From my inbox this morning:
Your anti-choice state legislature is hard at work
Women who live in Tennessee already face an uphill battle when
it comes to their reproductive rights. Anti-choice legislators
in recent years have passed biased counseling and
mandatory-delay requirements, mandatory parental-consent rules,
and targeted regulations against abortion providers.
And now, Rep. Stacey Campfield would like to take it all one
step further. It's not enough that women who seek to access
reproductive health face significant hurdles; Rep. Campfield
believes that their privacy shouldn't matter at all.
On February 8, Rep. Campfield introduced House Bill 982,
legislation that would require a death certificate be filed for
every abortion in Tennessee. Tennessee's Office of Vital Records
already keeps track of the number of abortions in the state, but
these records keep the women's identities private.
However, as Rep. Campfield surely knows, death certificates
include personal and identifying information - including full
name and mailing address - that would become public record.
This bill is an assault on women's dignity and privacy. The
chairman of Tennessee's House Judiciary Committee called it "the
most preposterous bill I've seen" in an eight-year legislative
career. He further said, "It is totally inconsistent with
everything the law contemplates as it relates to anything close
to that subject."
Women in Tennessee deserve their constitutionally protected
right to privacy when they make their personal reproductive
decisions. Please help us defeat this dangerous bill by telling
your legislators to oppose HB 982 - click on this link to take
action - http://prochoiceaction.org/campaign/tn_leg_hb982_2_22_07/b8kk6krhwn688d?.
You can take action on this alert via the web at:
http://prochoiceaction.org/campaign/tn_leg_hb982_2_22_07/b8kk6krhwn688d?
Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
http://prochoiceaction.org/campaign/tn_leg_hb982_2_22_07/forward/b8kk6krhwn688d?
We encourage you to take action by March 24, 2007
When I got home, I found this from the Nashville Women's Political Caucus weekly report:
SB1094 by Sen. Dwayne Bunch – HB0982 / Rep. Stacey Campfield
NWPC OPPOSES THIS LEGISLATION
(Abortion) Vital Records - Requires death certificates be issued for each induced termination of pregnancy in this state.
SB1094 has been referred to the Senate State & Local Government Committee
CONTACT THE MEMBERS AND ASK THEM TO VOTE AGAINST THIS LEGISLATION
Bill Ketron, Chair Lowe Finney, Vice-Chair Bo Watson , Secretary
Tim Burchett, Jerry Cooper, Thelma Harper, Joe Haynes, Mark Norris and Jim Tracy
HB0982 has been referred to the Public Health & Family Assistance Subcommittee of
the House Health & Human Resources Committee
CONTACT THE MEMBERS AND ASK THEM TO VOTE AGAINST THIS LEGISLATION
Mary Pruitt, Chair
Chris Crider, Lois Deberry, Tom Dubois, JoAnne Favors, Sherry Jones, Debra Maggart and
Beverly Marrero
You can find and contact members of the TN Senate here and the House here.
undefined NWPC also included another of Campfield's regressive and harmful bills in their weekly report, that has gone to committee, and which I briefly discussed last weekend. That being shared custody is in the best interests of the child. Perhaps, in an ideal world it would be (then again, if this were an ideal world, divorces wouldn't be happening), but we are living in a world that is far from ideal, and thus, judges should not be limited from looking at all options, to find one that would truly be in the best interests of the child.
SB1101 / Sen. Dwayne Bunch – HB0991 / Rep. Stacey Campfield
NWPC OPPOSES THIS LEGISLATION
Child Custody and Support - Creates rebuttable presumption that shared custody is in child's best interest.
SB1101 has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee
CONTACT THE MEMBERS AND ASK THEM TO VOTE AGAINST THIS LEGISLATION
Mae Beavers, Chair Doug Jackson, Vice-Chair Jamie Woodson, Secretary
Diane Black, Shea Flinn, Jim Kyle, Mark Norris, Paul Stanley and John Wilder
HB0991 has been referred to the House Children & Family Affairs Committee
CONTACT THE MEMBERS AND ASK THEM TO VOTE AGAINST THIS LEGISLATION
John J. DeBerry, Jr., Chair Sherry Jones, Vice-Chair Beverly Marrero, Secretary
Tommie F. Brown, Kevin Brooks, Glen Casada, Barbara Cooper, Joanne Favors, Richard Floyd,
Matthew Hill, Brian Kelsey, Mark Maddox, Donna Rowland, Johnny Shaw, Mike Turner, Nathan Vaughn
Again, contact these folks and let them know these bills should go no further (You can find and contact members of the TN Senate here and the House here).
Update: KnoxViews is having discussions on several other Stacey X bills:
Looser pays: back-door tort reform -- the intention is to stop petitioners from filing suit in the first place.
Wife-beater protection: Actually three bills are discussed here
No-Lottery: anyone on public assistance barred from collecting prizes. (bill does not define prizes if to mean only winnings or also scholarships)
School Vouchers (another David Horowitz take-off I believe)
ed. fixed formatting and changed "undefined" to NWPC