abortion

Reproductive choice

Rocker Joan Jett Says ‘When Women Vote, Women Win’ (video)

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Reproductive choice
Rocker Joan Jett wants YOU to vote— and bring friends with you.

Women are not just a voting block; we make up 53% of the voters in this country. Despite the power of our numbers, somehow 100% of the Republicans in the Senate don’t believe that we deserve equal pay for equal work, and several Republican-led Legislatures– including Arizona’s– think it’s perfectly OK to restrict your rights and force YOU to have an unnecessary vaginal ultrasound– and pay for it yourself– before you can have a legal medical procedure. (Don’t even bother to ask them if we deserve equal rights that would be granted by passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.)

In Arizona, the vote is crystal clear for women. ALL Democratic Party candidates– Congressional, statewide, and legislative— stand for equal pay, equal rights, and reproductive choice for women. Republicans stand for repression of women through continued bad legislation in Phoenix. For example, Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Ducey — and all of the Republicans in the Arizona Legislature– signed the Center for Arizona Policy’s fetal personhood pledge to fight for the rights of the unborn, over the rights of mothers. (Now you know whose side they’re on, and it’s NOT ours.)

Women– Republicans think you’re too stupid to vote. Prove them WRONG on Nov. 4. Joan Jett video and background facts after the jump.

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WTF, Laurie Roberts?

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Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

laurie roberts

I had long suspected that Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts’ focus on child abuse in her columns is little more than self-serving preening but her latest piece removed all doubt.

Last week, Democrat Fred DuVal told members of a Gilbert church that he believes your 14-year-old daughter should be able to get an abortion without first getting your consent.

DuVal’s comments – to me, at least – were stunning and the most stunning part of the story?

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Cathi Herrod had a very bad day but she’s not going anywhere

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Crossposted at DemocraticDiva.com

frowny cathi

Woe is Cathi Herrod. Behold the President of Center for Arizona Policy’s statement on Friday’s huge marriage equality win for Arizona in all it’s schadenfreude-alicious glory:

Statement from Center for Arizona Policy President Cathi Herrod

Arizona’s marriage amendment which defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman has been overturned by the courts.

PHOENIX – “I am heartbroken for a country and a state that has had the redefinition of marriage forced upon them by an out of control federal judiciary.

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Let’s talk about parental notification, shall we?

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Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

robert graham intense“I obviously know more about any 14 year old’s family situation than she does!”

Anti-choicers hold two positions that are broadly popular with the public. One is support for late term bans, as antis have somehow convinced the majority of Americans that women will abort perfectly healthy pregnancies in the sixth to ninth months with alarming frequency unless the law stops them. The other is parental notification, which is one of those things that sounds reasonable if you don’t really think about it much (and most people don’t). So it’s no surprise that Arizona Republican candidate Doug Ducey would end his silence on reproductive rights throughout the general election campaign with an attack on Democratic candidate Fred DuVal over parental notification.

Here’s part of the statement that AZ GOP chair Robert Graham (pictured above) put out about it:

“Mr. DuVal’s position to remove parents from a decision of life and death is completely reckless,” said Pastor Jose Gonzales Q, of Harvest Bible Church. “Regardless of your position on abortion, we cannot possibly leave these types of decisions to developing minds. We are entering an age where parental involvement is increasingly important, but to even suggest that a minor – much less a 14 year-old – can intelligently comprehend the long-term impact of such an action is absurd.”

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HRC AZ disappoints with Ethan “Bros Before Hoes” Orr endorsement as news media fawn over his weed announcement

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Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

e orr

I learned via good sources on Facebook earlier that the Human Rights Campaign of Arizona has decided to endorse incumbent Ethan Orr (R) along with Dr. Randall Freise (D) for Legislative District 9. It’s bad enough they are snubbing Orr’s seatmate Victoria Steele (D) but they are throwing their support to a guy who has a lousy voting record on human rights issues. (CORRECTION: I have since learned that HRC AZ is endorsing Steele. They picked Orr over Friese.)

I understand that Orr is nominally pro-LGBT rights and, who knows, maybe he has finally come out in support of marriage equality. HRC AZ may be rewarding him for voting against SB1062 (not that it mattered since the bill passed anyway). If that’s the case, I would urge extreme caution about that. Ethan Orr strongly opposes a woman’s right to choose, which should be upsetting enough if you believe that human rights should be a full meal for all, not a cafeteria plan for some. But what that also means is that if/when SB1062 comes back, it will be (as I’ve explained many times) disguised as a “Hobby Lobby”-type measure. They’ll just say the magic word “abortifacients” and Ethan Orr will be on board. Thus, he really cannot be pro-LGBT if he is also anti-choice.

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