’NYC Unrated & Unfiltered

Give Your Sweetheart One of Our Sweet Condom Valentines.

ericasackin — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 14:47:02 +0000

Want to show your sweetheart you care? Then show them you care about their sexual health with these condom cover valentines. Choose from any of the five designs below, print it out, and wrap it around the contraceptive of your choice. Remember — nothing says “I Love You” better than keeping your partner safe?

How to Help

ericasackin — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 20:01:54 +0000

The right-wing fringe of the republican party both elected and otherwise, have made denying women access to reproductive health care their #1 priority. But we don’t have to take this sitting down. Let’s act now. Here are three things you can do:

Send a letter to Congress, asking them to protect Planned Parenthood and the women, men, and teens who rely on us by contacting your representative and telling him or her to vote “NO” on any attempt to cut off family planning funding.

Send a letter to the editor. The NY Times, NY Daily News, NY Post and Staten Island Advance have all run stories about Lila Rose’s attacks on Planned Parenthood. We have three sample letters for you to chose from, or write your own.

Come rally with us. On February 26 we will be bringing all New Yorkers together to rally, and stand up for women’s health. RSVP to come out and join us. And tell your friends!

Get your activism in shape with PPNYC’s boot camp!

caitlinbumpas — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:05:52 +0000

Hey college students! The spring semester is here, and if you’re like I was just one year ago, you’re trying to put your school schedule together. But even if you’re a more organized feminist organizer than I was, we’ve got something to put on your calendar- the Planned Parenthood Of New York City’s Activist Council Boot Camp.

This crash course in organizing, progressive activism, and confidently talking about tough issues is great for new groups looking for some help, established groups looking for a new perspective or a refresher, and anything in between. And best of all is absolutely free!

The training is 4 hours long and led by two of our trainers through three sections: Activism 2.0, which covers the ins and outs of activism; a rundown of the legislative system and the city, state, and national level; and how to talk about Tricky Subjects. You’ll learn how to keep people coming back for meetings, how to put on a concert to raise money, and how to be comfortable talking about your views on tricky, controversial subjects like abortion.

Our Boot Camp trainers are members of our Activist Council, a group of trained and dedicated volunteers. They will work with your group’s schedule, and bring the intensive 4-hour training to you when it works out best for you and for our trainers. When I started working with this program I was amazed and definitely jealous- I would have loved something like this when I was in school!

We have done trainings for everyone from student feminist groups, to student ACLU groups, to student nurses and social workers, and we are definitely willing to shape and mold the training a bit for what you’re looking to get out of it. We’re scheduling for this semester from late February on, and our trainers are excited to get out there!

Want to know more or schedule a training? Call me, Caitlin Bumpas, Outreach and Organizing Civic Corps, at 212-274-7290 on weekdays from 9:30-5:30 or email us at ppnycBootCamp@gmail.com. Our trainers can’t wait to get out there and meet you!

Caitlin Bumpas is a full-time Organizing and Outreach volunteer at PPNYC thanks to the NYC Civic Corps. She works with our amazing group of volunteers, the Activist Council, and does outreach in the community at health fairs and other events. Before she came to New York she was involved in feminist and social justice activism in college, where she studied Women and Gender and worked for the botanic gardens.

What you should have read, but might have missed, last week.

ericasackin — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:06:37 +0000

Here are a few of the stories we’ve been paying attention to:

Planned Parenthood of Upper Hudson wrote about how abortion rights are at risk, even in NY.
The NY Daily News publishes a report saying pregnancy has greater mental health risks associated with it than abortion does.
Lisa Belkin also picks it up.
After several suspicious encounters across the country, Planned Parenthood went to the FBI to report possible Live Action activists claiming to be sex traffickers. AP has a long story, which the Washington Post picked up.
RH Reality Check follows up.
And Talking Points Memo follows the whole progression.
Boehner has introduced an extreme bill restricting abortions.
The bill, as it is, redefines rape.
A NY Times editorial called it “highly intrusive.”
Michelle Goldberg has a good breakdown of the specifics.
And Kathleen Sebelius clarifies that the Federal Government does not now cover abortion.
Activists are responding with a “Dear John” social media campaign.
And Feministe writes about why federal funding for abortion would be a good thing.
The National Center for Health Statistics released a comprehensive snapshot on how Americans are using birth control.
Nick Kristof writes about the Catholic hospital that was excommunicated for providing an abortion to save a woman’s life.
NY Times writes about the high number of states pushing local laws to restrict abortion.
Which the Center for Reproductive Rights wrote a letter in response to.
Baltimore’s CPC bill is under attack.
The ruling, if it sticks, could have implications for New York’s CPC bill.
Young Black and Latina women are being tested for STDs more frequently than their Caucasian counterparts, according to a new study.

That’s all we’ve got. What have you been reading?

Which one is a medical provider?

ericasackin — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:00:45 +0000

Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) are anti-choice organizations masquerading as legitimate reproductive health care providers.

They are not licensed medical facilities. Instead, the CPCs’ goal is to intentionally deceive and misinform women about their reproductive health options.

Often times women cannot tell between a CPC and a legitimate medical provider.

The New York City Council has introduced legislation that would change this, and force CPCs to be upfront about the services they do and do not provide.

Help us make sure this legislation passes.

What you should have read, but might have missed, last week.

ericasackin — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:00:56 +0000

Here are a few of the stories we’ve been paying attention to:

PPNYC has a joint op-ed in El Diario on the importance of upcoming CPC legislation.
RH Reality Check published a fantastic piece by Dr. Maureen Paul on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
And check out the whole RH Reality Check series on the 38th anniversary of Roe.
As you know, we’ve also have been posting a series of personal stories on our blog, entitled “What Roe Means to Me”
And Obama gave a speech about Roe v. Wade.
The NY Times did a follow-up piece on the abortion rate in NY.
Read Cuomo’s thoughts on social issues.
The House voted to repeal health care reform.
And will be trying to pass a law severely restricting funds to pay for abortion next.
With Boehner calling it his priority.
A Pennsylvania doctor is charged with murder for performing illegal and fatal abortions on mostly poor women of color.
Full story on the Pennsylvania doctor case.
Will Saletan, ridiculously, says the case should cause us to think about later term abortions.
Which Feministe deftly counters.
As does Michelle Goldberg, by pointing out that this case highlights the need for access to safe, comprehensive reproductive health care:.
A new study shows that birth control pills do not make you gain weight.
RH Reality Check has 14 health care benefits the GOP wants to take away from you but keep for themselves.
Randall Terry, formerly of Operation Rescue, will run for president in 2012.
And plans on running graphic anti-abortion ads during next year’s Super Bowl.
And on a good note, Gabrielle Giffords is recovering rapidly.

That’s all we’ve got. What have you been reading?

Thank you.

ericasackin — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 22:00:03 +0000

To all the amazing women who shared their stories of what Roe v. Wade has meant to them. Thank you for your courage, and for your openess.

For everyone else, you too can still share your story, either in the comments below or by emailing us. Or, just read the whole series here.

What Roe Means to Caitlin

ericasackin — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:00:08 +0000

In honor of the 38th anniversary of Roe V. Wade, we’re sharing stories from our supporters of what Roe has meant to them. Want to share your story? Leave it in the comments below or email us. You can read the whole series here.

“When I was a child, my mother wanted me to know that I could be anything I wanted to be not in spite of, but because I was a girl. I grew up thinking there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do.

Abortion wasn’t really on my radar at all until middle school. It made me uncomfortable to think about, so I didn’t. By the time I got to high school and then college, I realized that the issue of the legality of abortion is about so much more than the procedure itself. It’s about women’s ability to control their own lives at the very core of that life: their physical bodies. The idea that people were trying to take away abortion rights, and limit them, forcing women to have babies, or on the other side of the coin, discouraging women from having babies or forcing them to give up their babies, and then denying them birth control, and that the most vulnerable women, young women, poor women, and minorities, are the most susceptible and indeed the targets of this reproductive violence, makes me physically ill.

Roe vs. Wade is to me a basic acknowledgement on behalf of the nation that this battle was already fought and women won the basic right of privacy when it comes to what they do with their pregnancies. It’s not everything by a long shot. It obviously doesn’t protect women from restrictions- many states have them. It doesn’t provide for poor women and their babies, or pay for their birth control. These are the things we still have to fight for and that many are fighting for, but Roe is a place to stand, a crucial victory we shouldn’t have to defend nearly 40 years later.”

-Caitlin, Age 23

Want to share your story? Leave it in the comments below or email us.

What Roe Meant to Andrea.

ericasackin — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:30:00 +0000

Today is the the 38th anniversary of Roe V. Wade. To honor it, we’re sharing stories from our supporters of what Roe has meant to them. Want to share your story? Leave it in the comments below or email us. You can read the whole series here.

“Several years ago, I was talking with my Aunt, a person I respected a lot. She was a cattle rancher out West most of her life, one of the pioneers in growing range-fed cattle. However, she grew up in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s.

She told me that her first job was working in a doctor’s office as a receptionist. She said that almost every week, a woman would come into the office for help because she was bleeding from her uterus. The woman would be bleeding because she had tried to use a wire coat hanger to abort a fetus (or some back-alley abortionist had).

The coat hanger had been unwound and made into a sharp stick to poke in her uterus to cause the abortion. My Aunt told me that many times, women came too late to save their own lives. The end of the hanger had pierced the uterine wall beyond repair. There was massive infection and hemorrhaging. The women either died in the doctor’s office, or soon after, in the hospital, despite every attempt to save her.

My Aunt said she came to understand that she had to support legal abortion because she saw so many women die in their desperation not to have a child. And then she saw the devastation this caused in families in her community. Children lost beloved mothers. Husbands lost beloved wives. Parents lost beloved daughters. Friends lost beloved friends. This helped convinced me how important it is to support complete women’s healthcare.”

— Andrea

Want to share your story? Leave it in the comments below or email us.

What Roe Meant to Rosalyn

ericasackin — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 15:00:54 +0000

“In the early 60s while a college student I got pregnant. Abortion was illegal, and though my parents were liberal I didn’t want to involve them. My boyfriend found someone through his father. It cost a fortune back then. We borrowed money from many friends and years later I’d meet people who said, yeah aren’t you the girl that had an abortion. The bad girl reputation followed me for years.

I had no anesthetic and the doctor took more care counting the cash than he did with me. He said, “Don’t cry.” After the abortion I went to the bathroom and sobbed. He had his nurse haul me out, and told me if there was anything wrong don’t call. I bled thought I was dying, but was OK. I’m a grandmother of two.

Now, as a professor, I have helped dozens of students continue their education. Some were excellent students who began to not show up for class. When I inquired they told me they were pregnant and giving up. I’ve arranged legal, inexpensive safe abortions for them at Planned Parenthood and want to keep it that way. I hear from these students now mothers, lawyers, and social workers and they thank me for helping them with their abortions.”

— Rosalyn, 64

Want to share your story? Leave it in the comments below or email us.