STATE NEWS

by Susan Lipkin

Injunction Stymies Anti-Abortionists

The rights of women on Medicaid have received aboost--at least for now. On September 12, 1979, Judge Joseph P. Kinneary issued a preliminary injunction against the "Meshel Amendment" to the Ohio Budget Bill, which had placed severe restrictions on public funding for abortions. The injunction extended to the Medical Assistance Letter No. 71 (M.A.L. 71), which regulated abortion funding under federal Hyde Amendment language.

The Meshel Amendment to the Ohio Biennial Budget Bill contains language that restricts abortion Tunding even more than the federal language in effect at the time. The Amendment states that no state government funds or federal funds passing through the state treasury.or any state agency can be used for performing, promoting, or assisting another in the performance of an abortion unless:

⚫ the abortion is necessary to prevent the woman's death and two physicians will sign statements to that effect;

the pregnancy results from rape and the crime was reported within 48 hours;

• the pregnancy results from incest where both the incident and the relative have been reported.

As is typical, the zealous anti-abortion forces who

NATIONAL NEWS

By Gull Powers

pushed for this amendment struck at a group which traditionally lacks the power to fight back. Recent polls show that at least 77% of the American public support the right to choose abortion. But they support free choice quietly and passively. By restricting access to safe abortion for poor women, the compulsory pregnancy people seek to prevent at least some abortions-at least the ones they can acquire some control over.

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The language in this amendment is punitive, repressive, and shows a callous lack of sensitivity to or concern with the reality of women's lives. Two physicians must be willing to state that a pregnancy will, with certainty, directly cause a woman's death. A woman who is so traumatized by rape that she doesn't report it promptly is further victimized by a resulting pregnancy. A child is required to report the father, brother, uncle, etc. who forced her into incest, regardless of her age, situation, or ability to make the report.

The amendment would also prohibit publicly funded counseling and referral services from doing complete problem pregnancy counseling under the "promotion" language. It makes no allowance for cases of fetal deformity or genetically transmitted discase, such as Tay Sachs. It doesn't even allow funding where a pregnancy would seriously damage a

woman's health but wouldn't necessarily kill her.

While the injunction is in effect, this outrageous amendment will not be enforced In fact, Judge Kinneary has ordered the state to pay for all "medically necessary" abortions for Medicaid recipients. The bright spot in all this is that "medically necessary" is defined fairly broadly. Ohio's funding policy is now. actually more liberal than federal policy. It includes funding for abortions where the pregnancy could cause physical health damage due to age, illness, drug addiction, or genetic afflictions. It also allows funding where the pregancy threatens a woman's mental health due to her age, family size, income, or prior psychological history.

Clinics have been instructed in M.A.L.. No. 95 to apply to the state for reimbursement for medically necessary abortions performed for women on Medicaid. How much of a victory this is depends on how well the policy is carried out and what the final decision is in the suit against the amendment. In the meantime, more Ohio women will be able to have medically safe abortions, if that is their choice.

Susan Lipkin Associate Director

Education for Freedom of Choice in Ohio

FROM PRIDE TO POLITICS

Lesbians, guy then, and those who support their demands for civil rights marched in Washington on October 14. The crowd, estimated at anywhere from 25,000 to 250,000), depending on the source, covered a 10-block stretch from the Capitol to the Washington Monument grounds. It represented diverse segments of lesbians and gays from every state in the U.S., plus 23 foreign countries. The Ohio contingent was one of the largest, with over 200 women and men from Cleveland alone.

The local Washington TV news stations covered the event in an objective and positive light. The Washington newspapers covered it comprehensively, making sure to give equal space to the anti-gay rights faction, with the usual deference to you know who.

Individuals and groups painted their signs and banners with creativity and carried them with courage: "Parents and Friends of Gays''; "My Doctor Is/My Lawyer is/I um/I Think my Uncle Harry Is"; "Guy Mormons"; "Gay Teachers"; "Lesbian

"Gay and Lesbian Counselors National Caucus";

the 38 or more men and women who sang und shouted messages of an end to gay oppression-of an unstoppable force moving from gay pride to gay politics.

The speeches lasted for over four hours, and frequently emphasized the need for organized political action. Legislators were scarce, but District Mayor Marion Barry Jr., who had declared October 10-17 Gay and Lesbian Awareness Week, sent a representative who spoke of Mayor Barry's personal, community and legislative support of gay rights. Eleanor Smeal, President of NOW, declared, "We are cmphatically and 100 percent for lesbian and gay rights-human rights are indivisible....We are prepared to help build a grass roots movement in this country that will not be denied.” The parents of gays asked for an end to discrimination against their children and told of 32 chapters of parents of gays across the nation. "We are proud of our gay daughters and sons...[and] speak out for gay children

Mothers"; "Middle-aged Dykes are Everywhere"; COMMEN"We Love Our Clay Children"; "Gay Dentist" TARY

"Closets are for Clothes"; "Lesbian and Qay Catholics have Dignity"; "Don't Die Wondering”.

The specific demands of the demonstration fo clised upon:

1. The repeal of all anti-lesbian/gay luws.

2. Passage of a comprehensive lesbian/gay rights bill in Congress.

3. A presidential executive order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in the Federal government, the military, and federallycontracted private employment,

4. An end to discrimination in lesbian mother and gay father custody cases,

5. Protection for lesbian and gay youth from any laws which are used to discriminate against, oppress and/or harass them in their homes, schools, jobs, and social environments.

In the old-fashioned sense of the word, it was a gay day. The sky was clear, and the air was crisp and filled with a sense of good will, humor, sharing, solidarity and celebration. The crowd assembled on the monument grounds was receptive and eager for

Page 4/What She Wants/November, 1979

By Terry Bullen

everywhere." Comedian Robin Tyler proclaimed, "We are demanding our civil rights....We are the largest minority of people in the United States.... We are going to save our children." The cheers from the crowd were frequent and enthusiastic.

Keynote speaker Betty Santoro, New York spokeswoman for Lesbian Feminist Liberation, spoke of Carter as "a President who speaks for human rights abroad and ignores 20 million people in his own country." She cried, "We're tired of being fired, thrown out of our homes and insulted, brutalized and murdered....Our rage will sweep this country until every gay and lesbian is free." The next speaker called for political action, asserting, “Anger and violence will always produce anger and violence, but they will never produce change."'

The call for action was reverberated in the crowd's chant: "Where do we go from here? Anywhere! Anywhere!"

Thoughts on the March

1 remember thinking many times that day in Washington, "Too bad it wasn't 250,000 womnen marching." Upon closer analysis, I think what I was really voicing was a somewhat less than total identification with the gay men marching by my side. Although I think it was important for legislative reasons to show a solidarity in the fight for gay rights, I think our struggle as women goes much farther.

Obviously, anti-gay legislation affects us as it does gay men. Historically, gay men have endured much more harassment from the law, simply because they still enjoyed male privilege in this society and whatever they did was deemed important. Lesbians, on the other hand, are women, i.e., not significant enough even to hassle. But the more lesbians become visible and vocal, many through their active participation in the Women's Movement, the more

significant they become, at least enough to be of some concern to the legislators and law enforcers.

But we are not only oppressed because of our sexual orientation, we are oppressed because of our sex and this is where we leave our gay brothers' side. Women's rights encompass much more than gay rights and, for me and perhaps others, this is the heart of our commitment. If all anti-gay legislation were repealed tomorrow, we would still be denied the right to reproductive freedom, equal pay, and equal employment and educational opportunities. We would still be raped, battered, and psychologically. spiritually and physically abused by a society which regards us as second-class citizens, not just because we are gay but because we are women. We are doubly invisible and, consequently, our struggle is twice as difficult as our gay brothers'. When gay rights become fact and not fiction, our fight still goes on. Until we win our rights as women, lesbians will fare no better than their straight sisters.