Oops, Obama campaign shows how the sausage gets made

From: Clo Ewing
Date: Tue, Mar 20, 2012 at 8:13 AM

Subject: FW: have to make a couple of quick calls...can you put your eyes on this...for the college sheet we should add the why would young people support democrats comment with a list of reasons on why.

Reporters Tip Sheet: 3/20/2012

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Health Care has a Gender Gap, and the GOP Wouldn’t End That:

Every Republican running for President would repeal the Affordable Care Act. What would that mean? Ensuring that the gender gap in health insurance continues unabated.

Women pay $1 billion more each year in individual health insurance costs even though they tend to take better care of their health than men, according to a new report from the National Women’s Law Center.

Mitt Romney continues his calls to defund Planned Parenthood, despite the life-saving services they offer. In an exchange last night in which a female student asked where millions of women should go for health services if not Planned Parenthood, Romney responded “they can go wherever they’d like to go – this is a free society.” Here is the video of the exchange: http://youtu.be/2k7d7gRY1xc

Here are two powerful essays from Planned Parenthood patients you shouldn’t miss:

On the Huffington Post, Carolyn Smithers talks about a trip to a Planned Parenthood health center for a routine pap test when she was just 19 years old. The test detected cervical cancer, but because the cancer was caught early, she was able to able to get treatment, and go on to have two daughters of her own. She published an open letter to Mitt Romney asking him to think of her family when he talks about getting rid of an organization that saved her life.

Here is an excerpt of that letter:

Now my focus is on my daughters, who are 15 and 18. I have been battling breast cancer for the last several years -- it's hereditary breast cancer, which means my daughters have a 50/50 chance of getting it. I am now losing my battle with breast cancer. It has metastasized, and my doctors have told me that I can expect to live six months to two years

Because Planned Parenthood saved my life 30 years ago, and because the breast cancer I have is hereditary, my girls get screened every few months at our local Planned Parenthood health center. Given our income and the State of Florida's programs, the only place my daughters can get their cancer screening is at Planned Parenthood. There have been advances in early detection, making Planned Parenthood my daughters' best chance for a long and healthy future.

You seemed so cavalier when you said you would "get rid of" Planned Parenthood, but you're talking about my life and my daughters' lives.

Getting rid of Planned Parenthood would get rid of the health care millions of other women and their families rely on for breast exams, pap tests, birth control, and STD tests. A Planned Parenthood doctor is the only physician many women see -- that was certainly the case for me when I was diagnosed with cancer. And Planned Parenthood health centers are often the only provider of women's health care within miles.

If Planned Parenthood had not been there for me -- if someone had decided to get rid of the organization or its funding -- I would not be here today.

And, in today’s Chicago Tribune, Courtney Everette details how Planned Parenthood provided her with affordable birth control, which managed her endometriosis and prevented long-term damage to her reproductive system. Now, she is the mother of a 2-year-old son and is expecting a daughter soon.

Here’s an excerpt:

If people determined to get rid of Planned Parenthood were in charge when I was in school, I would not have been able to get the medication I needed to control my condition — and to protect my ability to have children.

It's not just me.

For many women, the only doctor they see all year is at Planned Parenthood.

Every year, more than 3 million people visit a Planned Parenthood health center. More than 90 percent of the care they get is preventive — birth control, like I got; clinical breast exams that can help detect breast cancer early; Pap smears; or tests for sexually transmitted diseases.

Last year, 770,000 women got clinical breast exams at Planned Parenthood. When an abnormality is detected, Planned Parenthood arranges for mammogram referrals, often at a low cost or no cost.

That's what Mitt Romney wants to get rid of…

I'm not a political commentator or an activist. I'm a mom — a very grateful mom.

But when Romney attacks the health care provider that protected my ability to have children, I have to speak out. People need to know just what Romney would get rid of if he had the power to, and people need to think about the stakes.

For me, the stakes are about three feet tall, enraptured by trains, loves to read, and has a laugh that melts hearts.

Please let me know if there’s anything I can help with from headquarters either related to these stories or the campaign in general! My info is below:

Clo Ewing