Get Ready, World! Katha Pollitt Joins Twitter!

Katha finally took the plunge and joined Twitter. Follow her here: http://twitter.com/KathaPollitt

Nation Blog: "The Budget Stalemate Is Not About Abortion"

Planned Parenthood gets no federal money for abortion, a procedure which constitutes some 3 percent of their work. None! (Neither, by the way, does the United Nations Population Fund, which Republicans also want to defund. In fact, it has been banned from funding abortions since its founding in the 1970s, and by several bouts of US legislation since.)...How can the fight be about abortion, when no federal monies are spent on abortions at Planned Parenthood? The fight is about Planned Parenthood. Period.

Read Pollitt's entire blog post online.

New Nation Column: "Women Under the Budget Knife"

An excerpt from Pollitt's Nation column this week:

Remember “shared sacrifice”? Like the rain, the budget cuts were supposed to fall on all alike. But somehow men seem to be ending up with more than their share of umbrellas, and women are getting soaked. Attacks on reproductive healthcare are openly aimed at women and have gotten a lot of attention—like the House vote to defund Planned Parenthood and eliminate the Title X family planning program, which has fortunately been blocked in the Senate. Less visible are the ways federal, state and local government cutbacks, touted as neutral and necessary belt-tightening, will fall disproportionately on women.

Read the whole piece online at The Nation's website.

Support Katha in the National Network of Abortion Funds Virtual Bowlathon

A message from Katha:

Dear friends, I just want to let you know that I'm participating in the National Network of Abortion Funds Virtual Bowlathon. That means, instead of bowling to raise $$$ for low-income women's abortion care, I sit here at my computer and try to raise more money than the other writers sitting at their computers. Last year I came in second. This year I want to do even better!

Can you help? No amount is too small! What with the Republican assault on reproductive rights and even Planned Parenthood, donating to NNAF is a great way for you to show your support for abortion rights and access.

To donate, just go to my fundraising page.

NNAF is a terrific organization, by the way. It's the umbrella for the many local abortion funds around the country. Your donation to NNAF will support the organization and also help women pay for abortion care in areas that no local fund covers.

Thanks for reading, Katha