a resounding endorsement

Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, issued a resounding endorsement today of President-Elect Barack Obama's choice of Sen. Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state designate.

The selection of Senator Clinton represents an important first step down a new path for American foreign policy -- an enormous shift represented by the selection of a champion of women's health and rights to be in charge of America foreign policy.

As first lady and as a U.S. senator, Hillary Clinton visited more than 80 nations, but for a majority of the world's population, her unique quality may be her gender. Senator Clinton understands that improving the status of women is not simply a moral imperative; it is necessary to building democracies around the globe. Improving the status of women is key to creating stable families, stable communities, and stable countries. Women's ability to control the size of their families, regardless of economics, nationality, or culture, has a direct impact on their economic well-being and that of their children. Senator Clinton understands that women's quality of life directly affects the major issues confronting the globe: national security, environmental sustainability, and global poverty.

Read the rest of the article here. We agree with Richards -- Clinton is a magnificent pick for this job. We congratulate her and are excited to continue on this journey with Obama, Clinton, and the rest of the new team for a new America.

oglala sioux tribe planned parenthood

After the recent abortion ban was signed into law in South Dakota by Governor Mike Rounds, no one was more outraged than the President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Cecilia Fire Thunder. Ms. Fire Thunder is a former nurse and was angered that a governing body consisting mainly of white Republican men would make a law restricting women from making a personal choice on abortion. Free to make her own decision on the issue, she has come to take the opposite stance.

“To me, it is now a question of sovereignty. I will personally establish a Planned Parenthood clinic on my own land which is within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Reservation where the State of South Dakota has absolutely no jurisdiction.”

Yes, you read that correctly. President Fire Thunder plans to open a Planned Parenthood branch in the state of South Dakota and there's nothing the Republican legislators can do about it.

A mailing address and an email address can be found here if you'd like to help finance this effort. The Oglala Sioux Tribe doesn't have a lot of disposable income, so in order to take on such a large project, they're going to need our help. If you can't afford to help with resources presently, at least drop an encouraging email to President Fire Thunder and let her know that you support her work for women's rights.