Note: This is the first installment of a two-part post examining the recent firestorm over a new Utah law that allows women to be prosecuted for criminal homicide if they have or seek an illegal abortion. This post looks at the events of the past week as activists forced changes to the proposed law, and the national implications of a slightly-modified version has been signed into law. On Friday, we take a look at the case that led the Utah legislature to remove criminal immunity for women seeking abortions – and imagine what a sane and effective legislative response might have looked like.

On Monday, Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed H.B. 462 into law, amending the state’s criminal code to classify illegal abortions as criminal homicide. Utah is the first and only state to pass legislation to criminally prosecute women who seek or have illegal abortions.

It is important to note that this law was nearly even worse – and it would have been if not for the efforts of thousands of activists around the country. The Utah legislature passed a previous version of the bill, then H.B. 12, by overwhelming margins that included language defining some miscarriages as illegal abortions. Specifically, any miscarriages that occurred after “intentional, knowing, or reckless” behavior on the part of a woman would be open to prosecution as criminal homicide.

Beyond the scope of an already abhorrent bill, the standard of “reckless” behavior would have been open to wide interpretation by overzealous prosecutors. Experts at the ACLU of Utah expressed concern that this would leave women vulnerable to criminal prosecution in a wide variety of all-to-plausible circumstances: if they failed to leave abusive relationship and suffered a miscarriage, if injection drug users became pregnant and miscarried, or if a miscarriage resulted after something as simple as a car accident but the woman wasn’t wearing a seat belt.

Prosecuting women who are so desperate that they are forced to seek an illegal abortion is apparently among the most pressing issues facing the Utah legislature. The House and Senate managed to pass an updated version of the bill within a day of Gov. Herbert’s request, and on Monday, he vetoed the original bill and signed the “fixed” version into law.

Gov. Herbert’s veto letter referenced the national outcry over the “criminal miscarriage” provisions of this bill. "I appreciate the willingness of Representative Wimmer to re-evaluate the impact of potential unintended consequences arising from the inclusion of 'reckless' behavior."

It’s absolutely critical to remember two things:

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Utah is not a state known for its legislative sanity.  This, after all, is a state that recently made headlines for proposing to honor gun manufacturers on Martin Luther King Day and for considering the elimination of 12th grade to cut back on education spending.

Well, it just got a whole lot worse. 

Utah just became the first state in the U.S. to criminalize miscarriage and punish women for having or seeking an illegal abortion.  Utah's "Criminal Miscarriage" law:

• expands the definition of illegal abortion to include miscarriages
• removes immunity protections for women who have or seek illegal abortions
• treats women as presumptive criminals and leaves them open to criminal prosecution

But even among states that punish illegal abortions, this "Criminal Miscarriage" law is unique.  It not only punishes individuals who perform illegal procedures; it punishes women.

I spoke with activists in Salt Lake City this morning to ask how to help out of state.  They all made the exact same request: Tell everyone you know about this law.

National media attention and widespread public outcry are the only way to stop women and girls in Utah from being subjected to this unreasonable and dangerous "Criminal Miscarriage" law. 

Tell someone about this law right now.  Post this on Facebook.  Tweet it.  Forward it to five friends.  And ask them all to do the same.

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The Human Rights Campaign is the largest and supposedly most powerful LGBT organization in the U.S.  Shouldn't HRC be leading the fight to actually repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" - instead of trying to protect President Obama from grassroots pressure? 

This weeks, leading progressive blogs and LGBT bloggers joined forces to "blogswarm" HRC and hold the organization accountable through grassroots pressure from across the country. 

And we need to your help:

OUR MESSAGE TO HRC IS SIMPLE:

Publicly demand that President Obama take the lead in getting DADT repealed this year.

1) That means the President needs to state publicly that he wants Congress to repeal DADT this year; and

2) The President needs to take the lead in working with Congress to make sure the repeal happens.

Also, if you're a member or donor to HRC, tell them, and ask to speak to Members Services.

HRC Front Desk: (202) 628-4160
TTY: (202) 216-1572
Toll-Free: (800) 777-4723

HRC Web site comment page.
General membership email at hrc: membership@hrc.org

Via AmericaBlog

But why target HRC?  HRC boasts about it's political muscle in Washington, DC, and its leaders constantly talk about how important it is for them to maintain a tight relationship with the White House.   Well it's time to call in those chips.  The moment for DADT repeal has arrived - and we expect HRC to fight with everything they've got.

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Editors Note: This was written by James Wagoner, President of Advocates for Youth.

It seems that abstinence-only-until-marriage programs have been all over progressive blogs in the past few days - from Angry Mouse's in-depth and much-needed analysis of Bristol Palin's somewhat surreal role as a teen mom abstinence spokesmodel to Tristero's rebuttle of Russ Douthat's inane column in Sunday's NYT in which he defends Alabama's right to teach that masturbation is unhealthy.

All this discussion seems remarkably prescient given this morning's Washington Post article trumpeting "Abstinence-only programs might work, study says." But as usual, the reality is much more complicated than newspaper headlines or the abstinence-only industry would have us believe.

Let's take a look at the details of this particular study - and how it may or may not connect (Spoiler Alert: No connection whatsoever!) to the ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage programs that received more than $1 billion in funding under the Bush administration.

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Is there anything crazier than a Republican State Senator?  This week, I'm not so sure.  I've been meaning to post all week about Utah State Senator Chris Buttars whose anti-gay hate speech on the Senate floor has even the Utah GOP rushing to make nice with the LGBT community.  (More on that tomorrow, I promise.) 

But Colorado State Senator Dave Schultheis has managed to upstage, well, all other variations of crazy by publicly opposing a Colorado law that would require HIV testing for pregnant women.  His rationale?  We should let babies contract HIV because any woman who has ended up HIV+ deserves to feel guilty about it.

No really.  This guy isn't kidding:

"This stems from sexual promiscuity for the most part, and I just can't go there," he said. "We do things continually to remove the consequences of poor behavior, unacceptable behavior, quite frankly. I'm not convinced that part of the role of government should be to protect individuals from the negative consequences of their actions."

People elected this man.  Maybe democracy isn't such a good idea after all.  I'm about to lose my mind on this one, and it's gonna be fun.  More after the jump...

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When I was 2 years old, my parents took me along on a trip to Hawaii.  I remember almost nothing of this trip, but the pictures in the family photo album show a blond kid who never wanted to get out of the ocean - and who really liked his bright orange water wings!  I've always been kind of bitter that the trip was wasted on me when I was way too young to enjoy it, but it might be time for that to change...

My #1 new reason to visit the Aloha State?  According to the Associated Press:

A majority of state House members support legislation that would legalize civil unions between same-sex couples.

They would have the same rights, benefits and protections that state law affords married opposite-sex couples.

Thirty-two of 51 House members are backing a bill by House Majority Leader Blake Oshiro, D-Aiea-Halawa, that would allow partners who obtain a license to enter into a civil union.

Now, I'm one of those people who believe that we have a lot of more important battles in the fight for GLBT equality before we fully tackle gay marriage.  But I'm also a hopeless romantic who is planning to (someday!) throw the most kick-ass wedding the world has ever seen.

So when a state like Hawaii takes a huge step towards granting all the legal benefits of marriage to same-sex couples - even if they're ducking the fight over the word "marriage" - it's cause for celebration.  Straight couples have been heading to Hawaii for decades in search of destination weddings.  It's about time we were allowed to do the same...

"Destination Commitment Ceremony" just doesn't have the same ring to it, though.

Staring at that phrase on my computer screen, it starts to feel kind of like a slap in the face - a reminder that, even as we take some rather important steps forward, we still live in a country that deems it necessary to relegate our relationships to some parallel universe.  That no matter how far we've come, we're still not full citizens in a land that aspires to "freedom and justice for all."

Maybe it's because of there is still so far to go -  so much work still left undone - these moments of hope still matter so much.  Hawaii might decide to legalize civil unions.  That's big.  It's not perfect, and it sure as hell doesn't solve everything.  But it's something.

And let's be honest, it doesn't hurt that it's Hawaii: perfect weather, a 25% cost of living adjustment from the government for living there, awesome beaches...

Now all I need is the boy! 

As the outrage over the passage of Prop 8, Prop 102, and Amendment 2 continues to grow, I keep wondering how we can turn this righteous energery into activism...  And how we can connect this emerging movement with the work of reproductive and sexual health advocates around the country.

I've had a few conversations about my desire to jump headlong into the Prop 8 movement, but the question keeps coming up: "Is marriage a sexual health issue?  Beyond a shared belief in equality for all, is there even a connection?"  Here's my answer, and let's just get this out of the way: ABSOLUTELY.

More after the jump...

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I have visited Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City every winter to see the buildings and trees lit up for the holidays – and I promise it’s the most beautiful sight you’ll ever see.  They won’t turn on the lights for another 21 days, but I would have given anything to have been there tonight.

Let me explain.

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This was one of the most theoretically groundbreaking weeks in the history of American gay pop culture.  So why did the whole thing feel like such a let-down?

Let’s recap.  Clay Aiken announced what we’ve known all along…  yep, he’s gay!  And Lindsey Lohan publicly acknowledged that she is romantically involved with Samantha Ronson. 

Two huge stars (or at least hugely visible media personalities) come out on the same day, and nobody really bats an eye.  Bloggs have been buzzing with catty quotes from other celebs and heartfelt statements of support from friends, family and fans.  It almost seems like America suddenly so progressive that coming out of the closet is no longer a big deal… 

And yet, Clay’s announcement in particular made me profoundly sad.  Sure, Kathy Griffin needs an entire new act – but it’s deeper than that.  Why am I not more relieved?  Why do I feel so ashamed, for me and for our culture as a whole?

Let me preface this by saying that I’m glad Clay decided he was ready to make this leap, and I’m happy Lindsey seems to have found love.  But I’m ashamed of the rest of us, for making it so hard for them – and for tens of thousands of queer kids struggling with these same questions.

I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah.  People in Utah take faith seriously, and the appearance of faith is even more important.  Being gay isn’t an option.  Coming out carries the normal risks – bullying, violence, being kicked out of the home – but that is only the beginning.  In many cases, revealing your sexual orientation risks literal excommunication, meaning that your family would be required to cut off all communication with you.  Forever.  And if they refuse to cut you out of their lives, they will be excommunicated as well.

The idea of coming out at home or at school seemed easy compared to the idea of bringing a boyfriend to church on Sunday.  Being gay might make things a little harder for me, and I could handle that.  But I worried that coming out within my church community would destroy a part of my parents lives.  How do you cope with that burden in middle school or high school?

I was raised in a pretty relaxed Presbyterian church (rock band, ski suits on Sundays in the winter), so I had it significantly easier than my friends who were Mormon or evangelical.  One friend was sent to reparative therapy to “cure him” of being gay.  Electroshock therapy was involved, though he doesn’t talk about it much.  He eventually decided to just “be straight” so he could go home again.

I’ve spent the last few days wondering how hard it’s been for Clay Aiken.  Amidst all the gay headlines this week, we’re forgetting that he wasn’t just an American Idol pop star.  He was (is?) a Christian icon.  He wrote a book about his spiritual journey.  The kind of pressure of being an openly-Christian pop star, as well as the pressure to appeal to fangirls all over the country, kept him firmly backed into the closet.

Sure, we all knew he was gay.  (At least we thought we knew.)  But doesn’t that make is more bizarre that it took this long for him to come out? 

Coming out is always hard, but it’s harder when it’s seemingly a fight between you and God.  I’ve spent a lot of time thinking/talking/reading/learning about the intersections of Christian traditions and homosexuality.  Individually, I’m confident that it’s possible to be gay and still be a person of faith.  Many, many people have proven it’s possible – and many individuals and faith communities are amazingly supportive of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender members of our families.

But I think we forget just how powerful the pressures of religious conformity can be.  People want to lock us into their version of spirituality.  They think it’s a moral obligation to tell us what version of God to believe and who need to be and who we get to love.  Sometimes it’s even well-meaning “instruction,” but it can so easily destroy us. 

Another close friend described it like this: “If I ever decide to let myself fall in love with a man, I have to be willing to pick him over ever seeing my family again.  Being gay isn’t a choice.  But someday I’m going to have to choose between ever having love and being a part of my own family.  And I don’t know if I’m strong enough either way.”

It turns out that Clay Aiken is strong enough.  But he turns 30 this year, and it took him this long and seeing the birth of his first child to make that decision. 

I wish he’d been able to say this back in 2003 on American Idol.  Would another gay singer have changed the world?  Probably not.  But I can’t help but wonder how much of an impact it would have had to see an openly gay Christian kid belting out standards on national television…. 

I was in college in North Carolina at the time and I remember watching Idol because of Clay.  It wasn’t for the music. I was hoping he’d be brave enough to say what had been so hard for me.  “I’m gay.  And that doesn’t make me a terrible person or a bad Christian.  It’s simply who I am.”  But he never said those words.  In fact, he decided that he had to lie about his sexuality – for a while anyway.

Maybe Raleigh, North Carolina isn’t that different than Salt Lake City after all.  And it’s just as hard for people wrestling with their sexuality and spiritual beliefs of any kind, no matter what religion we’re a part of or where we happen to live. 

I’m sad this week.  Sad that being gay is still so hard.  Sad it’s still news when we say it for the first time.  But I’m also proud of all the people in my life who have made that decision and who held my hand when it was my turn. 

Maybe coming out, whether it’s to your best friend or on the cover of People magazine, will always be a leap of faith.

A couple of people have already had some great ideas about possible widgets we can build.  Here are just a few of the ideas I've heard so far:

• A news ticker widget so you can broadcast latest blogs, breaking news, or policy info from your Facebook profile.
• A MySpace widget that displays the flash header on the homepage in your profile, linking to the varoius sections of the site and featured content.
• Adapting the online tool from our Condom Campaign into an application for use on Facebook.
• Making sure that all the graphics for the site are publicly available so people can create their own images, touts, tshirts, etc.

I'm sure I've missed some things, and there are lots of other ideas out there too!  So let's use this diary as a place to brainstorm and discuss all this.  We aren't going to be able to build ALL of these (at least not right away), but we're definitley going to be able to make a lot of these ideas happen. 

So create an account, log in, and post your ideas/thoughts/suggestions/feedback in the comments section of this diary! 

 

 

We're officially off and running for the weekend* - and the Amplify is officially live!

It's only 12:03 PM on Saturday and I'm already pretty much giddy.  This morning was such a great reminder of why this really is the best (and the most exhausting!) weekend of the year.

But there's something about the opening session that always makes me weirdly happy...  Trina pretending to be tired right up until the moment she yells "Heyyyy!!" during intros, seeing returning faces, meeting all our new people, and surviving the inevitable tech mishaps.  And James, as always.  (Whoever suggested that we need a copy of that speech, I promise I'll bug him about it next week.  Wow.)

I was pretty nervous about unveiling Amplify this morning.  There were the obvious worries: Would we have enough done in time?  Would that projector EVER start working?  Is this whole, huge thing finally real?  But, I was really just nervous to show YOU.  The activists sitting in that room are people who help shape Advocates for Youth and - in many ways - are the reason we do the work we do.  Building a website that lives up to that is a pretty tall order. 

But you weren't so scary after all. 

This is where we take a big step back and ask you to shape the vision, content, look, technology,and spirit that will let Amplify grow and thrive.  We may have helped build it, and we'll be here to support and grow the community as we all move forward, but Amplify belongs to you.

This is my fourth Urban Retreat (already!?) and I'm still in awe every year of the people I get to meet here.  I'm sorry to be so cheesy, but the truth is that I look up to each and every one of you so much - both for the work you do all across the country, but also simply for who you are.

It's amazing to be in a room of people who are living their lives without apology, who are willing to stand up for who they are and for what they know is right.  That kind of idealism - and the inspiring work work that goes along with it - helps to keep me going for another364 days until we're right back in that same Embassy Suites ballroom.

So thank you all.  For being awesome, for being here with us this weekend, and just for being you.  You rock my world!

* For those of you not spending the weekend here in DC, the Urban Retreat is Advocates for Youth's annual training conference for youth activists and peer educators from all over the country.  And it's fantastic!