Tag Archives: Law

Two years ago, Christine Turner shared her story of surviving a rape that insurance companies considered a “pre-existing condition,” denying her coverage.

Her story cut through the political noise, helped change the dynamic of the fight over health care reform, and helped us win passage of the landmark Affordable Care Act. Now we are fighting to keep the law. Your stories can help illustrate what statistics and fact sheets can’t always do: show us how the health care law is changing the lives of every day Americans.

Share your story of how the health care law is helping you on our story blog. http://action.nwlc.org/site/R?i=NWaDKd_EpRV04F6GIYsfuw The story blog is an open forum where people can upload their photos and write about how the law is helping them. After you’ve shared, read some of the amazing stories from women across the country about how the health care law is helping them.

Were you one of the 3.8 million women on Medicare this year who received mammograms without co-pays or other out-of-pockets costs? Is your child one of the nearly one million young adults who gained health coverage due in part to the new law’s provision that allows young adults up to the age of 26 to stay on their parent’s health plan? Are you no longer paying that $20 co-pay for preventive care ?

Stories help cut through the political noise and show others why the law is important and how it is helping Americans from coast to coast. Join the story blog today. http://action.nwlc.org/site/R?i=5c8vCHxiW3uEW3lllBqZHg

Thanks to people like Christine and supporters like you, the health care law is improving the lives of women and their families. Thank you for all you do.

Sincerely,

Judy Waxman
Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights
National Women’s Law Center

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Breaking News: Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge to Health Care Law

11/15/2011 Nativegrl77

You’ve probably seen news reports on the lawsuits challenging the health care law across the country. Two courts of appeals have held that the health care law is constitutional, while one has disagreed. Today, the Supreme Court announced it will hear two of these cases and issue a decision by June 2012.

To make clear what’s at stake, I’ve recorded a short video explaining the legal challenges, why we think the law is constitutional, and what women could lose if the law is struck down.

Click to watch our video about the health care law litigation.

The health care law puts an end to insurance companies‘ practice of treating women like a pre-existing condition. Already, the law is helping women and their families by making it illegal for insurance companies to drop people once they get sick, prohibiting insurers from denying coverage to kids with pre-existing conditions, and ensuring that new health plans provide no-cost preventive health care services such as mammograms and pap smears. By 2014, it will expand Medicaid coverage to 8.2 million more women, guarantee maternity coverage, and end the practice of charging women more than men for the same insurance. All of this and more is at stake in the Supreme Court.

Once you’ve watched the video, please visit our special page dedicated to keeping you up-to-date on the latest news about the health care law litigation.Thanks for all you do for women and families.

http://action.nwlc.org/site/R?i=O1L5xqvxpetjLj_CH-OqLQ

Sincerely,

Emily J. Martin
Vice President and General Counsel
National Women’s Law Center

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Last Chance: Make the Health Care Law Work Better for Women …Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center

10/21/2011 Nativegrl77

Over the past few months, you helped us send nearly 15,000 messages to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make sure ALL women get birth control without a co-payment through the health care law.

We need your help again. HHS is deciding how key parts of the health care law will work and is accepting comments from the public until the end of the month. Join us in telling HHS how to improve the way the health care law works for women!

There are three things HHS can do right now that are crucial to women’s health:

: Include strong consumer protections to make it easy for women to enroll in high quality, affordable health care plans that meet their needs.
: Simplify the rules for insurance plans that cover abortion so women can choose the health plan that’s right for them.
: Maintain strong, enforceable standards to protect women against discrimination.

We need your help! Tell HHS to move women’s health forward by including these three important provisions in the implementation of the health care law.

The new health law has already helped millions of women: insurance companies are prohibited from dropping patients when they become sick and can no longer limit the amount of money they will pay for benefits over a woman’s lifetime, and women can get no-cost preventive health care like mammograms and pap smears.

We will continue to work with you to make sure that we keep this important law strong for women and their families.

Thank you for all that you do.

Sincerely,

Judy Waxman
Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights
National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Your support allows us to continue to improve the health care of women and their families, as well as work on many other critical issues. Please consider making a contribution today.

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12-year-old jailed for life? …Michael Whitney, Change.org

10/05/2011 Nativegrl77

24 hours to tell Florida State’s Attorney Angela Corey not to try a 12-year-old as an adult.

Cristian Fernandez is only 12 years old. And if Florida prosecutor Angela Corey has her way, he’ll never leave jail again.

Cristian hasn’t had an easy life. He’s the same age now as his mother was when he was born. He’s a survivor of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. In 2010, Cristian watched his stepfather commit suicide to avoid being charged with abusing Cristian.

Last January, Cristian was wrestling with his 2-year-old brother, David, and accidentally broke David’s leg. Despite this, their mother left Cristian with his brother again in March. While the two boys were alone, Cristian allegedly pushed his brother against a bookcase, and David sustained a head injury. After their mother returned home, she waited six hours before taking David to the hospital. David eventually died.

Now Cristian is being charged with first degree murder — as an adult. He’s the youngest person in the history of his Florida county to receive this charge, and his next hearing is scheduled for tomorrow.

Melissa Higgins works with kids who get caught up in the criminal justice system in her home state of New Hampshire. When she read about Cristian’s case, she was appalled — so she started a petition on Change.org asking Florida State’s Attorney Angela Corey to try Cristian as a child. Please sign Melissa’s petition immediately before Cristian’s hearing tomorrow.

As part of his prosecution, Cristian has been examined by two different forensic psychiatrists — each of whom concluded that he was “emotionally underdeveloped but essentially reformable despite a tough life.”

Cristian has already been through more than most of us can imagine — and now the rest of his life is in the hands of a Florida prosecutor who wants to make sure Cristian never leaves jail.

The purpose of the juvenile justice system is to reform kids who haven’t gotten a fair shake. If Cristian is sent to adult prison, it will be more than a tragedy for him — it will also be a signal to other prosecutors that kids’ lives are acceptable collateral in the quest to be seen as “tough on crime.”

Cristian’s next hearing is in just 24 hours. State’s Attorney Angela Corey needs to know that her actions are being watched — please sign the petition asking her not to try Cristian as an adult:

http://www.change.org/petitions/reverse-decision-to-try-12-yo-cristian-fernandez-as-an-adult

Thanks for being a change-maker,

– Michael and the Change.org team

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Marriage Equality Achieved? Not So Fast! …Michael Keegan, PFAW Foundation

09/14/2011 Nativegrl77

Equality is THE LAW in NY State

This year the State of New York made the decision to recognize the right of same-sex couples to marry. It’s now the law, and public officials must abide by it regardless of their personal prejudices.

WWW.PFAW.ORG

This weekend we demanded that the Town Clerk of Ledyard, New York, Rose Marie Belforti, sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples looking to marry — as the law dictates she must do — or resign.

Belforti had previously stated that she would not sign licenses for same-sex couples and refused to do so for one couple on August 30. Even after numerous residents voiced their objections to the clerk’s position at a town meeting just last night, it was clear that Ms. Belforti is sticking to her refusal to issue licenses and has no intention of resigning.

PFAW Foundation is stepping up the pressure with a petition to Town Clerk Belforti that will help us focus more attention on this issue. Please add your name to it right now! www.pfaw.org

Marriage equality is THE LAW in New York State, and couples like Katie Carmichael and Deirdre DiBiaggio, whom Belforti refused a marriage license, have the RIGHT to wed.

Public officials can’t pick and choose what laws they want to follow. And Ms. Belforti has no place putting her personal prejudices over the hard-won legal rights of New York’s same-sex couples. We’ll pursue all necessary legal action to make sure those rights are protected and are working with the global law firm Proskauer Rose, LLP to achieve a swift remedy. We’ve also brought the issue the attention of New York’s attorney general.

This year the State of New York made the decision to recognize the fundamental rights of gay and lesbian New Yorkers by finally allowing all couples to have equal access to the protections only marriage provides. We must be able to trust in our elected officials to uphold the people’s laws.

Please join us in this fight. Sign the petition to Ledyard Town Clerk Belforti now telling her to do her job, follow the law and sign ALL legal marriage licenses, or else resign. www.pfaw.org

After you take action, it’s critical that you help spread the word. We can’t let elected officials at any level get away with illegally denying Americans’ their rights because of their own personal prejudices.

Thank you for standing for Equality — the American Way.

Sincerely,

Michael Keegan