--> Via RH Reality Check, Minnesota lawmakers fight proposed HHS regs:

"Last year, legislators on both sides of the debate over reproductive rights united behind a measure that provides rape survivors with the emergency contraception that could help prevent a pregnancy after a violent attack," said Linnea House, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota. "Gov. Pawlenty recognized the strong public support behind this common sense measure and signed it into law. Now, just one year after the law took effect, we are urging him to call on the Bush administration to stop an attack on birth control that would undermine this state law."

Well done NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota. If you're from Minnesota, use this information to write to Gov. Pawlenty today... and for the rest of the non-Minnesota residents, you can take action here.

--> Via the The Denver Post, Issue advocates plan to preach to the crowds:

Most advocates say they want to use the convention to keep their issues burning in a fall election already crowded with voter worries of an ongoing war and a struggling economy... But does it have any effect?

A NARAL Pro-Choice America spokesman said the abortion-rights organization's membership grew by more than 4,000 people after an Internet drive during the 2004 Democratic convention in Boston.

I enjoyed this article so much because it made me excited for the great stuff NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado affiliate, has in store for the Democratic National Convention!

--> Via the Los Angeles Times, more on Bush's attack on birth control: Abortion proposal sparks furious debate.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when Sen. McCain's advisor Carly Fiorina slipped-up on McCain's record on birth control? And then a reporter asked McCain about his position and he ducked the question after an excruciating 8 second pause? At a recent town hall, McCain was asked yet again about health insurance coverage of birth control. Here's what he had to say:

So he thinks...? Or maybe...? Huh? Some straight talk that was! I don't know what he meant at that town hall, but McCain's record speaks for itself.

If you're looking for a shorter version of McCain's record, this handy webpage shows where McCain stands on a variety of pro-choice issues.

I wrote about Speaker Merkley's efforts to fight back against Bush's attack on birth control last week, and now, you can checkout a video from the Democratic Party of Oregon, that asks the ever important question (especially during an election year), Who will stand up to Bush's attack on women's health?:

From their press release:

Merkley and 28 U.S. Senators are battling the Bush Administration's push to radically limit women's access to contraception.

Merkley is gathering supporters to oppose the plan and encouraging thousands of people to speak out.

Wyden and Obama are two of the 28 U.S. Senators urging the Bush Administration to drop the proposal.

While Merkley, Wyden and Obama are standing up for women's health, Gordon Smith, who has long opposed a woman's right to choose, is noticeably silent on this issue.

"A spokeswoman for Smith did not return an email or two phone calls asking for Smith's comment on the proposed rule change affecting abortion. UPDATE ON FRIDAY: Lindsay Gilbride, spokeswoman for Smith, said there was 'no real evidence it could be a reality ... so at this point, we aren't going to speculate on it.'"

(Willamette Week, 7-17-08, Updated on 7-18-08)

I think it's good news that these dangerous regulations are gaining ground... but it's up to you to make sure that Congress hears us. Take action today and tell your member of Congress that you support their efforts to get the Bush administration to reconsider this terrible idea.

In the news this morning, there were two great editorials about Bush's attack on birth control that I wanted to highlight here. The first is from The Boston Globe, titled "A new attack on birth control:"

The draft proposed rule highlights the fact that many antiabortion groups also oppose one good method of preventing the unplanned pregnancies that lead to abortions - birth control. At some point in their lives, 98 percent of US women use birth control.

The proposed rule, while claiming to protect the rights of nurses and doctors, would interfere with patients' rights. A woman seeking treatment could be denied birth control and not even be aware that the service was available - only denied to her because of the unexpressed personal beliefs of the practitioner.

The second editorial comes from the San Jose Mercury News, titled "Defeat Bush's last stand against abortion:"

President Bush has spent his eight years in office fighting a social war against American women's right to choose. Now he is orchestrating one last campaign to try to curb abortion. This is one surge that must be defeated.

The Bush administration knows it can't win this fight in Congress. So its latest effort is a draft proposal by the Department of Health and Human Services that purports to clarify workers' rights to refuse to provide abortions.

I would also like to point out that a McCain presidency would only mean FOUR MORE YEARS of the same attacks on our reproductive freedom. YIKES! 

Please take a moment, if you haven't done so already, to take action to tell your member of Congress that you support their efforts to get the Bush administration to reconsider this terrible idea.

Oh, and watch this thoroughly entertaining vlog, Mamma Mia, here Bush goes again!

This summer's blockbuster: Bush attacks birth control. Again.

Too bad this isn't a movie. But if it was...the trailer might look something like this: 

View on YouTube (and read the lyrics).

As Molly said, people aren't taking kindly to Bush's new assault on birth control. Why? 

• It deliberately confuses the definitions of contraception and abortion.
• It could discourage doctors and health-care clinics from providing birth control to women who need it.
• Rape survivors' access to emergency contraception in the ER would be threatened.

Huge kudos to Sens. Hillary Clinton and Patty Murray and Rep. Nita Lowey for jumping on this and voicing their opposition to Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt.

If you haven't already, make sure you tell Congress not to let Bush get away with threatening women's health (no singing required). 

If you needed another reason why you should be counting down the days until Bush leaves office, you were handed another one with the Bush administration's proposed regulation that is written to discourage health-care plans from providing birth control to women.

In less than 48 hours, NARAL Pro-Choice America's activists sent 20,000 messages to Congress opposing this proposed regulation (thanks to those that took action!), the blogosphere erupted in post after post on the dangers of this regulation and why we need a pro-choice president. And, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA) sent an immediate letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt outlining how the proposed regulation would affect women's reproductive health, and urging him to reconsider.

And now, I'm pleased to report that Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley has been leading the way with a petition to stop this destructive and dangerous policy:

The president should be fighting to expand access to basic health care and provide more information to women, not limit it.

For nearly a decade, George Bush and Republicans in Washington D.C. have tried to force their conservative agenda on the American people. Now, within months of electing a Democratic President, the Bush Administration is considering a parting gift to extreme right wing special interests.

People in Oregon and across the country must make their voices heard and leaders in Congress must speak out. George Bush and the extreme right wing have controlled the agenda for far too long and it is time we protect basic health care rights in this country.

Speaker Merkley is challenging anti-choice Gordon Smith for the U.S. Senate in Oregon, and the latest poll conducted by Rasmussen shows Merkley is leading Smith 43-41 percent. That's great news, because Merkley is fully pro-choice and has a history of fighting to protect access to birth control. In 2007, Speaker Merkley was a sponsor of H.B. 2700, The Access to Birth Control (ABC) Act which ensures contraceptive equity by requiring health insurers to cover prescription birth control in a manner consistent with other prescription coverage. The bill also ensures survivors of sexual assault have access to emergency contraception in hospital emergency rooms in Oregon. (www.leg.state.or.us) Clearly, Speaker Merkley is no stranger to protecting a woman's right to choose.

So, what I'm saying is... if you live in Oregon or know someone who does - you know what you have to do! Spread the word and Merkley's pro-choice views and vote for Merkley for the U.S. Senate in Oregon!

Please, take a moment to sign Speaker Merkley's petition and read his blog post on Huffington Post which outlines Bush's attack on access to contraceptives.

I've got a great opportunity for all of you pro-choice activists... this time, courtesy of CNN. On Friday (tomorrow), Sen. McCain will be on CNN and they are accepting questions and political commentary on video. From CNN:

Here's your chance to join the political discussion. We want to hear about the political topics and hot-button issues that are most important to you.

Send us your questions and political commentary on video, and be sure to keep them clear and concise. Your videos could be used on air -- and your views a part of the best political team on TV.

Senator John McCain, Republican presidential candidate, will be a guest Friday and you can ask him a question yourself. What issues matter most to you? Do you want to know more about what kind of president he would be? Submit your questions today, and be sure to keep them clear and concise. We'll pick the best ones to be used on air.

Here at NARAL Pro-Choice America, we think this provides an awesome opportunity to ask McCain about his dubious position on birth control. I mean, after ALL the drama surrounding Carly Fiorina's tragic lack of understanding of her candidate's birth-control record, the subsequent media fall out (eight-second silence, anyone?) when reporters asked McCain about health insurance covering Viagra and not birth control, and the ominous rejection of NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico volunteers from a McCain town hall in Albuquerque... WE STILL HAVE YET TO GET AN ANSWER FROM MCCAIN ON WHERE HE STANDS!

So, please go submit your question for McCain and ask him (in your own words, if you like):

Senator McCain, when asked whether you agreed with Carly Fiorina that insurance companies that cover Viagra should also cover birth control, you said you weren't sure and would get provide an answer.  Well, it's been two weeks and we still haven't heard why you voted against this very proposal.  Will you now please tell us whether or not you think birth control should be covered by insurance companies that also cover Viagra?

And then, if you're so inspired, please visit our YouTube page to upload the video you submitted to CNN so you can share it with all of pro-choice America!

I know I promised to chill-out on the Netroots Nation stuff, or maybe I didn't promise - but I meant to. Still, this RH Reality Check video on reproductive-rights issues at Netroots Nation was pretty cool, so I just had to share:

Sure, it's a little long, but one of the things I like the best about it is that while it was filmed at a progressive conference (duh), many of these are activists that do not specifically work or blog on reproductive-rights issues... and yet, as Amanda Marcotte mentioned, they all seem to draw from the same messaging framwork when describing their positions and their ideas. Which, I agree, is great fun to watch.

A ton of stuff was going on while Lauren and I were at Netroots Nation, so I wanted to start today off with a bit of a recap.

First up: The Politico article, "Obama strategy: Equal pay, not abortion." Ummm... what now? NARAL Pro-Choice America disagreed with this assertion in a letter to the editor, saying:

...the story references forums Sen. Obama held on July 10 and claims he didn't emphasize his support for Roe v. Wade. That's not accurate. The Los Angeles Times reported, "At events in New York and Virginia, [Obama] drew a sharp contrast with John McCain, charging that the Republican candidate does not support equal pay or abortion rights." The Associated Press reported on the same day that Sen. Obama said, "I will never back down in defending a woman's right to choose." The distinction between Sen. Obama's pro-choice views and McCain's record of hostility toward freedom and privacy is one that voters have heard and will continue to hear. As The New York Times reported on May 11, "Mr. Obama's aides said they would highlight Mr. McCain's opposition to abortion rights" as part of their campaign strategy.

Let this serve as a reminder of just how absolutely crucial it is to remind voters of just how anti-choice McCain is, so please visit www.MeetTheRealMcCain.com for the most updated information on how you can help spread the word.

After an amazing time in Austin, TX (we love this city!) and and incredible time at Netroots Nation, vlogger and blogger - Lauren and myself, respectively - are catching our flight back to DC. Yes, it's a little bit early, but after the days we've had here, we know we've gotten a lot out of this experience. I mean, this morning alone - we've seen Speaker Pelosi, Vice President Al Gore, a plethora of netroots nation candidates, and NARAL Pro-Choice America's own: Nancy Keenan.

Nancy is here to present on a panel, Big Telecom: An Emerging Threat to Our Democracy? with  some of our progressive friends.

Lauren gives her final vlog send-off below:

Phew! I'm exhausted (and full) just listening to that!

But seriously, we can't wait to get back to work in DC so that we can put into practice all of the valuable lessons we've learned. I hope you've enjoyed watching our Netroots Nation Nuggets (great name or greatest name ever?) and we'll see you next week for more updates on reproductive health!

P.S. I know it's in the blog post below, but in case you missed it, check out our video of Speaker Pelosi answering a question about abstinence-only education!