Category: Personal Law

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Family Law Personal Law

New Maryland Law Ensures Women and Men Birth Control At No Cost

Parenthood

Groundbreaking legislation, included in the leadership package by Michael Busch, Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, provides the most comprehensive insurance coverage for contraception in the country.

Planned Parenthood of Maryland applauds Governor Larry Hogan today as he signs the Maryland Contraceptive Equity Act (HB 1005/SB 848) sponsored by Delegate Ariana Kelly (D-Montgomery Co.) and Senator Delores Kelley (D-Baltimore Co.).

“While it may seem as if most of the country is trying to take away women’s rights, the State of Maryland and Planned Parenthood of Maryland worked together to push reproductive rights forward,” said Karen Nelson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Maryland (PPM).

The New Law

The new law which takes effect on January 1, 2018, passed with significant and nationally unprecedented bipartisan support, and provides all Maryland women and men expanded access to birth control, at little to no cost.

“I commend the Maryland General Assembly for its leadership in passing the Maryland Contraceptive Equity Act, especially its lead sponsors Senator Delores Kelley and Delegate Ariana Kelly, as well as Planned Parenthood of Maryland for their strong advocacy,” said Congressman Admintopher Van Hollen.

The law solidifies Maryland’s role as a trailblazer in women’s health care. Maryland was the first state to mandate contraceptive coverage in 1998, and now in 2016, Maryland is the first state to legislate the most comprehensive insurance coverage of birth control in the country

“It is now the nation’s most comprehensive expansion of private insurance coverage of contraception, improving access to preventive health services and to the contraception that best fits the individual needs of each Marylander. Public health and the economic security of Maryland families will be greatly improved by this law, and I was pleased to testify in Annapolis in support of it,” Van Hollen added.

The legislation ensures that cost will no longer be a barrier to men or women getting the type of birth control they need. Key components include:

  • Eliminate most co-payments for birth control.
  • Lift pre-authorization requirements for women obtaining IUDs and implants.
  • Make Maryland the first state in the nation to provide equity in contraception access for men by broadening coverage of vasectomies without co-payments.
  • Make Maryland the first state in nation to provide insurance coverage for over-the-counter contraceptive medications, like emergency contraception or Plan B.
  • Allow a woman to receive six months of birth control at one time so that she no longer has to return to her doctor or to the pharmacy each month to pick up her birth control.

As a result of this legislation, it is expected that women will significantly lower their chances of risking an unintended pregnancy.

The legislation was also supported by Congresswoman Donna Edwards, and Congressman Elijah Cummings who said: “I am proud that Maryland has built on the success of the Affordable Care Act to expand access to contraception by requiring all insurers to cover at least one form of contraception to all Marylanders without a copay. This important guarantee will allow Marylanders to take charge of their health and family planning.”

About Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood of Maryland is a not-for-profit family planning agency that provides high-quality, affordable reproductive healthcare for women, men and teens. Many of PPM’s patients have no other health care available to them.

Planned Parenthood of Maryland works to expand access to contraception and ensure high-quality reproductive health care for more than 30,000 women and men under its care each year.

Our mission is to enable all Marylanders to have access to a wide range of high quality, affordable reproductive health care services. By providing medical services, education, training, and advocacy, PPM seeks to help individuals make informed decisions about their reproductive health, family planning options, and sexuality.

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Business Law Family Law Personal Law

2016 Tillman Scholars Announced and Honors Granted

vets

Marie Tillman, President and Co-Founder of the Pat Tillman Foundation, announced the names of the 60 U.S. service members, veterans and military spouses chosen as 2016 Tillman Scholars. In recognition of their military service, leadership and academic excellence, the newly selected class will receive over $1.8 million in scholarships to pursue their higher education and continue their service in the fields of medicine, law, business, policy, technology, education and the arts. For the full list of 2016 Tillman Scholars, with the service branches, institutions and fields of study from which they were selected, please visit: http://pattillmanfoundation.org/2016class

“Each Tillman Scholar named has demonstrated a unique perseverance and dedication to empower others around them,” said Marie Tillman, President and Co-Founder of the Pat Tillman Foundation. “

As a community of emerging leaders – now over 460 strong – they are joining forces to tackle some of the toughest challenges that our communities face in education, healthcare, civil rights, and foreign policy. In Pat’s spirit of service, we are proud to unite and support them as leaders for our country both at home and abroad.”

To date, the Pat Tillman Foundation has invested nearly $14 million in academic support since 2004, and named over 460 Tillman Scholars at over 100 academic institutions nationwide. From July 21st-24th, the foundation will convene the 2016 Pat Tillman Leadership Summit, bringing together new, current and alumni Tillman Scholars at Roosevelt University and VenueSIX10 in Chicago to collaborate and address some of the toughest challenges impacting the country and our communities.

The Tillman Scholars Program

Founded in 2008, the Tillman Scholars program supports our nation’s active-duty service members, veterans and military spouses by investing in their higher education. The scholarship program covers direct study-related expenses, including tuition and fees, books and living expenses, for scholars who are pursuing undergraduate, graduate or post-graduate degrees as a full-time student at a public or private, U.S.-based accredited institution. The selection process for the Tillman Scholars program is highly competitive with up to 60 Tillman Scholars chosen annually.

2016-2017 University Partners

During the 2016 selection process, the foundation was proud to collaborate with 17 University Partners, who offer innovative, veteran-specific services and a strong culture of support for military veterans and spouses while providing rigorous academic experiences, to identify and select qualified candidates on their campuses for the Tillman Scholar screening process. The 2016-2017 University Partners included Arizona State University; Columbia University; Georgetown University; George Washington University; Indiana University; Texas A&M University; The Ohio State University; The University of Alabama; University of Arizona; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Maryland, College Park; University of Minnesota; University of Missouri System; University of Oklahoma; University of Oregon; University of South Florida; and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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Personal Law

ACLU: Emails Show Racial Bias in Immigration Law

Russell PearceOpponents of Arizona’s hardline immigration enforcement law contend that emails sent, received and forwarded by a former legislator who championed the law support allegations it was racially motivated.

Dozens of emails are cited in a new legal effort by the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights groups to block police from enforcing the Arizona law’s so-called “show me your papers” provision recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The groups said the emails and other material reveal that ex-Sen. Russell Pearce and other supporters of the law known as SB1070 embraced discriminatory views and bent the truth about immigration-related matters, setting the stage for enactment of a law that the groups contend will lead to racial profiling if enforced.

Russell is the architect of Arizona’s immigration law.

The use of the emails in the court filing later Tuesday was reported Friday by The Arizona Republic.

Pearce on Friday denied discriminatory intent in championing the law, telling The Associated Press that the civil rights groups falsely portray him as a racist and that the law includes protections against racial profiling.

“Nobody wants to talk about that,” he said. “I’ve been attacked for years. I don’t expect it to stop.”

The motion cited dozens of emails that were sent, received or forwarded by Pearce. Many of the emails asserted costs and troubles associated with illegal immigration, including crime and increased demand for public services such as education and health care.

Pearce has made countless public statements to that effect in recent years, while repeatedly saying he just wants federal and state officials to enforce laws against illegal immigration.

Originally posted in: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/aclu-emails-show-racial-bias-immigration-law-16824172#.UAwjO2mXRCU

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Personal Law

Law Covers Naked TSA Protest

PIA

In Portland, Ore., John Brennan has come to be known as “Sir Godiva” and the “Naked American Hero,” a motto emblazoned on T-shirts, mugs and beach totes featuring Brennan clothed in a beard, a pair of glasses and pretty much nothing else.

That, after all, is the image most people have in mind from the widely circulated photo of Brennan’s bare rear end, taken in April after he stripped naked in protest of a federal Transportation Security Agency search at Portland International Airport.

Last week, Brennan was acquitted on an indecent exposure charge after a judge in Multnomah County ruled that the 50-year-old website manager was engaged in a symbolic protest protected as free speech.

“It is the speech itself that the state is seeking to punish, and that it cannot do,” Circuit Judge David Rees said.

The verdict Wednesday brought at least a partial conclusion to a case that caused widespread angst at the airport. Some passengers were covering their children’s eyes, and their own, as Brennan calmly unveiled his opposition to TSA screening procedures, according to a report from the airport police. The case also drew international attention to the normally low-key computer geek.

But Brennan still faces a federal investigation by the TSA, which he said could impose a large fine or even place him on a no-fly list if agency officials conclude he unlawfully interfered with the airport screening process.

“The phrase I’ve come away with in all of this is ‘My liberty is more important than my modesty,'” Brennan said in an interview Friday. “I felt it was an effective and appropriate statement. It just felt like the right thing at the right time.”

Original posted at: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/21/4647950/law-covers-naked-tsa-protest.html#storylink=cpy