PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES

PUBLIC POLICY AND ISSUES

AAUW is a non-partisan organization. We do not support candidates from any party. We DO, however, promote issues of equality and social justice.

AAUW Huntingdon Branch supports the national public policy priorities discussed and voted on by members biennially and the AAUW-PA public policy priorities and initiatives.

AAUW strongly believes in an educated and active electorate. To that end, Huntingdon Branch periodically sponsors or co-sponsors Meet the Candidates nights for various state, county, and school-board elections. In addition, we host panels or round-table discussions on issues of importance, such as education and gender equity.

By tabling on campus and in the community with information about voter registration, non-partisan voter guides, and issues we care about, we also encourage all citizens to exercise their right to vote.

Read the 2023-25 AAUW Public Policy Priorities to see what matters to us.

To learn more about important, current issues or to take action, go to https://www.aauw.org/get-empowered/

Advocacy and Lobbying

Political AND Non-partisan

We will not be successful working toward equity for women and girls if we do not participate in the political process. AAUW’s perspective on issues that impact women and girls requires new legislation and changes to current legislation, both of which are a product of the political process. Our work must ALWAYS be non-partisan. Sometimes people confuse political and non-partisan.  For THE best explanation of the difference, click here.

BECOME A TWO-MINUTE ACTIVIST

Sign up and take action on issues impacting women and girls by joining AAUW’s Action Network. All it takes is two minutes and an internet connection. So easy, so important!
www.aauw.org/what-we-do/public-policy/two-minute-activist/
Also, to become part of the AAUW Action Network, text 2133 with the message “AAUW.”

CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS

US Senator John Fetterman contact info: https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/contact/
US Senator Bob Casey contact info: https://www.casey.senate.gov/contact/
Find your US Representative: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
Find your PA Legislators: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/index.cfm?CFID=36864881&CFTOKEN=13510674

AAUW ISSUES UPDATE

EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

AAUW actively supports ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution. For more information and a way to take action, check out Where We Stand: Equal Rights Amendment.

BEYOND SUFFRAGE

Carlisle Branch presented their Beyond Suffrage White Paper to officials in Harrisburg at the end of September 2022. Read either the whole document or the one page version.

EDUCATION

AAUW works on education access, equity, and safety issues from the federal (Title IX) to the state and local levels (school funding in Pennsylvania).

Gender Bias in Education

WELCOMING AND INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS

AAUW PA and AAUW Huntingdon Branch support the PA WInS coalition. This coalition commits to responding to book bans and censorship activity; discriminatory policies and practices, including discipline policies, that exclude or target any student group that is under our scope; and policies that aim to stifle classroom speech and expression.

WOMEN’S HEALTH: WE WON’T BACK DOWN

Read the AAUW press statement from Gloria L. Blackwell, AAUW Chief Executive Officer.

Reproductive freedom has been an AAUW policy principle since 1977.  Learn more at Where We Stand:  Reproductive Rights.

In Pennsylvania, abortion is legal up to 24 weeks after a person’s last menstrual period. A patient seeking an abortion must receive state-mandated counseling that includes information designed to discourage them from having an abortion, and then wait 24 hours before the procedure is provided.  Every year, this is under threat by the General Assembly (the Pennsylvania Representatives and Senators) in Harrisburg.  When voting in the November general election, know the candidate’s position because the right to an abortion will definitely be an issue in the General Assembly beginning January 1, 2023.

In late night voting sessions on Thursday and Friday, July 7 and July 8, The Pennsylvania Senate and Representatives passed (SB106) which consolidates five distinct constitution amendments into one.  This is a Joint Resolution proposing amendments to the Constitution of Pennsylvania that will:

  • eliminate the right to abortion or funding for an abortion
  • establish new Voter ID requirements that would potentially disenfranchise tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians.
  • destroy the separation of powers and checks and balances by allowing the General Assembly to reject regulations made by the governor by a bare majority vote, rather than by a two-thirds vote as currently required by the Constitution, and by limiting the effect of executive orders and proclamations to 21 days without approval of the General Assembly. These provisions shift an enormous amount of power from the executive branch to the legislative branch in ways that directly and profoundly upset the design of the PA Constitution, which is based on the design of the U.S. Constitution.
  • require that the Auditor General conduct an audit of each election. This proposal not only perpetuates the “Big Lie” about the 2020 election but would create a division within the executive branch that could be exploited to overturn the will of the voters in future elections, including the presidential election in 2024.

If this amendment is approved next year by both the Senate and House of Representatives, with exactly the same language etc., it will go on the next ballot — either primary or general election.  This is why your vote mattered on November 8, 2022.

We must be vigilant at both the state and national level.  On July 8th, the White House announced the signing of an executive order to protect reproductive rights. It is an important first step, but there is more work to be done. For example, you can:

  • Learn more about the status of abortion rights in your state with the Guttmacher Institute’s 2022 policy analysis.
  • Take the opportunity to meet with your US Congress Representative on your home turf and hold in-district meetings to share your thoughts when Congress heads into recess in August.
  • Stay up to date on our coalition’s activities at BansOffOurBodies.org.
  • Reduce the stigma about abortion and reproductive rights by talking openly about these issues and how they’ve affected your own life and livelihood, along with those of the people you love.

A link to the AAUW PA webinar on this topic, featuring Sue J. Frietsche, a senior staff attorney and founder and director of the Women’s Law Project’s Western Pennsylvania office, and Sarah K. Horvath, M.D., Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn State University, can be found here.