Did you know….
… that Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, is blocking funds for the first National Museum of Women’s History because he objects to its inclusion of Margaret Sanger?
… that Rush Limbaugh brought abortion even into his agenda on TSA on screenings by asking (seriously), “Will these scans be able to tell whether or not a woman has had an abortion?”
… that Glenn Beck fronts for the right wing strategy to claim a civil rights mantle for the corporate-backed, anti-environment, anti-choice rightwing, and to divide the overwhelmingly progressive and pro-Obama Black community? They have turned the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s March on Washingtoninto a Tea Party rally, used Fox News to attack longtime civil rights activist Shirley Sherrod, presented Priests for Life as Freedom Riders protesting the (false) idea that abortion is “Black genocide,” and mounted rallies and billboards in Atlanta – also soon to appear in more communities -- that declare “African-American children are an endangered species."
…that the US House of Representatives will be led by obsessively anti-choice John Boehner, Republican of Ohio, whose anti-choice majority took an on extra 43 anti-choice members in the midterms, aided by a Senate with 6 additional anti-choice votes -- all with the sworn agenda of throwing women in this and other countries under the bus by de-funding and then reversing domestic and global reproductive freedom.
There is only thing more dangerous than all of the above – not knowing all of the above.
And there will be much more. That's why it's the job of the Women’s Me di a C en ter to use new and old media to get the facts out, correct biased framing by the media, and to identify and train diverse, trustworthy, popular spokeswomen who alert the country to threats to the human right to reproductive freedom – and what you and we can do together to protect it.
During the healthcare debates, for instance, when Congressman Bart Stupak was posing the maximum danger, the Women’s Media Center launched Not Under The Bus -- the only site that brings the whole pro-choice community together, aggregating critical campaigns, commentary and video from the WMC’s leadership and our pro-choice allies. Our strong voice amplified those who were fighting against the Stupak Amendment. And we clarified the many media misconceptions about what Stupak meant for women’s health and rights. Frankly, we think we also gave courage and leverage to many of you who felt women’s voices needed to be more prominent and less equivocal in that debate.
Not Under The Bus is again ready to roll out as a basic part of the media landscape and the public consciousness. Not Under The Bus is a unique and critical project fighting biased media coverage through a rapid-response communications hub and multimedia campaign to protect women’s right to reproductive health.
We’ve done the groundwork, and now all we need is your help to rally and amplify pro-choice voices across the country.
Can you help? Only your support will win the fight for women’s reproductive choice. Donate, say, the cost of one dinner or a few months of movies or anything else in your life that won’t give you nearly as much pleasure as watching women be trusted to decide their own reproductive lives. Please give $50, $250, $500, or more today!
womensmediacenter.com/donate
Do you remember last year when the mainstream media amplified anti-choice Democrat Bart Stupak’s voice loud and clear – but not the majority views of women? With fewer than 20 percent of all managerial positions at media outlets held by women, and only 25 percent of op-eds in major newspapers written by women, it’s no wonder that our media often fails us when it comes to reality-based discussion of our reproductive rights.
Remember: A woman’s ability to decide when and whether to have children – including comprehensive sex education and affordable birth control in order to avoid abortion as well as to choose safe childbirth – is the single greatest determinant of her health, ability to go to school, economic status and even her longevity. This is not a single issue. Like freedom of speech and assembly, this is a basic human right. But it’s up to us to keep the media from trivializing it.
womensmediacenter.com/donate
With your help, women’s lives will not be thrown under the bus.
With friendship,
Gloria Steinem
Co-Founder, Women’s Media Center
Gloria Feldt
Board, Women’s Media Center
Loretta Ross
National Coordinator of SisterSong
Julie Burton
Interim President, Women’s Media Center
PS: Longtime activist and author, Gloria Steinem, has joined with Gloria Feldt (activist, author, and former President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America), Loretta Ross (National Coordinator of SisterSong, whose Trust Black Women Campaign is countering rightwing propaganda about abortion), and Julie Burton (former Executive Director of Voters For Choice and Founding Executive Director of Choice USA) to lead the WMC’s Not Under the Bus campaign.
You did not vote for and don’t deserve this threat to our reproductive lives.
Help us amplify your majority voice with Not Under the Bus: womensmediacenter.com/donate.
Women's Media Center was founded in 2005 by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem to positively impact the visibility of women in the media, amplify women's voices on key issues in the national dialogue, fight sexism and bias against women in the media, and increase professional opportunities for women across all forms of media. Through training, advocacy, and the development of original content, WMC is changing the conversation in the media so that media more accurately represents the perspectives, positions, and priorities of women.
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