Tag Archives: politics

This year,(2014) Alaska lost a legend when Ruth Schmidt passed away at the age of 97.

In a time when many women weren’t encouraged to enter scientific fields, Ruth received her Masters (in 1939) and Ph.D. (in 1948) from Columbia University before going on to become a prominent geologist. She moved to Alaska in 1956, and later founded the Geology Department at the University of Alaska, Anchorage.

An article in the Anchorage Daily News from April summed up just how impressive Ruth’s accomplishments were: “Recently the American Association of Petroleum Geologists announced it would honor the organization’s first 100 female members to commemorate its centennial in 2017. The first woman featured is Ruth A.M. Schmidt.”

Ruth was a treasure to the state of Alaska, not just because of her professional accomplishments, but also because of her storied philanthropic work.

As her obituary notes, “she supported conservation, opera and symphony, social services, public media, science, and science education for women and minorities.”

There’s something else to add to the list: Ruth supported women’s health and reproductive justice.

We were overwhelmed and amazed when we learned that part of Ruth’s will included a bequest to Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest, the first-ever contribution of that type to our organization.

We want to thank and honor Ruth for her support of women’s health and reproductive freedom.

Because of Ruth’s generosity, we have been able to wage a stronger fight against the threats to women’s health posed by politicians who want to interfere in personal medical decisions. Coupled with the support of thousands of activists like you – as donors, volunteers, and community supporters – we’ve been able to advance a progressive agenda across Alaska, Idaho, and Washington fighting for women and families.

Ruth was a trailblazer for women, for science, for Alaska, and for reproductive health and rights. If you want to continue her legacy with us, add your name to the list as someone who will continue to fight for women’s health in 2015 and beyond.

Thank you for all that you do.

Elaine Rose
CEO
Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

a message from Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center

01/25/2015 Nativegrl77

I have some hard news to share with you.

After nearly 12 years of working on women’s health and reproductive rights at the National Women’s Law Center, I’ve decided to move on to my next adventure.

I am grateful to have been able to serve with you in the fight on behalf of women and their families for all these years. Together, we protected and expanded Medicaid and defeated outrageous attempts to curb reproductive health on the state and federal levels. We also passed a landmark health care law that is helping millions of Americans through better insurance coverage and targeted benefits for women. Now all insurance plans will cover contraceptives without co-pay.

We made Margaret Sanger proud.

A few of my favorite photos from over the years

A few of my favorite photos from over the years

We still have much work to do, and many battles ahead. That’s why I’m thrilled that Gretchen Borchelt, our current Senior Counsel and Director of State Reproductive Health Policy, will be taking over the reins of the Health and Reproductive Rights team at the National Women’s Law Center as the new year begins. Gretchen and I have worked together for 8 years, and I know she’ll provide strong, experienced and committed leadership. She’s as enthusiastic about continuing this work as I am to see her do it.

Gretchen and me