President’s Report
Luba Fineson, Co-President ASHCROFT NOMINATION
LETTERS Now is the time for all good women to get out their pens or computers and start a daily letter- writing habit. Our rights are being threatened in Albany and Washington. On the very anniversary of Roe v Wade, Bush cut government funds to any international family planning organization that provides abortions or contraception counseling. Women have the constitutional right to make these decisions for themselves. Beware the "Conscience Clause."
WOMEN'S HEALTH AND WELLNESS ACT State Majority Leader Bruno proposed a change in the Women’s Health and Wellness Act to allow employers to exclude contraceptives from health coverage if it goes against their religious beliefs. Please write to Bruno and your state senator against the bill unless the change is removed. The assembly has already passed the bill without the conscience clause and will not accept it in a compromise solution. If you have email, add your e-address to the NOW list to get legislative alerts as they arise. Every letter and phone call counts. Write to your local newspaper, even the neighborhood ones, with your concerns. Don’t leave the field to the opposition. We’re in for a rough ride.
ROE V WADE COMMEMORATION We took to the tracks in numbers on January 22nd with an action in commemoration of Roe v Wade. Evening commuters at White Plains train station signed over 300 post cards that we mailed to President Bush opposing his nomination of Ashcroft. We had a great turnout. I was proud to see, in addition to our NOW members, leaders of our co-sponsors of this event and some of the county’s most important feminist organizations: My Sister’s Place, The Loft, Northern Westchester Shelter, White Plains Diversity Initiative. Our Littlest Feminist came to the action with her mother, Beth Levy and blew us all away with her cool composure. There were two other sets of mother-daughter activists there, Linda Fusco and her daughter Melissa and Hilda Demsky with her daughter Jordana spoke with commuters about choice and got post card signatures.
WINTER SOLSTICE Our Winter Solstice party was even cozier than usual. Due to the bad weather, the group was unusually small, but the fire burning in Hilda and Sy Demsky's fireplace welcomed us. We had a surprise visitor; George Lattimer and his wife Robin joined us for talk and news. Of course, much of the talk was about the election. If you want to become active in NOW, one way to find out how you can help is to come to the next solstice party in June. There is a lot of anger at the election and at Bush’s tactics regarding abortion and reproductive rights. We all need to act on that anger to bring our concerns to the press, elected representatives, and the public.
HELP WANTED When I asked last month for someone to manage the web page in Christa Burns’ absence, long-time member and book discussion group participant Sylvia Eusebi volunteered. We are so lucky to have her working with us. After working for IBM for years, Sylvia started her own web consulting business. Christa, you don’t have to worry about your web page; it’s in good hands. Sylvia also joined us at the Roe v Wade commemoration. Thanks, Sylvia.
That leaves us still looking for a P.R. person. Sioux Taylor got the press coverage for the Roe v Wade action but we do need someone dedicated to this work for the next event. Otherwise, as we say down home, if you holler in the woods and there is no one there to hear you, you might as well go home. Please call the NOW phone if you have a taste for the front page.
RECOGNITION The Westchester Association of Social Workers named Westchester NOW member Giselle Melnick Social Worker of the Year. Giselle was Chair of the Women’s Committee of the Association for several years and organized a very effective conference on women’s issues at Pace University White Plains campus. Congratulations, Giselle, we are proud of you.¨
