Tag Archives: Pregnancy

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Her worst fear


National Women's Law Center
 by Emily J. Martin, National Women’s Law Center
When Svetlana Arizanovska found out she was pregnant, she  was very excited. A mother of three daughters, Svetlana worked two jobs to  support her family. By day, she worked for a medical supply company. At night,  she worked at Wal-Mart.
At Wal-Mart, Svetlana often lifted heavy merchandise to  stock the store’s shelves. Due to her pregnancy, her doctor told her not to  lift more than 20 pounds — but Wal-Mart refused to comply. In fact, Wal-Mart has  a policy saying pregnant employees are not eligible for reassignments to  another position, even though reassignments are available when employees need  them because of a disability. One day,  while she was lifting heavy merchandise for Wal-Mart, Svetlana started  bleeding. She told her boss, but he ignored her.
The next morning,  Svetlana went to the emergency room and realized her worst fears were true —  she had miscarried.
No one should have to choose between her pregnancy, her  health, and her job. But that’s exactly what happens to many women like Svetlana.
Please  help us fight for women facing challenges in the workplace and beyond. We need  to raise $10,000 by midnight on Thursday. Click here to chip in $10 or more to  help us reach our goal.

Employers typically accommodate workers with limitations  due to a temporary disability and often accommodate workers with injuries — but  when pregnant women need a temporary change in their job, many bosses refuse to  make even the smallest adjustments. They may not know they’re breaking the law  when they deny women like Svetlana the ability to work without compromising  their health or the health of their pregnancies.
Too many pregnant women have been faced with a choice no  one should have to make: Keep working and risk the health of their pregnancy —  or lose their job. It’s time for employers to stop breaking the law by using  pregnancy as an excuse to push women out of work.
It’s up to us to take  a stand against policies that punish women.
Your donation will  help us fight back. We depend on your support for our work on behalf of  women and families.
Thank you, as always, for everything you do.
Sincerely,
Emily J. Martin Vice President and General Counsel National Women’s Law Center
P.S. We depend on your support to help us fight for women  and their families. Please help us  reach our $10,000 goal before midnight on Thursday.
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Lara S. Kaufmann, National Women’s Law Center


National Women's Law Center
We just had a major victory — and we hope you’ll help us celebrate!
As you know, pregnant and parenting students face a lot of challenges in school. Educational barriers and discrimination often make it hard for teen moms to succeed in school.
But this week, things are looking up.
The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights just released guidance for schools on Title IX and pregnant and parenting students, for the first time in 22 years. To get the word out, the Department is sending pamphlets explaining the guidance to thousands of school districts as well as colleges and universities across the country. The pamphlets help clarify what the law says when it comes to pregnant and parenting students — and that’s great news for teen girls.
But to be effective, the guidance has to be enforced. Please thank Secretary Duncan and remind him of the next important step for pregnant and parenting students — enforcement.
This Title IX guidance was sorely needed, and NWLC fought hard for it. We’ve been getting calls for years from young women who are being pushed out of school in violation of the law.
For example, some high school students in Georgia were told that they had to come back to school within a week of giving birth, or they’d be marked unexcused for any absences and wouldn’t be allowed to make up the work they’d missed. At the same school, pregnant and parenting students were prohibited from running for homecoming court and from being included in senior superlatives.
Sounds crazy, right? It’s 2013. Forty-one years after Title IX was passed, this shouldn’t be happening anymore. Not only should schools not be discriminating, but also there is a lot schools can and should do to support the success of pregnant and parenting students.
That’s another reason the guidance released this week is so important. It not only explains what schools have to do to follow the law — it suggests school strategies and program ideas to make a difference in the lives of young parents and their children.
Please join us in thanking Secretary Duncan for issuing this guidance and reminding him of the need for enforcement.
Thanks again for all of your hard work.
Sincerely,
Lara S. Kaufmann Lara S. Kaufmann Senior Counsel & Director of Education Policy for At-Risk Students  National Women’s Law Center
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a message from Gov.Jay Inslee


mapofWashingtonstate

As we wrap up the second week of our second special session, I want to share an update from Olympia.

While quite a bit of time has passed, my priorities remain the same. Every day, I am working to protect our commitment to funding education, while keeping our vital services to our most vulnerable intact, and every day, I’m pushing to pass a transportation package to protect our communities and grow jobs.

All over the state, Washington’s transportation infrastructure helps people get to work, moves crops from the field to the store, and carries freight to market.

Keeping that system safe and strong is mission critical to our state’s economy and it’s one of state government’s most important responsibilities. The recent Skagit Bridge collapse is a stark reminder of the critical role our transportation system plays in our communities and economy.

My team, along with a diverse coalition of stakeholders, is working day and night to get a transportation package passed that keeps Washington moving forward.

But this isn’t just about supporting the economic activity moving through our transportation system — it’s also about the jobs a transportation package would create. If we can come together in Olympia and pass a strong transportation package, it will generate well-paying, middle-class jobs in every corner of the state and help jump start Washington’s economic recovery.

My team and I are also working hard to support our long-term economic recovery by meeting our moral and constitutional duty to fully fund our kids’ education. My budget principles continue to reflect my values — making sure our kids get the best education without continuing to slash the critical services kids need to help them be successful in school.

Your support, and your commitment to the values we fought for during my campaign, helps me stand strong for our shared beliefs every day.

As the budget deadline nears and we seek to avoid a government shutdown, I will continue to insist on a budget compromise that reflects our values. Thank you for your continued engagement. I’ll keep you posted.

Very truly yours,

Jay Inslee

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Emergency C-section, the baby didn’t survive ~ Now,Bei Bei is charged for murder


Protect Pregnant Women: Free Bei Bei! 

My friend Bei Bei’s daughter died in the hospital shortly after childbirth – now Bei Bei is being tried for murder.

Sign my petition asking the prosecutor to drop the charges.When my friend Bei Bei found out she was pregnant, she was excited to start a family. But things took a turn for the worse. Her boyfriend abruptly left her and said he didn’t love her anymore, and she fell into a spiral of depression. It got so bad that she tried to kill herself on Christmas Eve.

Luckily, a friend found Bei Bei and rushed her to the hospital. Bei Bei survived, but after an emergency C-section, her baby — whom she named Angel — didn’t survive. It gets worse: now an overzealous prosecutor is putting Bei Bei on trial for murder.

Bei Bei lives in Indiana, which has a law that was meant to criminalize people who attack pregnant women. This law has never been used to convict a pregnant woman of harming herself — and suicide is not even illegal in Indiana. Bei Bei went through a personal tragedy, and now she could face 45-65 years in prison.

I started a petition on Change.org calling on prosecutor Terry Curry to drop charges against Bei Bei. Will you click here to sign?

I am terrified for my friend, and also for the precedent this trial could set. What if a woman like Bei Bei was struggling with suicidal thoughts, but then was too afraid to seek help because she knew she could be prosecuted?

After Bei Bei tried to kill herself, she did everything doctors recommended to save her fetus, taking rounds of medication and consenting to emergency surgery. When doctors told Bei Bei that Angel had to be taken off life support, Bei Bei was so devastated she had to be sedated.

Bei Bei has already been through so much — it seems like Terry Curry is the only person in Indiana who wants to prosecute her. I hope that if thousands of people sign my petition, we can bring enough attention to his cruel vendetta to get him to drop the charges and let Bei Bei finally move forward with her life.

Click here to sign my petition demanding that prosecutor Terry Curry drop all charges against my friend Bei Bei Shuai.

Thank you,

Brooke Beloso Indianapolis, IN