2009 Juneau Municipal Election
Endorsements and Candidate Ratings
You may take this guide into the voting booth!

*Click on the links below to view copies of the candidates' survey responses.

WHY DOES MANDATORY PARENTAL CONSENT OR NOTIFICATION PUT TEENS AT RISK?
See the fact sheet.


WHAT'S WRONG WITH 24 HOUR WAITING PERIODS?
State laws that require mandatory waiting periods before a woman can get an abortion do not offer any health benefits. They result in increased expenses, travel difficulties, and medical risks. They unnecessarily postpone the procedure even when a woman has already made a deliberate, mature, and fully informed choice, especially in Alaska where most women already have to wait several weeks to fly to Anchorage or Seattle, the only places they can access abortion services.

In many areas, women's health centers that provide abortion do not operate daily, so a mandatory 24- or 48-hour delay may result in a much longer waiting period, increasing the number of later abortions. Because 86 percent of all counties in this country have no abortion providers, these requirements are especially burdensome to rural and poor women, who may not be able to take extra days off from work, travel long distances, or find appropriate child care while they are away from home.

ABORTIONS AFTER THE FIRST TRIMESTER
90% of all abortions occur by the end of the first twelve weeks. Only about 600 (1%) of the 1.5 million abortions each year are performed after twenty-four weeks and only 327 of those are performed after twenty-seven weeks. (source: Center for Reproductive Law and Policy). Amniocentesis cannot be done until the second trimester, so banning abortions after the first trimester would effectively restrict options for women with higher risk pregnancies, if their amnio results state that they are carrying an unhealthy child.


WHY SHOULD WE FUND ABORTIONS FOR POOR WOMEN?
See the fact sheet.

PHARMACIST REFUSALS
Alarmingly, an increasing number of pharmacists and physicians are refusing to dispense birth control or write women prescriptions for contraception. These health care professionals cite their religious, moral, ideological, and personal objections to the use of contraceptives. Prescription refusal is a disturbing trend that can jeopardize woman's reproductive health. Denying women their rights to timely access to health care is an act of discrimination that could lead to an increased number of unintended pregnancies. For more information, see the Planned Parenthood fact sheet on refusal clauses.

WHAT IS EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION?
Emergency contraception is effective up to 5 days after unplanned or unwanted sex, but the sooner you take it, the better. The FDA recently approved over-the-counter status for EC. It is now available behind the pharmacist counter (without prescription) (EC is not the "abortion pill" or Mifepristone, which is a medical abortion pill.