NOW NEWS

Bay Area ChapterNational Organization for Women

Vol. VII, No. 9, September, 1979

PROGRAM MEETING

ETHICAL ISSUES IN HUM/N REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY: AN ANALYSIS BY NOMEN7:30 PM, Sept. 6, Clear Lake Presbyterian Church 1515 ElDorado at Cobre Valley

Speaker: Ms. Barbara Tilley, Ph.D. Card., UT 3ch. Pub. Health

The title of our program is the same as that of a professional conference held in Massachusetts late in June of this year----it was the first ever funded for chief­ly female participation (by National Science Foundation, Ford Foundation, et al.). Ms. Tilley was invited to participate in her capacity as a researcher on the can­cer risk of daughters whose mothers were given DES two decades ago. She will report to us on the business of the conference, which dealt with such major topics as ethics in contraception, childbirth, near-natal technology, pre-natal screening, sex-pre­selection, manipulative reproductive technology, DEI, depoprovera, and general policy. See other pages of this newsletter for background material.

CALENDAR

Wednesday, September 5» 1979

Thursday, September 6, 1979 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, September 8, 1979

Friday, September 1^, 1979

Wednesday, September 19» 19796: 30 p.m.

Wednesday, September 19* 19797: 30 p.m.

Saturday, September 22, 1979

Northwest NOW - Cypress Creek LibraryFM i960 near StuebnerWomen, Noney <8: Power - see notice on another page

Program Meeting - see front page Location to be announced*

NCW State CouncilCorpus Christi (Call Phyllis Tucker - 9^4-0033)

Margaret Sanger - 100th anniversary of her birth

Business Meeting : House of Prayer Luteran Church, 1515 Bay Area Blvd, CLC, Parish Hall

Adam and Even - One of the Plays for LivingPresented by: Family Service CenterSponsored by: A Uniting ChurchProduced by: Clear Creek Country Theatre

Locations House of Prayer Lutheran Church1515 Bay Area Blvd., Clear Lake CityVisitors welcome

ERA Picket on Louisiana (urratified) border, 1-10 at Orange (Jeanne Sale tan coordinating - Z4'7J<2862j On, Tuesday evening September 11th, people will meet to make signs. Sheets and poles are needed; puone Jeanne for details of time and place.

Friday-Sunday, October 5-7 National NOW ConferenceLos Angeles (For information, call Evie Whitsett 488-1777)

*Due to a damaging fire at our usual meeting nlace, A Unitingi Church, we will be meeting at Clear Lake Presbyterian Church. 1511 ElDorado at Cobre/valley, we an offer for a new meeting place. Temple of Congregation Shaar Hashalom, but would have to change meeting times to 7:30 Wed. or 8:30 Thurs. Be prepared to discuss at bept. 6th meeting.

MINUTES OF BUSINESS MEETING - 8/23-79

Present: Dorothy Howard, Phyllis Tucker, Evie Whitsett, Marj Randal, Pat Kuhlmann, Nora Mertz, Peggy Cook, Roberta Blackburn, Jane Markley

Announcements:

1, Next program of interest to persons in the medical profession - ^Eth^al Issues in Human Reproduction Technology: An Analysis by Women*’ Invite^you Know who are medically oriented for this most interesting subject.

2. Donahue program is still on tape and available to view. Check with Marjorie,

Action:

1. Marj - New by-laws were passed at Women’s Resource Service Advisory Council, Marj wants to be upcoming representative for NOW.

2. Trying to get morning group for CR to be held at Dorothy’s.

3. Adam and Even, September 19 - see calendar. Play spotlights how humanistic attitudes toward men and women can affect family and corporate life.

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14-. Business meetings will be held third (3rd) Wednesdays from now on

5. Speculation: Manuel Ferez of League City wants to have a number of women’s groups get together at Civic Center to speak about their groups and set up tables to pass out information to other groups. Business meeting reserved judgment on this idea, will wait for more information.

6. Pat - CCCT play as fundraiser: Could net from $300 - $1000. Buy the house for $250 + $35 royalty, sell individual tickets for $5» Half of profits to Chapter and half for ERA. The play is "Butterflies are Free", November 15» 8:15 curtain.

?. Ads - passed on schedule of fees for ads. Will sell no more than ij pages in any monih *s newslet ter.

$P - 1/12 page; $15 - i page; $27 - | page; $50 - full page

8. Trying to spur interest In bringing Judy Chicago’s "Dinner Party" to Houston, perhaps through IIH/CLC. Contacts suggested: Chancellor Alfred Neumann, Dean Calvin Cannon, Dr. Bob Tverding (Drama Dept). UH/CLC, 2700 Bay Area Blvd, Houston 7705p-

9. Reminder to save first 15 Anthony dollars you get to send to LA to the National NOW Conference. Also information on resolutions to be voted on at Conference will be synopsized at the program meeting for members* consideration.

Submitted by Phyllis Tucker

There are three kinds of people in the world:Those who make things happen,Those who wait for things to happen,Those who say "What happened?"Which are you? (Submitted by Evie)

mhank you Houston Breakthrough for the complimentary ad for local NCW Chapters in the July/August '79 issue. We continue to urge everyone to experience the Breakthrough you provide in journalism. Subscribe today!

Na me:_ _________________________________________

Address: ___________________________________

Check one:( ) $7-1 year( ) $13 - 2 years( ) $18 - 3 years*

♦Greatest savingsMail with check to: Houston Breakthrough, PC Box 88072, Houston Texas 7700*1

The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Bay Area NOW or NCW, Inc.

October Nr?WSLETTEP deadline is Friday, September 21 for untyped material and Monday, September 2**- for typed material. Mail or drop off articles to Pat Kuhlmann, 2002 Richvale, Clear Lake City, ^88-3278 (Kall: Houston 77062)

Member Kay Whybum will speak on Establishing and Maintaining your Own Credit on Tuesday September 4th,‘1st Unitarian Church, Fannin at .ou-hmore.

Bay Area NOW Meeting - Aug. 2, 1979 Sandra Anderson, Presiding

Susan Keene - introduced plastic containers for "Anthony Dollars" to be taken to NOW National Conference in October to fund the NOW - ERA campaign. A list was passed for people to sign who wanted to participate.

Pat Kuhlmann - moved that the Chapter buy the house (2^-0 seats) for a Clear Creek Country Theatre performance of "Butterflies Are Free" on November 15th. This would cost $250.00 plus $35*00 royalty fee for the play. We could charge whatever we wanted for the tickets. Pat suggested $5.00. We would have to sell the tickets ourselves; this might work out to about four tickets apiece.

Evie Whitsett - moved the election of delegates to Texas NOW Council, which has its next meeting Sept. 8 in Corpus Christi. Phyllis Tucker, treasurer of Texas MOW, encouraged volunteers for the slots. Gail Anderson, Bonnie Huval, and Pat Kuhlmann volunteered to be "part of a pool of delegates" to attend Council meetings.Self-nominations for delegates to NOW National Conference were requested. Evie Whitsett and Phyllis Tucker were selected to be our delegates, with Dorothy Howard and Jeanne Saletan as alternates. Saletan has decided not to attend.

It was moved th it BANOW write a letter of appreciation to KPRC-TV for the recent Don­ohue show which featured a debate between Eleanor Smeal and Phyllis Schlafly on the ERA.Evie announced that a border demonstration near our surrounding unratified States is scheduled for 3at., Sept. 22. We will go to Orange-Beaumont. Jeanne Saletan is co­ordinating this event (h^-71-2862, 0521-9391). Bonnie Huval says some people may stay with her mother or aunt in Orange (Huval:331-0Wl).PgC-n-y QookSonia Doty * Geek outslde advertising for the newsletter.

Dorothy Howard - announced business meeting, ?:30 Aug. 23rd at her home, 1529 Bonanza.See cAuEWhAR

Evie Whitsett - Sept, business meeting will be Sept. 19th at Uniting Ghttroh, BEFORE the 7:30 performance of "Adam and Even" by Family Service Center.

We are invited to attend the August 26th Barbecue celebrating the ratification of Wo­man Suffrage to be held by Houston NOW. See calendar for details.

OUR SYMPATHY to BANOW people who received damage from the floods of July 25-26. To our knowledge they are:

Marie Stimson - loss of most stock in her bookshop in Dickinson.Jean Bettencourt - U- feet of water in her home in Kemah, damage to rental prop­

erty nearby.Ruth Fruland - about 2| feet of water in her home in Friendswood.Mary and Louis McFadin - about a foot of water in their home in League City.Nora Mertz - water damage to home in League City.Elizabeth Glenn - about 3 inches of water damaged floors in Friendswood home.Jeanne Saletan - a few inches of water in La Porte home, damaged carpets, books,

and photographs.Vicki Carr - autos, air conditioner flooded near home in Shoreacres.Carolyn Waddell - books damaged by flooded garage in League City.

The July Program meeting featured Sandra Anderson, M.A.,Pat Davis, PJqD., and Sally Jordan, ”’hD., discussing their research on the problems of women enrolled in higher education in this area and women in non-traditional careers. The informative panel was well-attended and well-received by members and new attendees.

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well-equipped hospitals, said the expert, Dr. Kurt Hirschhorn of Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

The technique is amni­ocentesis, in which a needle is inserted in the womb to extract a sample of fluid early in pregnancy. Cells from the fluid are then grown in the laboratory and ar? analyzed to detect genetic diseases in the fetus.

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Medicine 1 ev- tia that in the opinion of several hundred doctors and medi­cal students, women doc­tors are more honest with their patients and less aggressive and irritable with them than male doc­tors. Moreover, blacks and other minority pa­tients prefer the women.

COLLEGEVILLE. Minn (UPI) - The actual side effects of birth control pills

equal or exceed" previously reported risks in women, says a Chicago medical researcher who calls reports of the pill s safety a ' medical fantasy."

Dr Herbert Ratner of the Loyola University School of Medicine said Mon­day new evidence that the pill causes tumors in the liver and pituitary gland demonstrates the inherent danger of the drug.

■ When is the Federal Drug Administra­tion going to draw the line and take the pill off the market?" Ratner asked a con­ference at the Human Life Center of St. John's University Monday. "The pill was originally promoted as physiologically natural, which was a medical fantasy."

Rainer addressed participants from Europe, the Far East. New Zealand and America at an international symposium on natural family planning.

He predicted the new complications of the bill "will match or exceed such known complications such as obstructions of blood vessels."

"The scandal is that from the very beginning of testing, we knew the pill showed abnormal laboratory findings, which were ignored or wished away by pill promoters." Ratner said.

NEW YORK-A growing number of obstetricians are starting to perform a com­plex and potentially dan­gerous technique of prena­tal diagnosis in their pri­vate offices rather than in medical centers, an expert in genetic diseases said re­cently.

The result could be in­creased hazards to preg­nant women and their unborn children, since private offices do not have

Houston ChronicleTuesday. June 19. 1979

Until recently, only a handful of experts, based in large medical centers, have done amniocentesis.

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Liver tumors among pill users were re­ported in medical literature as early as 1973. he said

"Pituitary tumors now are beginning to be reported." he said.

Rainer quoted an article in the British medical review. The Lancet, as saying the complications of pituitary tumor growth "may equal or exceed that or other risks attributable to the pill."

"They 1 pituitary tumorts) have no clini­cal significance unless they enlarge in size, necessitating a cranial operation." he said "What enlarges these harmless micro-tumors is the stimulation of estro­gen. and the major contributor to this stimulation is the birth-control pill."

Ratner said another medical study "shows pituitary adenomas (tumors) have had a seven-fold increase in the 1970s. corresponding to the increase in the use of the pill."

"The pill pushers originally said no con­traceptives should be permitted if they disturbed the health of a healthy woman, but now we've had new complications re­ported on a weekly or monthly basis to the point where there must be about 125 complications." Ratner said "Many of them cause death and severe disability such as blindness."

Lincoln, Neb. (AP) — A Papillion. Neb., woman has been convicted and fined $100 for a seldom-reported crime: Midwifery.

Patricia Turkel. also known as Patty Ellis and the mother of two young children, was found guilty

, of practicing medicine and surgery without a license for home delivery of a baby.

The fine was the maxi­mum allowed by law.

Lancaster County Atty. Bon Lahners noted that obstetrics is strictly a branch of medicine under state law and that it would even be illegal for a hus­band and wife to deliver their own child privately at home. However, he added that such charges would be difficult to prose-

I cute.

Now obstetricians in pri­vate practice are using the technique, sending the fluid samples to commercial laboratories for analysis, he said.“There are dangers in

this approach that need to be considered carefully," Hirschhorn said.

For example, genetic counselors in medical cen­ters select women for amniocentesis on strict criteria, he said. It is not known whether obstetri­cians in private practice make the same careful selection, he said.

Reports of pill's safety 7 said 'fantasy' by doctor

Section 1. Page 21 Houston Chronicle

Thursday. May 31,1979

Birth control ads called false .1

WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal government is being asked by a group of law students to crack down on "false .nd decep­tive'' advertisement of vaginal cont racepl ives sold over the counter to the public.

The students claim manufacturers of the non- presenption ccmtracep- tives such as foams, jellies and creams fail to inform women that their products are not entirely effective.

"In actual use, nearly one woman in four who uses over-the-counter vaginal contraceptives will become pregnant in the course of one year," stated a petition which three George Washington University law students filed Wednesday with the Federal Trade Commis­sion.

The FTC declined to comment on the petition,

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make bet­ter general practitioners than men?

Are they morehonest, gentle, kind andconsiderate than their male counterparts?

A recent survey pub- lished in Psychiatry in

AR The Houston Post W MONDAY, OCT. 25. 1976

Diagnosis called dangerousthe safeguards found in

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Women AskStringent New IUD Controls(T. 107a, New York Times News Scrvi' <

San Francisco — A coalitic1 of women's organizations ha announced that it has filed petition with the Californi Department of Health askir1 for stringent new regulation governing intrauterine con

| traceptive devices.Patsy Fulcher, chairman

t h e Coalition of Medic Rights f 0 r Women, said “Women arc tired of hem used as guinea pigs for untesi cd medical devices sold enormous profit by large di n comnanies."

The petition requests fh adoption of regulations th. would require the manufactir er to take all steps neccssa’ to inform women of the potei. tial dangers in continued u of intrauterine devices, whirl came into wider use in 19? after U.S. Senate hearings 0 the dangers of oral contracer tives.

The coalition action conv at a time of growing nation, pressure for federal rules o' the devices, now used by fom million to eight million Amen can women, as against 12 mi1 lion who use oral contracer lives. •

Over the last year potentia' dangers and complications a1 sociated with the devices ha'1 come to light.

At Food and Drug Admini tration hearings in Washin.' ton. 36 known deaths were rr ported to have resulted fron use of the devices in th’ country. Additionally, a physi cian survey bv the United States Center for Diease Con trol disclosed that IUD use led to over 3.500 hospitalization' in the first six months of 197J This was interpreted to mean that one of everv five user' risked hospitalization.

In July, the Department or Health. Education and Wcl fare told 3.000 federally fund ed family-planning clinics 1<> stop using A. H. Robin' Company’s Daikon Shield be cause of disclosures that women using the device ha- suffered spontaneous scpli- abortions in mid-pregnanc;. and four had died of resulting blood poisoning

Hypertension fromThursda*. December 25. ^75 Hoi.SiU.X ( uhu 1 i.l. e I. r-i^ ।

Mother Was 'Mortified',pin/ fairly common By Gynecologist's Ways

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almost air cases if the pill is withdrawn.

In confirming Laragh’s original finding nine years ago. other c'inics have re­ported an incidence of pill- induced hypertension rang­ing from just a few per cent up to 18 per cent or more.

L^aragh docs not recom­mend abandoning the pill because the risk of an un­wanted pregnancy m a y bring even greater h a z- ards.“It would be helpful if

we could identify the sus­ceptible women in ad­vance.’’ said Laragh. “but the data so far provide oniv suggestions.’’

The pill, he advised, should be used with care or forbidden in women with a history of high blood pressure, with kid­ney disease, a history of toxemia or high b'ood pressure in previous preg­nancies, a family tendency to high blood pressure or a history of excessive weight gain or fluid retention dur­ing the menstrual cycle.

1-dgc 10. Section 1

1976, Chicago Daily News

High blood pressure In­duced by oral contracep­tives. once thought to he a rarity, is “exfemely com­mon.’’ says a hypertension expert.

fn time, it develops in about one out of every 20 pill users, says Dr. John H. Laragh of New York, w h o first reported the condition nine years ago.“Five per cent of the

millions of women using the oral contraceptive pill is a large number (about 500.000> w i I h induced hypertension." he says in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecol­ogy.“It is reason for con­

cern. Some concern must also be summoned in be­half of (he even larger group of women in whom there is an induced rise in blood pressure, albeit still within the normal range."

Laragh, director of tlic 1 hypertension and c a r- diovascular center at New York Hospital-Cornel] Medical Center, said the high blood pressure can be checked and reversed in

Saturday, September 25, 1976 «> Houston Chronicle

WASHINGTON (UPI) — Government- subsidized sterilizations of poor and minority women are “virtually out of con­trol.’’ Rep. Shirley Chisholm has charged.

Chisholm. D-N.Y., said at a hearing sponsored by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare that tighter re­strictions are needed on sterilization procedures.

The department has proposed the elmi- nation of federal funding for sterilizations performed on women inadequately in­formed about the procedure and its consequences or who are forced to under­go the surgery on threat of losing welfare or other federal aid The government now pays for about 100,000 sterilizations a year _ ____

Chisholm said she supports the idea be­hind HEW's proposals, but said they are still too vague to protect mentally incom­petent people and those in prisons and other institutions. Section 6, Page.5

© 1975. Chicago Daily News

’ Dr. Joni Magee, the female gynecolo­gist, complained recently that male doc­tors lack consideration in performing pelvic examinations on women.

Her complaint was reported in several newspapers, including t h c Houston Chronicle. An Oregon mother was prompted to comment:

“That hit home. Our 18-year-old daugh- ' ter was given a pelvic exam for a Pap

Congresswoman says sterilizations wild

Parley hears women's role in health care

smear required on a college health re­port. The doctor explained nothing, spoke not a word as he took the smear. Our daughter was in tears and when I ap­proached the doctor about this he said it was just a routine task and he didn’t usually explain anything. I said that even after having two children my gynecolo­gist always chatted with me to create a more relaxed atmosphere. I had to spend an hour with our daughter to take away fears she had about having a baby or ever marrying and having intercourse.“The doctor claimed he hadn’t seen an

18-year-old virgin in five years and could not understand her reaction to the exam. I told him I was shocked to realize there were doctors who had no compassion or respect for a human being.“I might add another personal incident

In the Pittsburgh. Pa., area I visited a gynecologist for the first and last time. I had moved into town and had not met the doctor before. He entered the room after I had been ‘prepared’ and ‘positioned’ by the nurse. His entry was made by his singing, ‘Here she is — Miss America'. I was mortified.”

WATCHLM: Jerry Henderson. Pr'l S gram manager fur consumer affairs for**- the Food and Drug Administration in Dallas, said that diethylstilhestrol (DES) is used by growers to promote^ growth in cattle and sheep. It was han- ned for this purpose by the FDA. hut the | I S. Court of Appeals. District of < olumhia. overturned this ruling in % 1973. “It is possible that DES will be * banned in the future, because it is a known cancer-causing agent," Hender­son said. A spokesman for a natural food distributor in Dallas said he sells s meat that docs not contain DES to many V Houston health food stores. People V may have to ask for this meat because «• often it is not displayed. It is sold in V set oral varieties and is frozen," the^Qi spokesman said.

States is provided by * ‘ a veritable army of female workers . . . dominated by a tiny cadre of largely male

improving the status of women in health than “the heavy artillery of federal mandates.

Controls can work overtimePage 12, Section ? Houston Chronicle Wednesday, August 17,19'.

physicians a n d administra­tors," an International C o n- ference on Women in Health was told Monday.

T h e description was pro­vided by Barbara Ehrenreich of the Women's Health Forum in New York City, an activist author w h o delivered 1 h e opening address on the status of women as health care providers in the United States. The forum is a re­search and resource center on women’s health problems.

White House official John Veneman opened l h e three- day conference of 300 repre­sentatives from every conti-Paqe 4/A

“The federal government unfortunately has only t h e clumsiest sort of tools at its disposal to address this kind of a problem." said Veneman. domestic counselor to Vice President Rockefeller.

A chart hook distributed as a conference working docu­ment shows that while three of every four of the 4.2 mil- 1 i o n health service workers are women, most women are concentrated in the occupa­tions of dental assistants, registered a n d practical nurses, dieticians, nurse and other health a kies, lab work­ers and therapists.THE HOUSTON POST

Ironically, the pill and the IUD,, popvular methods of preventing un­wanted births, can sometimes stand in the way of wanted births later on.

Some women, upon stopping the pill, find that their periods don't return or come very irregularly, indicating a disruption of normal ovulation. Most of these women, it turns out, had irregu­lar menstrual cycles to begin with, and the cycle irregularity apparently was further aggravated by the pill. Such women are advised to avoid taking the pill if they expect to want children later.

Even women who had a normal men­strual cycle before starting the pill might stop the pill for a month every two years to see if they ovulate and menstruate normally.

The IUD increases a woman’s

chances of suffering a pelvic infection that may damage the tubes, and infer­tility experts recommend that women who have a history of pelvic infection should avoid using the IUD if they value their future fertility. To reduc*1 the chances of tubal damage, all pelvic infections should be promptly treated with antibiotics.

Abortion, too, may result in latei infertility, although the chances of this happening following a legal abortion are far less than when pregnancies were terminated in back alleys. Be tween 1 and 5 per cent of women devel op infections following abortion. Multi pie abortions or ones done late in the first three months of pregnancy may weaken the cervix (the mouth of the womb) and result in the miscarriages of future pregnancies.

TUFSDAY. JUNE >7. 1971

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&As you may have read in the National NOW Times, we are

encouraging everyone to pledge their first fifteen Sus-m B. Anthony dollars to the NOW ERB Ratification Campal^r) -- one for each of the unratified states. J

Anthony^ whose life was so fully dedicated to equality for women, is appearing again..this time as rne first imnge of a historically existing woman on the face of an American coin. Then how appropriate it is that her coins should, both actually and symbolically, be used to support the campaign for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. We could surely do her memory no greater honor than this.

The ma *or collection point for the coins will be at the National Conference in Los Angeles this October. Conference collection will provide a dramatic setting both for paying tribute to Anthony and for illustrating our unflagging commitment to ratification. Adding even greater interest to this event will be the awarding of special prizes to the four chapters who bring the largest amount of money for the Susan B. Anthony fundraiser to the Conference.

We urge all readers to bring their Anthony dollars or contribution (any type of money will help get the ERA ratified) to the September 6th N.O.W. meetlng^September 19th business meeting

(see Calendar for tines and places). If you cannot attend but wish to do your part, contact Susan Keene 33^-16^5. Lets load Evie Whltsettwith Anthony dollars when she represents us in Les Angeles this October.

physicians ARE

On August 14th, the Texas NOW Textbook Taskforce went to Austin to make our 7th annual appearance before TEA’s Textbook Committee. We presented testimony protesting sexism in the textbooks proposed for adoption la 1980. This year, 32 reviewers read 42 books and wrote 39 bills of particulars on 29 of the books. 13 people appeared before the Textbook Committee.In spite of minor difficulties with TEA bureaucratic thinking, our people were their usual competent selves and our j-day of testimony went smoothly.Did the Committee listen and understand our message? We will need to wait to see which books they recommend for adoption.Apparently the publishers are getting our message, though. Of the 42 books we reviewed, 12 were judged, by our reviewers to be essentially non-sexist.feny thanks to all BANOW people who participated this year - we know we can always depend on you.Elizabeth Glenn, Twiss Butler, Marjorie Randal

Evolution, Not RevolutionIn 14 states, an ERA is already at work

Would the Equal Rights Amendment mean instant equality or a chaos of

broken families and unisex lavatories? Conflicting predictions have been made for years, while 35 of the necessary 38 states ratified the measure, but the sur­prising fact is that some of the answers are already in. Since 1970. 14 states* have written equal rights for women into their own slate constitutions. Experience in those states, according to a report from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, “provides an important model for ERA implementation on a national level.’"

Enforcement of the state eras varies from negligible in Virginia to considerable in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. But in gen­eral. says the Civil Rights Com­mission. the effect “has been one of substantial strides toward equality." achieved in an orderly way. Some results:► In Maryland and Pennsylva­nia. courts have abolished the presumption that all household goods, including jewelry, belong to the husband—part of an over­all trend toward recognizing the nonmonetary contributions of the housewife to the family's wealth.► In New Mexico, a wife now shares control of family assets. One consequence: an improved credit rating for New Mexican women.► In Washington, survivors or dependents of female as well as male workers now receive death benefits.► In Massachusetts, the state has begun providing women prisoners with rehabilitation programs formerly available only to men.► In most ERA states, rape laws have been extended to protect both men and women against sexual assault.► In Pennsylvania, equal application of antiprostitution laws in Harrisburg result­ed in the arrest of 300 male patrons last year.► In no state have any unisex toilets ap­peared in public places as a result of the ERA. “I lived in Florida before moving to Hawaii, and the misconceptions over ERA were incredible." says Alice Ball, presi­dent of the Oahu ywca. “I wish I could bring those people over to Hawaii to see how well it's working. ERA doesn't solve everything, but it has cleared out some of the undergrowth."

State laws have traditionally formed not just an undergrowth but a lush jungle

•Illinois. Pennsylvania. Virginia. Alaska. Hawaii. Maryland. Texas. Washington. Colorado. New Mexico. Connecticut. New Hampshire, Massachu­setts. Montana.

of archaic restrictions, limitations and protections based on the 19th century no­tion of a female as the dependent prop­erty of a father or husband. In Georgia, the legislature has stubbornly refused to repeal an 1863 law that defines a wom­an's legal existence as “merged in the hus­band." In Arizona, insurance companies may still cancel a divorced woman's in­surance (but not a man's) on the grounds of “instability."

Even in states where ERA has been ap­proved. charting a new path is a long pro­cess of legislative codification, judicial clarification and—most of all—continu­

ous pressure from women. “Legislatures won't do the job on their own," says Bet­ty Gittes, attorney and member of the Massachusetts commission to revise state laws. “The ERA is not a self-executing law, it’s a constant fight." ERA states have not. however, experienced the blizzard of law­suits that some ERA opponents feared.

The ERA can bring unexpected prob­lems. however. In Pennsylvania, for

example. Frances Wasiolek, the divorced mother of three young children, asked a court to award her increased child sup­port. The judge ruled that under the state ERA, she had the responsibility not only to support herself but to contribute to her children's support. “My blood was boil­ing," says her lawyer, Michael Pepe Jr., who appealed the case. The Pennsylvania superior court agreed with him that

housekeeping has economic value: Wa­siolek. who looks forward to the day she can return to her nursing career, was al­ready providing her share of support by staying home and caring for her children. It was a hollow victory for her. since her former husband is now unemployed, and paying less child support, and she is still on welfare. But her landmark case estab­lished for the women of Pennsylvania that equality does not mean women will be forced out of their homes into paying jobs.

Women who do work have long been paid less and received fewer benefits, of­ten on the excuse that they might become pregnant. Glenna Lehtonen. nov, a house­wife with two babies in East Templeton. Mass., was one of the three women whose successful suit against Massachusetts Electric established that under the state

sAioiMABcojn era. pregnancy is just another biological contingency that must be included in routine disability plans So far. Mrs. Lehtonen's cash award for several pregnan­cy-related illnesses has been only $97. The court decision in her case, however, grants rights that the U.S. Supreme Court, without an ERA. had refused in a similar case.

“The ERA means evolution, not revolution." says one femi­nist. If the slow, cosily and er­ratic accumulation of court de­cisions seems barely past the protoplasmic stage of evolution, feminists in ERA states insist that it is only part of a much larger change in attitudes. Sho- shana Cardin, head of the Mary­land Commission for Women, points to the 28 women serving in the slate legislature (eleven of whom are new this term) as ev­idence of Maryland women's "greater sense of opportunity and equality."

Only five cases have ever tested Colorado's ERA but. says Democratic Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder, “seven years ago. single women were not al­lowed in some restaurants in

downtown Denver at lunch hour. No women even served on school boards. Now state chairs of both parties are wom­en. There has been tremendous change."

If state ERAS bring such improve­ments. why is a Federal Rights Amend­ment needed? Although reform by the states is useful, says U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner Arthur Flemming, it is “plodding, haphazard, and offers no guar­antees of ever reaching completion." Be­sides. state ERAS will not change the more than 800 sections of the U.S. code that the commission identifies as sex biased. Most important, according to the com­mission’s report, women are still far from equal under the law. As many of them see it, an Equal Rights Amendment is —based on the evidence in the 14 states that have tried it—the surest way to establish the principle. ■

Divorcee Frances Wasiolek takes care of her children in Philadelphia

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Did equality mean she had toga out and get a job?

TIME. MARCH 26. 1979 25

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AMERICA’S FINEST RESALE BOUTIQUES '

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