abortion Archives - American Atheists

Arizona Lawmakers to Give Religious Extremists $3 Million to Deceive Vulnerable Women

American Atheists — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 18:12:12 +0000

Phoenix, AZ–Today, the national religious equality watchdog organization American Atheists and the Secular Coalition for Arizona spoke out against SB 1328/HB 2388, which would give $3 million to religious “crisis pregnancy centers” (CPCs). CPCs often locate themselves next to full service medical centers, install signs imitating those of nearby medical centers, and list themselves as abortion providers in online directories and searches, despite not actually offering full reproductive health services. “CPCs use these deceptive marketing practices to lure pregnant women into their religious facilities. Once in the door, they face harassment, bullying, and shaming,” explained Tory Roberg, Director for Government Affairs at the Secular Coalition for Arizona, who is testifying today against SB 1328. “Our state should protect women from these deceptive religious pregnancy centers—not give them taxpayer dollars to harm women.” Multiple organizations, including the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM) and the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (NAPSAG), have condemned CPCs’ failure to meet medical and ethical standards. A 2018 article in the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics also called the CPCs unethical. “Because the religious ideology of these centers’ owners and employees takes priority over the health and well-being of the women seeking care at these centers, women do not receive comprehensive, accurate, evidence-based clinical information about all available options,” wrote the authors. “Arizona women need real health and pregnancy care,” said Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy at American Atheists. “Not a single tax dollar should fund deceptive organizations that try to prevent women from accessing the health care services they need.” “Lawmakers should put the health and safety of Arizona women first,” said Nick Fish, president of American Atheists. “It’s unconscionable that they seem to be more interested in doing the bidding of their extremist backers at the Center for Arizona Policy than protecting the well-being of their constituents.”

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Ohio Should Not Force Women to Bury or Cremate Fetal Remains

American Atheists — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 16:47:26 +0000

Columbus, OH—American Atheists, on behalf of its more than 1,700 constituents in Ohio, submitted testimony opposing SB 27. This controversial bill would require women to inter or cremate the fetal remains of a surgical abortion. Burial and mourning activities are religious by their very nature because they reflect an individual’s beliefs about life and death, the status of the fetus, and their religious practices. This legislation therefore violates the religious freedom of women and abortion practitioners in Ohio. Under SB 27, women seeking abortions would have to express in writing whether they want to bury or cremate the fetal remains. This bill would apply even if the abortion is so early that none exist. Interestingly, SB 27 does not create similar requirements for burial or cremation for natural miscarriages. Under this legislation, facilities that perform abortions would have to pay for the cremation or interment, raising costs. If the woman chooses to have the remains interred at a separate location than the one offered by the provider, she would be required to pay. “The state has no place forcing an individual to participate in these religious activities, as this would be a clear violation of their religious freedom. Imagine, for example, if the state forced you to baptize or christen your newborn child or prohibited you from doing so,” wrote Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy. “Because it imposes religious practices on the woman and health care providers involved, this bill is clearly unconstitutional.”

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American Atheists Opposes Ohio’s 6-Week Abortion Ban

American Atheists — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 21:36:25 +0000

Columbus, OH—Yesterday, American Atheists, on behalf of its nearly 1,800 constituents in Ohio, wrote in opposition to SB 23, the “6-week abortion ban.” This bill would impose one narrow religious viewpoint on the vast majority of Ohio women, who support reproductive freedom. Under the ban, women would lose access to legally protected abortion services. Not only would SB 23 undermine Supreme Court precedent protecting women’s rights, it would criminalize women and their doctors. “Women, not lawmakers, should make these critical decisions affecting their lives,” wrote Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy. “These health care decisions should be made in consultation with a doctor who knows her circumstances and not by a politician with a religious agenda.”

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American Atheists Opposes Restricting Abortion Services in Ohio

American Atheists — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 21:19:02 +0000

Columbus, OH—Today, American Atheists, on behalf of its nearly 1,800 constituents in Ohio, testified in opposition to SB 23. This controversial bill would limit access for millions of Ohio women to reproductive health care. This bill seeks to criminalize women and their doctors, to undermine Supreme Court precedent protecting women’s rights, and to make it impossible for Ohioans to access legally protected abortion services. It seeks to impose one narrow religious viewpoint on the vast majority of Ohio women who support reproductive freedom. SB 23 is clearly unconstitutional. It was written purposefully in the hope that an activist Supreme Court would upend 40 years of precedent. It requires invasive, unworkable assessments of fetal heartbeat in order to create a near ban of abortion in the state. It provides an exceedingly narrow definition of medical emergencies, which would prevent doctors from taking vital action to protect women’s health. Banning abortion and limiting access doesn’t reduce the need for abortion. It just forces women into extreme situations that could risk their health and lives, and criminalizes medical providers.

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American Atheists Condemns Diversion of Title X Funding to Religious Organizations

American Atheists — Mon, 25 Feb 2019 23:21:50 +0000

Cranford, NJ—Today, American Atheists denounced the Trump administration’s “Domestic Gag Rule” as unconstitutional and dangerous. Not only does the rule ban providers funded by Title X from providing abortions, it also prevents them from even talking about abortion or referring patients to other doctors for abortion care. This rule essentially redirects money from full-service health care providers to religious organizations. “The Trump Administration’s Domestic Gag Rule is astonishingly coercive and harmful to patients’ health,” said Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy. “It upends 50 years of medical ethics and federal quality standard guidelines in order to fund religious providers who want to make evidence-based family planning a thing of the past.” “The rule destroys the patient-provider relationship by coercing medical professionals into withholding medically accurate information and services if they don’t want to lose their Title X funding,” Gill said. “With this new policy, the Trump Administration is putting religious dogma above patients’ needs and curtailing families’ freedom to make crucial decisions.” “By all indications, this Administration cares more about throwing red meat to its Christian extremist base than protecting vulnerable women,” said American Atheists president Nick Fish. “Providing families with medically accurate health care must come before petty politics.”

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Atheists: The Trump Administration Must Allow Obamacare Insurers to Cover Abortion

American Atheists — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 16:42:00 +0000

Washington DC—Last week, American Atheists submitted comments to the Department of Health and Human Services opposing the Trump administration’s proposed rule that would deprive Affordable Care Act (ACA) consumers of access to abortion.

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American Atheists Submits Testimony Opposing Ohio’s Proposed Six-Week Abortion Ban

American Atheists — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 19:10:08 +0000

Columbus, OH—American Atheists, on behalf of its more than 1,200 constituents in Ohio, submitted testimony today in opposition to HB 258, a controversial bill that would limit access for millions of Ohio women to reproductive healthcare by banning abortion at six weeks. According to 40 years of Supreme Court precedent, HB 258 is unconstitutional. The bill would indirectly ban abortion by requiring invasive, unworkable assessments of fetal heartbeat. In addition, HB 258 would limit access to abortion services by narrowing the definition of medical emergencies. This change would prevent doctors from taking action to protect women’s lives. In testimony submitted to the Senate Committee on Health, Jim Helton, National Field Organizer for American Atheists, wrote, “These bans are not about protecting women’s health and well-being. They are about imposing their religious agenda on everyone else. Women, not lawmakers, should make these critical decisions affecting their lives. These health care decisions should be made in consultation with a doctor who knows her circumstances and not by a politician with a religious agenda.” The Tri-State Freethinkers, an American Atheists local partner, also presented testimony on the six-week abortion ban. In her statement, Kelly Helton, the group’s Equal Rights Advocate, reiterated the religious undertones of HB 258: “The 6-week abortion ban imposes a particular religious belief on all women in Ohio. It is not based on science. It is not based on medicine. We need policies in Ohio that are medically and scientifically accurate. We need policies that empower women, not ones that send us back to the dark ages.”

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