Subject: NARAL Launches Campaign to Repeal Rule Prohibiting AmeriCorps Volunteers from Referring for Abortion Care
From: Kaylie Hanson <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2016 08:23:27 -0400
List-Id: <friends.mailman.prochoiceamerica.org>

*For Immediate Release*: April 29, 2016
*Contact*: Kaylie Hanson, [email-masked]

*NARAL Launches Campaign to Repeal Rule Prohibiting AmeriCorps Volunteers
from Referring for Abortion Care*

NARAL Pro-Choice America has launched a campaign to pressure Congress
to repeal the gag rule that prohibits AmeriCorps volunteers from referring
women for abortion care. The campaign was launched in response to recent
news
<http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/277648-watchdog-major-grant-recipient-violated-federal-law-on-abortion-funding>
that AmeriCorps volunteers from the National Association of Community
Health Centers have been serving as clinic escorts in New York City.

*"Banning AmeriCorps volunteers from referring women for abortion services
is yet another abhorrent example of unfair targeting of low-income women,"*said
Sasha Bruce, NARAL Senior Vice President.* "T**his rule is just one in a
series of discriminatory policies, like the Hyde amendment or TRAP laws,
that target low-income women from accessing abortion care. **Low-income
women and women of color shouldn't be getting worse treatment and less
information than anyone else when it comes to their medical decisions. It's
time for the rule to be repealed so AmeriCorps volunteers can help women
get the care they need."*

The campaign will organize thousands of NARAL members to directly petition
Congress  <http://actnow.prochoiceamerica.org/sign/160427_americorps/>for a
change to this discriminatory policy. NARAL has also taken out paid
advertising on Facebook and is engaging with members on Twitter to raise
awareness of this issue.

Read more about the NARAL campaign from The Hill below:

*The Hill: Abortion rights group defends AmeriCorps after violations*
<http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/277997-abortion-rights-group-defends-americorps-after-violations>

A leading abortion rights group is defending AmeriCorps after a half-dozen
of the service program's workers violated federal laws by helping women
seeking abortions.

NARAL Pro-Choice America is launching a national campaign to repeal the
so-called gag rule that prevents service-oriented groups, including
AmeriCorps, from promoting or supporting abortions in any way.

"Banning Americorps volunteers from referring women for abortion services
is yet another abhorrent example of this unfair targeting of low-income
women,” NARAL Vice President Sasha Bruce wrote in a letter to supporters,
provided to The Hill.

The group is organizing a petition to Congress, which it will promote in
letters to supporters as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

AmeriCorps has been under scrutiny this week after a federal investigation
found one of the program’s biggest partners, the National Association of
Community Health Centers, had been using its funds to escort women to
abortion clinics.

NARAL's campaign is the first response from abortion rights supporters
following the investigation, which was first reported by The Hill
<http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/277648-watchdog-major-grant-recipient-violated-federal-law-on-abortion-funding>
late
Monday.

The misuse of the funding has sparked an outcry
<http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/277656-top-republican-calls-for-probe-into-abortion-services-at-community-health>
from
Republicans in Congress.

Senior lawmakers, including Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred
Upton (R-Mich.), have condemned AmeriCorps and its partners for the
“shameful failure of trust.”

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), who oversees health funding on the House
Appropriations Committee, also called for a national investigation into
AmeriCorps and its grant partners.

*NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates are dedicated
to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom forall Americans. NARAL
works to guarantee that every woman has the right to make personal
decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including
preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing
legal abortion. In recognition of its work defending our constitutional
right to choose, Fortune Magazine described NARAL as "one of the top 10
advocacy groups in America."*

*###*
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