Pro Choice/Anti Readshaw Rally Turns Ugly

On Wednesday, May 7, Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania Advocates held a "Rally Against Readshaw: 31 Minutes for 31 Votes Against Women's Health" in front of PA State Rep. Harry Readshaw's (D-Allegheny-Dist 36) Brownsville Road office. Here's how the event was described on Facebook by the hosts:

Representative Harry Readshaw has voted against women’s health an astonishing 31 times in the Pennsylvania legislature, and it’s time to show him that the women of South Pittsburgh deserve better. 

Join us for a 31-minute protest out side Rep. Readshaw's district office against the 31 times Harry Readshaw voted to restrict women's access to reproductive healthcare in PA. Let's make Readshaw tell us why he thinks women are not capable of making our own medical decisions.

Here are some photographs from the event:

And, here is a list of Readshaw's votes on women's health: www.31votesagainstwomen.com. It includes the infamous bill he introduced which would have forced women:

[T]o have a medically unnecessary ultrasound 24 hours prior to an abortion. It also forces doctors to turn the ultrasound screen towards the woman’s face. It then forces the woman take TWO prints with her (one for her scrapbook, and the other one SHE has to bring to the doctor performing the abortion.) And, furthermore, it forces civil and criminal penalties for doctors and patients who dare defy their legislating of medicine.

Here's the ad Planned Parenthood is running against him:

 

Readshaw has run unopposed in the Democratic primary for many years and has been a legislator since first winning in 1994. However, since House districts have been redrawn, he now has an opponent in the May 20 primary: Rep. Erin Molchany (D-Allegheny-Dist 22) who is progressive and pro choice and who has picked up endorsements from such local elected democrats as County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Mayor Bill Peduto, City Council President Bruce Kraus, City Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak, and others.

Maybe that's what's driving (no pun intended) some of Readshaw's supporters over the edge. From the Community Matters blog description of the rally:

I've been to hundreds of demonstrations in my lifetime. This began as a pretty standard event. We circled the sidewalk in front of Readshaw's office until a woman in a large SUV backed up along the curb, nearly hitting some protestors and reporters. Jeanne Clark, a longtime Pittsburgh activist, walked to the driver's window and said "Stop. There are people behind you." The driver said "You don't care about killing babies", and she did it again. Deliberately. She sat in the car screeching "Abortion is murder." Apparently, she doesn't have a problem with vehicular homicide or critical injury. Pro-life my ass. 

We learned that the woman is Megan Readshaw Perfetti, Harry Readshaw's DAUGHTER. 

Perfetti is a health teacher and coordinates the health education curriculum for the Pittsburgh Public Schools. I guess she doesn't think women need health care. 

Before the event even began, a man from the business next door strongly objected to our presence. He shouted that he was calling the police. No one cared, since we were protesting legally. A Pittsburgh Police car arrived a few minutes later, after Perfetti's stunt, and sat in a parking space across the street. Perfetti walked over to talk to the officer. I don't know what they discussed, since she was clearly the only person committing a crime at the time, but the officer never left his car. He drove away as the event ended.

Wow! And they call themselves "pro life."

You can also read the City Paper's Blogh coverage here.

Patrick Murphy calls for Corbett to apologize to PA women

Via Murphy for PA:

“It’s bad enough that Governor Corbett wants to force women to get an unnecessary and invasive procedure as a means of getting a government permission slip to undergo legal medical care. It’s worse yet that he wants to shame them by shoving an ultrasound screen in their face. But it’s unthinkable that he would so casually dismiss this by advising women to just close their eyes. Governor Corbett’s comments are disturbingly offensive, insensitive, and out of touch. He should apologize immediately.” Murphy said. “As I have said before, this legislation is an outrageous assault on women’s rights in Pennsylvania and an unprecedented intrusion into decisions that should be made exclusively between a woman and her doctor. The proposal is demeaning, mean spirited and wrong. There is no legal justification for forcing a woman to undergo an invasive ultrasound, and after careful analysis, I believe that no reasonable arguments can be made to support the Constitutionality of this bill. As Attorney General, I could not defend it against a Constitutional challenge.”

Murphy is running for Corbett's old PA Attorney General seat.

If you agree that Corbett should apologize, sign the petition here.

PA's Forced Ultrasound "Women's Right to Know Act" (Women's Right to No Rights Act)

Ladies! It's time to hide your vaginas from the probing of the Pennsylvania General Assembly who's attempting to get all up close and personal with your lady business.

Pennsylvania's state legislature knows that women folk have very little actual knowledge of their own bodies -- especially when they have a bun in the oven. They know that the little ladies are weak in mind and could use a helping hand (holding a transvaginal ultrasound) when contemplating an abortion. (You know, like the old joke about whacking a mule with a 2-by-4 to get its attention.)

They know that to keep the ladies on the righteous path, they need to mansplain to them what's happening in their special lady parts so that they can see the error of their ways. After all, who knows better than them (83% of whom are male) what women want and need?

Little things like facts -- 42% of women obtaining abortions have incomes below 100% of the federal poverty level and 61% of abortions are obtained by women who already have one or more children -- mean little to them. The ladies are simply being hysterical if they think they can't afford more kids or need to keep a job. They obviously need a thought adjustment.

That's why the PA General Assembly has decided that the best way to get their attention is to force them to have a medically unnecessary ultrasound 24 hours prior to an abortion. It also forces doctors to turn the ultrasound screen towards the woman’s face. It then forces the woman take TWO prints with her (one for her scrapbook, and the other one SHE has to bring to the doctor performing the abortion.) And, furthermore, it forces civil and criminal penalties for doctors and patients who dare defy their legislating of medicine.

You can read PA House Bill 1077 in all its gorey here. (The bit about “free ultrasound providers” is included so they can funnel women to so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” where they can be fed state-funded, unregulated misinformation by ultrasound providers that don't even have to have any training!)

Have a problem with it?

Here's what you can do:

1. Call your state representative.
(Find yours here.)


2. Write your state representative.
(Find yours here.)


3. Sign the petition here.
(They smashed through their old goal of 10,000 signatures and are now going for 50,000.)

Then, be sure tell all your friends to do the same.

Just do something!