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Be Safe and Sexy at ConcordísMarket Days
You want to be safe and sexy - NPCNH wants to help.
Join us at this year’s Market Days in Concord, July 14-16, and we’ll help you make
all-natural cosmetics from household items that are good for your body. Plus, you can find
out about our efforts to make birth control and emergency contraception more accessible.
18 Low Ave, Concord NH, 03301
www.prochoicenewhampshire.org
Choice News, June 2011
Governor Lynch Puts Teen Safety First
On June 15, Governor John Lynch
vetoed HB 329, a parental notification
mandate that would have put young
owmen’s health and safety at risk.
“We are so thankful,” said Pilar
Olivo, executive director. “With his veto,
the Governor showed how extreme this
notification mandate really is and how
dangerous it is for young women.”
In New Hampshire, most young
women already involve their parents
when faced with an unintended
pregnancy. But this bill failed to take
into account those situations, such as a
violent home or incest, where a young
woman may not turn to her parents
because her safety could be threatened.
HB 329 previously passed with
veto proof majorities by the House
and the Senate, on March 16 and May
25 respectively. The House and Senate
will vote to override Lynch’s veto this
Wednesday, June 22, after newsletter
production.
A New Face
Karen Hicks Joins Board
We are proud to announce that Karen
Hicks, of Concord, will be joining the
NARAL Pro-Choice New Hampshire
Affiliate Board of Directors.
Hicks brings to the board
considerable political experience and
knowledge. She is a nationally regarded
expert in grassroots political organizing
and training who has worked on
campaigns such as Governor Howard
Dean and Hillary Clinton’s presidential
campaigns.
Auctioneer Kathy Kingston looks for the highest bid during the live auction portion of our
26th annual Choice Chocolate celebration. For more pictures and a brief recap, see page 3.
Educating Colleges on Emergency Contraception
We all know accidents happen,
even when it comes to birth control.
That’s why NARAL Pro-Choice NH
Foundation is working hard to make
sure emergency contraception (EC) is
available at college campuses statewide.
EC prevents pregnancies in emergency
situations, after unprotected sex or when
another birth control method fails.
Our project researches the availability
of EC at colleges throughout New
Hampshire as well as the availability
of information regarding EC through
Residence Life departments.
This spring, intern Sara Espinal, a
student at UNH, collected data regarding
New Hampshire college health service
departments and how they handle EC.
So far, we’ve found that most schools
don’t offer the over the counter EC’s
available at most local pharmacies. And
many campus health departments have
never heard of ella, a new EC option
that reduces the risk of pregnancy up to
five days after unprotected intercourse
or contraceptive failure.
Policy Intern Kasey Ciolfi has
just begun surveying Residential Life
directors on New Hampshire campuses
to measure the availability and accuracy
of EC information they provide students
with.
A formal report of our study is
expected this fall. As a result, NARAL
Pro-Choice New Hampshire Foundation
hopes to organize an education campaign
on all the emergency contraception
options.
Page 2
Staff
June 2011
Pilar Olivo
Executive Director
pilar@prochoicenh.org
Crisis Pregnancy Center
Presence Growing in Dover
In March, legislators, community
members and pro-choice supporters
gathered for a public screening of
12th & Delaware, a documentary film
that examines crisis pregnancy centers
Cara Pearson
(CPCs).
Development Coordinator
Just as the film exposes the threats
cara@prochoicenh.org
CPCs cause to women across the
country, NARAL Pro-Choice NH is
working to expose the very real threats
these facilities pose to women in New
Sara Crane
Communications Coordinator Hampshire.
sara@prochoicenh.org
Shortly after that March viewing,
Options for Women, a Dover CPC,
moved to a new location. The building
is beautiful, as is the brand new sign on
Kristin Brown
the street corner. The new location is
Seacoast Coordinator
downtown, within walking distance to
kristin@prochoicenh.org
all of the central city area, and much
closer to low-income housing.
This was a calculated move that
required major funding. It proves that
CPCs are a real threat to women’s health
in our state. There are 25 similar CPCs
in New Hampshire, and we’re still
working hard to get the word out about
the dangerous effects they have.
After Options for Women moved,
we showed 12th & Delaware to people in
downtown Dover at the Central Wave.
In September, we will be running
house
parties
and
distributing
information that address the threat
CPCs pose to women’s health as family
planning funds are cut at the national
and state level.
Make sure you’re part of that
discussion. Contact Kristin Brown,
kristin@prochoicenh.org, to organize
your own house party.
A Letter from Executive Director Pilar Olivo
Leaving After Seventeen Years
It’s amazing how when you have an
opportunity to take stock of your life, there’s
a thread that makes it seem like it was all
planned out.
Seventeen years ago this summer, I
walked into 18 Low Avenue to take a sewing
class and stumbled upon NARAL ProChoice New Hampshire and then Executive
Director Peg Dobbie. At age 27, I’d already
been an active proponent of reproductive
rights for years—in science class debates
at my all-girls Catholic school, as a hotline
counselor and clinic escort for Planned
Parenthood, and a campaign staffer for
the initiative campaign that codified Roe
v. Wade in Washington state. So when I
walked into this vibrant office, I jumped at
the chance to volunteer. I felt tremendously
lucky that Peg soon hired me, then asked
me to join the board and began to mentor
me in New Hampshire politics, grassroots
organizing, non-profit governance and
women’s leadership. When Laura Thibault
took over as executive director, I learned
so much from her thoughtful work to bring
in younger women and create a more dataand technology powered organization.
For the past two years, I’ve been
honored to be at the helm as interim and
executive director. When I stepped into the
role, I was thrilled to be able to draw on the
legacies of these two visionary leaders. I
told the board that I envisioned being
executive director for at least 10 years—I
had so much that I wanted to do here—to
grow the organization, sharpen its political
sophistication, and deepen its work on
policy research.
The overwhelmingly difficult political
environment created by our pro-choice
electoral losses last November only
deepened my commitment to the difficult
fights waged by our mothers.
So you can imagine my sadness in
finding that I will need to leave NARAL ProChoice New Hampshire this summer. A
change in my husband’s work means that
we are relocating our family to Maryland.
The NARAL Pro-Choice New Hampshire
that I am leaving is tough, flexible, and
resourceful. But we are in the midst of the
most treacherous political environment for
women’s privacy and safety since Roe.
To defend against the current and coming
attacks, it needs your deep investment and
that of your friends, sons and daughters,
grandsons and granddaughters.
I may be leaving but I hope that you will
stay—and help NARAL Pro-Choice New
Hampshire get stronger.
Thank you for all you do for choice.
June 2011
Page 3
‘Teen Safety First’ A Success
This winter, we developed a new
campaign dedicated to preventing
notification mandates in New
Hampshire, Teen Safety First. The
campaign centered on a petition
calling on Governor John Lynch to
reject HB 329, the dangerous parental
notification mandate.
We gathered more than 550
petition signatures, our supporters
sent hundreds of emails to the
governor, and numerous members
called his office directly urging him
to veto HB 329.
And guess what—it worked! Gov.
Lynch vetoed HB 329 on June 15.
Furthermore, the Teen Safety First
campaign enabled us to add more than
200 new supporters to our Choice
Action Network. Thank you to all of
you who made this possible—we will
keep you posted about future parental
notification updates.
Choice Chocolate 2011
In May, supporters gathered in Portsmouth for our 26th annual Choice
Chocolate celebration. Thanks to generous auction item donations, event
sponsors and high bidders, we grossed almost $25,000 from this year’s event!
Clockwise from top left: Volunteer Lydia Crisp
sells chocolate mystery bags; Volunteer Trish
McMenimen checks bidders out; Volunteer
Sara Espinal showcases the Great Bay Cruise
package during the live auction; Volunteer and
donor Leah Caswell shares a laugh with Executive Director Pilar Olivo. Photos by
William Hurd, Speaking Photography.
Volunteer Spotlight:
William Pogor
I volunteer at NARAL Pro-Choice New
Hampshire for two reasons. The first is that
I like helping people, and the second is that
I’m building job skills. I answer the phones
and do research on current abortion-related
news, family planning, and bills in the New
Hampshire legislature.
This research does present a challenge.
I am visually impaired. I can only see light
and dark. So, in order to use a computer I
have a screen reading software that tells me
everything on the screen. This means I can
search the Internet and send and receive
e-mail. This is not fool proof though.
Websites that contain large numbers of
pictures or graphics are not accessible. Still,
I keep trying to do my best.
This volunteer opportunity is also
helping me to strengthen job skills I
wouldn’t have an opportunity to otherwise.
I would like to be a receptionist, and this
volunteer opportunity helps me learn how
to do things like work a phone system.
Before I started volunteering here, I
never thought about a woman’s right to
choose. After working here, and researching
anti-choice legislation, I would call myself
pro-choice. This is America; women should
have the right to choose if abortion is the
right option for them.
In closing, I would just like to say that
NARAL Pro-Choice NH is a wonderful
place to volunteer and I hope to continue
helping for as long as I can.