Category: Gender Equity - PACG - Progressive Action for the Common Good

Phone Banking for Reproductive Rights - PACG Event

10/20/2022

Phone Banking for Reproductive Rights
Thursday, October 27th from 6:00 to 7:30 pm

Gender Equity Forum and ALCU - Iowa

The start of the 2023 legislative session is right around the corner and we know reproductive rights will be on the agenda. So we need to be ready to hit the ground running when the new and returning legislators arrive at the Iowa State Capitol in January.

Join the ACLU of Iowa on Thursday, October 27th from 6:00 to 7:30 pm for a virtual phone bank on reproductive rights! We'll be calling Iowans in key areas of the state to make sure we start the legislative session with a strong and broad network of folks ready to stand for reproductive rights.

Please register here.

After you register, you will receive a Zoom link on Thursday morning.

Alta Price

Informational Town Hall on Potential Abortion Legislation in Iowa - October 2, 2022

9/24/2022

Gender Equity Forum Sponsors Informational Town Hall on Potential Iowa Abortion Ban
Sunday, October 2nd at 2 pm

Metropolitan Community Church of the Quad Cities
2930 W Locust St
Davenport, IA (map)

Led by the Gender Equity Forum of Progressive Action for the Common Good, a coalition of local organizations and pro-choice activists have announced plans for an informational session on the Governor’s proposed Iowa abortion ban. The event will be held on Sunday, October 2nd at 2:00 pm at the Metropolitan Community Church of the Quad Cities, located at 2930 West Locust Street, directly across the street from the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport. Discussion will focus on how the six-week abortion ban will impact women’s and nonbinary individual's health, as well as the social justice implications for these people's autonomy and equality.

The announcement comes in response to Governor Kim Reynolds' court filing requesting a state court to reinstate a 2018 law banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, now that state and federal precedents protecting abortion rights have been overturned. This action comes despite a recent Des Moines Register poll reporting that 60% of Iowans believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases.

Among the speakers scheduled to present on October 2nd are: Dr. Carolyn Martin, a retired obstetrician-gynecologist; Maize Stilwell, Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa; Francine Thompson, Executive Director of the Emma Goldman Clinic; and, Iowa House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst. The event will be hosted by Scott County Supervisor Ken Croken.

Contact Carolyn Martin or Alta Price for more information.

"Fight Injustice in Iowa" campaign goes live in August

8/14/2022

"Fight Injustice in Iowa" - OHF QCA billboard campaign goes live in August

One Human Family QCA

Our “Fight Injustice in Iowa” billboard campaign will soon be in place!

Here are the locations and dates of posting for our billboards:

2814 State Street, Bettendorf (map) – August 15
400 West 2nd Street, Davenport (map) – August 15
53rd Street east of Brady, Davenport (map) -September 12
621 East Kimberly, Davenport (map) – September 19

We do not as of now know which signs will be up at which locations. But as of tomorrow, you can start checking them!

Rabbi Henry Jay Karp
One Human Family QCA

Iowa rejects appeal to pull book from school library - No Hate In Our States

8/14/2022

Iowa State board rejects appeal to pull ‘Gender Queer’ book from school library

Gender Equity Forum

This important decision helps us move to solidify equal rights for all. From the Iowa Capitol Dispatch:

The Iowa Board of Education refused Thursday to review a decision by the West Des Moines School District that keeps a book about LGBTQ identity on library shelves.

Last year, Teri Patrick of Clive complained about the book, “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” which is available for check-out at Valley Southwoods Freshman High School, a West Des Moines school campus for ninth grade students. Patrick wrote in the complaint that some of the book’s content violated state law which prohibits giving minors explicit material. The book, by Maia Kobabe, includes scenes which involve sexual activity and masturbation.

The West Des Moines school board voted in March to keep “Gender Queer” on school library shelves. Patrick then filed an appeal of the board’s decision to the state Department of Education.

We must continue to work for gender equity. Read the full article here.

Alta Price

Gender Equity Forum Meeting - After Action Report

7/24/2022

Gender Equity Forum First Meeting - July 19th - After Action Report

Gender Equity Forum

The Gender Equity Forum held its first meeting on Tuesday, July 19th at the Bettendorf Library. Thirty-five people were in attendance. While we normally won't share a forum meeting update as an After Action Report, this was our first one and we were very pleased with the turnout.

Although there were technical issues with hooking up the computer to the Gilbert Room's system, the forum facilitators were able to "wing-it" in fine form. We began with a discussion of what we had planned for the meeting and then broke into two meetings to brainstorm ideas for actions to be taken in both Illinois and in Iowa.

Here's the PowerPoint presentation that we had hoped to share. You will probably see something similar to this in a future meeting.

Alta Price
Carolyn Martin

2022.07.19_gender_equity_forum_meeting.pptx
File Size:	166 kb
File Type:	pptx

LTE from Iowa Medical Professionals re: Abortion as health care - PACG Event

7/24/2022

Letter to the Editor from Iowa medical providers regarding abortion as health care

Gender Equity Forum

July 19, 2022

To The Editor:

(Note: Read the published letter here.)

As physicians and advanced practice providers from across the State of Iowa who care for women, we are compelled to outline our concerns for their healthcare after the recent SCOTUS decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health which overturned prior precedent of autonomy and privacy for women. While abortion and contraception remain legal and available in Iowa for now, we are concerned about future legislation that has the potential to negatively impact the health and autonomy of our patients.

We have conversations daily with women about medical conditions that may adversely affect a pregnancy or vice versa. Complications that can arise in pregnancy are complex, different for every person, and often unpredictable. We are highly trained medical professionals, yet we cannot foresee every pregnancy complication; therefore, policymakers cannot be expected to do so. We are concerned that maternal outcomes will be adversely affected in Iowa if more restrictive abortion legislation is enacted. Maternal outcomes have already suffered in Texas after legislation that significantly limited abortion was signed into law in September 2021. 1 Furthermore, legislation restricting abortion may worsen inequities in maternal health outcomes for people of color and those with limited economic resources. The pregnancy-related maternal mortality rate in Iowa for non-Hispanic Black women is currently six times higher than
the rate for non-Hispanic White women. 2

Some states have passed legislation that defines life as beginning at conception and these laws threaten medical advances such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and medicated intrauterine devices (IUDs). IVF accounts for 2% of all births in the United States. Defining life as beginning with fertilization, even outside a woman's body and restricting a patient’s autonomy over their own embryos will result in reductions of pregnancy rates. Medicated IUDs are used for medical conditions such as endometriosis, irregular menstrual bleeding or to prevent cancer of the uterus. Some states have targeted IUDs under restrictive legislation despite little evidence that their mechanism of action is to prevent implantation of an embryo. We hope our legislators can appreciate that farreaching legislation can have inadvertent consequences that place lives at risk. These reproductive health decisions, including abortion, should be made after an informed individual in consultation with a trusted healthcare provider.

And finally, physician staffing in Iowa may worsen if additional legislation is passed to restrict abortion and healthcare for women. Recruitment and retention will be more difficult and physician training programs could lose accreditation, resulting in closure. Highly restrictive laws will make this state much less attractive to outstanding physicians who desire to practice evidence-based medicine utilizing the best treatments for helping patients in need. The State of Iowa is understaffed for Family Medicine and OBGYN physicians and this deficit is projected to worsen by 2030. 3 - 4 Since 2000, 40 rural Iowa hospitals have closed their maternity units. 5 This has resulted in maternity care deserts in 29 Iowa counties. 6 Women often drive 2 hours or more, one way, for prenatal care. These hardships will worsen with legislation that impairs reproductive and medical autonomy for patients and their physicians. 7

We implore the policymakers for Iowa at the State and Federal level to collaborate with us, the physicians and advanced practice providers who provide healthcare to the women of Iowa. We advocate for public policy that maintains bodily autonomy and privacy for women, does not restrict medical practices designed to improve the health and fertility of women and sometimes saves their lives. Give us a seat at the table, so that we can learn from one another and find the common ground we all desire: Improved health and well-being for women and infants in our state.

Respectfully,

Andrea Greiner, MD and numerous others

1 Nambiar A, Patel S, Santiago-Munoz P, Spong CY, Nelson DB, Maternal morbidity and fetal outcomes among pregnant women at 22 weeks’ gestation or less with complications in two Texas hospitals after legislation onabortion, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (2022), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2022.06.060.
2 https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.smfm.org/mortality_records/134-:state_slug.pdf, accessed 7/5/2022
3 https://bhw.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/bureau-health-workforce/data-research/projections-supply-demand-2018-2030.pdf. Accessed 7/5/2022
4 https://www.ama-assn.org/about/masterfile/ama-physician-masterfile. Accessed 7/5/2022.
5 Access to Obstetrical Care in Iowa: A report to the Iowa State Legislature – Calendar year 2019. Division of Health Promotion & Chronic Disease Prevention – Bureau of Family Health, January 2021.
6 https://www.marchofdimes.org/peristats/datareg=99&top=23&stop=641&lev=1&slev=4&obj=9&sreg=19. Accessed 7/5/2022
7 https://www.ansirh.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/turnaway_socioeconomic_outcomes_issue_brief_8-
20-2018.pdf. Accessed 7/5/2022

Carolyn Martin
Alta Price

Introducing Hands Off! Happy Hour - PACG Event

7/17/2022

Introducing ✋ Hands Off Happy Hour🤚 !
Wednesday, August 10th from 5:00 to 7:00 pm

Rozz-Tox
2108 3rd AV
Rock Island, IL 61201 (map)

PACG Gender Equity Forum

One of our new forum's goals is education about issues impacting women and non-binary people. We have decided to follow in the footsteps of our very active and successful Environmental Forum and do a monthly educational, social gathering for the Gender Equity Forum. If you are unfamiliar with Green Drinks, the PACG Environmental Forum has been holding these monthly meetings since February of 2019. Green Drinks usually offers one guest speaker who discusses their particular area of environmental expertise at the meeting. You can see a complete list of all of the PACG-hosted Green Drinks meetings here.

With this inspirational group in mind, the Gender Equity Forum will host its first Hands Off! Happy Hour on Wednesday, August 10th at 5:00 pm at Rozz-Tox in Rock Island.

You can order a drink either inside or at the walk up window outdoors. If the weather permits, we will gather outside in the green space at the right side of the building, and, if it’s raining, we will meet inside.

This will be a social hour with no selected speaker. We will speak briefly about the importance of community, friendship and self-care during the difficult work ahead.

Please join us for the fun!

Alta Price and Carolyn Martin
Gender Equity Forum Co-Facilitators

Gender Equity Forum Meeting July 19th at 7:00 pm

7/11/2022

Gender Equity Forum Meeting
Tuesday, July 19th from 7:00 to 8:00 pm

Gender Equity Forum

Bettendorf Public Library, Gilbert Room
2950 Learning Campus Drive
Bettendorf, IA (map)

The Gender Equity Forum’s next meeting will be Tuesday, July 19th from 7:00 - 8:00 pm in the Gilbert Room at the Bettendorf Public Library. The Gilbert Room is located on the 2nd floor. While future meetings may have a Zoom or hybrid option, this one will be in-person only.

The mission statement for our forum is: This forum works to remove barriers to equal opportunity for women and nonbinary individuals. We educate and engage members in positive action that they can take to help affect change.

This meeting will be a great opportunity to have conversations with other individuals who are passionate about gender equity.

The planned action item for this evening is to organize in-person meetings with Iowa State legislators to discuss abortion access and to reiterate our belief that abortion is an individual’s health right. (Illinois residents will discuss what actions make the most sense for them at this point, given that abortion at the state level will probably not be restricted.) If you don't already know who represents you in the Iowa legislature, click this link to find out: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find

The American Medical Association published this statement following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe, calling the decision “an egregious allowance of government intrusion into medicine.”

Our Tuesday, August 16th meeting will also be held at the Bettendorf Library, although we plan to alternate future events on both the Illinois and Iowa sides of the Quad Cities, and will vary which night of the week the meetings will be held.

If you are unable to attend our meetings but still have interest in learning what you can do on your own to take action regarding gender equity, visit our website (www.pacgqc.org), subscribe to our weekly Progressive Action Update, and/or email us at qcprogressiveaction@gmail.com.

Carolyn Martin
Alta Price

Gender Equity Forum - A Message from the Board

6/30/2022

Gender Equity replaces Women's Equity in forum name

A Message from the Board

Gender Equity Forum

We have decided to change the name of the Women's Equity Forum to the Gender Equity Forum to reflect the original intended inclusiveness of the group.

PACG was founded in 2005 as an organization built around our multi-issue forums. As progressives, we all care about many different issues. Those who feel strongly about a given concern or problem can join with others to work specifically on that topic as a member of that issue forum. Members meet to plan events and actions around their cause.

In July of 2008, the PACG Women's Issues Forum held its first meeting. But over the years the need for this forum was replaced by other work for the common good, and it was disbanded.

When we decided to reactivate the group as a result of the SCOTUS leak on the looming decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, we realize that we only slightly updated our forum name. However, in doing so, we may have unintentionally excluded an entire population of people from our group - those who do not identify as women but are nonbinary. We apologize for our oversight.

We welcome everyone to join this forum to work on Gender Equity in the QCA and the nation! You will see name changes across our platforms to reflect our desire for inclusivity.

Thank you for your patience with us as our own progressiveness progresses!

Alta Price and Carolyn Martin