Democracratic Party of Oregon sends out action item on womens reproductive health

The Democratic Party of Oregon today sent out an action item on the topic that I've been covering lately - women's reproductive health. As I wrote a few days ago, the Bush Administration is working on instituting new rules that will make it more difficult for women to have access to reproductive health services like annual exams as well as pushing birth control into "abortion" territory.

The Merkley campaign has put together a petition on this issue, and the DPO sent out this email about it today:

Sign the petition.

Write a letter.

Call out Gordon Smith.

While Jeff Merkley takes a public stand to protect a woman's right to choose, Gordon Smith offers only silence.

We need to respond with two actions:

1. Sign Jeff Merkley's petition to protect women's health care. Sign this petition to stop President Bush from compromising women's access to health care information.

2. Write a letter to the editor asking Gordon Smith to take a stand on this issue. According to a Willamette Week article, Smith refuses to say if he opposes the Bush war on a woman's right to choose. That's not good enough. Oregonians deserve answers, not silence.

Use this link to write a letter to the editor using these points:

• Gordon Smith needs to state his position on President Bush's new plan to roll back a woman's right to choose.
• We need Gordon Smith to stand up and oppose the Bush rule that would compromise women's access to health care and information.
• Jeff Merkley has a 100% record protecting a woman's right to choose and is speaking up for Oregonians on this issue.
• Jeff Merkley is fighting President Bush on his plan to limit a woman's right to choose.
• Gordon Smith is silent on this issue.
• Oregon needs two senators to stand up for women's health care.

So, please, do as the email says - sign the petition, write a letter to the editor, do whatever you can to ensure women have access to basic and necessary reproductive health services as well as birth control pills. These services are necessary to detect and prevent harmful and fatal conditions. Not to mention the need for birth control for a variety of reasons - not only for family planning, but also hormone control, preventing cysts, limiting the effects of endemetriosis, and more.

Let's not send women back to the dark ages.