Protecting your reproductive freedom and privacy is hard work. Add working to elect a pro-choice president to that, and it's darn near exhausting.

So, to take a well-deserved break and celebrate our endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama, friends of NARAL Pro-Choice America held quite a bash: "Change is on the Way...So Why Not Have a Drink While We Wait?"

Check out what these pro-choice, pro-Obama guests have to say about our next president in this week's Liberty Lowdown.

If you have trouble viewing this video, watch on our YouTube channel.

Sen. McCain's reaction to a question about the Carly Fiorina birth control debacle: 8 seconds of silence. I think that speaks louder than words.

Although, his words are pretty fantastic:

"I certainly do not want to discuss that issue."

"I don't know what I voted."

"I don't know enough about it to give you an informed answer." (But you knew enough about it to vote against it?)

"It's something that I had not thought much about." (Yes, I always love to make important decisions about things I don't know about).

"I don't usually duck an issue, but I'm, I'll try to get back to you." (I'll be waiting by the phone).

I would love to know what McCain thinks he would say if he ever did call that reporter back. "I do remember that vote now, and I still think it's completely fair for insurance companies to cover Viagra but not prescription birth control"? "I thought about it, and covering pills for men's sex drives is way more important than providing women with basic health care"?

Let's find out for ourselves. Help us call out McCain's campaign on his choice-related votes. Since he 'doesn't duck an issue,' I'm sure he'll be glad to come clean about his anti-choice positions to the public.

Calling all pro-choice voters! (Which I hope would be everyone reading this blog). Whether you're a political junkie, blog fanatic, or casual news reader, I'm sure you'll want to keep up with the latest choice issues this election cycle.

And our friends over at RH Reality Check will help you do that. Their "I'm Pro-Choice and I Vote" page collects DC correspondent Dana Goldstein's election coverage to date. She'll keep you up to date on pro-choicers running in Senate races, pro-choice Republicans, and more. 

Also, don't forget that elections aren't just about voting for candidates - they can also include choice-related ballot initiatives. (Remember the attempted abortion ban in South Dakota in 2006? That was one of these puppies).

To see if your state will have an anti-choice measure on the ballot this November, check out Dana's blog post and our ballot initiative page.

To stay up to date with election-related videos, check out YouTube's YouChoose 08 channel.

Carly Fiorina's mistake on McCain's record has been getting some attention. Check out these posts:

• CQPolitics.com Ground Game - McCain and Pro-Choice GOP Women
• Salon.com Broadsheet - Is Carly Fiorina secretly working for Obama?
• Reno and Its Discontents - Carly Fiorina Is No Dummy, But Is She A Fool?

Just in case she missed the buzz on her flub, last night we sent Fiorina a note and copy of Sen. McCain's record on choice for a little light reading on her next flight between speaking gigs. We haven't received a thank you message yet (big surprise there), but we'll certainly let you know if we do!

Washington Post reported that in a chat yesterday with reporters about women and health insurance, Carly Fiorina, one of Sen. McCain's top advisors, said:

"a real, live example which I've been hearing a lot about from women: There are many health insurance plans that will cover Viagra but won't cover birth-control medication. Those women would like a choice."

If that's what Fiorina really thinks, maybe she should take another look at her candidate's record. McCain actually voted against a proposal that would have required insurance companies to cover prescription contraception in the same way they pay for Viagra. [Clinton/Reid amendment to FY'06 Budget Resolution, S.Con.Res.18, 3/17/05.]

While we all know about McCain's 125 anti-choice votes (see pages 6-10 of his record), a lot of people still don't know how extreme McCain's record is. Including, apparently, one of his own senior advisors.

Read our full press release here.

I'm heading out for a nice three-day weekend because NARAL Pro-Choice America offices are closed tomorrow for the holiday... so I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July, and the blogging team will see you when we're back in the office on Monday!

I know it may seem like this Blog is a broken-record when it comes to the elections:

McCain = BAD ANTI-CHOICER, Obama = GOOD PRO-CHOICER!

And I get that, but I also know that the second we assume people know the McCain is anti-choice is the second we get another four years of an anti-choice presidency... so I, for one, will not let up.

Take, for example, last Friday's AP article, "McCain blasts Obama for women's rights criticism." Evidently, McCain doesn't like being publically called out for his dismal record on judicial appointments. Well, that's too bad.

Over on the Obama campaign's blog community, Ann Brewer hits the highlights (erm, lowlights?) of McCain's record and philosophy on judges:

In short, if you want to know about McCain's philosophy on judges, just ask right-wing activist Gary Bauer:

"I wanted a commitment from either George Bush or John McCain that if elected he would appoint pro-life judges to the Supreme Court... Bush said he had no litmus test, and his judges would be strict constructionists. But McCain, in private, assured me he would appoint pro-life judges."

- Gary Bauer, a social conservative politician who endorsed McCain in his 2000 presidential bid, The New Yorker, May 2005

See how critical it is that NARAL Pro-Choice America is there to correct misinformation and spread the word?

Remember, you can help! You can start by telling your friends that Sen. Obama is pro-choice by sending them an e-card!

We've mentioned before that one of the greatest concerns this election year is the possibility that, because abortion hasn't been entirely outlawed, it has lulled the pro-choice majority into a false sense of security regarding reproductive rights.  Yet 35 years after Roe v. Wade we're just one conservative Supreme Court appointment away from losing our freedom of choice.

As a reminder what that could mean and what it is we fight for, NARAL Pro-Choice Washington Foundation has published In Our Own Words, a collection of essays, letters, poems and thoughts on the subject of abortion.  From those women who experienced the terror and pain of illegal abortions to the strong, confident voices of those women who have had the legal option, this is a celebration of choice.

Books can be ordered online from www.prochoicewashington.org or by calling (206) 624-1990.  Suggested donation: $15 each, $12 each for orders of 10 or more books.  All proceeds will support NARAL Pro-Choice Washington Foundation's programs to protect and promote the right to choose for future generations.

It's all fun and games until someone loses their rights. This is the first in our "McCain Playing Games with Choice" series - where we'll highlight a specific area of McCain's anti-choice record each month.

This month, Amber and Andrea play Guess Who? with McCain's anti-family planning record.

Like many anti-choicers, McCain opposes a woman's right to choose, yet votes against common sense solutions to preventing unintended pregnancy. McCain:

• Voted to terminate the Title X family-planning program, which provides millions of women with health-care services ranging from birth control to breast cancer screenings. Nice.
  


• Voted against funding teen-pregnancy prevention programs. Sweet.
  


• Said he was "stumped" about whether or not contraception helps stop the spread of HIV. I have no words. 

Check out how he stacks up to Sen. Obama on family planning (hint: Obama wins) and Beth Shipp's blog on the Huffington Post.

If you have trouble viewing this video, you can watch on our YouTube channel.

Remember to keep spreading the word about McCain's anti-choice record so he doesn't get a chance to play games with our lives.

Per the AP:

A federal appeals court ruled that South Dakota can begin enforcing a law requiring doctors to tell women seeking abortions that the procedure ends a human life.

The 7-4 decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis sends the case back to U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier of Rapid City for proceedings that will result in a decision on whether the law passed by the 2005 South Dakota Legislature is constitutional.

This is bad. Casey Murschel, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice South Dakota, said in a release:

"We all agree that a woman considering abortion, like any patient, should receive from her doctor full and unbiased information about a range of medical options, but the law in question puts politicians into the examining room," said Murschel, who as a state legislator voted against this measure. 

"Today's action by the appeals court illustrates how South Dakota could become the epicenter of legal challenges around abortion," Murschel said. "The same people who supported this interference in the doctor-patient relationship now are pushing for an abortion ban that, if passed, could further entangle our state in costly litigation. It is time for all South Dakotans--Republicans, Democrats, and Independents--to end these politically motivated attacks on our privacy. One of the best ways to send that message is by voting against the abortion ban in November."

For more information, please visit the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families.