xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx CHOICE-NET REPORT For Week ending February 19, 1994 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx CHOICE-NET REPORT is a weekly update on reproductive rights issues distributed through email, Women's Wire, gopher.WELL.sf.ca.us, Usenet groups alt.activism, talk.abortion, soc.women, and other Internet channels. Please reprint, distribute and TAKE ACTION. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx MICHAEL GRIFFIN TRIAL The trial of Michael Griffin in the murder of Dr. David Gunn is scheduled to begin Feb. 21 in Pensacola. Florida. Gunn was murdered March 10, 1993 during a demonstration at Pensacola Women's Medical Services Center. Griffin is charged with first-degree murder. The trial will probably last 2 - 4 weeks. A unanimous verdict of twelve jurors is required to find Griffin guilty of the charge. Judge Parnham will then decide the sentence after hearing the recommendation from the jury. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty. Dr. Gunn's murder was part of an escalating campaign of anti-choice violence and harassment that includes arson, bombings, acid attacks, blockades and stalkings. We must urge Members of Congress to quickly enact the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), to provide federal protection from anti-choice violence. FACE was passed by both houses of Congress in November, but has yet to be scheduled for a conference to resolve differences between the House and the Senate bills. Call your Congress Members and demand the final enactment of the Freedom Of Access to Clinic Entrances Act NOW. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The Congressional Switchboard Number is: 202-224-3121. You have one Representative and two Senators. If you don't know their names you can give your zip code to the friendly Capitol Hill operators and they will give you the correct names. Then they will connect you with your legislator's office and you can leave a message with an aide which WILL BE COUNTED in the daily tallies. Keep it short, make it clear you are a constituent. This is the process being used by anti-choice organizations every day. Your legislators would really like to hear another point of view. Give them a call today. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx THE HEALTH CARE REFORM BATTLE CONTINUES On February 15, the Christian Coalition announced a $1.4 million media campaign to defeat the Clinton Health Care Plan. The group, the political arm of TV evangelist Pat Robertson's sprawling religious organization, said it would run radio ads in 40 congressional districts, distribute 30 million postcards in U.S. churches, pay for newspaper ads and also run direct mail and phone campaigns to reach one million voters. This $1.4 million campaign is designed not only to defeat health care reform, but also to attack and weaken Bill Clinton. The average American's access to decent health care could be the victim of this partisan political assault. On the other side, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice says access to abortion is a fundamental right, and announced a lobbying effort in March with national church leaders urging members of Congress to include funding for abortion services A poll conducted last month by the Harvard School of Public Health and Princeton Survey Research Associates showed that 40% preferred a plan like President Clinton's requiring employers to pay; 19% preferred a single-payer system with health insurance financed by taxes; and 17% backed subsidies or tax credits for those of low and moderate income. The margin of sampling error is 4%. This means that a total of 59% of those polled would not support the no-reform Cooper/Breaux plan currently being touted as the great compromise. Cooper/Breaux does not require any employer contribution and is certainly not close to a single-payer system. JUST SAY NO TO COOPER/BREAUX. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx RU486 NOW AVAILABLE TO AMERICAN WOMEN...IN LONDON The Marie Stopes Health Clinic in London announced Feb. 18, that they had reached an agreement with the British government's Department of Health allowing the clinic to offer RU486 to American women and other nonresidents. Women must pay $500, prove they are less than nine weeks pregnant, obtain the approval of two doctors at the London clinic, and stay long enough in Britain for a follow-up exam a week after the abortion. Helen Axby, director of the Clinic said she hopes the agreement will increase pressure on Roussel-Uclaf, the French company that owns the rights to the drug, to allow it to be sold in the US. RU486 is an anti-progestin abortion pill widely used in Europe. The FDA had announced in April of 1993 that Roussel-Uclaf would allow the Population Council, a nonprofit research group, to find an American manufacturer for the drug, conduct clinical tests and seek government approval to sell it in the United States. But the council and the company have yet to sign an agreement. Hoechst A. G. of Germany, Roussel's parent company is concerned about threats of lawsuits and boycotts by anti-abortion groups. How much longer will American women have to wait? For more information on bringing RU486 to the US, contact the Fund for the Feminist Majority at 703-522-2214. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx WOMEN'S HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS ANNOUNCE JOINT LOBBY CAMPAIGN During the week of March 8, women's health organizations will lobby their state representatives for full coverage of women's health care needs in state-based health care reform. Using the theme of "Healthy Mothers, Daughters, and Grandmothers," the organizations are working together to develop a strategy for and provide technical assistance to state coalitions interested in organizing for March 8. National groups include the Campaign for Women's Health, Catholics for a Free Choice, the National Asian Women's Health Organization, the National Black Women's Health Project, the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and Students Organizing Students. Organizations interest in participating in the campaign should contact Janet Crepps, staff attorney for CRLP's state program, at 303-839-1912. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Information Sources: California Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League-North, Alan Guttmacher Institute, Reproductive Freedom News, various Congresspersons, various newspapers, C-Span, CNN, AP, and UPI. Editor: Kathy Watkins, Administrative Director, CARAL-North If you wish to be added or deleted from the email distribution list, please email: dtv@well.sf.ca.us .