Week of December 1, 2004

Winner still unclear in Washington governor's race

Four weeks after the general election, EMILY's List-endorsed candidate and outgoing state Attorney General Christine Gregoire continues her fight to become governor of Washington state. A state-mandated machine recount narrowed Republican Dino Rossi's 261-vote lead to a mere 42 votes out of more than 2.8 million cast. According to the Gregoire campaign, thousands of votes were never counted. Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed certified Rossi's victory on Tuesday morning, Nov. 30, but Democrats have until Friday, Dec. 3, to call for a hand recount of votes that could decrease Rossi's lead further and possibly put Gregoire ahead. With only 42 votes separating the two candidates after the machine recount, Gregoire is determined to make sure that every single vote is counted and remains confident that she will continue to chip away Rossi's lead and become the next governor of Washington state.

Republicans use spending bill to weaken Roe v. Wade

Republicans are up to their old tricks again, using sleazy maneuvers to advance their right-wing agenda and chip away at women's reproductive rights. Most recently, they slipped a controversial provision into the 2005 appropriations bill that Congress passed last week. The provision would allow health care companies (like HMOs and hospitals) to refuse to comply with federal or state regulations that assure women have access to abortion services and referrals. In other words, this provision would allow companies to bar health care professionals from discussing abortion as an option or even providing a referral. It would also jeopardize billions in federal funds for states that try to enforce their own laws protecting access to abortion services.

If Democrats blocked this huge spending bill in its entirety, the GOP would accuse them of obstructionist tactics and trying to shut down the government. So instead, Senator Barbara Boxer courageously led protests against this controversial provision and won a commitment from Senate leaders for a vote by April 30, 2005, to repeal the language.

Sen. Boxer and her pro-choice Democratic women colleagues, including Senators Hillary Clinton, Dianne Feinstein, Patty Murray, and Debbie Stabenow know that if Republicans get their way, it'll be far more difficult for many women to obtain abortions or other types of reproductive health care. That's why they'll continue to fight this provision, which Feinstein calls "a terrible, egregious abuse of power."

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