Gold Dome Live is moving!
Our new spot will allow us to get the news to you even faster and make commenting easier. Please bookmark the new site and sign up for our rss feed:
http://blogs.ajc.com/gold-dome-live/
AJC.com > Legislature > Blog > Archives > 2007 > February > 13 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USGroups seek increased family planning funding
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Planned Parenthood of Georgia and several other groups and individuals who support abortion and women’s reproductive rights lobbied at the state Capitol Tuesday to ask lawmakers for more family planning funding, comprehensive sex education, and greater access to emergency contraception and vaccinations against human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical cancer.
The organizations kicked off their lobby day with a rally on the front steps of the Capitol. Several students from various college and universities braved the chilly weather to show their support for issues such as sex education that goes beyond abstinence-only lessons in high schools.
“We need quality sex education in schools,” said Gabrielle Micale, 21, a senior at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro. “Women need to know about their own bodies to protect themselves. I don’t think abortion would be such a big problem if women knew how to protect themselves.”
Other groups at the rally included NARAL Pro-Choice Georgia, Georgians for Responsible Health Education and the Feminist Women’s Health Center. Almost all of the speakers at Tuesday’s rally repeated said they wanted lawmakers to support and provide funding for pregnancy prevention programs.
Those types of programs, several speakers argued, would reduce abortion rates more than measures backed by abortion groups such as Georgia Right to Life that seek restrictions on emergency contraception and require a women seeking an abortion to first undergo an ultrasound and then choose whether or not to view the images.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee is scheduled to consider Senate Bill 66, an abortion-related ultrasound bill on Thursday. House Bill 147, a very similar measure, already has had one committee hearing, but lawmakers did not vote on the issue. The Senate last year approved a similar measure, but it did not pass the House.
Kay Scott, the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Georgia, said that lawmakers should pass legislation that will help women and improve their health care.
“We don’t need Georgia legislators to regulate our private parts,” Scott said to loud cheers.
Several lawmakers, including state Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (D-Atlanta), Sen. Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta), Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta), Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan (D-Austell), also spoke in support of family planning funding, comprehensive sex education and HPV vaccinations.
“I wasn’t taught about sexually transmitted diseases or contraceptives until I was in a college biology class,” said Haley Shank, 21, a senior at Georgia Southern University. “Even then, all the information wasn’t correct. People don’t know how to protect themselves, and the state is recommending they not learn We need this information.”
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Health Care
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Keith Lynch
February 13, 2007 3:35 PM | Link to this
Georgians: Today I read the story in the AJC concerning Mr. Willie O. “Pete” Williams who served almost 22 years in a Georgia prison for a crime he did not commit, and went into a Fulton County courtroom Tuesday morning to clear his record, along with his name. I just want to know must someone be wrongly accused and incarcerated for years and later after their live has been wasted that someone notice an injustice has occurred. I wrote a book that gives people insight into an inept police investigation of the DeKalb County, Major Felony Unit and list official’s names. My life has been threatened several times if I were to return to Georgia to inform the public about the injustice that has befallen my family. I’ve decided to return Georgia and promote my story “Dirty Justice-Who Killed Mommy.” I’m quite sure there are others who had there rights violated! Review my tragedy @ www.kllundypublishingllc.com