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For Immediate Release: June 14th, 2004 Contact: Contact: Jordan Isenstadt (c) 516.991.3842 (w) 212.490.9535 (f) 212.490.2151 ***PRESS RELEASE*** State Senator Liz Krueger
Expresses Outrage at Erosion of Reproductive
Rights
New York, NY – At a speech
before the New York Senate Democratic Women’s Forum on Reproductive Rights
last week, State Senator Liz Krueger
(D-Manhattan) condemned
recent anti-choice actions at the federal and state level. “We are at a turning point concerning
reproductive rights in America,” stated Senator
Krueger. “The future of a woman’s right to choose
is in question. More than three
decades after Roe v. Wade, we face a deeply threatening political
environment throughout the country. A
majority of state legislatures, along with both houses of Congress and the
White House, are allied against a woman's right to make personal and private
decisions about her reproductive life.
A lone appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court is all it could take to
bring victory to those who will deny women this fundamental human right.” Senator
Krueger harshly opposed and criticized
the recent decision by the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to deny
over the counter status for Plan B, a brand of emergency contraception
(EC). In an extraordinary move, the
acting director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research ignored
recommendations handed down by the FDA Nonprescription Drugs and Reproductive
Health Drugs Advisory Committees. The
committees agreed by a vote of 23-4 that Plan B emergency contraception met
all customary criteria for over-the-counter availability, including low
toxicity, no potential for overdose or addiction, self-indication of need,
uniform dosage and no important drug interactions. “The denial of over the counter status for Plan B is a
disgrace,” remarked Senator Krueger.
“The FDA had a historic opportunity to make a statement in the
national debate regarding emergency contraception.” On March 25th,
Senate Democrats introduced a motion to petition that would have brought S.
3837, a bill to improve access to emergency contraception, to the Senate
floor. The entire Senate Republican
Majority voted against the motion.
“It is an absolute scandal that the Majority has refused to bring this
fundamental piece of legislation to the Senate Chamber for debate,” stated Senator Krueger. According to
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., 42 million, or seven in 10
women of reproductive age, are sexually active and do not want to be
pregnant. The World Health
Organization found that when emergency contraception is used within 24 hours,
the chances of becoming pregnant is reduced by 95%. EC is already available throughout Europe and in the United
States and is considered to be safer than aspirin. New York State law requires EC to be dispensed in hospital
emergency rooms to rape victims upon request. Its effectiveness is enhanced the sooner it is administered,
preferably within 72 hours of unprotected sex. Virtually all major medical and health care organizations,
including the American Medical Association (AMA), the American College of
Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Public Health
Association (APHA), support making emergency contraception available over the
counter. Senator
Krueger applauded the recent ruling
issued by Federal District Court Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton that declared the
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (known as intact dilation and extraction) as
unconstitutional, saying the measure infringes on a woman's right to
choose. The so-called Partial-Birth
Abortion Ban, was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush in
2003. “The facts are clear that the
banned procedure may actually be safer than having a conventional abortion,”
stated Senator Krueger. “The
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban is a vaguely worded and deceptive piece of
legislation that does not even include an exception for the health of
women. Judge Hamilton has acted in
the best interests of all women by confirming that medical decisions should
be separate from political agendas.” The
measure, which President Clinton had twice vetoed, was seen by abortion
rights activists as a fundamental departure from the Supreme Court's
precedent in Roe v. Wade, by shifting the debate from a woman's right
to choose and focusing on the plight of the fetus. Abortion advocates say the ban is the government's first step
toward outlawing abortion. Justice
Department attorneys argued that the procedure is inhumane, causes pain to
the fetus and is never medically necessary.
In an effort to prove their assertions, the Justice Department
subpoenaed the medical records of every woman who had an abortion at several
hospitals around the country. While
the law does protect the privacy of these women, they cannot go to court to
demand that their rights be upheld without giving up the very privacy that
the law is supposed to protect. “The
Ashcroft Justice Department has infringed upon the privacy rights of
thousands of women in an attempt to prove a point,” remarked Senator
Krueger. “The original rationale
behind Roe v. Wade was a matter of privacy and now the powers that be
want to break down that privacy. This
is but one example of how the anti-choice administration will stop at nothing
to reverse abortion rights granted in Roe v. Wade.” “The
simple fact is that Roe v. Wade has a precarious future based on all possible
indicators,” said Senator Krueger.
“The Republicans who control the White House, Congress and state
legislatures are slowly chipping away at a woman’s right to choose. A virtual tidal wave of anti-abortion and
anti-contraception legislation has swept across the 50 states and has
resulted in 380 state laws since 1995 that restrict access to reproductive
health services. We must continue to
be vigilant in this fight to protect our most basic rights.” -30- |
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