Women News Sept 8, 2009

Jane: Have you heard the latest scare tactics about the Health Insurance Reform plans?  The latest lie, this one by Independent Women's Forum claims that a public health option would somehow kill women who have breast cancer. Listen to this online video of NOW President Terry O'Neill's interview on the Rachel Maddow Show. (6 minutes)

Joan: Sister of Charity Louise Akers, 66, has been advocating for the Catholic ordination of women.  Last week she was told to remove her name and photograph from the Web site of the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC), of which she is an advisory board member, and to rescind her support for the ordination of women if she wants to continue making presentations and teaching for credit in archdiocesan institutions.

“To do so would go against my conscience,” she said. “For four decades I have devoted my ministry to advocating on behalf of the marginalized, through religious congregations, justice organizations, ecumenical and interfaith groups. Women’s ordination is a justice issue. Its basis is the value, dignity and equality of women. I believe this to my very core. To publicly state otherwise would be a lie and a violation of my conscience. I love, support and cherish the part of Church that upholds the gospel mission and vision of Jesus.”

This chastising by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk is an example of the way women are often wrongly treated by the hierarchy in the Roman Catholic Church.

Jane:. Women will now have a choice of watching Diane Sawyer on ABC news or Katie Couric on "CBS Evening News". Diane Sawyer now 63 will be the new anchor on ABC news replacing Charles Gibson, who is retiring at the end of the year

Joan: In Massachusetts, Attorney General Martha Coakley, a Democrat, has announced that she will run for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. Coakly listed health care reform, the environment, and civil rights among her priorities. As Massachusetts attorney general she has brought a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. Massachusetts will hold a primary election in December and a general election in January to fill the seat of the late Senator Kennedy, a strong advocate for women's rights.

Jane Many of the listeners may have celebrated Labor Day weekend. But women who are single head of households don't have anything to celebrate. Last Friday, The Institute for Women's Policy Research released a fact sheet showing both a high rate of unemployment among single mothers and substantial growth in their rate of unemployment since April. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, women who are raising a family without a spouse have an unemployment rate of 12.2 percent while the unemployment rate for all men is 10.2 percent for and for women it is 8.9 percent.

Joan: Good news about contraceptives: The FDA has approved a generic version of the emergency contraceptive, Plan B, which is also known as the morning after pill. Known as Next Choice, the generic, like Plan B will be available over the counter to women 17 and over. It will cost about 10% less than Plan B.