As a native Ohioan, I am concerned about Ohio women's health. Gov. Kasich should veto this bill so women don't lose vital health care in Ohio.

The General Assembly is considering multiple dangerous proposals that attack women's health care access, including an extreme abortion ban and defunding Planned Parenthood. These bills aren't about medicine, they're about politics. Since 2010, the General Assembly has considered over 75 proposals restricting women’s access to abortion, including banning insurance coverage, requiring invasive, transvaginal ultrasounds, and outrageous personhood bills that even threaten birth control access. These bills are no different--they are part of a coordinated campaign to chip away at reproductive rights. We can't let them get away with it.

It appears that these three women stand for the old guard, the corrupt and wealthy people who will do or say anything to support the 1%. We need to let them know we no longer will tolerate corrupt "business as usual" along with intimidation and condescension.

Earlier this week, the CDC issued a statement recommending that doctors instruct women of childbearing age who are not using contraception to avoid all alcohol, so as to decrease their hypothetical baby's risk for fetal alcohol syndrome. While this statement may be well-intentioned, in reality it creates unrealistic expectations and attempts to remove the agency of women in making their own informed choices around their contraception and alcohol consumption. While the risks of alcohol consumption during pregnancy remain unclear, attempting to enforce such unrealistic expectations will do little to protect unborn children from harm. It is the duty of the CDC to provide necessary, realistic guidance that will increase public health. Their current directives, which aim to police women's bodies, do not meet that goal and must be amended today!

As we approach the peak of the presidential season, far too little focus has centered on the issues concerning one of the strongest voting blocs: Black women. Despite outperforming every other demographic in the last two elections, the conditions of Black women and their families continues to remain ignored, entering national dialogue usually upon tragedy or violence. Even with national platforms intended to focus on violence against women, the significant disparities faced by millions of Black women and girls in the workplace, schools, and streets are, at best, underprioritized. Heirs of the tangled oppression of slavery, sexism, classism, and invisibility, equity in America will never truly be actualized until Black women and girls can exist as full citizens of America--in fact, policy and by law. What is the status of Black women and girls today? Black women constitute 13% of the population of US women, yet 30% of all incarcerated women. Nearly 4.1 million families are headed by Black women--37% of which live below the poverty level. Student debt takes up 111 percent of Black women’s income. The closing of facilities that provide general care for women impacts millions of low-income women who count on these local institutions as their primary source of care. 300 girls in the Atlanta area are lured into sex trafficking each month--the average age being 14. Black girls are suspended six times more often than white girls. Every year, 1, 722 Black women die from breast cancer--an average of five Black women a day! The maternal mortality rate of Black women in America is more than 10 times that of women in most industrialized nations. And as we witnessed with the case of Sandra Bland, no aspect of the American Dream--her college degree, new job, affiliation in a historically Black Greek-lettered organization, or zip code--could provide Sandra security. We can no longer be silent about our realities and that of our sisters, mothers, partners and friends. Who’s Got US? #SheWoke Committee: Sharon Cooper, Wife and Mother, Advocate, corporate professional, Sister of Sandra Bland Ifeoma Ike, Writer, Dreamer, Co-Creator of BlackandBrownPeopleVote Nakisha M. Lewis, Philanthropic Strategist, Writer, Activist Tiffany D. Hightower, Organizer, Writer, & Orator Shambulia Gadsden Sams, Activist & Organizer Sharisse Stancil-Ashford, Artist & Activist Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever, Founder of Exceptional Leadership Institute for Women

For too long, Democrats have taken the pro-choice vote for granted: zero questions about abortion were asked in the first three Democratic debates. 1 in 3 American women will have an abortion in her lifetime. This procedure is safe and legal but under attack. We deserve candidates who are unafraid to speak up for our humanity and autonomy, and we deserve to know which candidate(s) will end bans on insurance coverage for abortion, especially in Medicaid. Ask the relevant questions.

That’s not a typo. It’s actual text from a misogynistic promotion that someone at Bloomingdale’s thought was appropriate for its holiday catalog. The text accompanies a man ogling a woman in a short dress, while both are at what appeared to be the company office party. You can read more about this appalling ad here: http://tinyurl.com/nl642lc While the department store chain has since issued an apology in response to backlash over this ad, no one has been held to account for what is a subtle invitation to sexual harassment on the low end and potentially championing date rape in a worst-case scenario. Noted Sarah Murnen, a psychology professor at Kenyon College in Ohio: “It’s sending the message that it is it okay to have sex with people who are incapable of consent. These are decisions that should be made consciously and willingly.” Will you join us in boycotting Bloomingdale’s for the holidays unless they fire those responsible for the ad, undergo mandated sensitivity training and work to support efforts to end sexual assault? Since logic didn’t prevail in this industry giant’s boardroom, it is critical that we let Bloomingdale’s know that such content and their weak response are unacceptable. Please sign our petition now and tell Bloomingdale’s you are boycotting them until they change their culture and their approach about sexual assault.  No one should have to think about being assaulted during the holidays simply because a retail giant recklessly thought it was cute to suggest it in an ad.

We are starting this petition because we believe that all people should feel safe on their college campuses. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men are sexually assaulted in college. Less than 10% of those assaults are reported. If we make this process any more difficult, as this bill is attempting to do through mandated reporting to police forces, we will be endangering the future of our college students. We do not believe that Alpha Epsilon Phi, or any sorority or fraternal council should support this endangerment.

Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) outnumber real women's health centers by 3 to 1. These centers do not have medical personnel on staff, do not provide effective contraception to women or men, provide no actual health services and dupe vulnerable women into believing that they are actual medical facilities. According to Salon.com: "More often than not, CPCs — which now outnumber abortion clinics by an estimated 3 to 1 — can be misleading, manipulative or downright coercive, pushing a distinctly antiabortion agenda that relies heavily on lying to clients. Investigations have time and again uncovered evidence that these centers, many of which are religiously affiliated, purposely attempt to portray themselves as secular medical providers that provide comprehensive care for women facing unintended pregnancies. They don't, though, and often don’t even have licensed medical professionals on the premises." In fact, California just passed a law requiring CPCs to disclose to women ALL of their legal options regarding their pregnancies. Not surprisingly, this is being challenged in court, as the CPCs wish to continue their blatant campaign to misinform and lie to women. Even worse, there are those in Congress who wish to honor these institutions who knowingly take taxpayer money to misinform and harass women. From the Lady Parts Justice League: "Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) introduced resolutions in the Senate and House that designate the week of November 8, as "National Pregnancy Center Week." National Pregnancy Centers are not medical institutions. They are not staffed by doctors or trained medical professionals. These are fake clinics created by anti-choice activists with the sole purpose of shaming women into continuing their pregnancies. They actively deprive women of reproductive health information in the name of discouraging them from choosing abortion." It is a complete waste of taxpayer dollars, not to mention an affront to the basic tenet of "separation of church and state" to continue to funnel taxpayer dollars to these religion based institutions. Please stand up and say "No" to taxpayer funding of these dishonest, religion based faux medical facilities.

Our community has a wealth of diverse experts on public life, but (Caucasian) men continue to dominate news coverage and public panels. Younger women and people of color need and deserve visible leaders who represent their experiences in our community to inspire them to step up and lead. And we all benefit when more perspectives are included in the shaping of public opinion about the issues and politics in our community.

Earlier this week, a Texas grand jury cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing, dismissing charges raised in the wake of last year's doctored videos, which claimed that the organization illegally sold fetal tissue. What's more, the grand jury indicted two of the anti-choice activists involved in making the video! This is an organized and long-planned offensive on an organization women and families depend on. It's a cynical attempt by a radical group of legislators who want nothing more than to attack women and their access to safe health care and abortion services. Too many states have already moved to defund Planned Parenthood based on the lies propagated by these videos. It's time that Congress stand up for women rather than demonizing Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood provides health care for millions of people every year, and I trust them to do it. We should not waste another dollar or another second of Congress's time on this committee.

I am Reverend Tawana Davis and I am a domestic violence survivor who loves sports, especially football. As domestic violence is a national epidemic and several football players have been in the limelight as perpetrators, this will be a powerful way to bring awareness to domestic violence and to get the help needed for the perpetrator, victim/survivor and all those impacted directly or indirectly.