We are outraged Gov. Tim Pawlenty is willing to continue to play games with the lives of Minnesota youth...  During a time of tremendous budgetary challenges for our state, the governor has once again shown that he will put political games ahead of sound policy recommendations. 

We really thought about you, the 600,000 or so people who visit our site every year, at every step in the process of redesigning the site. We hope you'll find it's easier to use and an even better resource than before.

Here are a few new features we're especially excited about.

• We know that talking about choice can be tough for some people. But speaking up for your pro-choice beliefs - and dispelling anti-choice lies - is important to protecting our rights. In the new Talk About Choice section, we've put together answers to common questions about choice to help you talk proudly about their values. Don't see your question? Send it to us.
• We're putting Women's Voices front and center. You'll find more stories from pro-choice women and men throughout the site and in this central location.
• We've made it easy to share any page with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or on many other social media sites. You can also get to our Facebook and Twitter pages from anywhere on the site.

While we've re-arranged things a bit, your favorite pages are still there.

• Get the basics on pro-choice issues like abortion and birth control in the What Is Choice? section.
• Learn about choice-related laws in your state and at the federal level in the Government & You section.
• Take Action on your pro-choice values.

We're so excited about the changes we've made to ProChoiceAmerica.org. Please check it out and let us know what you think!

Fortunately, NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina has been fighting to save women's health coverage at the UNC system.  When students return to campus this fall, they will still have access to comprehensive health care. The UNC system responded to the protests by offering an alternative plan where students can opt out of abortion coverage. Students who don't opt out won't pay a higher rate because abortion coverage doesn't affect health-plan costs.

This compromise did not placate anti-choice activists at UNC.  Kristen Hawkins, executive director of "Students for Life," told the Herald Sun:

"Abortion is not health care, neither for the preborn child or his mother... Abortion should be removed from the UNC System completely."

 This is the goal of the anti-choice movement: remove a benefit standard in nearly every comprehensive health insurance plan.  Students and employees of the UNC system don't have to purchase health insurance that covers abortion care if they don't want to.  But anti-choice activists are trying to make sure that no woman has coverage for abortion care at all.  Period. 

Ending all insurance coverage of abortion care was the goal of the Stupak Amendment during the health-care-reform debate.  And it's the goal of the new "Stupak on Steroids" bill that 167 members of the U.S. House are supporting in Congress.

If you're a college student, what have been your experiences with reproductive-health services on campus?  Does your health insurance plan cover abortion care? 

We'd like to hear from you.  Post your story here on the Comments section, or on NARAL Pro-Choice America's Facebook page.  

The big-ticket item was Tarina Keene's (executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia) appearance Tuesday evening on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show.

In addition, editorials from the Washington Post and The Virginian-Pilot took Cuccinelli to task for using his office to push a politically motivated agenda that will do nothing to improve women's health services in the Old Dominion. Writers at Slate and The Atlantic weighed in with their thoughts, too.

Cuccinelli did get some "friendly feedback," however. Anti-choice Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell issued his support for the attorney general's action. We love Tarina Keene's response to this development:

McDonnell and Cuccinelli are the same politicians who have vowed to outlaw abortion but now want to reinvent themselves as protectors of women's health. That's unconscionable, and the public won't buy it. If the McDonnell-Cuccinelli agenda succeeds, we could see 17 of the 21 abortion providers disappear from Virginia, eliminating women's access to abortion and other services, such as birth control and cancer screenings, that these medical facilities provide.

Let us know if you see more coverage of this issue. Also, if you live in Virginia, please take action at NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia's site.

Nancy Keenan joined activists and supporters, in particular a strong crowd of Millennials, at the annual Wine and Choice event in Madison and Milwaukee. Guests were treated to wine, chocolate, and cheese donated from local businesses. Can we say, yum?

One aspect of Wine and Choice that inspired us is NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin's decision to start an annual Dr. Tiller award to honor local heroes in the fight for reproductive rights. The Madison winner was Dr. Dennis Christensen, known as "Dr. C." by his patients and staff.  Here's how the clinic manager, who nominated Dr. Christensen, described him:

"Dr. Christensen has been an abortion provider for over 30 years in the Madison area, Illinois, and Milwaukee. He has assured Wisconsin women that abortion services stayed safe and available. During much of his career in Madison, he assured that medical residents were trained in providing abortion services. He took over the sole practice of providing abortion in Madison when a provider passed away and again in Rockford, Illinois, when another provider also passed away to assure that women in the Midwest had access to abortion care. I was extremely fortunate to work with and for Dr. Christensen from 1998-2008 and before that as a business partner of another provider.

Dr. C quoted and lived by Dr. Tiller's motto of "the woman's decision" being the only factor in providing abortion services. Dr. C was a great friend of Dr. Tiller's and would be extremely honored to receive an award in his name. He is still practicing in Rockford, Illinois, and in Milwaukee in his semi-retirement until he can assure the training and continued practice of providing abortions. I continue my work as a center manager in the Madison area in honor of the work that Dr. C has done."

Wow.  Thanks, Dr. C, for trusting women!

Enjoy these great photos from the events in Wisconsin:

Vision to Win is heading to Connecticut , so if you live nearby, please join us:

Connecticut

October 1: Hartford, Gala/Auction Event
October 2: New Haven, Young Millennial Leaders Roundtable
October 3: Ridgefield, Luncheon with Betsy Thompson and Rep. Jim Hines

Their report is making major headlines. On August 16, NBC Bay Area aired an interview with NARAL Pro-Choice California's Meghan Doran about the findings. Our favorite quote: "We found systematic approaches of manipulation, intimidation and false advertising." Watch the full interview:

The majority of CPCs that NARAL Pro-Choice California contacted provided shockingly false information to promote their anti-choice agenda and block women from choosing abortion:

• Sixty percent advised that condoms are ineffective in reducing pregnancy and the transmission of certain STDs
• Seventy percent advised that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer
• Eighty-five percent advised that abortion increases the risk of infertility and
• Eighty-five percent of CPCs in our study advised that abortion leads to mental health problems

Let's be clear: all of these statements are false.

Despite being one of the most pro-choice states in the country, CPCs in California outnumber legitimate clinics five to one, and can be found in 91 percent of counties. They often place themselves near legitimate health clinics to intentionally confuse women seeking abortion.

What is even more disturbing is that 69 percent of these CPCs advertised their counseling as "unbiased," despite the fact that they usually had no medical certification, provided false information, and never even mentioned abortion as an option. Only 21 percent of investigators actually saw a nurse or doctor. The rest went to unlicensed clinics that, by exploiting a loophole, continue to legally operate as long as women read their own pregnancy tests. One NARAL Pro-Choice California volunteer was horrified when asked to administer her own urine test, while a volunteer with no medical training watched.

Every year around three million American women find themselves facing an unplanned pregnancy. These women deserve unbiased and medically accurate information that will help them to make an informed choice.

Hopefully the hard work of NARAL Pro-Choice California to expose CPCs will result in more local regulation on their deceptive practices. After a similar investigative report conducted by NARAL Pro-Choice  Maryland last year, Baltimore passed a law requiring CPCs to advertise in both Spanish and English that they do not provide or make referrals for abortion services or birth control.

And Congress can do get involved to protect women as well. There's a bill that would stop CPCs from using deceptive advertising that misleads women. Ask your lawmakers to support this bill, because women deserve the truth.

Laws like Measure 2 put teens' health and safety at risk.  Most teens facing an unintended pregnancy already do involve their parents.  But not all teens in Alaska - or anywhere - live in homes where communication is possible.  Some don't even live with their parents; there may be drug or alcohol problems at home; abuse; or worse.  These teens, with nowhere else to turn, may delay professional medical care, turn to the Internet to look for risky options, or take matters into their own hands. 

Of course parents should be involved in their teenagers' lives, but laws like this don't work in the complicated real world. The government can't mandate good family communication where it doesn't already exist.

Fortunately, Alaskans Against Government Mandates--a coalition of teachers, nurses, doctors, social workers, Planned Parenthood supporters, faith leaders and others--is fighting to defeat this anti-choice proposal.  

If you live in Alaska, sign up for Alaskans Against Government Mandates' upcoming phone banking and get-out-the-vote events.  And be sure to go to the polls next Tuesday, August 24 and VOTE NO on 2!

 Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, praised the FDA's decision:

 "The FDA's approval of ella® is a sign of progress for women's access to emergency contraception and for the role of sound science at the FDA.  Emergency-contraception options like ella® are a safe, effective back-up method when something goes wrong such as if a condom breaks, or in tragic situations when a woman is sexually assaulted. This is a step forward for commonsense, common-ground ways to help prevent unintended pregnancy and thus reduce the need for abortion."

 Not surprisingly, anti-choice, anti-birth control activists are already trying to distort the facts about ella®.  Ella® and other emergency contraceptives prevent pregnancy; they do not cause abortion.  Click here to get the facts about emergency contraception. 

"It is a shame that some political pressure groups refuse to support better access to contraception," Keenan said. "They will repeat their false claim that emergency contraception is akin to abortion. That's wrong, and I am convinced the American people will continue to reject this misrepresentation."

 Ella® will be available by prescription only.  

Below are some pictures from the event:

Well now, the Vision to Win tour is hitting the streets of Maryland for a round table with young, pro-choice activists tonight and a really exciting event on Thursday, Privacy After Dark. Here's more information on this exciting event, which features NARAL Pro-Choice America policy director, Donna Crane, and Rep. Donna Edwards (MD-04):

Do you care about reproductive rights? You are not alone! Please join NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland and your pro-choice neighbors at Hyattsville's Hank's Tavern and Eats for a lively evening of good food, networking, and discussion about the future of reproductive politics in the states and on Capitol Hill at "Privacy After Dark: Your Body, Your Business."

Our special guest for this event will be one of our movement's top defenders of choice in Congress--our own Donna Edwards who represents Maryland's 4th Congressional District. In addition, we are also proud to be joined by one of our country's leading experts on choice legislation, Donna Crane, policy director for NARAL Pro-Choice America.

In recent years, President Bush's Supreme Court nominees have voted to weaken Roe v. Wade. This means more and more decisions about abortion, privacy, birth control, and other reproductive rights issues will be left to the states. Please join us for a fun and exciting evening as we discuss how to ensure that future generations of Maryland women will be able to exercise their right to choose.

Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online. We hope to see you there!

What is Vision to Win, and is it coming to my state?

NARAL Pro-Choice America is embarking on the Vision to Win tour across the country, from Connecticut to Montana.

The Vision to Win tour is a partnership with our state affiliates to further engage young grassroots leaders and elected officials in the efforts to protect choice.

Get your tickets to a Vision to Win tour event in your state:

Maryland

August 12: "Privacy After Dark: Your Body, Your Business" event with Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-Maryland).

Wisconsin

August 17: Wine and Choice event in Madison
August 18: Wine and Choice event in Milwaukee

Connecticut

October 1: Hartford, Gala/Auction Event
October 2: New Haven, Young Millennial Leaders Roundtable
October 3: Ridgefield, Luncheon with Betsy Thompson and Rep. Jim Hines

We have worked to ensure that CPCs do not utilize deception and evasion to trick people into coming into their facilities, by asking student health centers and the state legislature to support and promote policies that simply ask CPCs to be honest about what services they do (and do NOT) provide. This should not be difficult for any organization that truly has nothing to hide.

In addition to this work that we have, and will continue to do, we are challenging any new crisis pregnancy centers to hold themselves accountable. When we learned of a new CPC opening in Chesterfield County, Virginia, we launched a petition asking that the clinic hold themselves to a higher standard and commit to being honest and upfront in their advertising and other communication with women, sharing only scientifically and medically accurate information, and supporting comprehensive, science-based sex education in their community.

Be sure to go to the NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia blog and read the post in full.

There are a lot of misconceptions to clear up, but we're glad this issue is getting national attention . We will continue to work hard to ensure that women are not misled about their health-care options.

CONFESSION: I was supposed to live-tweet during the east-coast premiere. I was all prepared, notes and laptop in hand, Diet Coke poured, popcorn popped, remote in hand... and then I became so engrossed in the documentary, I completely forgot to tweet. Thankfully, I could tune in for a repeat performance of the west-coast premiere (thank you, digital cable).

Anyway, NARAL Pro-Choice America and many of our affiliates have been preparing and promoting this documentary for a long time. That's because, for years, the anti-choice movement has been building a network across the country of "fake" clinics - so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" (CPCs). Our work around these CPCs has always centered on ensuring that women get accurate, comprehensive, and unbiased medical information so they can make their own decisions. That's why it's been so important to us that the public sees this film. As my colleague Kirsten said:

The directors were given unprecedented access to the CPC. They filmed conversations that the CPC director, Anne, had with women seeking help. A true documentary film, [Heidi] Ewing and [Rachel] Grady let the people at the CPC speak for themselves. And boy did they.

The pro-choice community, as a whole, is saying positive things about the film. From the reviews I've read, they all seemed to appreciate the presentation and the tone. The one complaint was that the filmmakers didn't call out or correct the myriad lies the anti-choicers told women in the film. That's not the job of documentary-makers, but it is our job as advocates who care about making sure women get the facts about their health-care choices. So, in that spirit, we've created your go-to guide for dispelling anti-choice distortions and lies.

Below is a list adapted from a series of late-night tweets you should read and share with your friends, family, and loved ones - especially if you are one of the 260 house-party hosts from more than 40 states! So read up, and then share away:

• At one point, Father Tom (who oversees the CPC) chuckles about the time the clinic called "911" because he was at the top of a ladder he'd brought, looking over their fence. Unfortunately for Florida women and providers, the state lacks a law that would protect clinic workers and patients from such harassment. Find out if your state has a law that ensures safe access to reproductive-health clinics.
  
• During the scene where Anne (the "counselor" who misleads women) is training future CPC workers on how to avoid answering abortion-related questions over the phone while getting women to come to the CPC, keep these facts in mind: Reports have shown CPCs deliberately deceive women about the services they offer. Thankfully, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced a bill in Congress that would hold CPCs accountable for misrepresenting their services.
• CPCs outnumber legitimate reproductive-health clinics across the country. In Florida, where this documentary takes place, 69 percent of counties lack an abortion provider. Find out your state access fact.
• Since 1993, eight clinic workers (including four doctors, two employees, one clinic escort, and one security guard) were murdered in United States.
• Inside the women's health clinic, Candace talks about the dwindling number of providers. You can learn more about the new wave of reproductive-health doctors in this article, originally in the New York Times Magazine.
• Medical Students for Choice helps train the doctors who will continue to provide abortion care for future generations. You can read more about this organization on its website.
• When one woman spoke about her husband forcing her to have sex without condoms, it's important to remember that reproductive coercion can include birth-control sabotage and/or using threats to force someone to have unprotected sex. Read more information from Guttmacher and a recent Businessweek article.
• In one scene, the CPC employee lied to a woman about the risks of abortion, so she tried to self-induce a miscarriage. Read more about the hazards of illegal abortion (pdf).
  

Keep in mind, this list is a start, so if you saw other parts of the film that gave you pause or prompted you to ask questions, please let us know in the comments.

Most people have no idea how these CPCs operate or, as the documentary shows us at the end, that they outnumber health centers that provide abortion by a five-to-one margin. One of our fans on Facebook looked up CPCs in her home state of Oregon and found 44 such places. That's in Oregon, one of the most pro-choice states in the country.

As we've said before, this film is going to start a conversation about abortion and how women access information about their health-care options. Let's keep that conversation going.