Alison Channon, Program Assistant

  • Printer-friendly version
  • Send by email

My Take

Happy Birthday Roe v. Wade, It’s Been a Tough Ride

Posted by Alison Channon, Program Assistant | Posted on: January 22, 2012 at 10:30 am

Happy 39th birthday Roe v. Wade! You’ve had a rough life but you keep on persevering, and that is something to celebrate. Because of you, American women have had the constitutional right to abortion for 39 years. But you know better than anyone that for the better part of your life, we’ve had to fight tooth and nail to keep the rights you gave us.

I don’t have to tell you that 2011 was a really rough year for reproductive rights. State legislatures passed 92 measures that undermine women’s access to safe abortion services. The previous record was 34 in 2005. And of course from the attacks on Planned Parenthood funding to the recent ‘Let Women Die Act,’ the House of Representatives had a field day taking the axe to women’s health and bodily autonomy.

It seems there was no bigger political goal in 2011 than rewinding back to before you were born (or before your buddies Griswold v. Connecticut (U.S. 1965) and Eisenstadt v. Baird (U.S. 1972) were born).

I hope the attacks are firing you up and not tearing you down. Women across America are seeing very clearly that they can’t take you for granted. And hopefully, they’re seeing more and more what a big difference public policy can make in their individual lives.

Read more...
Tags: Abortion, Roe v. Wade, Trust Women Week, Barriers to Reproductive Care, Pregnancy Rights, Health Care & Reproductive Rights | Add new comment

Women Need Congress to Put Teachers Back to Work, Right Away

Posted by Alison Channon, Program Assistant | Posted on: October 19, 2011 at 04:52 pm

Last week, Senate Republicans and two Democrats voted to block debate of the full American Jobs Act, even though 14 million Americans – 9.1 percent – are still looking for work. Now, the Obama Administration and Senator Harry Reid are looking to take up the Jobs Act one piece at a time to tackle our nation’s jobs deficit.

First up on the agenda is the Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act. It’s a part of the American Jobs Act that particularly helps women, and it couldn’t have come sooner. Since the recovery began in June 2009, women have lost 264,000 jobs while men have gained 1.1 million jobs. The job-hemorrhaging public sector is primarily to blame for women’s dismal employment picture.

Local government education, a field which is three quarters women, lost more than 255,000 jobs since June 2009. So the $30 billion the Senate bill would provide to protect or create about 400,000 education jobs would be a boon to women’s employment, families’ economic security, and children’s education.

Read more...
Tags: Jobs, Senate, Teachers & First Responders Back to Work, Unemployment, Unemployment, Education & Title IX | Add new comment

Asking Millionaires and Billionaires to Pay Their Fair Share isn’t Class Warfare

Posted by Alison Channon, Program Assistant | Posted on: September 19, 2011 at 04:56 pm

This morning, President Obama released a deficit reduction plan that calls for $1.5 trillion in new revenues from the country’s richest individuals and corporations. Thankfully President Obama recognizes that we can’t let millionaires and billionaires enjoy tax breaks that make our deficit larger and put the burden of debt on the most vulnerable Americans.

Read more...
Tags: Census Bureau and Census Data, Deficit, Medicaid, Medicare, Poverty & Income Support, Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, Social Security, Data on Poverty & Income, Medicaid & Other Public Funding, Unemployment, Employment | Add new comment