CALL TO ACTION!  

Our Lives are on the Line: Rally on July 29

On July 29, Americans from all over the country are coming together to say "our lives are on the line" if Repiblicans pass Trumpcare and strip our health care coverage! Iowa has events in 6 cities - Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Dubuque, Des Moines, Sioux City, and Waterloo. 

Go to www.womensmarchiowa.com for further information!

RATIFY THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

Women are still not guaranteed equal rights under the U.S. Constitution. NOW has made ratifying the ERA a top priority because equality in pay, job opportunities, political structure, education, health care, including reproductive health care, and education–in particular for women of color, women with disabilities and the LGBTQIA community–will remain an elusive dream without a guarantee in the U.S. Constitution. An ERA would also make it significantly more difficult to roll back progress on women’s equality: an acute concern under the current administration. 

AMENDMENT #28   

The Equal Rights Amendment was submitted by Congress to the states for ratification in 1972.  Hawaii was the first state to ratify and Iowa was among the other 21 states to ratify in that first year.  The deadline for ratification was extended twice, to 1982. The extension ran out with only 35 states having ratified the amendment, 3 short of the 38 states needed.   In 1992, the 27th amendment was ratified.  It was a Madison amendment, submitted to the states for ratification in 1789 (having to do with Congressional salaries),  proving that a ratification deadline was unconstitutional.

In the 35 years since the extension expired, a movement we called the "three state strategy" has ebbed and flowed.   The Nevada legislature ratified the ERA this week in obvious opposition to the assault on women's rights by the atrocity known as Donald Trump.  It's time to ratify the ERA, affording us what may be the only positive thing to happen in this country in the next four years. Our organization was largest and strongest during the ERA ratification years.  We have many issues but the ERA, in its original form, if ratified,  is on a scale with the 19th amendment.  Let's take advantage of this unexpected opportunity to make history.

Unratified states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia.  We've heard that Virginia has a real chance to ratify.  Illinois and Missouri are in our NOW District (Heartland).

Click here for ways you can take action to help make the ERA a reality!

CONTACT YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES

Contact your elected representatives on a regular basis to advocate for the issues you care about.  Here is a helpful link to suggested calling scripts on a variety of issues (reproductive rights, marriage equality, health care, immigration, civil liberties and more). 

 

DONATE TO IOWA NOW'S JUDICUAL BYPASS FUND

Since 2004, Iowa NOW has funded abortions, at clinics in Des Moines and Iowa City, for young women who have successfully negotiated the "judicial bypass" exception to Iowa's Parental Notification law. Although the State of Iowa is obligated to pay the cost of the legal process, the minor must find a way to pay for the procedure itself. Iowa NOW's Judicial Bypass Fund was established to assist these young women. You can send your donation to:
  Iowa NOW Judicial Bypass Fund
  3635 E. 43rd Court
  Des Moines, IA 50317-4061
 

DON'T SHOP HERE
WALMART
Although there are a myriad of reasons not to shop at Walmart, one big one is that Walmart underpays women and neglects pregnant workers.  As recently as 2013, despite the fact that women account for as much as 57 percent of Walmart’s U.S. workforce (and that they employ more women than any other U.S. company), women were paid $1.16 less per hour. That adds up to $1,100 less per year than men doing the exact same jobs, and female employees in salaried positions of $50,000 or over earned $14,500 less than their male counterparts. And if you think working at Walmart as a woman is hard already, forget about working there when you’re pregnant.  There are multiple lawsuuits against the company regarding women who’ve been overworked, put in dangerous situations, and fired by Walmart while pregnant.  Don't shop here!

HOBBY LOBBY
Hobby Lobby refuses to pay for female contraceptives in violation of the mandate on federal healthcare. This is another form of sexism and another front on the War On Women. Don't shop here!