for tools and materials you can use to help families in your community take advantage of these valuable tax credits, including:
A Toolkit for Child Care Advocates, designed to assist advocates in a conducting a tax credits outreach campaign;
Fliers you can distribute in any state to inform families about the federal credits and how much they could be worth, including contact information for free tax preparation services (in English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and Vietnamese);
Specific state fliers in English and Spanish for our targeted outreach locations: California (also in Mandarin Chinese and Vietnamese), Iowa, Nebraska (also in Vietnamese), New Mexico, New York (also in Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, and Russian), Ohio, and Oregon;
Specific state fliers in English and Spanish for many other states that have state level Child and Dependent Care and/or Earned Income Credits, including Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin;
Federal tax fact sheets providing a brief overview of the federal Dependent Care Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and Child Tax Credit;
Specific state fact sheets providing a brief overview of federal and state credits for the states listed above;
Commonly asked question and answer fact sheets about each of the federal credits – Child and Dependent Care Credit, Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and Dependent Care Assistance Programs;
Our tax guide, Credit Where Credit is Due: Lower Your Taxes or Increase Your Refund to Help Your Family, for advocates and families who want more detailed information (a Spanish translation will be available soon);
A National press release about the campaign kickoff;
Scripts for radio and television public service announcements;
Inserts for payroll envelopes and other mailings, in English and Spanish, for both the federal credits and for California, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Oregon and a number of additional states.
For more information, visit our Lower Your Taxes page, or contact Kimberly Glassman at (202) 588-5180 or kglassman@nwlc.org.
BACKGROUND
During the 2005 tax filing season, eligible families can claim up to $2,100 from the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit, $1,000 per child from the federal Child Tax Credit, and $4,300 from the federal Earned Income Tax Credit.
In addition, 26 states and the District of Columbia have state child and dependent care tax provisions and 17 states and the District of Columbia have state earned income tax credits, which can provide additional help in paying for child care and other necessities. And in some cases, these tax credits can give cash refunds to families whose incomes are too low to owe income taxes.
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
As part of our tax credits outreach campaign, the Center is also releasing our tax guide, Credit Where Credit Is Due: Lower Your Taxes or Increase Your Refund to Help Your Family, updated for the 2005 tax filing season. This guide is designed to inform families about four tax breaks in the federal income tax code: the Dependent Care Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Dependent Care Assistance Program. The information provided in the publication can help families determine their eligibility to receive the credits, provide an idea of the amount of tax assistance families can expect to receive and how to claim it, and answer some other questions about these tax breaks. The guide can also help families decide whether to participate in an employer’s Dependent Care Assistance Program. The booklet is not intended to provide legal assistance but to help individuals understand their eligibility for tax breaks. Click here to view this guide. A Spanish translation will be available soon.

NWLC Home Get the facts. Visit the National Women's Law Center web site to learn more about issues impacting women and their families.
NWLC E-Update and Action Alert Network Join or update your contact info.

Stop Gonzales Confirmation

2005-01-23T18:16:00.000-05:00

Judiciary Comm Halts; NOW Is the Time for Action Objections to a swift decision on Alberto Gonzalez, stemming especially from Sen. Kennedy's concerns about his responses to questions about torture, have delayed the vote on whether to confirm him as Attorney General.This gives us a momentary window in time to slow down or even halt the confirmation, and to make the record of the truth about the Administration's use of torture. SEE BELOW FOR HOW TO USE THIS MOMENT. Gonzalez' responses to Judiciary Committee questions about the actuality of torture were evasive, full of "I don't remember" in regard to a very important and unprecedented memo he gave the President (a surprising thing to forget) and on memos he received about it from lawyers in the Justice Department.And he explicitly repeated the Bush Administration's assertion that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to people the Administration labels "enemy combatants."Even worse, he has not been willing to repudiate the definition of torture that was so extreme that most forms of torture would be permitted. The torture carried by YUS soldiers was not only at Abu Ghraib but also at Guantanamo, in Afghanistan, and in many Iraqi locations -- plus foreign prisons to which the US has "rendered" prisoners for the worst forms of torture. And the methods used were not "only" the humiliations we saw at Abu Ghraib, but beatings to death, near drownings (repeated again and again), inserting burning matches into prisoners' ears, and the use of electric shock, FBI agents who witnessed what was happening at Guantanamo were horrified, and called it illegal. So did the International Red Cross This was not the aberrant action of a few sadistic soldiers. It was policy. For factual backup from governmental documents, see the book review that is the cover story in the NY Times Book Review today, Sunday January 23. Or see the review article at --http://en.groundspring.org/EmailNow/pub.php?module=URLTracker&cmd=track&j=18890115&u=169225 In fact, Geneva provides for a special review of cases when a government claims that people it captured were not governed by the conventions. The Bush Administration, and the person it has named to "uphold" the law, refuse to apply those provisions - even though US domestic law, as well as international law, affirms Geneva. This is a crucial moment. On Monday, I urge you to call one or two Senators about this. - It has more powerful impact than writing, and takes hardly more time. Members of the Judiciary Committee who are somewhat likely to be either crucial or responsive: Sen. Arlen Specter (Rep-PA), committee chair Sen. Leahy (Dem - VT), minority leaderSen. Ted Kennedy (Dem - Mass.) Sen. Russ Feingold (Dem - Wis.) OR -call both your own Senators. You can call 202/CA4-3121 and ask for any of these offices, then ask the person who answers the phone to put you through to the staff member who is dealing with Judiciary Committee confirmation questions. Get her/his name: it might be useful to mention it a few time while urging or suggesting what you would like the Senator to do.. If you are coming from a religious or spiritual commitment, or you are a lawyer, or you are a veteran who is worried about how abandoning Geneva could impact future American captives, PLEASE MAKE THAT CLEAR when you reach the right staffer. And then simply say: "Mr. Gonzales, whom the President nominated for Attorney General, showed in the Judiciary Committee hearings as well as his own previous actions that he will not take a clear stand against the use of torture by US agents and forces, even though it violates US law and all moral values. I urge you to vote against confirming him." Thanks VERY much. Thank you, thank you -- from those of the human family who are being tortured right now, and for the people of the institutions that are perpetrating this grave sin. Shalom, Arthur (from the Shalom Center)

2005-01-17T15:11:00.000-05:00

2nd Sunday After Epiphany, Year A
Saint David’s Church, 1/16/05
Katherine Hancock Ragsdale

Well, if you think there wasn’t enough time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Today is only the second Sunday after the Epiphany, yet we have only three more Sundays before Lent. Easter is early this year and with Lent coming so quickly it seems a good idea to begin preparing – or at least to begin thinking about how we will prepare.

Before I talk about Lent, let me remind you of something we’ve discussed before – the Law. You will remember me telling you, many times, that the Ten Commandments, the Law, was God’s great gift to God’s people. It was not given so much to condemn as to point the way to Salvation. These were God’s people who wanted to know how best to love and serve the God who loved them. The Law was God’s answer. When we hear Law we hear constraint and punishment. But the Law was, to the people of Israel, not so much burden as gift and means to liberation.

Similarly, we tend to think of Lent as a time of self-denial and guilt, of suffering and flagellation. But the purpose of Lent is not to make us miserable but to make us mindful – mindful of who and Whose we are. So, whose are we? Who is the one to whom we belong and whom we are expected to follow?

John asked a similar question in a recent Gospel reading. He heard about Jesus and sent his followers to ask, “Are you the one for whom we have been waiting or shall we keep looking?” And how did Jesus reply? He said, “Go back and tell John what you have seen. The hungry are fed, the sick are healed, the lonely are visited, and prisoners are set free.” We are, it seems, to be identified not by what we believe as much as by what we do. We, who wish to follow Jesus, are to feed the hungry, visit and heal the sick, set free those who are imprisoned. We are to care for one another.

When John asked who Jesus was Jesus didn’t say, “I’ve come to end hunger, and poverty, and illness, and imprisonment, and despair.” We might wish he had done just that. We may still hope that he will. But what he said was that he was one who responded to those needs, one at a time. I think many of us, facing the magnitude of the problems of our world become paralyzed. Since we can’t fix it all we do nothing. Since we don’t know how to be Martin Luther King we assume we can be no one. But I suspect that Martin Luther King, and many who have made huge differences in the world, didn’t start with a grand plan. Like Jesus, they simply did what was before them, met the need of each moment. Which is, of course, exactly what each of us is called to do.

Now I should pause here to acknowledge what you already know – I’m more a systems than a band-aid person. I don’t believe in just patching up the individual in front of me and ignoring the systemic problems that left them in need of patching up in the first place. You’ve heard me tell the story of my friend and colleague Ntsiki who says that if a bloody body floats down the river into your village a good Christian must pull the body out and bandage it and nurse it back to health. And if another battered body floats into the village the Christian must do the same thing again and again and again. But eventually, if those bodies keep coming, the Christian must go upriver and find out who’s doing that to them and put a stop to it.

We do need to take on hunger and poverty and the myriad things that maim and imprison the bodies and spirits of our sisters and brothers. But we do it one step at a time, addressing that which washes into our lives or steps into our paths. We start by healing one sick individual or comforting one despairing person.

Yet even that can seem overwhelming. We talked about this at the Vestry meeting last week. We got to talking about what one says to someone who is grieving the death of a loved one. Some of us were saying that we are so very aware that there’s nothing we can say that will make it better. Knowing that anything we could say would be inadequate, we hesitate to speak at all. Another member told of a time when she was grieving and how much a simple, “I’m sorry for your loss” meant. She reminded us that even little, inadequate things matter. We do have it within us to do the things we are called to do. By meeting each moment as it presents itself we may well discover that we have it within us to do more than we could ever have imagined.

Did you hear what Paul said in this morning’s Epistle? Talking to the church in Corinth, Paul said, “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind-- just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you-- so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” So that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift. You are not lacking in any spiritual gift. You, and you, and you ... you are not lacking.

Now the good news here is that this fear of our own inadequacy is not some modern, or personal, moral failing. Apparently this has been a problem, a part of the human condition, for at least 2000 years. The bad news is that it’s not just a modern moral failing – we are not excused from the call to action because our world is more complex and our problems at least seem bigger. People have, it seems, always tended toward paralysis in the face of problems bigger than we know how to address.

But we’re only commanded to deal with this day’s need, this individual’s pain. We’re instructed to follow the example of Jesus, one day at a time. And we’re assured that we have what it takes, already within us, to do that. We are not lacking any spiritual gift necessary to do the work we were created to do – to be God’s stewards, God’s partners, in caring for the world around us.

Lent calls us, not to dwell on and condemn ourselves for our failures, but to remember what Paul has told us – we are not lacking any spiritual gift necessary. Lent doesn’t command us to give things up or take things on for their own sake, or based on how difficult it will be to do it and how unpleasant we will find it. Lent invites us to choose a discipline that will keep us mindful of who and Whose we are. Lent encourages us to embrace a discipline that will help us to become aware of those gifts and strengths and talents within us – and to nurture and hone them. Lent hopes to seduce us into taking the time to know ourselves and our gifts so well that using those gifts in the service of God and God’s people becomes second nature to us. In Lent we are invited to become who we were created to be – who we already are – so that we, like Jesus, respond to the needs before us, no matter what their size, without thinking twice. If we do that we may find ourselves feeding one hungry person – or we may save a whole village, or change the world in ways as yet unimaginable. But we will not be paralyzed by our own doubts or fears of inadequacy. And, should anyone ever send someone to ask us, “Are you one of them, one of the followers of Jesus?” we won’t have to marshal a lengthy defense. We can simply say, “Tell him what you have seen. The hungry are fed, those who mourn are comforted….”

It is not too soon to begin planning and preparing for your Lent. Let me know if you need any help.

Thank our Election Heros

2005-01-08T11:54:00.000-05:00

Jan 6 2005 Senator Boxer Joins Representatives in Challenging Ohio Election Results Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has joined with Representative John Conyers (D-MI), Ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Representative Stephanie Tubb-Jones (D-OH), and other Democratic members of the US House in challenging the Ohio presidential election results. TAKE ACTION Thank Senator Boxer for her courage in challenging the Ohio election results. http://capwiz.com/fmf1/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=6790091 TAKE ACTION Urge Senator Reid and Congresswoman Pelosi to lead the fight for election law reform. http://capwiz.com/fmf1/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=6790171 LEARN MORE about the election irregularities in Ohio. http://www.feminist.org/election_oh2004.htm

Latest News from the Feminist Majority

2004-06-12T15:28:00.000-04:00

Jun 11 2004
Chinese Workers Latest Fatalities in Taliban Crusade to Derail Elections in Afghanistan
Yesterday, gunmen killed an Afghan guard and 11 Chinese road workers as they slept in the Kunduz province in northern Afghanistan...
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8492
TAKE ACTION http://capwiz.com/fmf1/issues/alert/?alertid=4302501&type=ML

Jun 10 2004
US Withdraws Funding From Kenyan Clinics Providing Post-Abortion Care
Seven Kenyan clinics that provide post-abortion care and support safe abortion have been forced to close due to United States funding withdrawal...
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8490

Today's abortion rights articles

2004-04-06T10:49:00.000-04:00

State Law on Killing of a Fetus Expanded
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/state/la-me-fetus6apr06,1,4437094.story?coll=la-news-state
(The LA Times, April 6, 2004)

Feds Open Defense in Abortion Lawsuit
http://www.fresnobee.com/24hour/nation/story/1267744p-8351316c.html
(The Fresno Bee, April 6, 2004)

Letter from the Primate of Brazil to the Most Revd Frank Griswold

2004-03-22T14:17:00.000-05:00

Porto Alegre
16 March 2004

The Most Revd Frank Griswold Presiding Bishop of The ECUSA
Episcopal Church Centre 815 Second Avenue
New York 10017, NY.
United States of America

My Dear Brother,

It was with surprise, sadness and concern that we received the news
about the participation - without permission from the diocesan bishop of
Ohio - of the Brazilian Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti, diocesan Bishop of
Recife of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil, in a confirmation
service of 110 people in the state of Ohio, together with five retired
bishops of ECUSA, as his participation has been stated in the press "as
illustrating international support for the measures."

We want to express to your Grace our strong disapproval of this action
taken by this bishop, the Right Revd Cavalcanti, who, apart from showing
himself through this gesture to be both impolite and disrespectful, has
violated the constitution and the canons of ECUSA, by performing an
Episcopal and sacramental act in the Diocese of Ohio without the
permission from the bishop of that Diocese.

With regard to the above-referenced act and also with reference to any
others he may have participated in during his presence in the USA,
Bishop Cavalcanti was neither an official nor a sanctioned
representative of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil. His
participation in all and any events while in the USA was a purely
personal initiative and not in any way as an envoy from our Brazilian
province. He did not and would never have obtained permission for such
action; furthermore, at no stage were we informed as to his intentions
with regards to such a visit. Within our Brazilian province, such an act
constitutes a blatant violation of our constitution and canons, in the
most basic context of the traditions of the Church.

As one of the Primates who attended the Primates` meeting of October
15th and 16th, 2003, I can also state that the fact of some bishops
arrogating for themselves the right to perform sacramental and Episcopal
acts, without permission from the diocesan bishop, and at the same time
proclaiming such acts to be in accordance with the mandate of the
Archbishop of Canterbury and with the Primates, is neither true nor
correct. The declaration arising from this meeting states that all
provision for Episcopal oversight of "dissident minorities" is a matter
to be resolved by the province in question and, as such, restates that
"whilst we reaffirm the teaching of successive Lambeth Conferences that
bishops must respect the autonomy and territorial integrity of dioceses
and provinces other than their own, we call on the provinces concerned
to make adequate provision for Episcopal oversight of dissenting
minorities within their own area of pastoral care in consultation with
the Archbishop of Canterbury on behalf of the Primates."

Thus, on behalf of the Bishops' Chamber, of the clergy and of the people
of the Province of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil, I would like
to offer to your Grace our most sincere apologies for such a
disrespectful and impolite act as done by one of our bishops. Similarly,
I would like to reaffirm that in no way do we agree with nor would we
sanction such a canonical violation, done in total disrespect for the
autonomy of your province and for the Diocese of Ohio. Further, I take
this opportunity to inform you that this matter will be taken up and
examined in the next meeting of the Bishops' Chamber, 22-23 March, 2004.

I also wish to reaffirm our respect for the decisions of the General
Convention in Minneapolis, thus recognising the autonomy of our brothers
and sisters of ECUSA, who, in their own cultural and ecclesiastical
context, and through regular and democratic canonical process, confirmed
the election of Bishop Gene Robinson.

Last but not least, I also wish to reaffirm our communion and
companionship with our sister Church ECUSA. We believe that the family
we belong to, the Family of the Anglican Communion around the world, has
to be an instrument of God's love for the world and that means, that in
seeking to hold together as a Communion, we have to be seeking to serve
that purpose and no other. So, it is my belief that by attempting to
work through differences within our family we may come to a better
perception of the calling of our mission.

We reaffirm that we are Partners in Mission with ECUSA. Be assured of
our prayers for your well-being, for the pastoral ministry that God has
entrusted to you, and also for all the clergy and people of ECUSA.

"We know that all things work together for good for those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8.28

With every good wish and blessing,

Most Revd Orlando Santos de Oliveira
Primate of the Province of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil

Editor's note: The following letter was sent to ACNS by the Primate of
Brazil with a request that it be published on our news service. J M
Rosenthal

Religious Freedom

2004-03-22T12:40:00.000-05:00

One Crucial Issue in Pledge Case: What Does 'Under God'
Mean?
By LINDA GREENHOUSE
In Supreme Court arguments scheduled for Wednesday, the
justices must decide whether the words "one nation under
God" render the pledge unconstitutional.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/22/national/22SCOT.html?th

Some Groups to Run Ads Until Election Day

2004-03-22T11:34:00.000-05:00

Here's the place to give those capaign contributions!

Some Groups to Run Ads Until Election Day
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/ats-ap_politics15mar22,0,4700566.story?coll=sns-ap-toppolitics
(The Associated Press, March 22, 2004)

Top Feminist News - 3/12/2004 - 3/19/2004

2004-03-19T18:19:00.000-05:00

2004-03-19T11:08:00.000-05:00

Bishops Acting Like Babies

2004-03-19T11:07:00.000-05:00

>Associated Press, March 18, 2004
>http://www.startribune.com/stories/670/4672089.html
>Episcopal Church Bishops Meet Amid Tension
>By Richard N. Ostling, AP Religion Writer
> The Episcopal Church's bishops begin a closed-door meeting Friday in
>Texas, where they'll try to quiet the discord that has torn at the
>denomination since the consecration of an openly gay bishop - New
>Hampshire's V. Gene Robinson.
> Robinson is attending his first meeting as part of a hierarchy in
>which 41 percent of bishops who head dioceses voted against his consecration
>and 28 of the bishops have refused to recognize him as a colleague.
> Episcopal headquarters in New York City announced Wednesday that the
>gathering in Navasota, 60 miles northwest of Houston, is not a legislative
>meeting and no major policy decisions are expected. Rather, the schedule
>features speeches and discussions on "reconciliation" within the Episcopal
>Church and the international Anglican Communion of which it's a part.
> The bishops will discuss the current flashpoint, how to handle
>conservative parishes that don't want to quit the Episcopal Church but
>cannot accept the authority of local bishops who favor gay clergy.
> The proposed remedy is to provide dissenting parishes with special
>conservative bishops from outside their dioceses. At an emergency summit
>last October, world Anglicanism's top leaders urged the American church to
>grant dissenters "adequate provision for episcopal oversight."
> The U.S. church leader, Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, and his
>Council of Advice then proposed a plan allowing outside bishops to the local
>bishop as required by church law, allowing for appeals to regional bodies in
>case of disagreements.
> Conservatives have rejected that. They don't want the local bishops
>to keep their veto power and claim liberals control the regional bodies that
>would hear appeals.
> Griswold will present a rewritten plan at Navasota. Conservative
>leaders complain that they weren't consulted, and bishops weren't given the
>text to study in advance. Griswold repeated Monday that any plan must honor
>local bishops' powers under existing church law.
> The leading conservative bishop is Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh,
>moderator of a "network" formed in January to unite Episcopal dioceses and
>parishes that insist upon the traditional Christian teaching against
>same-sex relationships.
> Duncan said some conservative bishops are boycotting the Navasota
>meeting, some will participate fully and some - like himself - will stay
>offsite and attend only sessions treating the church fracture.
> Duncan said the church must "come to its senses" and help
>conservatives because "the present course is a suicidal course, or at least
>a fratricidal course."
> Matters escalated last Sunday when five Episcopal bishops led a
>rebel confirmation service in Akron, Ohio congregations that spurned local
>Bishop J. Clark Grew II, a Robinson supporter.
> Maurice Benitez, retired bishop of the Texas Diocese and spokesman
>for the five bishops, said if the hierarchy produces an "acceptable plan"
>for visiting bishops, "these kinds of measures may no longer be necessary."
>The implication: If not, there will be further violations.
> Duncan said that if the Navasota meeting doesn't heed conservative
>appeals there will be "continuing chaos," not only Akron-type protests but
>congregations leaving the Episcopal Church.
> Griswold's Council of Advice said the five bishops broke church law,
>since Grew did not approve the confirmations, and appealed for unity against
>forces that "seek to sow the seeds of division."
> Grew said the Akron service might have been an attempt to
>"manipulate" the Navasota meeting while Griswold suggested the event was
>intended to "co-opt the bishops' agenda."

The Rev. Ann Fontaine
Lander, Wyoming
www.seashellseller.blogspot.com/

NAPW Commentary on Murder Arrest of Pregnant Woman Who Refused a C-Section

2004-03-16T14:18:00.000-05:00

NAPW Commentary on Murder Arrest of Pregnant Woman Who Refused a C-Section

An arrest in Utah yesterday of 28 year old Melissa Rowland who allegedly committed murder by refusing a recommended C-section represents a shocking abuse of state authority and a dangerous disregard for medical ethics.

In this case prosecutors claim that a woman pregnant with twins rejected advice of her physicians to have a cesarean section. Prosecutors assert that the stillbirth of one of the twins was caused by her refusal to undergo this surgery. According to the law, however, pregnant women, like other Americans have the right to decide whether or not to undergo surgery. The American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as well other leading medical groups similarly conclude that the final decision must be the woman’s.

These legal and medical –ethical principles make sense for both women and children. Doctors are not infallible and their advice is just that, advice. Recently a woman went to a hospital in Pennsylvania ready to deliver her seventh child. For reasons that remain far from clear, the hospital decided she needed a c-section and when she refused they went to court. They asked for and won an order giving the hospital custody of the fetus before during and after delivery and the right to take custody of the pregnant woman and forcer to have the cesarean surgery. She and her husband fled the hospital and delivered a perfectly health baby without surgery. Similar cases abound. In Georgia doctors got a court order claiming that without a c-section the baby had a 99% chance of dying and the woman a 50% chance of dying. The court granted the order, she fled and delivered a healthy baby vaginally. Neither women nor children are protected by a system that makes women flee from hospitals or subjects them to unnecessary surgery.

Angela Carder was not as lucky. Critically ill with a recurrence of cancer and 25 weeks pregnant, she, her family and attending physicians agreed to focus on prolonging her young life for as long as possible. The Hospital however sought a court order forcing her to have a c-section. Despite testimony that the surgery could kill her, the court concluded that the fetus had a right to life and ordered her to be cut open against her will. The surgery was performed: the fetus died within two hours and Angela died within two days with the c-section listed as a contributing factor. No one suggested arresting the doctor or hospital officials for murder, in that case arguably a double homicide.

Ayesha Madyun survived. She was forced to have a c-section based on the claim that she had been in labor too long and that her baby was at risk of dying from an infection. Her request to be allowed to wait longer before having the surgery so she could try natural delivery was portrayed to the court as an irrational religious objection to surgery. The court granted the order and after Ms. Madyun had been forcibly cut open they found that there was in fact no infection.

The ability to get a court order or threaten pregnant women with arrest has many negative consequences beyond denying pregnant women rights and performing unnecessary surgery that poses health risks to both the pregnant woman and fetus. In another Illinois case, doctors sought a court order for a forced c-section claiming the pregnant woman and her husband held irrational religious beliefs opposing all surgery. The doctors ran to the court instead of spending time with the patient. The court refused the order, the baby was delivered naturally, and it turned out that if the doctors had spent the time communicating with the patient and her family rather than judging them and rushing to court, they would have learned that it was misunderstanding not an absolute objection to surgery that made it appear that this couple was refusing a recommended (but unnecessary) c-section.

Today both the law and medicine agree that coerced medical interventions on pregnant women are an abuse of medical and state authority and that while pregnant women do not always make the right decision, in America, it is the person on whom the surgery is to be performed who gets to decide. In spite of this, Utah prosecutors apparently think that a pregnant woman who exercises her constitutional and common-law right to refuse medical advice can be arrested for murder. This is not only a clear misuse of the law, it is dangerous to children and fundamentally dehumanizing to pregnant women and their families.

Lynn M. Paltrow
Executive Director
National Advocates for Pregnant Women
www.advocatesforpregnantwomen.org

Irregular confirmations in Ohio spark stern response from bishops

2004-03-16T13:39:00.000-05:00

Irregular confirmations in Ohio spark stern response from bishops

by Jan Nunley
ENS 031504-1
Monday, March 15, 2004
[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, Ohio Bishop J. Clark Grew II, and Ohio Bishop-elect Mark Hollingsworth Jr. responded sternly to five retired Episcopal bishops and a diocesan bishop from Brazil who confirmed 110 individuals at a service held March 14 in an Orthodox church in Akron, Ohio, without the permission of the local diocesan bishop.
Bishop William Wantland, retired Bishop of Eau Claire, was the celebrant at the confirmation Eucharist, held at Presentation of Our Lord Orthodox Church in Akron. Bishop C. FitzSimons Allison, retired Bishop of South Carolina, preached, and Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti of Northern Brazil was a special guest whose presence was described in a press release issued by the American Anglican Council (AAC) as “illustrating international support for the measures.” Also participating in the confirmations were Bishop Maurice Benitez, retired Bishop of Texas; Bishop William Cox, retired assistant bishop of Oklahoma; and Bishop Alex Dickson, retired Bishop of West Tennessee.

The six congregations involved were Church of the Holy Spirit, Akron; St. Anne’s in the Field, Madison; St. Stephen’s, East Liverpool; St. Barnabas, Bay Village; St. Luke’s, Akron; and a non-ECUSA congregation, Hudson Anglican Fellowship, Hudson, whose rector serves on the staff of St. Luke’s.

In a statement released March 15, Griswold declared that the bishops “have arrogated to themselves the right to perform episcopal and sacramental acts without the permission of the diocesan bishop. The claim that their action was pastoral and in accordance with a mandate from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates of the Anglican Communion is contradicted” by statements from the Primates that, he said, clearly indicated that provisions for episcopal oversight of dissenting minorities are “a matter to be resolved by the province.”

The canons of the Episcopal Church, as well as those of the councils of the undivided Christian Church--beginning with Nicaea in 325 A.D.--specify that no priest or bishop may perform sacramental acts in another diocese without prior permission of that diocese’s ecclesiastical authority.

Boundaries crossed

In January 2000, Allison and Dickson were part of a group that consecrated two American priests, John H. Rodgers and Charles H. Murphy, as bishops for what became the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA), a breakaway Anglican group operating under the auspices of the Provinces of South East Asia and Rwanda. In June 2001, they also participated in the irregular consecration of four additional bishops for the AMiA. Both actions were denounced by then-Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey as divisive.

Benitez told the Ohio congregation that he and the other bishops were present “in direct response to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the rest of the Primates of the Anglican Communion” in their call for episcopal oversight for dissenting minorities and that their participation represented “emergency measures” for the Ohio congregations.

“Our active bishops are currently seeking means for providing Adequate Episcopal Oversight, and if an acceptable plan is approved, these kinds of measures may no longer be necessary. But right now, we consider these actions an essential and imperative response to a pastoral emergency in northern Ohio,” Benitez added.

It was not clear to which group of bishops Benitez referred. But in a memo drafted for the AAC’s Bishops’ Committee on Adequate Episcopal Oversight, released by the Washington Post in January, the Rev. Geoff Chapman stated:

As an intermediate step, we will respond to the urgent pastoral need in our country by offering Adequate Episcopal Oversight to parishes or remnants of parishes who share our deeply held convictions, proceeding under the guidance of our Bishops and the Primates. Bp Griswold’s offer of “Extended Episcopal Care” is unacceptable, fundamentally flawed and disingenuous, and does not meet the needs of our parishes or the intentions of the Primates. Our AEO will maintain confidentiality in the application process, and seek transfer of parish oversight across geographic diocesan boundaries to an orthodox bishop, the right of pastoral succession, liberty of conscience in financial stewardship (the right to “redirect” funds), and negotiated property settlements affirming the retention of ownership in the local congregation.
The AAC later disavowed the memo, saying that it was an unapproved draft.

Attempt to co-opt bishops’ meeting?

“In consultation with the Archbishop of Canterbury and his chancellor, our bishops have been considering a draft plan for episcopal pastoral care which they will address further when we gather for our spring meeting later this week in Texas,” Griswold said in his statement. “Why, I am moved to ask, did these bishops decide that Confirmation of these persons was pastorally necessary at this moment and act without permission of the Bishop of Ohio? Given that the House of Bishops will meet later this week, I can only surmise that their intention is to co-opt the bishops’ agenda and provoke a reaction that will appear sufficiently lacking in pastoral concern for ‘dissenting minorities’ to justify what they have done in the eyes of others. I trust that they will be disappointed in their hope and that the vast majority of bishops of this church--occupying the diverse center--will find a way forward that is clear and just in its principles, pastoral in its approach and responsive to the needs of the church in this present moment.”

Griswold quoted a letter from Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who told him, “My hope and prayer is that this meeting will offer generous and constructive ways forward within the constitutional and canonical structures of ECUSA that will guarantee Episcopal care for all and avoid further fragmentation, and the consequent distraction from our main task of proclaiming Christ.”

‘No place in our polity’

Bishop-elect Hollingsworth released a statement March 15 declaring his disappointment that the priests and bishops involved “chose to begin their relationship with me, not with direct and honest dialogue, but by acting in this manner. I certainly don't want anyone to think that this behavior is characteristic of Christian community, especially the young people of those congregations.

“An action of this sort, designed to break down the community of faith, has no place in our polity. No one group can define for the whole Church what constitutes an ‘emergency,’” Hollingsworth continued. “The laity and the clergy of the Diocese of Ohio, meeting in convention last November, clearly articulated their support of an inclusive theology in the larger Church, and their affirmation of its actions in last summer's General Convention. It is a singular privilege to begin serving with them in this diocese at a time of such great potential for the Church.”

Bishop Grew, calling the service “unauthorized and clandestine,” said that “there is no crisis in the Diocese of Ohio, except the one created by a group that hopes to hold on to attention that is slipping away as time passes, a group that may use the threat of further extracanonical action as a way to manipulate the House of Bishops in its deliberations on the matter of alternative oversight.”

But, Grew said, “Neither the House of Bishops nor the Diocese of Ohio is likely to be swayed by sudden confrontational actions. Any response by the Diocese of Ohio in this matter will be prayerfully considered and characterized by the life of Jesus himself, who calls us all to unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace.”

The following is the full text from Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold:

By their recent action in the Diocese of Ohio, five of our retired bishops and a bishop from the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil have arrogated to themselves the right to perform episcopal and sacramental acts without the permission of the diocesan bishop. The claim that their action was pastoral and in accordance with a mandate from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates of the Anglican Communion is contradicted by the statement of the Primates last October which states quite clearly that they, “reaffirm the teaching of successive Lambeth Conferences that bishops must respect the autonomy and territorial integrity of dioceses and provinces other than their own,” and that they “call on the provinces concerned to make adequate provision for episcopal oversight of dissenting minorities within their own area of pastoral care,” and that they should do so “in consultation with the Archbishop of Canterbury on behalf of the Primates.”

Provisions for “episcopal oversight of dissenting minorities” is thus clearly a matter to be resolved by the province. That is precisely what this church is seeking to do. In consultation with the Archbishop of Canterbury and his chancellor, our bishops have been considering a draft plan for episcopal pastoral care which they will address further when we gather for our spring meeting later this week in Texas.

With respect to this forthcoming meeting, the Archbishop of Canterbury said in a recent letter to me, “My hope and prayer is that this meeting will offer generous and constructive ways forward within the constitutional and canonical structures of ECUSA that will guarantee Episcopal care for all and avoid further fragmentation, and the consequent distraction from our main task of proclaiming Christ.”

What is quite clear is that whatever pastoral response is agreed to, it must, as the Archbishop points out, be consistent with the “constitutional and canonical structures of ECUSA.” Here I note that according to our Constitution:

A bishop shall confine the exercise of such office to the Diocese in which elected, unless requested to perform episcopal acts in another Diocese by the Ecclesiastical Authority thereof…[Article II,Sec.3]

Why, I am moved to ask, did these bishops decide that Confirmation of these persons was pastorally necessary at this moment and act without permission of the Bishop of Ohio? Given that the House of Bishops will meet later this week, I can only surmise that their intention is to co-opt the bishops’ agenda and provoke a reaction that will appear sufficiently lacking in pastoral concern for “dissenting minorities” to justify what they have done in the eyes of others. I trust that they will be disappointed in their hope and that the vast majority of bishops of this church--occupying the diverse center--will find a way forward that is clear and just in its principles, pastoral in its approach and responsive to the needs of the church in this present moment.

The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church, USA
March 15, 2004

-- The Rev. Jan Nunley is deputy director of Episcopal News Service

News From RCRC

2004-03-12T15:53:00.000-05:00

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice—National Report

Welcome to the biweekly National Report, providing you with the
pro-choice pro-faith perspective on the news. Thank you for keeping the
faith for choice!

In This Issue
*Blackmun Papers Reveal That Roe Was Almost Overturned in 1992
*RCRC Testifies About Clergy Counseling
*Justice Department Backs Off
*Chicago-Area Merger Will Deny Women Full Services
*Excitement Builds for April 25 March!

*Blackmun Papers Reveal That Roe Was Almost Overturned in 1992
Abortion rights were almost overturned by one vote in 1992, according to
papers of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, author
of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and a staunch supporter of
abortion rights.

Blackmun’s papers and transcripts of interviews were made public last
week, on the fifth anniversary of his death. They reveal that the
Court's 5-4 majority, led by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, appeared
ready to effectively overturn Roe in the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v.
Casey. Justice Anthony Kennedy initially voted with the anti-Roe
conservatives, giving them a majority of five, but he subsequently
changed his vote. "The switch came even as Rehnquist was circulating a
so-called majority opinion that would have left Roe a meaningless
shell," according to NPR's Morning Edition. Blackmun said that Kennedy
“was especially worried about the attention he would get as a Roman
Catholic reaffirming Roe.”

The papers include a 1973 memo in which Blackmun expressed frustration
that the release of the Roe ruling was being delayed on the eve of
President Nixon's second inauguration, the Washington Post reported.
Later, Blackmun was concerned that anti-Roe justices were attempting to
delay Casey because they thought the chances of overturning Roe would be
better if it were not an election year. Blackman, nominated as a
"conservative" by President Nixon, expressed hope that his work had
contributed to "the progress of the emancipation of women," according to
the New York Times.
*********************************************************************
*RCRC Testifies About Clergy Counseling
Compassionate, nonjudgmental counseling by clergy has helped many women
facing a problem pregnancy come to a decision they believe is moral and
responsible. Testifying at a U.S. Senate hearing convened by a
well-known anti-choice Senator, an RCRC clergy counselor explained that
women benefit from supportive counseling.

Reverend Dr. Roselyn Smith-Withers, co-convenor of the RCRC Clergy
Advisory Committee and a trained counselor, expressed deep concern about
efforts to stigmatize abortion and women who have abortions. These
attempts “simplify the complex nature of each woman's feelings” and may
“induce guilt and undermine a woman's self-respect and confidence that
God can and does speak directly to her,” she testified.

Despite numerous well-designed and scientifically rigorous studies,
Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) called the hearing to promote interest in
research on anti-choice claims about abortion. Brownback suggested that
long-term federally funded research be conducted on women who have had
an abortion, with data collection at regular intervals for up to 20
years after their abortion.
*********************************************************************
*Justice Department Backs Off
The Justice Department has dropped its demand, at least for now, that
six Planned Parenthood clinics provide medical records on women who had
abortions. DOJ had subpoenaed records in preparation for its defense of
the 2003 “partial-birth abortion ban act.” The DOJ decision was in
response to a judgment in federal court in San Francisco that the
government's demand for the records was an undue intrusion on patients'
rights.

According to The New York Times, Planned Parenthood last month agreed to
turn over to the government its redacted records on 17 cases from 2002
involving second-trimester abortions. But the group maintains that the
other records sought by the Justice Department are more extensive and
irrelevant to the lawsuit. The Justice Department is still demanding
abortion records from at least a half-dozen hospitals in New York and
Philadelphia, among other places.
*********************************************************************
*Chicago-Area Merger Will Deny Women Full Services
The Illinois State Health Facilities Planning Board on March 10 approved
the takeover of nonsectarian West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park by the
Catholic Resurrection Health system, a move vigorously opposed by the
Illinois Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. The Oak Park
facility will now be governed by Catholic health-care directives
prohibiting reproductive health services that have long been available
to West Suburban patients, including contraception, tubal ligations and
emergency contraception (EC).

Under the merger agreement, Resurrection will transfer control of three
community-based clinics to a non-profit corporation. The clinics will
provide vital family planning services previously available at the
hospital. Rape victims who go to the West Suburban emergency room will
no longer be offered emergency contraception–which is highly effective
in preventing unintended pregnancy if taken soon after unprotected
sex—if a test shows they may be ovulating.

Women who use this hospital are being denied full treatment under this
merger agreement, said Barbara Kavadias, RCRC Field Services director
and representative to the National Advisory Board of MergerWatch, the
lead organization opposing the merger. “A woman who has been raped,
beaten, and traumatized should not have to go to a community clinic or
be passed from one person to another to get standard care.”

In a letter to Chicago newspapers, Reverend Edward Searl of the Illinois
RCRC wrote: “I respect the right of individuals to live according to
their own religious beliefs. Nevertheless, I think it is wrong for a
hospital that serves a religiously and culturally diverse community to
impose those beliefs on people who may not share them.” Betty Holcomb of
the Illinois RCRC was active in presenting testimony against the merger
and organizing opposition among religious congregations.
*********************************************************************
*Excitement Builds for April 25 March!
Excitement is growing as people from all over the country make their
plans to be in Washington DC for the historic March for Women’s Lives
April 25.

RCRC affiliates have chartered trains from Boston and New York for the
March. This will be a ride to remember, with lots of pro-choice
supporters who are energized by being part of this historic event. Buy
your tickets early. For New York information, visit
http://www.nyrcrc.org. For Massachusetts, contact www.rcrcofma.org

However you travel, we hope you will be on the National Mall in time for
the RCRC Prayerfully Pro-Choice Interfaith Service, starting at 9:30
a.m.

In the News Today

2004-03-10T10:29:00.000-05:00

1) Chief Justice Rehnquist Mulls Retirement
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/8144415.htm
(The Associated Press, March 9, 2004)

2) Governor supports abortion bill with technical changes
http://www.yankton.net/stories/031004/new_20040310024.shtml
(The Associated Press, March 9, 2004)

3) Abortion opponents say they have enough signatures to ban certain procedure
http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw94199_20040309.htm
(The Associated Press, March 9, 2004)

From The Feminist Majority

2004-03-09T10:59:00.000-05:00

Mar 5 2004
Department of Education Cuts Back on Title IX Protections
On Wednesday, the Department of Education proposed regulations that would
extensively weaken Title IX, the law that prohibits gender discrimination
in federally funded education...
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8312

Mar 2 2004
CA: Supreme Court Rules Catholic Group Must Cover Birth Control
California's Supreme Court on Monday ruled that, in accordance with state
law, Catholic Charities must cover contraceptives as part of its employee
prescription drug coverage...
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8309

Mar 1 2004
Unborn Victims of Violence Act Passes in the House
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Unborn Victims of
Violence Act, which makes harming or killing a zygote, embryo or fetus
while attacking a pregnant woman during the commission of a federal crime,
a separate and punishable crime....
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8307

Today's abortion news

2004-03-09T10:54:00.000-05:00

Debate Addresses Abortion Politics
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=358090
(The Harvard Crimson, March 9, 2004)

Justice Dept. backs off request for Planned Parenthood records
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/8139982.htm
(The Associated Press, March 9, 2004)

The White House Project

2004-02-15T17:38:00.000-05:00

Update
February 2004

In this issue:
The White House Project and V-Day premiere their new campaigns
President's Day Newsflash
Marie C. Wilson to release her new bookon the leadership gap
HBO's Iron-Jawed Angels
The White House Project in the News - O Magazine and Glamour
Support the White House Project

Marlo Thomas, Jane Rosenthal, Whoopi Goldberg, Nora Ephron and Tina Brown Co-host Campaign Premiere

Susan Sarandon, Tina Brown, Marlo Thomas and Marie C. Wilson

Marie C. Wilson and Rha Goddess

Loreen Arbus and Pamela-Thomas Graham

Davia Temin, Mary McCormick and Wini Freund
The White House Project and V-Day premiered their campaigns to get women to the polls and onto the path of political leadership on February 9th at the home of Marlo Thomas.

Generously co-hosted by the award-winning actress and activist, Ms. Thomas, a founding mother of the Ms. Foundation for Women, introduced the event by talking about the critical importance of women's political participation.

Marie C. Wilson, president of The White House Project, followed by telling the crowd of almost 90 high-level media and guests about Vote, Run, Lead, The White House Project's new initiative to make women a force in the 2004 election and beyond.

"Through our campaign, we will train 1,000 young women this year for political leadership and engage over 25,000 new women activists across the country," said Wilson.

The nationwide campaign will center on leadership trainings, public service announcements, get-out-the-vote efforts, grassroots meetings, a sweeping internet campaign and events in over a dozen states.

V-Day's V is for Vote taps into the power of young women across the country on and off college campuses through innovative and creative action. Eve Ensler, award-winning playwright and V-Day founder, talked about the power of women's votes and women's voices. Spoken word artist Rha Goddess performed a short piece from her new monologue "I Got Issues."

Both organizations collaborated in the development of their campaigns and will build off of the inspiration and actions of each other.

Additional White House Project Vote, Run, Lead partners (lists in formation) include: Youth Vote, Rock the Vote, Declare Yourself, Lifetime TV, and Starbucks. Advisory Board Members so far include: Geraldine Ferraro, singer Melissa Etheridge, comedienne Kathy Najimy, super model Amber Valletta, and soccer star Julie Foudy.

PRESIDENT'S DAY NEWS FLASH!
Almost 40,000 girls have earned theMs. President Girl Scout patch, which was created in collaboration with The White House Project. Activities girls can do to earn the patch include: interviewing someone they admire as a leader, writing an essay about what leadership means to them, designing their own campaign and campaign announcement, identifying community issues they believe are important.

CLOSING THE LEADERSHIP GAP: WHY WOMEN CAN AND MUST HELP RUN THE WORLD
In her provocative new book, Marie C. Wilson argues that since women have had to learn to lead without the authority typically conferred on men, women are even more prepared to lead with the qualities that our country and companies urgently need.

"Leading without authority has forced women to think outside of the box, to build consensus, and to bring people together across communities," said Wilson.

She contends that now more than ever we must make changes to strengthen our democracy so that women have the authority and voice to help run the world. Go towww.closingtheleadershipgap.com to read the latest newsletter and to order the book to be released March 8th by Viking/Penguin

TUNE IN TO AN AMAZING STORY
IRON JAWED ANGELS

On HBO on Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. you can see the amazing story of Alice Paul, Lucy Burns and other brave women who pushed for a constitutional amendment in the early 1900's so that women can vote. Yet, in the 2000 election, according to the census bureau, more than 15 million young women between 18 and 34 year olds did not exercise this hard-won right and stayed home from the polls. When you see the story of how women sacrificed so that we could have a say about who gets into public office, you will never miss another chance to draw the curtain and pull the lever.

The film, which was premiered to women's groups, vividly shows how Paul, Burns and other women laid their lives on the line for our right. They were attacked by mobs and imprisoned under trumped-up charges for picketing and protesting. During her prison term, Paul is forced into solitary confinement for breaking a prison window for air, put in a strait-jacket and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Diagnosed as mentally stable, she is allowed back into the general prison population where she leads the suffragettes on a hunger strike. In a gut-wrenching moment in the fight for women's rights, the women are force-fed under orders from the warden. An earnest prison guard secretly furnishes Paul with pen and paper where she details their mistreatment. When word of their awful conditions become known, they are dubbed"iron-jawed angels" and public support turns in their favor.

Tune in and learn more about the incredible work and sacrifice of our foremothers. www.iron-jawed-angels.com

Click here to register to vote

White House Project in the News
The March issues of O Magazine and Glamour feature Closing the Leadership Gap and The White House Project's initiatives to move more women into leadership positions.

Click here to read the O Magazine article

Help us Hurry History - Click here to make a donation to The White House Project

Choice News Weekly

2004-02-14T10:15:00.000-05:00

Choice News Weekly - A review of the week’s news on reproductive freedom, brought to you by NARAL Pro-Choice America Week of 02/09/04

The anti-choice movement, sensing the likelihood that George Bush would shift the Supreme Court further to the right in a potential second term, is pressing forward across the country with a return to their basic strategy – trying to overturn Roe v Wade entirely. In Michigan, they’re pressing the stealthily near-total abortion ban we discussed last week. In South Dakota, the state House has passed an outright criminal ban on all abortions. And the conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals – its membership bolstered by President Bush’s recess appointment of Charles Pickering (see how these things all tie together) – has agreed to hear a direct challenge to Roe that even a George W. Bush appointee rejected out of hand.

As if that weren’t enough, we’ve also got John Ashcroft’s Justice Department attempting to subpoena a host of private medical records as part of his efforts to lift injunctions against President Bush’s federal bill criminalizing abortion procedures. It’s hard to think of a clearer example of what it means to lose the right to privacy than the Attorney General prying through your medical records.

And speaking of ‘medical’ - the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may soon succumb to political pressure from the White House by disregarding medical science and the overwhelming recommendation of its own expert committees in a virtually unprecedented move concerning the emergency contraceptive Plan B®.

Fortunately, this anti-choice onslaught is beginning to produce a backlash, as a string of pro-choice governors signed up to lead NARAL Pro-Choice America’s Choice 2004 Fund campaign, and momentum continues building for the April 25, 2004 March for Women’s Lives.

South Dakota House Approves Quest to Define Beginning of Life and Ban all Abortion
As Choice News Weekly reported two weeks ago, South Dakota state Rep. Matt McCaulley introduced legislation to define when life begins, and to outlaw all abortions in South Dakota, making it a class five felony for any doctor to perform an abortion. The bill does not include an exception for the woman’s health, contains a dangerously vague exception for the woman’s life, no exception for rape or incest – and has just passed its first hurdle, the state House. Did we mention that this bill actually puts forth a definition of when life begins – the text of the legislation explicitly says that “it is within the proper sphere of state legislative enactment to determine [the question of the beginning of life] in light of the best scientific and medical evidence.” Within the sphere of state legislative enactment to determine when life begins? We would love to get our hands on the South Dakota legislators’ job descriptions. Read more from the Associated Press.

Judge Halts Attorney General John Ashcroft’s Attempt to Invade America’s Privacy
What part of ‘private’ doesn’t the government understand? A U.S. District Judge helped to explain the meaning to Attorney General John Ashcroft by blocking his attempt to access private medical records of over 40 patients at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. The patients are those of Dr. Cassing Hammond, one of the plaintiffs in the New York lawsuit challenging the so-called “Partial-Birth” Abortion Ban Act. Ashcroft is seeking the records to help build his case in defending the (unconstitutional) abortion procedures ban.

Illinois medical-privacy laws prohibit the release of patients’ medical records – and just because the U.S. Attorney General wants them, doesn’t mean he can have them. U.S. Chief District Judge Charles P. Kocoras noted that the patients are not involved in the lawsuit and therefore their records are protected.

Ashcroft’s intrusive search to obtain private medical records extends beyond Illinois to University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers, Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, Colombia Presbyterian Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical Center of New York Presbyterian Hospital, and an unidentified San Francisco area hospital.

Unfortunately, a federal judge in New York has disagreed, and is allowing Ashcroft’s fishing expedition to proceed.

Basically, John Ashcroft is attempting to defend a law that would unfairly intrude on a woman’s right to privacy, with tactics that are further invading women’s privacy. Read more from the Daily Southtown, ChicagoBusiness.com, The New York Times and The Washington Post and on the NARAL Pro-Choice America web site.

White House Intrudes Into FDA Emergency Contraception Over-the-Counter Application Process
With the overwhelming recommendation of two U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Advisory Committees that the FDA approve the over-the-counter application of the emergency contraceptive Plan B® - the FDA’s decision should be an easy one. But, there’s no accounting for what a little political pressure from the White House can do. It would be virtually unprecedented and outrageous for the FDA to jeopardize its scientific credibility and succumb to George Bush’s ideological pressure by denying the application – yet the FDA may do just that. If the FDA bows to political pressure on this issue, it will curtail access to one of the most effective ways of preventing unintended pregnancies and reducing the need for abortion. We’ll find out soon enough as the FDA must rule by Friday February 20th.

NARAL Pro-Choice America has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request demanding to know what contacts have occurred between the White House and FDA on this issue. Kate Michelman, President, NARAL Pro-Choice America said “the American people deserve a full accounting of the way in which President Bush’s political operatives have been working to influence this important medical decision.” Read more in The Washington Post and on the NARAL Pro-Choice America website.

Michigan Governor Vetoes Attempt to Further Restrict Minors’ Privacy Rights
Last week we reported how Governor Jennifer Granholm used her veto power to protect MI women from a near-total ban on abortion, only to have her hands tied on the matter as anti-choice activists commenced an obscure initiative process bringing this dangerous law to the brink of passage.

But Gov. Granholm has not been deterred from protecting a woman’s constitutional right to privacy and choice. This week she vetoed another harmful piece of anti-choice legislation that would have tightened already intrusive regulations on a young woman seeking an abortion. One of the main tenets of this bill is the requirement that a minor adequately demonstrate her maturity – however, the guidelines for doing so are so extreme that the required level of maturity likely wouldn't be possible for any minor.

Is there no end to the maddening levels to which the anti-choicers will sink in an attempt to restrict the constitutional rights of women in this country? And in Michigan – good old mainstream America – of all places. The Associated Press has more.

Outright Attempt to Reverse Roe v. Wade Progresses
The fact that Norma McCorvey, better known as Roe, has changed her tune to become an outspoken opponent of a woman’s right to choose is old news. What’s new, however, is that 31 years after Roe v. Wade she has finally succeeded in getting her day in court - well, another day in court. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has decided to hear oral arguments in McCorvey’s attempt to re-open Roe v. Wade. She wants to open the case in an effort to overturn the Supreme Court decision. The court date is set for early March.

This is shocking when you consider the factors surrounding this appeal. The Texas Justice Foundation, which filed the initial lawsuit on McCorvey’s behalf, is an anti-choice group whose main function is to provide legal services to the anti-choice community. The federal judge in Dallas that first heard their suit rightfully rejected it, perhaps seeing it as the political maneuver and media ploy that it is. Incidentally – the Dallas judge was appointed by George W. Bush and does not appear to be a choice supporter – simply a judge who was able to see past the political rhetoric in this case. But the plot thickens – as the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which generally hears oral arguments in less than ten percent of the cases filed, has agreed to hear arguments in this strange attempt to re-open a well-settled. With ultra-conservative judges like Charles Pickering sitting on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, this case could progress and ultimately finds its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, again.

It’s a pretty scary thought and a solid reminder of the importance of the ongoing judicial nominations battle.

Pro-choice Governors Lead “Choice Fund 2004” for NARAL Pro-Choice America
This week, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Kate Michelman, President, NARAL Pro-Choice America, proudly announced the beginning of a new fundraising initiative – bringing together the nation’s leading advocate for personal privacy and a woman’s right to choose and the nation’s leading pro-choice governors. Together, Governors Richardson, Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, Tom Vilsack of Iowa, Jim Doyle of Wisconsin and Gary Locke of Washington are kicking off an aggressive nationwide drive to raise $25 million to support NARAL Pro-Choice America’s work to protect the right to choose at every level.

Michelman said “Spearheading our Choice 2004 Fund, these great governors will extend their pro-choice leadership beyond their states’ borders to make sure that across the country we have the resources to stand up against our well-funded, increasingly aggressive opposition.” More Governors are expected to join the effort. Read more on NARAL Pro-Choice America’s website, from the Associated Press and in The New York Times

Feminist News Digest

2004-02-13T16:52:00.000-05:00

The Weekly Feminist News Digest is a service of the Feminist Majority,
made possible through the support of individuals like you. Your
contribution is vital to the continued success of our empowering work.
Donate or Join Today! https://radlib.com/ff/join.html

--------------------------------------------
Top Feminist News - 2/6/2004 - 2/13/2004
--------------------------------------------

Feb 13 2004
Ashcroft Subpoenas Medical Records of Women Who Had Abortions
The Department of Justice has issued a series of subpoenas to hospitals in
several major cities demanding the medical records of women who have
undergone certain abortion procedures...
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8277
TAKE ACTION http://march.feminist.org/FMFsign_and_tell2.asp

Feb 12 2004
National Center for Women and Policing Honors Chief Chambers
The Feminist Majority Foundation's National Center for Women and Policing
announced yesterday that it will honor US Park Police Chief Teresa
Chambers with its Lifetime Achievement Award...
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8276

Feb 9 2004
Iraqi Women's Rights Activist Threatened
An Iraqi women's rights activist from Canada, Yanar Mohamed, received a
death threat for campaigning for the repeal of the US-backed Iraqi
Governing Council's Resolution 137...
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8271
TAKE ACTION http://capwiz.com/fmf1/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=5037156

--------------------------------------------
Other Feminist News This Week
--------------------------------------------

Feb 13 2004 - Maloney Introduces Bill for $34 Million to UNFPA to Fight
Fistula
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8278
TAKE ACTION http://march.feminist.org/FMFsign_and_tell2.asp

Feb 13 2004 - Boxer Raises Concerns About Iraqi Women's Rights
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8279
TAKE ACTION http://capwiz.com/fmf1/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=5037156

Feb 11 2004 - Rumsfeld Orders Investigation into Sexual Assaults on Female
Soldiers
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8273

Feb 11 2004 - Over 1300 Priests Accused of Sex Abuse Since 1950s
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8274

Feb 11 2004 - Nigeria: Women Receive Death Penalty for Abortion, Sexual
Relations
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8275

Feb 9 2004 - Women Apply to Air Force Academy in Record Numbers
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8272

--------------------------------------------
www.Feminist.org | www.FeministCampus.org | www.Million4Roe.com | www.NeverGoBack.org | www.HelpAfghanWomen.com | www.MsMagazine.com

Hmmmmm they're talking about me

2004-02-13T13:59:00.000-05:00

Check out these fine expressions of Christian love and charity.

http://calvarychapel.com/hope/library/stauffer-claude/studies-books/24-JER/jer_04-05.htm

http://chattablogs.com/aionioszoe/

http://www.scriptus.blogspot.com/

http://peterseanesq.blogspot.com/2004_01_01_peterseanesq_archive.html

http://www.priestsforlife.org/prochoice/holyabortion.htm

http://mcj.bloghorn.com/516c

2003-04-28T16:30:00.000-04:00

From the Feminist Majority

As the Senate returns next week, the confirmation of judicial appointments
will be back on the top of their agenda. The Senate is scheduled to vote
on Tuesday on the nomination of Jeffrey Sutton to the Sixth Circuit Court
of Appeals. Thursday they are scheduled to vote on Priscilla Owen for the
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Three weeks ago you to sent messages asking Senators to oppose their
nominations. Your Senators now need to be contacted and specifically asked
to support extended debate and a "no" vote on Sutton – and – to support a
filibuster of Owen. Democrats need your support for their continued
efforts to block Bush's court packing efforts.

Email Your Senators: http://capwiz.com/fmf1/issues/alert/?alertid=1864541

----------------------
About Jeffrey Sutton
----------------------
Sutton is opposed by more than 400 nonpartisan disability, civil
rights, women's rights, environmental, labor and other groups. As a strong
supporter of states'rights, Sutton has worked to limit Congress' ability
to protect the civil and constitutional rights of citizens. Throughout
his legal career, Sutton has especially focused his attention on limiting
the rights of people with disabilities. He also has worked to limit
Congress' ability to protect the environment and successfully argued
against a provision of the Violence Against Women Act that allowed women
to sue their attackers in federal court.

Take Action: http://capwiz.com/fmf1/issues/alert/?alertid=1864541

----------------------
About Priscilla Owen
----------------------
Owen's record is that of a right-wing ideologue with views so
extreme that even the other Republican Justices on the Texas State Supreme
Court disagree with her. Owen's presence on the Fifth Circuit will
undermine women's right to abortion. Her opinions as a Texas State
Supreme Court Justice show that she is hostile to abortion rights, will
support lawmakers' attempts to limit women's access to abortion, and will
create obstacles not even considered by lawmakers in order to make it more
difficult for a woman to have a safe, legal abortion.

Take Action: http://capwiz.com/fmf1/issues/alert/?alertid=1864541

You are currently subscribed to fem-alert as: vicarofpep@aol.com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-fem-alert-511966U@ls.feminist.org

http://www.Feminist.org

2003-04-16T12:08:00.000-04:00

You know the quote -- "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." But, these days, woe betide the one who tries to examine history and learn from it. Here's one who tried -- and was fired.

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/rosenberg/more/cl-et-howard14apr14.story

2003-04-16T12:02:00.000-04:00

Who Needs The Bill of Rights?.
Here's a big surprise. Hatch is trying to go back on the deal to review the "Patriot Act" (read-- the Give Up All The Rights and Liberties Patriots Fought and Died For Act) This stuff is scary -- scarier still is the way we go along with it.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-giveaway14apr14,1,1346473.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Doped%2Dmanual

2003-04-16T11:56:00.000-04:00

More from the Feminist Majority

Apr 4 2003 - Senate Calls For Independent Review of Air Force Academy Rape
Scandal
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=7692

2003-04-16T11:53:00.000-04:00

Keep Your Eye On The Money

http://www.bushwatch.com/bushmoney.htm

More Prayers for Peace

http://www.invitationtoprayer.org/prayers.html

Prayers for Peace, in Time of War...

http://www.invitationtoprayer.org/prayers.html

2003-04-14T12:13:00.000-04:00

George McGovern's excellent analysis of the current US administration (in The Nation)

http://thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030421&s=mcgovern

2003-04-14T12:11:00.000-04:00

The people who push the "partial-birth" abortion bans fall into one of two categories -- the liars and the ignorant. Check The Nation for more

http://thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20030421&s=pollitt

2003-04-12T20:52:00.000-04:00

More from today's NYT
"It's untidy. And freedom's untidy. And free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things."
- DONALD H. RUMSFELD, the defense secretary, on lawlessness in Iraq.

How feeble is this?! We overthrow the government and then act as if the anarchy that follows has nothing to do with us.
This isn't hard -- we overthrew the government, we are responsible for maintaining order until some form of government can be restored. Is the entire administration utterly morally bankrupt? This sounds like a 6 year old -- she dropped it, it's not my fault (even if I did trip her).

2003-04-12T20:47:00.000-04:00

From today's NYT

TODAY'S EDITORIALS
War and Peace: Anarchy in the Streets
The images of smiling children and cheering crowds in Iraq
have been overtaken by a new, much more disturbing portrait
of anarchy and fear.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/12/opinion/12SAT1.html?th

2003-04-12T20:07:00.000-04:00

I have two fears -- that people's thinking isn't any clearer than their grammar and that their morals aren't any better than their manners.

www.epinions.com/content_3228278916