Four Platform proposals submitted by David Spitzley,
Chair of the GPMI Platform Committee
for August 2001 GPMI State Quarterly Meeting


Platform Proposals

For each plank below, please circle "Accept", "Modify", "Reject",
or "Abstain".  In addition to the voting options, there is also
an area for Comments.  If you vote to Modify a plank, please
write suggestions on what needs to be changed in the plank.  In
any case, feel free to add any comments you wish; improvements
are always possible.  If the final vote on a plank (disregarding
Abstain votes) is:

- 2/3 or more "Accept": The plank will be adopted as written and
  added to the official GPMI platform

- 2/3 or more "Reject": The plank will be discarded, and no
  further work will be done on the plank

- Otherwise: The plank will be sent back to the Platform
  committee for revision, taking into account any comments

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PART II - SOCIAL JUSTICE
2.  HEALTH

c.  Abortion Rights and Reproductive Freedom [NEW PLANK]

Women shoulder the burden of pregnancy.  The choice to carry to
term or terminate a pregnancy is theirs.  More generally, all
individuals must have the right to choose whether or not to
reproduce

Greens Support:

- The right of women to accept or refuse an abortion for
themselves for religious, personal, or other reasons.

- The availability of abortion services. The legal right to an
abortion is irrelevant otherwise. 

- The identification of so-called "crisis pregnancy centers"
whose mission is to have unwanted pregnancies carried to full
term via delay and disinformation, and mandatory disclosure, such
as, "This facility does not provide abortion services or
referrals."

- The inclusion of abortion, tubal ligation, vasectomy and
contraceptives in all medical insurance policies

- The distribution of contraceptive devices and drugs through
public schools, public and private health clinics, armed forces
medical facilities and other venues.

ACCEPT		MODIFY		REJECT

COMMENTS:



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3.  EDUCATION
b.  Public Health/Health Education [REVISED PLANK]

Lifestyle choices can radically alter the course of a life. As
such, the individual's right of access to health information
should not be infringed.

Greens Support:

- The practice of providing information about the dangers and
benefits of all medical procedures and drugs, and reject the
practice of singling out abortion for special treatment.

- The distribution of information on contraceptive devices and
drugs through public schools, public and private health clinics,
armed forces medical facilities and other venues.

ACCEPT		MODIFY		REJECT
COMMENTS:




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PART IV - NON-VIOLENCE
3.  RAPE AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE

All people need to demand accountability for sexual aggression, a
crime that affects all individuals in our society either directly
by victimization or indirectly through the climate of fear and
dehumanization that are its legacy. The causes of sexual
aggression may be many, but they all distill into this basic
element: that humans are treated as commodities and objects, not
people.

Greens propose:

- Development and expansion of community mental health programs
for the support and healing of all victims of sexual assault,
sexual abuse, and rape, regardless of gender, age, or sexual
orientation. 

- The development of counseling programs to help heal and reform
convicted sex offenders. 

- The enactment of stronger penalties for sex offenders who are
serial or repeat offenders, up to and including life
imprisonment.

- A serious effort to address the problem of rape in prisons,
nursing homes, juvenile detention facilities, and other
institutions, whether committed by residents or staff.

- Investigation of the accuracy and effectiveness of the criminal
sex offender registry in preventing recidivism, and the other
consequences of the registry.

- Previous sexual conduct of a victim of a sex crime with anyone
other than the alleged perpetrator should not be admissible in a
sex offense trial, as it unjustifiably adds to the trauma of the
crime, and violates the victim's privacy.

ACCEPT		MODIFY		REJECT
COMMENTS:




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PART II - SOCIAL JUSTICE
4.  CIVIL AND EQUAL RIGHTS
f.  Assisted Suicide

The Platform committee has reached an impasse on this issue
plank, in part because we have been unable to determine how to
interpret the final vote on the prior version of this plank
(presented at the February 2001 SQM).  We generally agree on
including various proposals about palliative care, access to
hospices, and so forth, but Assisted Suicide itself is beyond our
abilities to resolve.  As such, we need guidance from the
membership on this issue.  Please rank the following options in
order of preference (1 for first choice, 2 for second choice,
etc.).  We will use Instant Runoff Voting procedures to determine
which direction to head.

- The Platform committee should draft a plank which explicitly
supports access to Assisted Suicide _____

- The Platform committee should draft a plank which explicitly
opposes Assisted Suicide _____

- The Platform committee should draft a plank which indicates the
party membership is undecided on Assisted Suicide, but which
still addresses the other issues related to death and dying _____

- The Platform committee should not draft a plank dealing with
Assisted Suicide and death issues _____

COMMENTS:




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