Nevada County Citizens For Choice

Promoting reproductive justice through education, healthcare access, and advocacy.

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You are here: Home / Articles

Why our Community Needs The Clinic! and Women’s Health Specialists

December 28, 2014 By Freddy Zylstra

An unsuspecting woman suddenly in need of assistance with an unplanned pregnancy, birth control, or facts about her reproductive health may look to a local clinic for help.  It is likely to be the first time she has consulted with anyone for these needs. How can she know the information she’ll receive is factual and comprehensive?

She does an online search.  A nice-looking clinic is advertising that they help women with these issues, and from the looks of it, the staff is compassionate and well-informed. But what this woman doesn’t realize is that she has reached a Crisis Pregnancy Center with a definite agenda that doesn’t include her best interests.

Crisis Pregnancy Center staff, in their mission to protect the unborn at all cost, feel its okay to lie to pregnant mothers and young women seeking advice about their reproductive health as long as their agenda is successful.

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Am I pregnant?

The goal is to coerce pregnant women into carrying the fetus full-term or as a last resort consider adoption. Any woman who asks about terminating a pregnancy is given a laundry list of lies designed to scare her into quickly dispensing with the idea.  These clinics also often counsel women against birth control methods and shame them for wanting to have sex if they aren’t married.

Yet these centers advertise that they’ll help pregnant women with their choices and offer ‘educational’ services for women.

The documentary ‘Misconception’ chronicles the experiences of three women who went undercover to centers that advertised they would help women make ‘choices’.  Their investigation was secretly filmed and revealed shocking deceit and lies on the part of the centers’ workers.

Many of these ‘centers’ receive government funding. They are careful not to appear anti-abortion in their advertising – because this will bring women into the clinics who are seeking abortions, which they hope to stop. While not all ‘pregnancy crisis centers’ employ these methods, here are some of the lies told to women who venture in either looking for factual counseling, contraception, education or termination:

  • One of the women in the documentary was asked “Why do you have sex?” and was then informed that there has to be meaning behind intercourse. “You don’t have sex to make yourself feel good.”
  • Condoms are “naturally porous” and do not protect against STDs (This is, of course, untrue)
  • “Abortion causes extremely high, increased risk of breast cancer” that “can be as much as an 80% increase depending upon how the risk factors fall into place.” (The National Institute of Health finds no connection whatsoever between abortion and any kind of cancer.)
  • 30 percent of women who get abortions die within the first year due to complications. (In fact, the risk of death from childbirth in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy is 11 times greater than that of abortion – after 20 weeks, the risk is the same).
  • At one CPC technicians were caught tapping out “messages” from unborn babies (“hi mommy and daddy”) as they perform ultrasounds, making the inference that the first trimester fetus can recognize and even speak to its parents.
  • A Jewish woman who posed as a pregnant woman as part of an investigation was told at five centers that she wouldn’t go to heaven unless she converted to Christianity.
  • 91% of “services” at Planned Parenthood in 2010 were abortions. (The actual number is about 3%)
  • “Birth control and the ‘morning-after pill’ are abortifacients. (meaning they cause abortion)” In fact, they prevent conception from occurring at all.
  • One of the women who went undercover for the documentary was given a sonogram, shown a plastic ‘replica’ of a supposedly 12 week old fetus and sternly lectured about morality and religion. The ‘replica’, by the way, was a very small but completely developed doll made to look like a 6 month old baby.

As long as centers reveal they don’t offer counseling which includes the choice of abortion, are clear that they follow an anti-abortion position and religious beliefs, that would be fine. They could also be honest that they don’t condone birth control or sex outside marriage so women can make their own decision about whether or not to visit. Few centers are so straightforward, since they desire to ‘convert’ those who don’t share their opinions.

To use deception and lies to promote a clinic that receives taxpayer funding is reprehensible. Our local ‘Crisis Pregnancy Center’ offers lovely language on their services page, offering to ‘help you make an informed choice’ and offers a ‘friendly, safe, non-judgmental environment for you to talk about your options and ask questions about parenting, adoption and abortion’. Sounds very helpful and open, doesn’t it? The only counseling you’ll receive about abortion is that it is not an option.

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Unbiased information about all options.

Contrary to the erroneous opinion of the well-meaning staff at crisis pregnancy centers, The Clinic!, run by Citizens for Choice and Women’s Health Specialists, does not advocate abortion for every pregnant woman.  Abortion is not performed at The Clinic! – instead, women who choose to terminate a pregnancy are referred to the Chico or Sacramento Clinic. Abortion accounts for only about 4% of the total services offered. The Clinic! Offers truly unbiased options based on scientific fact. Women are encouraged to explore all options so they may come to a decision which is right for them. It’s a personal decision- one which is respected by the staff.  In fact, education is the primary mission of Citizens for Choice, with a new program launched just this year called ‘Know it and Own it’. According to The Guttmacher Institute, nearly 50% of teens don’t learn about their reproductive health from their parents, and instead, rely on often incorrect information from friends. This program aims to create a generation of teens who are well-informed about their reproductive health and have a sense of empowerment based on knowledge, confidence and acceptance.

Why do we need The Clinic! in our community? It’s the only place where men and women of any age and sexual orientation can truly get unbiased, science-based, medically accurate and comprehensive information and counseling  from staff whose only agenda is to help them be empowered and informed.

Filed Under: Reproductive Rights Tagged With: abortion, choice, clinics, crisis pregnancy centers, medically accurate facts

The History of Citizens for Choice in our Community

October 18, 2014 By Freddy Zylstra

We’ve reached a milestone.

The small group of women who envisioned greater access to reproductive health care and unbiased, informative planning in 1989 knew something had to be done in our community. We were too small and rural to warrant a Planned Parenthood clinic – and many of those residents truly in need of services didn’t have the ability to travel to gain access to those services.

Education was an immediate need.  At Silver Springs High School (the county school with programs for young mothers), the school nurse reported that the overwhelming consensus among students was that getting pregnant was desirable, because they would receive more welfare money.  These young mothers didn’t envision a choice for themselves – either in their reproductive health or their lives.

Nevada County was overwhelmingly conservative in 1989.  The LivingWell clinic, an anti-abortion advocate, had opened its doors in 1986, its intention to influence and coerce young pregnant women to consider only full-term pregnancy as an option. No organization existed to provide medically accurate, truthful, complete education and options to those in need.

Women from The American Association of University Women (ww.aauwnevadacounty.org), Business & Professional Women of Nevada County (bpwnevadacounty.org), and the League of Women Voters (www.lwvwnc.org) formed an alliance to provide education about reproductive choice.  They decided their first priority was to begin encouraging public dialogue.120 Richardson St_sm

Armed with pamphlets and medically accurate information from pro-choice organizations outside Nevada County, these women held their first public information seminar. They were thrilled when a deluge of attendees arrived. The excitement was short-lived, however, when they discovered the attendees were present only to prevent the presentation from taking place and to remove the entire supply of educational pamphlets. They decided to reorganize and become better prepared for future presentations.

These early founders were astounded that there was an organized effort to suppress facts about pregnancy and abortion.  They were accused of being pro-abortion. In fact, just like today, no one was advocating that young women rush to have abortions the moment they discovered they were pregnant. What they did advocate for was education and empowerment – based on unbiased, informative family planning and access to reproductive health care.  This alliance of women strongly felt that choice – the choice to have children or not – and when – is an absolute right for all people.

The ensuing years brought change – but it was slow and often discouraging. Citizens for Choice became an independent organization in 1992.  Its founders dreamed of providing a clinic for Nevada County, but felt it might never come to fruition.

Were it not for the dedication, courage and hard work of the women who met 25 years ago with a shared vision of supporting reproductive choice, we would not now be celebrating this milestone anniversary.

Today, Citizens for Choice is a member organization of the California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom (CCRF), a statewide reproductive and sexual health, rights, and justice coalition of more than 30 independent organizations. We are partners with Women’s Health Specialists for The Clinic!, our reproductive health care clinic in Grass Valley, which was opened in 2006. We provide education through our ‘Know it and Own it’ program.  Our advocate partner, C.H.O.I.C.E.S., promotes reproductive justice and education at Sierra College.

Join us in celebrating our 25th Anniversary! A ‘Decadent Desserts’ fundraiser is planned for Thursday, November 20th, 2014 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Historic Powell House in Nevada City.  Have you been craving the luscious taste of Chocolate Grand Marnier cake? Give in to your desires! Your senses will be soothed by voluptuous desserts baked lovingly by Upper Crust Bakery in Chico; your ears caressed by the soulful music of Aedryan Gantt. You will be supporting a great organization with your modest donation (suggested $25 in honor of 25 years of service).

RSVP via e-mail at info@citizensforchoice.org and honor the commitment and vision of Citizens for Choice and the difference we make in our community.

Filed Under: Reproductive History Tagged With: advocating for choice, reproductive education, reproductive rights

Honoring Courage

October 17, 2014 By Lynn Wenzel

This short, 10-minute film is powerful. ‘Honoring Courage: A Short History of Reproductive Health Services in California’ details the fight in the 1960s and 1970s to legalize abortion and curtail forced sterilization and takes viewers to current efforts to secure reproductive rights and justice.

This story has never before been documented on film.

Produced by CCRWF and Storefront Political Media, we were honored to work with our Advisory Committee: Black Women for Wellness, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, NARAL Pro-Choice California, and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, as well as the many leaders who agreed to be interviewed and filmed.

Filed Under: Reproductive History, Reproductive Rights Tagged With: reproductive health, reproductive history, reproductive rights, video

TED Talk by our friend and youth advocate, Holly Lemyre

September 8, 2014 By Lynn Wenzel

Check out this riveting TED talk from our local Sierra College C.H.O.I.C.E.S club leader – Holly Lemyre. This speech was given at the TEDxYouth@GrassValley event on November 11, 2013.

Here’s a little more about Holly:

Holly is a free spirited young feminist, born and raised in the Bay Area. Finding herself entranced with Nevada County, Holly moved to Grass Valley in August of 2012 to begin her education. Holly is a full time student, president of the reproductive health club C.H.O.I.C.E.S. at Sierra College NCC, and runs a sex health blog, Sex Digest, in her spare time.

Filed Under: C.H.O.I.C.E.S. club Tagged With: cybertrafficking, the more you know

Facts and Fallacies about the HPV Vaccine

August 18, 2014 By Freddy Zylstra

The HPV Vaccine, which guards against Human Papilloma Virus, has been available since June, 2006.

Few side effects have been reported;  in fact, according to VAERS (the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) nearly all reactions to the HPV vaccine have been very mild, compared to other vaccines, such as MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) and DPT (Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus).

Vaccine reactions are typically a low fever or mild pain at the injection site although there remains much controversy about the vaccine’s safety and scare tactics abound. Even vaccines which cause higher incidence of serious reaction than the HPV vaccine are still exponentially safer than the diseases they prevent.C for C blog Aug 2014

HPV is a common but potentially serious group of viruses, of which more than 100 strains exist.  Most men and women, by the time they reach adulthood, have been exposed to this virus.  In 90% of the cases, our immune system clears the virus within two years.

About 30% of the strains are sexually transmitted.  Of these, a few are considered ‘high-risk’.  They may cause abnormal Pap tests and can lead to cancer of the cervix, vagina, vulva, penis or anus.  Others, called ‘low-risk’ strains may result in genital warts or even cause Pap test abnormalities.

Cervical cancer is the most serious complication of the HPV virus.  Nearly 4,000 women in the United States die annually from this disease – worldwide, the numbers are a staggering 270,000.

So why does the controversy still exist over a vaccine which has been proven to prevent the HPV virus?

According to a Reuter’s article, the scare over the vaccine was fueled, in large part, by Michele Bachmann during her run for the 2012 Republican Presidential Nomination.   One of Bachmann’s rivals, Texas Governor Rick Perry, had mandated the vaccine as part of the Texas state school vaccination program in 2007 (It was subsequently overturned.) In a 2011 debate, Bachmann seized upon an opportunity to make her rival look bad, saying he ‘forced innocent little girls to have a government injection that was potentially dangerous”. The next day, while on the Today show, Bachmann added fuel to the fire by claiming she knew of a woman whose daughter had become ‘mentally retarded’ after receiving the vaccine.

The American Academy of Pediatrics tried to quell the controversy caused by Bachmann’s unsubstantiated and self-serving remarks by issuing a statement which contained actual facts, backed by scientific research, which showed the vaccine to be safe.

In fact, so incredulous were some of the country’s top Bioethicists, that two offered rewards if Bachmann could produce proof that even one person suffered such a reaction.  (One of the rewards was in excess of $10,000.) They offered to donate the rewards to Bachmann’s favorite charity and invited her to ‘put her money where her mouth was’ by donating to their charity of choice should she fail to produce a victim.

Bachmann’s campaign never replied.  She never collected the reward, as she remained silent, apparently unable to find anyone with a reaction worse than a sore arm or mild headache.

As is typical, however, outlandish claims by dramatic and power-inebriated political candidates seem to get more air time than scientists talking about real facts.  Possibly this is because scientists tend to behave in a calmer, more self-restrained style, which is good for science but bad for television.

Because of the dramatic accusation made by a political candidate (whose career was in law – not science), internet scare stories have proliferated in spite of a profound lack of substantive evidence. C for C Teen iStock_000016793985XSmall

A survey done by the American Academy of Pediatrics showed that 85% of parents planned to have their child vaccinated.   Twelve percent were ‘undecided’, and cited claims made on the internet as the reason for their fear.  Three percent were adamant they would not vaccinate under any circumstances, apparently fearful their offspring might not be able to comprehend a fact-deficient political debate in the future.

It’s clear that science and facts are winning the battle, but there remains much to be accomplished to educate parents of girls in middle school about the benefits of HPV prevention.  Citizens for Choice supports this education, as they support all education for men and women alike to foster reproductive health.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Facts about HPV, HPV Vaccine, preventing cervical cancer, Scare tactics about vaccines

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Volunteer Board Members

President, Director of Public Policy & Fund Development (Donors & Grants)
Elaine Sierra

Treasurer
Shannon Cotter

Secretary
Erin McGee

Director of Communications
Lynn Wenzel

Board Members
Margie Deteman
Deborah Armanino LeBlanc
Marty Dekay-Bemis

Manager of Condom Distributions Program
Cheryl Branch

Categories

  • C.H.O.I.C.E.S. club (1)
  • Community Involvment (1)
  • Current Societal Issues (4)
  • Reproductive History (6)
  • Reproductive Rights (11)
  • Uncategorized (17)
The Clinic!
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