President’s Report
Luba Fineson,
Co-President
NOW NATIONAL CONFERENCE: The Conference will be held from Friday, June 29
through Sunday, July 1 in Philadelphia. It promises to be exciting as it is a
voting conference with TEAM* NOW, a new slate of candidates, challenging the
current leadership. The Chapter has voted to endorse TEAM* NOW candidates:
President: Toni Van Pelt, former president of Florida NOW, VP Executive: Gloria
Woods, former president of Michigan NOW and national board member, VP Action:
Marcia Pappas, former vice president of New York State NOW and national board
member; VP Membership: Alicia Perez-Banuet, current president of Michigan NOW.
Their emphasis, is on enhancing grass roots activism and fiscal accountability.
To further these goals, they propose an Issues and Action Clearinghouse to
develop and share resources with chapters and states regarding new and emerging
issues and to develop model legislation, legislative strategies and action
plans. They pledge to voluntarily adjust the national officers’ compensation to
membership growth. If you cannot go to the Conference, you can support TEAM*
NOW by sending a donation for their campaign to: Campaign for NOW, Lois Galgay
Reckitt, Treasurer, 38 Myrtle Ave., S. Portland, ME 04106.
We expect a sizeable
Westchester delegation to attend the Conference. The only way to have a voice
in the selection of officers is to go to the Conference since NOW by-laws do
not allow absentee voting. The Westchester Chapter has 19 delegate slots. NOW
Members current as of March 30th may be voting delegates by pre-registering
with the chapter by May 30th or at the Conference with Chapter
verification. All delegates MUST show their current membership card and a
picture I.D. to vote. Philadelphia is a great place – I know, I lived there
for 10 years. Close enough to New York
to go for the day, it has so much to offer near the hotel that one needs extra time
to see the Art Museum, Reading Terminal Market, and Society Hill. I hope to see
you there! Call (914) 834-6264 for more information about Conference
registration.
SUMMER SOLSTICE: True to our long-standing tradition, we gather
together for end-of year report, election of officers, and an evening of
socializing. We expect an exciting program. A woman swimmer and Olympic medal
winner will be in New York for the New York Swim Foundation race and women’s
swim relay around Manhattan Island on June 23. In the past, women swimmers have
been the pace-setters, winning seven of the last 10 races. Our guest hopes to
pass on to us the possibilities for girls and women in sports and the great
contribution it has made to her life.
Jennie Ries, who has organized the escort service at the Dobbs Ferry
Women’s Health Service, will present awards to recognize the dedicated
volunteers who escort clients into the service every Saturday. Jennie, a former
president of Westchester NOW, is one of the founders of Catholics for Choice.
She has been working to protect women's right to choose an abortion for 25
years and started coordinating the escort service about 12 years ago when the
obstruction of women's health clinics by the anti-choice fanatics was at its
height. Lou Kahn and Judy Aronowitz will be honored at the Solstice party. Past
clinic escort honorees of long service are Daphne and Bob Phillipson and
Pauline Kravath.
LEGISLATION: THE WOMEN’S
HEALTH AND WELLNESS BILL is stuck in
the NYS legislature. The Assembly and the Senate have approved very different
bills. The Assembly version covers a wide range of medical procedures for
working women. The Senate bill has an exemption clause, put in by the
anti-choice conservatives, which allows employers to exempt coverage for
contraception. Under the Senate version, women whose employers invoked the
exemption would not be covered for contraceptives. We note that Senator Nick
Spano, whom we endorsed as pro-choice in the last election, voted for the
exemption clause that allows choice only for those women whose employers are
pro-choice. Other women’s employers will make the choice for them under the
Senate version of the bill. We have let Senator Spano know that we are very
disappointed in his vote and we urged him to work in the joint legislative
committee to pass the bill without
the exemption clause. WRITE
TO SENATOR SPANO, especially if you live in Yonkers, and let him know that it
is up to women to decide their own reproductive future, not the Senate or an
employer.
GLOBAL GAG RULE: Nita
Lowey has been working in the
Congress to restore funding for family planning clinics overseas. President
Bush restored the restrictions on family planning that President Clinton had
removed; clinics may not provide or advocate (includes counsel) abortions or
they will lose U.S. funding for family planning activities. Congress member
Nita Lowey took a leadership role in the House International Relations
Committee to pass the GLOBAL DEMOCRACY PROMOTION ACT as part of the STATE
DEPARTMENT AUTHORIZATION BILL (HR 1646). However, Senators Helms, Barcis and
Smith have introduced an amendment, similar to the pre-Clinton era Hyde
amendment to strike the Global Act from the Authorization bill. WRITE TO
YOUR CONGRESS MEMBERS urging a vote against the hated Helms Amendment which
would increase illegal abortions by denying contraceptives to women in developing
countries.
ABUSED WOMEN: Nita Lowey has been working in Congress for increased funding
for abused women’s shelters. She is a true woman’s advocate and we congratulate
her for her efforts on our behalf.
CONTINUING OUR WORK: After five years of working without an appeal for
funds, we must now go to our membership and ask for donations to strengthen the
fight against the Bush administration. Federal and State funds are going into
tax reductions instead of to women’s shelters. Medicare and Medicaid are facing
budget cuts. If ever there was a time when grass roots activism was crucial to
retaining recent gains and preventing erosion of support, it is now. With
increasing costs and decreasing membership, your local NOW chapter needs your
help to get out the Newsletter, organize actions like the January 22nd
demonstration for Roe vs. Wade, lobby in local and state legislatures, and meet
with representatives to protect the right to contraceptives, abortion, and
women’s health issues. You can help us in two ways: renew your membership
promptly and send in a donation for our continued work to Westchester NOW
Treasurer Arlene Ketchum, P.O. Box 299, Elmsford, NY 10523.
NEWSLETTER MAILINGS: In the past we have added prospective members to
our Newsletter mailing list. Due to shortage in funds, we must put a three
month time limit on these mailings. Please send your membership dues promptly
to join our efforts for women’s equality and to continue to receive the
Newsletter. Send to NOW’s Membership Dept., 733 15th St., NW, 2nd floor,
Washington, DC 20005. ¨
