Statement from NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

Washington, D.C. — It’s not enough for Donald Trump and his henchman at the Department of Health and Human Services to attack abortion rights and put women’s health at risk.  At this week’s United Nations General Assembly, HHS Secretary Alex Azar tried to erase the words “reproductive health and rights” from the dictionary. 

At the UN’s first high-level meeting on universal health coverage, Azar called on the United Nations to remove what he called “ambiguous terms” relating to sexual and reproductive health in policy documents. 

At the same meeting, Trump cozied up to dictators and strongmen who share his contempt for democracy and human rights. Azar announced the U.S. was speaking on behalf of autocracies like Brazil, Egypt, Libya and Sudan that criminalize abortion.  Trump can’t ban abortion in all 50 states with a tweet, but he thinks he can put language that objectively describes reproductive health care on a list of banned expressions. 

We’re not surprised—after all, Donald Trump boasted during his UN visit that he “took over” the United States on his election, and his thirst for absolute power grows more dangerous every day.  

Donald Trump left the United Nations in the shadow of impeachment, and Alex Azar should join him there.  

Contact

Kimberly Hayes, Press Secretary, press@now.org, 202-570-4745

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt and NOW Board Member Arizona Senator Victoria Steele (Seneca and Mingo):

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Violence. Erasure. Subjugation. Today, we acknowledge the role that the wage gap plays in the many forms of centuries-long oppression of Native American Women. 

2019 has marked a year of highs for American Indian and Native Alaskan women, including the election of two Native congresswomen to the U.S. House of Representatives. Yet women are still murdered at ten times the national average in some tribal communities, often at the hands of non-tribal members. Just as shocking, four out of five Indigenous women and girls are victims of violence at some point in their lifetime. 

Native Women’s Equal Pay Day serves as a reminder of the breadth of oppression women in Indian Country face every day. The abuse extends beyond gender differences and is rooted more deeply in the injustices – in the forms of racism and genocide – that Indigenous peoples have been subjected to for hundreds of years. There is so much hurt and hate still inflicted upon Native women that our country neglects to reconcile. The wage gap is just one portion of the atrocities. 

On average, Native women are paid only 57 percent of the wages White men receive, compared to the 79 percent White women make. This is a stark reminder that we must advocate for all women, especially those from Indian Country, in our effort to close the wage gap. The patriarchy, White supremacy, and systemic racism must all be dismantled in feminist efforts to achieve equity. 

Our activism only improves if we focus on the intersectionality of women’s identities. Today, we pay special attention to American Indian and Native Alaskan women in our advocacy for their safety, visibility and equality. 

Contact

Kimberly Hayes, Press Secretary, press@now.org, 202-570-4745

Statement of NOW President Toni Van Pelt and Florida NOW President Kim Porteous:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A former Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University professor who was convicted by a jury of sexual misconduct with a child is getting the Jeffrey Epstein treatment by a Florida judge.

Mark Fugler was sentenced to 15 years in prison in June for showing pornographic material to a 7-year old girl, masturbating in front of the child and soliciting her to touch him sexually over a two-year period.

But instead of keeping this dangerous man behind bars, Senior Judge R. Michael Hutcheson is letting him sleep in his own bed at night. Fugler was freed on bail pending appeal—a process that could take years and potentially allow him to prey on even more victims.

How many more outrages and failures of criminal justice must survivors endure? When will men of wealth and privilege be denied get-out-of-jail free cards because they can game the system?

Judge Hutcheson must rescind his order and Mark Fugler should not be allowed to live at home while his lawyers delay the reckoning justice—and human decency—demand.

Contact

Kimberly Hayes, Press Secretary, press@now.org, 202-570-4745