It's disgusting and disgraceful, and we really don't want to spend any time more than necessary on Ann Coulter's inflammatory rhetoric, so I'll skip to something more uplifting.

Many of you have probably heard about our "Trust Women" wristbands, but for those of you that haven't heard, here's the run down: In honor of Dr. George Tiller, who often wore a button that simply read, "Trust Women," NARAL Pro-Choice America is asking you to pay tribute to his legacy and demonstrate that we won't let those who use violent rhetoric and hateful language win.

You can read more information on the "Trust Women" campaign, but in the meantime, check out this incredible map:

Feel free to click it and see if your hometown is among those communities that "Trust Women."

Didn't see your town? How do you get your town on the map, you ask? When you donate to get your "Trust Women" wristband, you get to add yourself to the map of people that have already paid tribute to Dr. Tiller. It's really an awesome thing to actually see such an outpouring of support for his legacy.

Unless we act now, the Senate could ban reproductive-health services from being covered in the new health-care system.

So please join us and expose and stop this anti-choice attack - call on your senator to oppose a ban on reproductive-health care coverage in the health reform bill.

Time is truly tight here. We need you to take action immediately.

After you send your email, please do even more:

• Forward this blogpost to all your friends.
• Call your senator. Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected with your senators. When the Senate staff person answers, simply ask to leave this message: "I urge the senator to oppose any attempts to ban reproductive-health services from being covered in the new health-care system."
• If you have a Facebook or MySpace page or Twitter account, help us get the word out. Repost the link to our action page - http://action.prochoiceamerica.org/site/Advocacy?id=3835&pagename=homepage - and ask your friends to add their name.

As Nancy Keenan said in an alert we sent out today, "Our success -- or failure -- today could affect millions of woman across the country. Don't let this ban take away health-care options so many women already have."

"As a dedicated supporter of women's health and rights, I am honored to receive the early endorsement of NARAL Pro-Choice America for my election to the United States Senate," Sen. Gillibrand said. "I congratulate Nancy Keenan and the entire organization for their tremendous efforts to elect pro-choice leaders and protect pro-choice values. We have done a lot of great work together, but we have a whole lot more work to do to protect reproductive rights in this country and ensure privacy and freedom for women."

Keenan said NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC contributed $5,000 to Sen. Gillibrand's campaign. She also pledged to mobilize the organization's 63,113 member activists in support of Sen. Gillibrand, whom the PAC endorsed in previous campaigns for the U.S. House in New York's 20th District.

"Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is a rising star among pro-choice leaders in the Senate," Keenan said. "We are proud to continue the partnership we started in 2006 when Sen. Gillibrand first won a tough race for the House. She is a resilient campaigner whose fully pro-choice voting record reflects an unwavering commitment to the values of freedom and privacy. We are proud to stand with Sen. Gillibrand and pledge to rally thousands of our member activists behind her in the same way she has stood up for a woman's right to choose."

Jonathan Martin, covering Ben Smith's blog over at Politico, already reported on our endorsement.

During this first stage of the mark-up process, Republicans filed 300-plus amendments that address women's health in some way, approximately a dozen of which are anti-choice. Which one do you think jumped out at us right away? An amendment from (whom else?) Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) to establish a federal "Office of Unborn Children's Health."

Yes, you read that correctly.

I did a little perusing of the amendment's language, and it goes from unreasonable to absurd in under 20 seconds. Still, it's hardly shocking, given the sponsor. Sen. Coburn of Oklahoma is one of the most unrelentingly anti-choice members of Congress. During his 2004 Senate campaign, Coburn told the Associated Press, "I favor the death penalty for abortionists and other people who take life." Coburn is also on record as opposing abortion even in cases of rape or incest. And this "Office of Unborn Children's Health" proposal is one of just nine amendments he's filed on the health-care reform bill thus far. With so many Americans lacking basic health care, it is unconscionable that Sen. Coburn continues to use legislation on this important issue as a means to continue his ideological attacks.

It's important to note that, at this time, this amendment has not yet been offered - but the mark-up continues so we'll update you as we learn more. It's going to be a long summer...

** "Mark up" is D.C. lingo for going through the bill line by line and allowing lawmakers to offer amendments. It's exactly as exciting as it sounds, I'm told.

• Heidi Beirich, Ph.D., Director of Research and Special Projects, Southern Poverty Law Center
• Adam Luna, Political Director, America's Voice
• Clarissa Martinez, Director, Immigration and National Campaigns, National Council of La Raza
• Nancy Zirkin, Executive Vice President, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

Below are some highlights from Nancy's portion of the panel. Media Matters has its own highlight reel, which shows portions of the other speakers as well. So check it out:

And, as always, let us know your thoughts on inflamatory rhetoric in right-wing media in the comments below.

I am at a loss as to how any member of the Senate could oppose an anti-violence resolution. It doesn't ask any member of the Senate to change his or her position on abortion. It just reiterates a core American value that, even on issues where there is intense debate, violence is never an option. I commend Sens. Shaheen, Boxer, and Klobuchar, as well as the other 40 senators who cosponsored this resolution, for their leadership, and urge the senators who refused to support it to come out of the shadows and explain why.

As Nancy's statement indicates, the resulotion was introduced by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Barbara Boxer of California, and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

More information can be found on our website or on Sen. Shaheen's website.

Today, NARAL Pro-Choice America president Nancy Keenan has a piece up on NPR.org called, "After Tiller: What Will Happen To The Women?":

What will happen to the women?

This central question haunted me Tuesday when I heard that Women's Health Care Services, Inc., where Dr. George Tiller provided care to women for more than 30 years, would close permanently.

I can't imagine the pain Dr. Tiller's wife and children are experiencing. It is a sad day for our country when the very family members who stood by their husband and father as he endured countless attacks are forced--as a result of his murder-- to make a decision to close the medical center that he fought so hard to protect.

I thought about Karen from Pennsylvania, who shared this comment on our blog: "Dr. Tiller, you saved my niece Jeanette's life, you helped our family through one of the darkest, most desperate and unthinkable moments we ever experienced. When we thought there was no where to turn, there you were."

Read it in its entirety on the NPR website.

UPDATED:  It's also now up on Huffington Post... with 161 comments and counting.

In the Albany Times Union, NARAL Pro-Choice New York President Kelli Conlin explains how political actions that seem completely unrelated to choice--like the chaos in the New York State Senate--can have a devastating effect. New York had been close to passing the Reproductive Rights Act:

 "While you saw two men cross the aisle, I sat in the New York Senate chamber and saw three years of hard work and real coalition-building in the service of women's health go up in smoke. While you watched the lights go out in the Senate chamber, I watched the state go dark on reproductive rights."

If you live in New York, you can still take action. Tell your senators that they should still support the Reproductive Rights Act.

On the other side of the country, Arizona legislators are considering bills with a number of anti-choice provisions. In this op-ed from The Arizona Republic, an Arizona native shares a personal story and calls on lawmakers to take a difference approach:

"Shouldn't we be focused on reducing the number of unintended pregnancies instead of judging women who make the painful decision to terminate them? All of these factors in the proposed bills simply will add up to more pregnant women who cannot obtain reliable medical care.

Reducing the number of abortions in Arizona must start with honest sex education, access to contraception and comprehensive prenatal care. That would be a bill I could enthusiastically support.

In 2012, the state of Arizona will celebrate its 100th birthday. Do we want our centennial to be recognition of how far we've come in providing medical care to all Arizonans, or a sad realization of how far we have yet to go?"

Contact NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona for more information on the bills and to find out what you can do.

Our thoughts are with the Tiller family. I can't imagine the pain they are going through at this time. It is a sad day for our country when family members who stood by their husband and father as he endured countless anti-choice attacks are forced as a result of his murder to make a decision like this one. What happened to Dr. Tiller is part of an ongoing pattern of extreme anti-choice violence and intimidation that seeks, by any means necessary, to deny women access to the safe, legal abortion care they need. This use of inflammatory rhetoric and acts of violence must stop.

Learn more about anti-choice violence and intimidation.

[NARAL Pro-Choice America] said that more than 12,500 people had put their names on an Internet memorial wall for Tiller. The wall is located at www.remembertiller.com.

As of today, we're seeing more than 17,000 signatures and counting. Add yours today.

The New York Times covered Saturday's memorial service for Dr. Tiller:

Dr. Tiller's oldest daughter, Jennifer, told of how she and her family and her parents had spent the week before the shooting at Disney World. She described her father, in sandals and white ankle socks, wearing far too much sunblock, spending the final days of his life at play. "He was just a normal guy," she said.

...Hundreds of mourners streamed into the church, quickly filling the main sanctuary, which seats about 800. Hundreds more, including women who had once been Dr. Tiller's patients, packed an overflow room, with dozens more crowded in the church hallways.

Most carried white carnations and wore a button that read, "Attitude is everything." The button held special significance. Dr. Tiller, a lover of axioms, had worn a similar button for more than 25 years.

At the front of the sanctuary, beside a framed photograph of Dr. Tiller, was a large wreath that framed a simple sign, "Trust Women." The family also announced the establishment of the George R. Tiller Memorial Fund for the Advancement of Women's Health.

Read the entire article to get the full story.

In Sunday's Washington Post, medical student Rozalyn Farmer Love writes, "I grew up believing that abortions are wrong. Now, I expect to perform them someday":

I'm a third-year medical student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I plan to become an obstetrician-gynecologist. I dream of delivering healthy babies, working with families and supporting midwifery. But as part of my practice, I also envision providing abortions to women who need them.

The road I took to get here isn't your stereotypical one. My parents are conservative Christians who believe that abortion is wrong. Growing up, I naturally shared their view. But I've also wanted to be a doctor since I was 4 years old, and in high school, I began to feel drawn to issues of women's health. In college, I designed my own major to broaden my understanding of women's health by including psychology, sociology and women's studies courses.

I also served as a counselor for a volunteer organization that helps victims of rape. I sat in hospital rooms with young women who would look at me and say, "I can't be pregnant. I just couldn't carry his baby." I could feel their desperation.

This incredibly profound op-ed is definitely a must read. This third-year medical student has a powerful perspective and her story must be shared.

Scott Roeder, the man charged with murdering Dr. Tiller, called the Associated Press from prison yesterday and said:

"I know there are many other similar events planned around the country as long as abortion remains legal," Roeder said. When asked by the AP what he meant and if he was referring to another shooting, he refused to elaborate further.

It wasn't clear whether Roeder knew of any impending violence or whether he was simply seeking publicity for his cause. Law enforcement authorities including the Justice Department said they didn't know whether the threat was credible.

...Nancy Keenan president of NARAL-Pro-Choice America, said Roeder's comments "continue to escalate that kind of activity, that kind of violence. Quite honestly, I think it's imperative for anti-choice groups to tone down that rhetoric and keep the more extreme elements in their movement form copying Scott Roeder."

A federal investigation has been launched in connection with the fatal shooting of George Tiller, the U.S. Department of Justice announced today.

The department's Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for Kansas are investigating the case.

Tiller was shot and killed Sunday while he was serving as an usher at his church, Reformation Lutheran Church.

Scott P. Roeder has been charged in Sedgwick County District Court with first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault in connection with the shooting.

"The federal probe will consist of a thorough review of the evidence and an assessment of any potential violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act) or other federal statutes," according to a news release issued today by the Justice Department.

The FACE Act was enacted by Congress in 1994 to establish federal criminal penalties and civil remedies for violent, obstructionist or damaging conduct affecting reproductive health care providers and recipients.

The federal investigation will be conducted "in close coordination" with the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office, the Justice Department said.

You can read our fact sheet on clinic violence (FYI - it's a PDF) for more information.

• Tallahassee, FL: 6 p.m. on Friday, June 5, on the steps of the new Capitol at Waller Park. This side of the Capitol is right across from the Supreme Court on Duval Street.
• Chicago, IL: 8:15-9:15 p.m. on Friday, June 5, Churchill Field Playlot Park (c/o Holstein Park): 1825 N. Damen Ave., Chicago, IL 60614, For more information, send an email here.
• San Marcos, TX: 8 p.m. on Friday, June 5, Courthouse Square, San Marcos, TX
• Jacksonville, FL: 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 6, Planned Parenthood clinic:  3850 Beach Blvd.
• Madison, WI: 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 7, Lisa Link Peace Park: 400 State Street, Madison, WI, please direct any questions to the NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin office at (608) 287-0016 or via email
• Milwaukee, WI: 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 7, First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee: 1342 Astor Street, more information on the NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin website.
• Washington, DC: 6 pm.m on Monday, June 8, Remembrance and Celebration of Dr. George Tiller, The National City Christian Church, 5 Thomas Circle, N.W., Washington DC
• Denver, CO: 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, location TBD, please direct any questions to the NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado office at (303) 394-1973. RSVP for confirmation of details here 
• Rochester, NY: 5-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, First Unitarian Church: 220 South Winton Road, Rochester, NY
• Portland, OR: 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 7, 3727 NE MLK Jr. Blvd. (NE MLK & Beech, one block north of Fremont, Planned Parenthood health center construction site, enter from NE Garfield Street.), please bring Candles. More information on the NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon website
• Allentown, PA: 3-5 p.m. on Sunday, June 7, at the Metropolitan Community Church of the Lehigh Valley: 930 N. Fourth St., Allentown. Anyone who wishes to share a story at Sunday's memorial is asked to call Jennifer Boulanger at 610-770-9077, ext. 11.
• Santa Monica, CA: 5-8 p.m. on Saturday, June 6, Santa Monica Promenade: Third and Arizona
• Baltimore, MD: 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 18, an evening of reflection and conversation at Windup Space in Baltimore. To RSVP, or for more information, email Melissa Kleder
• Virginia Beach, VA: 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 7, the community center of Lynnhaven Colony Congregational Church, United Church of Christ: 2217 West Greatneck Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23451

(Photo source.)

Minneapolis, Minnesota: Tuesday, June 2, 2009:

The video above was shot and edited by one of NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota's clinic-escort volunteers without their knowledge... he then gave it to them to distribute. Very powerful, indeed.  

If you've attended a vigil for Dr. George Tiller, and took pictures, please email them to us so we can add them to our flickr set and put them on our blog.

As always, please be sure to let us know of events that you know of but don't see on our list. You can email us or leave it in the comments below. Thanks!

Concord, NH: 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, statehouse grounds in Concord, NH. For more information, call NARAL Pro-Choice New Hampshire at 603-228-1224.

Austin, TX: 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, The Hill at Butler Park: 903 W Riverside Dr, Austin, TX, Located between Riverside Drive and Barton Springs. Immediately west of Palmer Events Center.

New Haven, CT: 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, First Presbyterian Church of New Haven: 704 Whitney Avenue, New Haven CT 06511, For more information, email Gretchen

Columbus, OH: 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, Broad Street Methodist Church, 501 East Broad Street, Columbus 43215

Richmond, VA: 7-8 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, Richmond First Unitarian Church: 1000 Blanton Avenue

Gainesville, FL: 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, Planned Parenthood clinic: 914 NW 13th St. Please park in the Office Depot parking lot.

Tallahassee, FL: 6 p.m. on Friday, June 5, on the steps of the new Capitol at Waller Park. This side of the Capitol is right across from the Supreme Court on Duval Street.

Chicago, IL: 8:15-9:15 p.m. on Friday, June 5, Churchill Field Playlot Park (c/o Holstein Park): 1825 N. Damen Ave., Chicago, IL 60614, For more information, send an email here.

San Marcos, TX: 8 p.m. on Friday, June 5, Courthouse Square, San Marcos, TX

Jacksonville, FL: 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 6, Planned Parenthood clinic:  3850 Beach Blvd.

Madison, WI: 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 7, Lisa Link Peace Park: 400 State Street, Madison, WI, please direct any questions to the NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin office at (608) 287-0016 or via email

Milwaukee, WI: 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 7, First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee: 1342 Astor Street, more information on the NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin website.

Washington, DC: 6 pm.m on Monday, June 8, Remembrance and Celebration of Dr. George Tiller, The National City Christian Church, 5 Thomas Circle, N.W., Washington DC

Denver, CO: 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, location TBD, please direct any questions to the NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado office at (303) 394-1973. RSVP for confirmation of details to denvervigil@prochoicecolorado.org