June, 30 2014, 11:58am EDT
Reaction to the Supreme Court Decision On Hobby Lobby
Statement of Ilyse Hogue, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America:
WASHINGTON
"Today's decision from five male justices is a direct attack on women and our fundamental rights. This ruling goes out of its way to declare that discrimination against women isn't discrimination.
"Allowing bosses this much control over the health-care decisions of their employees is a slippery slope with no end. Every American could potentially be affected by this far-reaching and shocking decision that allows bosses to reach beyond the boardroom and into their employees' bedrooms. The majority claims that its ruling is limited, but that logic doesn't hold up. Today it's birth control; tomorrow it could be any personal medical decision, from starting a family to getting life-saving vaccinations or blood transfusions.
"Ninety-nine percent of women use birth control at some point in our lives, and none of those stories made it into the arguments. It's outrageous that these five male justices chose to single out birth control for special discrimination.
"NARAL's message has always been clear: bosses who want control over their employees' personal medical decisions are offensive, out of touch, and out of bounds, and so is this ruling. We call upon Congress to right this wrong, and we will work tirelessly with our allies and member activists to make sure that the people who would stand between a woman and her doctor are held accountable."
NARAL Pro-Choice America fights for reproductive freedom for every body. Each day, we organize and mobilize to protect that freedom by fighting for access to abortion care, birth control, aid parental leave, and protections from pregnancy discrimination.
(202) 973-3000LATEST NEWS
Alabama Republicans Try to 'Criminalize Librarians Simply for Doing Their Jobs'
"Not only is this wrong, it's also unconstitutional. You are not protecting children; you are protecting extremists who are trying to dismantle the very foundations of my country."
Apr 03, 2024
The Alabama Library Association and other critics on Wednesday called out the state's Republican policymakers for pushing a new bill that opponents warn will unfairly jail librarians and have a chilling impact on collections.
House Bill 385, introduced Tuesday by state Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-43) and 30 other legislators, says that "under existing law, certain obscenity laws do not apply to public libraries, public school libraries, college libraries, or university libraries, or the employees or agents of any such libraries."
"This bill would provide that these criminal obscenity laws do not apply to college or university libraries or their employees or agents, but do apply to public libraries, public school libraries, and their employees or agents," the legislation continues.
H.B. 385 would also add the following language to the definition of sexual conduct: "Any sexual or gender-oriented material that knowingly exposes minors to persons who are dressed in sexually revealing, exaggerated, or provocative clothing or costumes, or are stripping, or engaged in lewd or lascivious dancing, presentations, or activities in K-12 public schools, public libraries, and other public places where minors are expected and are known to be present without parental consent."
"This bill is government overreach, robs parents of their rights, and would have a chilling effect on free speech by potentially incarcerating librarians because particular books are available, including even the Bible."
Matthew Layne, president of the Alabama Library Association, declared that "the message is clear—don't arrest Alabama librarians and stop turning our libraries into political battlefields. Montgomery politicians are now seeking to criminalize librarians simply for doing their jobs."
"Under H.B. 385, public and school librarians could be penalized or even arrested by prosecutors eager to follow the demands of Alabama Republican Chair John Wahl, an Alabama Public Library Service Board member, who's willing to jail librarians for having books he considers unacceptable," Layne said. "This bill is government overreach, robs parents of their rights, and would have a chilling effect on free speech by potentially incarcerating librarians because particular books are available, including even the Bible."
EveryLibrary, which says it is "the nation's first and only political action committee for libraries," has created a webpage where Alabama residents can send a pre-written message to their state representatives, urging them to oppose H.B. 385.
"I am one of your constituents and I want to know why Alabama lawmakers think jailing librarians and chilling free speech is a winnable argument," the message begins. Under H.B., 385, public and school libraries would be stripped [of] their obscenity exemption as extremists try to penalize them for having LGBTQ-affirming content, claiming sexually explicit material is available to children."
"That is false but unsurprising since Clean Up Alabama and Moms for Liberty signaled this as their master plan from the very beginning," the message continues, noting right-wing groups that have spearheaded national book-banning efforts in recent years.
PEN America found that from July 2021 to June 2023, there were at least 5,894 instances of book bans across 41 states and 247 public school districts. The group said last year that "Florida and Texas have continued to lead the country in number of bans, but the crisis has spread to 41 states."
EveryLibrary's message to Alabama lawmakers points out that a federal judge last year blocked enforcement of a similar Arkansas law criminalizing librarians and booksellers who provide minors with materials deemed "harmful" as the legal challenge moves through the courts.
"Stripping public and school libraries is a brazen attempt to chill free speech and deprive tax-paying American citizens like me of my right to choose reading material for my children, and academic freedom and privacy for minors, who enjoy a measure of First Amendment rights," the message argues. "It also gives the most extremist parents, politicians, and school administrators undue power to restrict my access to information."
"Not only is this wrong, it's also unconstitutional," the message adds. "You are not protecting children; you are protecting extremists who are trying to dismantle the very foundations of my country."
The introduction of H.B. 385 comes as Alabama residents are already outraged by public library policy changes proposed by Republican Gov. Kay Ivey.
As AL.comreported last week: "According to the Alabama Public Library Service, Alabamians had submitted 416 public comments as of Monday, and 399 are opposed to adopting the administrative code changes Ivey proposed after fears of 'inappropriate content' for children sparked a wave of book challenges statewide. The public comment period ends April 29."
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80+ Groups Urge Biden to 'Reverse Course Before Thousands More Die' in Gaza
"Risking your presidential legacy and the reputation of our nation around the world to enable the Netanyahu government's genocide has been a disastrous decision."
Apr 03, 2024
More than 80 U.S. Muslim, Palestinian, and allied groups on Wednesday implored President Joe Biden to pursue a "concrete change in policy" that includes the suspension of arms transfers to Israel as it wages a genocidal war on Gaza.
"The National Security Memorandum on Safeguards and Accountability With Respect to Transferred Defense Articles and Defense Services prohibits our government from transferring arms to nations that violate international law or obstruct U.S. humanitarian aid," the groups wrote in a letter to the U.S. president. "Furthermore, the Leahy Law forbids our government from providing military assistance to military units in foreign nations involved in human rights abuses."
"Despite overwhelming evidence that the far-right Netanyahu government has spent months engaging in such abuses by blocking access to humanitarian aid and indiscriminately bombing civilians across Gaza, your administration has claimed that Israel is complying with U.S. laws," the letter states, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The groups called the Biden administration's claim of Israeli legal compliance "simply put, false."
The letter continues:
The Israeli government's bombing campaign, which you have described as "indiscriminate" in private, has slaughtered over 32,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The Israeli army has also obstructed humanitarian aid deliveries, allowed settlers to block aid trucks, massacred Palestinians gathering to collect aid, and assassinated Palestinians charged with coordinating aid deliveries.
Just this week, the Israeli military deliberately attacked three different clearly marked vehicles in a World Central Kitchen convoy, killing seven foreign aid workers—including an American citizen.
"We knew early on that the Israeli government would deliberately and systematically commit war crimes during its military invasion of Gaza because Israeli officials openly promised to do so," the groups wrote, highlighting some of the sanguinary statements made by the country's leaders following the October 7 attacks.
"It is obvious to every neutral observer that the Israeli government has spent the past five months acting on those ominous, genocidal words," the letter says. "In January, the International Court of Justice released a preliminary ruling deeming South Africa's accusation of genocide against the Israeli government plausible. On March 26, the United Nations' special rapporteur on Palestine released a report which identified 'reasonable grounds' to assert that Israel is perpetrating genocide in Gaza."
"Your administration's plan to certify Israel's compliance with U.S. requirements despite these clear facts is both unlawful and morally indefensible," the signers argued. "As former State Department official Annelle Shelline said after resigning, 'To say this when Israel is preventing the adequate entrance of humanitarian aid and the U.S. is being forced to airdrop to starving Gazans, this finding makes a mockery of the administration's claims to care about the law or the fate of innocent Palestinians.'"
The letter's signers are asking Biden to:
- Recognize that the Israeli government's actions in Gaza violate U.S. law and your national security memorandum;
- Suspend the transfer of all weapons to the Israeli government as required by U.S. law and your national security memorandum;
- Use American leverage to secure an immediate, permanent cease-fire, the unimpeded opening of all land crossings to humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages and political prisoners, and the reconstruction of Gaza; and
- Pursue a just and lasting peace through an end to the Israeli occupation and apartheid policies.
"The American people do not want a change in rhetoric. The American people want a concrete change in policy," the letter concludes. "Risking your presidential legacy and the reputation of our nation around the world to enable the Netanyahu government's genocide has been a disastrous decision. We implore you to reverse course before thousands more die."
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House Dems Expose How GOP Social Security Cuts 'Would Hurt Families'
"This Republican budget is an attack on seniors, veterans, and the middle class," said the House Budget Committee's top Democrat.
Apr 03, 2024
U.S. House Budget Committee Democrats on Wednesday released a tool to help Americans understand how a newly unveiled Republican plan to cut Social Security "would hurt families across America."
The panel's Democrats targeted the Republican Study Committee (RSC), which includes around 80% of the chamber's GOP members and last month released a budget proposal for fiscal year 2025 that, according to Social Security Works president Nancy Altman, shows "the Republican Party is the party of cutting Social Security and Medicare, while giving tax handouts to billionaires."
Congressman Brendan Boyle, (D-Pa.), the House Budget Committee's ranking member, said at the time that Republicans had "now gone further than ever with their attacks" on the key programs, noting that their "extreme budget explicitly calls for cutting Social Security benefits for millions of Americans, ending Medicare as we know it, and making trillions in devastating cuts that would raise the cost of living for working families."
"Instead of saving Social Security and Medicare by making billionaires pay their fair share, House Republicans would rather break the sacred promise that every American should be able to retire with dignity. This Republican budget is an attack on seniors, veterans, and the middle class," he added.
Boyle also pledged that President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats "will fight to ensure it never becomes reality."
Nationally, the committee's Democrats warn on the webpage that hosts their new tool, the RSC plan would force "Americans to work longer for less" and "cut Social Security benefits for 257 million people, or 3 in 4 Americans."
The tool enables Americans to see how Republicans' proposal would impact each congressional district. For example, raising the retirement age for Americans 59 and younger would cut Social Security benefits for 620,000, or 80% of people in Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District, which Boyle represents. Statewide, it would affect 9.6 million—or 74% of residents.
RSC Chair Kevin Hern represents Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District. The plan would impact 630,000, or 79% of people there, according to the tool. Across the state, 3.1 million—77%—would face cuts.
The tool says that in Louisiana's 4th Congressional District, represented by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, 590,000, or 76% of people, would see cuts. The state total would be 3.6 million—also 77%.
The RSC plan for the next fiscal year—which begins in October—followed the release of budget proposals from Biden and House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), who is leading the fight for a fiscal commission that critics call a "death panel" designed to force through Social Security and Medicare cuts.
Biden, who is seeking reelection this year and expected to face former Republican President Donald Trump, has vowed to "protect and strengthen" the programs. Social Security Works' Altman has praised the president's proposal and warned that "Social Security is on the ballot this November."
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