November 20-22, 2009
Join RCRC's Interfaith Weekend of Action for Women’s Health
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Now is the time for the voices of the faithful to be heard!
When the House passed its historic health care reform bill on the evening of November 7th, they also
adopted the Stupak-Pitts amendment, a dangerous provision that would ban coverage of abortion services
from private and public insurance plans for millions of women in America. This amendment expands
restrictions on access to abortion services well beyond the Hyde Amendment, which has prohibited public
funding of abortion in most instances since 1977.
Given this setback in the House, our sharp focus is now on the Senate. We are demanding that Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid ensure that language similar to the Stupak ban does not become part of the
Senate bill.
We are harnessing the power of the faith community to add the needed muscle and a moral voice to fight
the Stupak-Pitts amendment and the forces behind it.
There are three ways you can help:
1. Join us for an Interfaith Weekend of Action November 20-22, 2009. We are asking clergy and faithinspired
supporters to join with us in conducting a weekend of prayerful affirmation that illustrates that
people of faith support reproductive health care and want their beliefs and values heard. We are
including a toolkit designed to assist you in your efforts to support meaningful and comprehensive health
reform – one that does not make women worse off.
In this toolkit you will find:
o Timeline of events
o Petition – The Future of Choice and Women’s Health
o Heath Care Reform Talking Points to provide guidance and serve as a reference for sermons
on women’s reproductive health care
o A sample prayer for choice
o Sample bulletin ad
o Additional resources
2. Sign the petition: http://www.capwiz.com/rcrc/issues/alert/?alertid=14354551&type=PR
A coalition of approximately 40 pro-choice, progressive groups are urging all of our supporters to sign an
online petition asking President Obama to eliminate the Stupak-Pitts amendment and protect women's
health. In this toolkit you will find a hard copy version of the petition to print for offline signature
gathering.
We will deliver hard copies of these petitions to the Senate on Dec. 2, so please add this petition to
any and every activity you’re planning between now and Nov. 30. We need as many signatures as
possible— think broadly! Make sure to ask the following groups to sign: staff, participants in your
educational programs, friends, family, neighbors, congregants, coalition partners and volunteers.
3. December 2, 2009 — National Day of Action. Join us on December 2, 2009, in Washington, DC, for a
National Day of Action on Capitol Hill. We will be lobbying key targets, as well as hosting events
throughout the day to make our voices heard on health care reform. If you can join us, please RSVP to Ellen Sittenfeld Battistelli
Timeline of events:
Weekend of Nov. 20-22: Interfaith Weekend of Action—include progressive messages on women’s health in
health care reform in sermons, prayers, calls to worship, congregational announcements and newsletters
and/or other liturgical pieces, and gather petition signatures.
Week of Nov. 23 (Thanksgiving week): Republican members are scheduling Town Halls; if you can, please
join our Health Care for America Now (HCAN) partners who are participating to ensure these members hear
a pro-women’s health, pro-reform message from constituents. More information to follow.
Nov. 30: Send all of the hard-copy petition signatures you’ve gathered for printing and delivery in person
here in DC. Fax to 202-628-7716 (and call 202-628-7700 or email ebattistelli@rcrc.org to confirm delivery).
Dec. 2: Senate Lobby Day! Join us in DC for a press conference in the Senate Park at Constitution Ave. and
Delaware Ave. NE and to lobby your Senators (and House members) to pass a health care reform bill that
protects women and comprehensive reproductive health services. Contact Ellen Sittenfeld Battistelli for more information.
Dec. 3: National Senate call-in day, 1-4pm ET. Please call the Capitol switchboard – 202-224-3121 - and
ask to speak to your Senator’s office. You will need to call again and ask for the second Senator’s office.
See the message under “Talking Points” in the Toolkit.
Dec. 4-6: National Weekend of Action! Keep the pressure on your Senators in your state—work with your
coalition partners to schedule an in-state meeting to present our current asks and deliver your state’s
petitions to your Senators’ offices. If you would like to participate in a district meeting with your Senator,
please contact Ellen Sittenfeld Battistelli or call 202-628-7700 x21
Download the toolkit
