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Gravel-voiced, Brooklyn-born actor/playright Harvey Fierstein has never been known for his restraint. His Tony-award winning Torch Song Trilogy set him on the street to success. Fierstein made his theater debut in 1971 as “an asthmatic lesbian maid” in Andy Warhol’s only play, Pork. He is also one of just a handful of people to won four Tony awards in different categories: two for Torch Song in 1983 as Best Actor (Play) and Author of Best Play: a third in 1984, the Book (Musical) Tony for writing the libretto of La Cage aux Folles; and the fourth in 2003, as Best Actor (Musical) in the Divine role of Edna Turnblad in Hairspray. To date, it’s been quite a ride.

As an writer and actor who never considered himself in the closet, since he was considered gay before the proverbial closet was discovered, Fierstein has been refreshingly outspoken about, well, everything,  His latest outpouring came to us on Monday by way of rant in which he says enough is enough with these Trump protests. Stop it now; shut it down. That’s Fierstein’s view. It’s not because he thinks Trump shouldn’t be told to shut up. It’s more that Fierstein things it’s the Republicans’ job to do it.

“Watching our people protesting Trump today I have to say that I don’t understand what we’re doing.”

“I understand that we must always speak out against intolerance and bigotry and anyone who would destroy American values to ensure their own profits but, at this moment… WHY ARE WE DOING THE REPUBLICANS’ JOB FOR THEM?

“They created Trump. They earned him. As if their hateful rhetoric wasn’t enough, just in how they treated our President, they earned Trump!

“With every racist slight, with every homophobic slander, with every manufactured semi-automatic weapon and oil spill and fracking disaster and shuttered women’s clinic and attack on affordable health care, the Republican leadership built this Frankenstein monster.

“Let the monster they created and nurtured destroy them!”

He added: “What do you think they’ll do if we manage to Dump Trump? They’ll only turn around and give us the next horror from their arsenal of selfish intolerance.

“Look who they have to offer America. Next up is Cruz. CRUZ!!!!!

“Someone who has done nothing in his career but self promote, obstruct progress, and lie.

“Don’t you see that Trump is the radical that makes the dangerous Cruz look reasonable? Even THEY loathe Cruz. But they are willing to back him to the White House.

“WHY IS IT OUR JOB TO GUIDE THE REPUBLICANS TOWARD A LESSER EVIL?

“They’ve already all said that they’d back Trump if he gets the nomination. Does anyone really think they have America’s welfare at heart????

“My friends… This is the time for us to work FOR OUR PARTY and not for the Republicans.

“They poisoned their garden and can now only grow weeds and briers like Trump and Cruz.

“They need to make things right in their own world or, trust me, they will poison us all. They need to clean up the toxic waste dump that has become their party. We can’t do that for them.

“Meanwhile, WE have our own work to do. We have our own candidates to support. We have America’s future to worry about.

“Let’s do our job. Let’s use our energy to work FOR SOMETHING. Not against it.”

Here, here.

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DENVER (AP) – A bill to make it easier for transgender people to change their birth certificates has failed in a Republican Colorado Senate committee.

The bill would have allowed the change without the person getting surgery. And the new birth certificate would not be marked as “amended,” as is the case now.

The bill passed the Democratic House but failed on party lines 3-2 in a Senate committee Monday. Republicans did not explain their votes.

The GOP-controlled Senate rejected a similar bill last year.

Photo Credit: 9news.com

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By Hillary Hillary Clinton: A Champion for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community

The Supreme Court’s decision on marriage equality represented our country at its best: inclusive, open and striving towards equality. It was the affirmation that LGBT Americans deserve to live their lives free from discrimination. Although America has taken tremendous strides towards equality, our fight is far from over. Too many LBGT Americans are still denied full protection under our laws. Hillary Clinton knows that the fight for LGBT rights won’t be over until every American can not only marry, but live, work, pray, learn and raise a family free from discrimination and prejudice.

As President, Hillary will: • Support the Equality Act. Currently, no federal law explicitly protects LGBT Americans from all forms of discrimination. 21 percent of LGBT adults report facing workplace discrimination and the LGBT community overall is more likely to earn a lower family income on the basis of sexual orientation. This is why Hillary will fight to pass the Equality Act, a law that would guarantee full federal protection for the LGBT community, protecting them from discrimination in education, credit, employment, housing, federal assistance, jury service and public accommodations.

• Defend and expand the Affordable Care Act. The LGBT community faces unique health disparities, including a higher prevalence of HIV, mental health issues, obesity and substance abuse. Many of these have been linked to the historical structural discrimination against LGBT Americans, which for decades has created barriers in the health care system for the community. Under the ACA, millions of LGBT individuals can now enjoy comprehensive coverage without being discriminated against based on their sexual orientation or pre-existing conditions such as HIV. Hillary will fight against Republican efforts to repeal the law and will build on the ACA to ensure lower out-of-pocket medical costs for LGBT individuals.

• Create a safer environment for LGBT Americans. A recent Association of American Universities study found that three out of four LGBT college students report experiencing sexual harrassment while in college. This has to end. Hillary has laid out her vision to bring an end to sexual assault on America’s campuses—because every student deserves a safe environment where they can learn and thrive, not live in fear. She will also continue her lifelong record of fighting against LGBT hate crimes and all forms of violence to put an end to this injustice.

• Defend marriage equality. The Supreme Court’s decision reflects the will of the vast and growing multitude of Americans who believe that LGBT couples deserve to be recognized under the law and treated equally. Hillary will fight against Republican attempts to roll back the ruling and ensure that same-sex marriage remains a constitutional right. Hillary has a lifelong record of fighting for equality for all:

• As Senator of New York, Hillary worked to defeat the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), which would define marriage in the U.S. as the union between one man and one woman. She also championed hate crimes legislation, fought for federal nondiscrimination legislation to protect LGBT Americans in the workplace, and advocated lifting restrictions blocking LGBT couples from adopting kids. Additionally, Hillary cosponsored the Early Treatment for HIV Act that would expand expands access to vital treatment options for low-income individuals living with HIV.

• As Secretary of State, Hillary declared on the global stage, “Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights,” reinforcing the U.S.’ commitment to advancing LGBT rights abroad. She also led efforts to pass the first- ever UN Resolution on LGBT Human Rights and launched the Global Equality Fund to assist civil society organizations that promote LGBT rights. And in an effort to enforce stronger anti-discrimination regulations within the State Department, Hillary ended State Department regulations denying same-sex couples and families equal rights and directed the Department to implement LGBTfriendly workplace policies. Moreover, Hillary updated the Department’s policy for transgender persons’ passports to reflect an individual’s new gender

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With the legalization of same-sex marriage, and the increasing availability of state-of-the-art fertilization techniques, in addition to computerized egg and sperm donor banks, the introduction of babies into same-sex relationships has created a cottage industry to accommodate their needs. Up-to-date information is the key to any successful family plan, with a few basics provided here to get the process started.

For Gay Men:

You may already know that the path to parenthood for gay men requires the involvement of a surrogate or gestational carrier and an egg donor. In this process, you use an egg from a donor and sperm from either male partner or a sperm donor to create an embryo, which is then placed inside the uterus of a gestational carrier to attempt to achieve a pregnancy.

You should begin this process by first checking with your insurance carrier to determine whether or not you need a referral from your primary care physician to see a reproductive endocrinologist (a physician who is specially trained in reproductive medicine).

In Vitro Fertilization

For gay men, family building necessitates the need for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) with an egg donor and a gestational carrier.

IVF is a process which consists of a series of coordinated steps. First, the egg donor takes a medication (usually birth control pills) that will keep her from ovulating prematurely. She then administers fertility medications in order to maximize the amount of eggs (follicles) that grow that month. The donor will be seen in the office for a series of blood tests and ultrasounds to assess her response and assure that we are stimulating her safely.

Once it is determined by ultrasound that the majority of her follicles are mature, she administers an injection that completes the maturation process and will cause ovulation to occur. The eggs are removed from the ovary via an intravaginal procedure called the “egg retrieval” that is performed  in an OR suite of a fertilization specialist. They are then fertilized with sperm and embryos (fertilized eggs) are created and allowed to grow in the laboratory to the blastocyst stage. A blastocyst is an embryo at the stage at which it implants in the uterus, so visualization at this stage, most physicians feel, is important in the embryo selection process.

At this point, the embryos may be frozen if genetic testing is desired or they are replaced as fresh embryos via an intrauterine catheter. If frozen, they will be thawed and then replaced into the uterus of the gestational carrier. After transfer, any remaining, viable blastocysts can be frozen for later use if desired. A pregnancy can be detected 11 to 12 days after the embryo transfer.

Surrogacy

 A surrogate is a woman who agrees to help another individual or couple have a baby by achieving a pregnancy using her own egg and carrying a pregnancy to term. A gestational carrier is a woman who performs the same service using an embryo created with another woman’s egg. As a result, while a surrogate has a biological link to the baby, a gestational carrier does not.

In some cases, gay men choose a woman they know to be their carrier. Others are able to find a surrogate mother by using agencies or attorneys that specialize in this service, or even via websites that link prospective parents with women who want to be carriers. In these agreements, the gestational carrier is usually paid a negotiated fee and is also reimbursed for related out of pocket expenses.

Couples and solo parents-to-be have a few options when it comes to choosing a gestational carrier. In some cases, they choose to use a friend or relative as a gestational carrier. Many agencies are also now available to help identify women willing to serve as gestational carriers. Ideally, gestational carriers are women who have had a previous uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery, and who are medically and emotionally healthy as well as financially stable.

There are many important legal issues associated with the use of a surrogate or gestational carrier, and the laws governing these relationships can differ from state to state. As a result, it is very important to work with a knowledgeable attorney when choosing this option. Your attorney will draft contracts, provide legal counsel and coordinate the termination of parental rights for the surrogate or the gestational carrier and egg donor. Egg and sperm donors should also make sure that they understand and address any legal issues associated with their services.

Egg Donors

Gay men have two options when starting a family using the donor egg program. You can use either known or anonymous egg donation. The egg donor program should involve a comprehensive screening process, including medical and psychological evaluation and testing for genetic markers and infectious diseases. Potential donors also should undergo various tests to confirm that they are in good medical health, including a physical exam, as well as laboratory and genetic testing. All egg donor candidates should provide comprehensive details about their medical and family histories and lifestyle habits, which are assessed to determine their suitability and to identify any potential risks for medical or genetic health problems.

A comprehensive list of egg donor agencies is available at https://www.fertilitysourcecompanies.com/egg-donation.

HIV Positive

The Special Program of Assisted Reproduction (SPAR) is the only program in the world that uses highly sensitive PCR tests for HIV in semen to minimize the risk of  transmitting the infection to the child or gestational surrogate during assisted reproduction. Testing the semen sample directly is advocated as it has been shown that the amount of HIV virus in a blood sample is not representative of the presence of the virus in the semen sample.

Data collected by this team of researchers has found that approximately two-thirds of semen specimens produced by healthy, HIV infected men have an undetectable amount of HIV virus. Sperm from such specimens are safer for use in assisted reproduction than “washed sperm” from untested specimens, or from specimens that test positive for the virus. Men whose sperm tests negative for the virus can have their sample frozen for later use.

Although there have not been any cases of infection by utilizing this technology, your gestational carrier needs to be thoroughly counseled for the theoretical risk so that she has the information necessary to make an informed decision to proceed with the cycle. Should she decide to proceed, the current SPAR protocol is for her to be tested for HIV antibodies at 3 weeks, 3 months and 6 months following each cycle.

For Lesbians

Lesbians have a considerably easier process to examine when contemplating having a family if one or both of the partners is fertile. Getting started is easy. The first step is to check with your insurance carrier to determine whether you need a referral from your primary care practitioner to seek treatment from a reproductive endocrinologist.

Treatment Options

There are three routes to pregnancy for women: artificial insemination, IVF using their eggs and uterus, or IVF using their partner’s eggs and their uterus.  Success rates vary based on individual circumstances. Overall, success rates remain very high for women under the age of 40. However, age is a significant factor for determining your success. A board-certified Reproductive Endocrinologist will help assure you that your pathway to pregnancy is successful, safe and time-efficient.

Artificial Insemination

Artificial insemination (AI) is a process that is used to place sperm into a woman’s reproductive tract using means other than sexual intercourse. The procedure involves concentrating semen into a small volume and placing it into the uterus (intrauterine insemination, or IUI) or the cervix (intracervical insemination, or ICI).

In order to begin artificial insemination, you need to see your primary care physician. Be sure to be up-to-date on all health care maintenance, including Pap smear, and mammogram if recommended. It is important to track your cycle each month as you must also have a regular menstrual cycle to complete a natural cycle insemination with success. This cycle tracking is how insemination is timed.

IVR with One Person’s Egg and Uterus

In-vitro fertilization (IVF) is a process that involves stimulating ovaries to develop multiple eggs. This is achieved with injectable medications. To move forward with IVF, you should see a board-certified Reproductive Endocrinologist. The doctor will complete a panel of pre-pregnancy tests for screening, genetics and infectious diseases. The goal of IVF is to produce a large number of growing follicles, then to retrieve the eggs from inside the follicles through a short surgical procedure performed in the office. The eggs are then inseminated with designated donor sperm in the laboratory to create embryos that can then be transferred to the endometrial cavity (the uterus) of the recipient. To complete IVF using one person’s egg and uterus, the same screening listed above is required to continue with the process.

Over 5 million children have been born from in vitro fertilization. IVF is considered safe for women, and one of the most successful fertility treatment options available. IVF stimulation requires injectable medication, and also a procedure known as an egg retrieval under sedation.

Reciprocal IVF

With reciprocal in vitro fertilization, one woman donates her eggs to her partner, and her partner carries the pregnancy. For female couples this is a way that both can participate in the process of bringing a child into their home. One woman donates the egg and goes through super ovulation with fertility medicines, producing multiple eggs for retrieval. After egg retrieval, eggs are combined with the designated donor sperm in the IVF laboratory. Her partner, who is choosing to become pregnant, goes on medication to prepare her uterus. Then when the timing is optimal, 1-2 embryos are transferred into her uterus.

The embryo transfer should occur on a set day under a controlled condition, with very little discomfort. Success rates with reciprocal IVF vary with the age of the women.

Sperm Donors

For many women, the use of sperm from a donor is an option that can make pregnancy possible. As with egg donation, in some cases women can use a male friend as a sperm donor, or they can use the services of a sperm bank. Once the sperm is available, based on the woman’s health and other factors pregnancy is usually achieved using intracervical, intrauterine or intravaginal insemination. Donor sperm can also be used in an IVF procedure to create an embryo that is then implanted into the woman’s uterus. With IVF women can also have the option of using a donor egg to achieve a pregnancy.

Anonymous sperm donation is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Anonymous sperm donors are required to be tested for certain infections and may also need to meet other screening criteria. While these same regulations may not apply when a friend serves as a sperm donor, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) recommends that all sperm donors including known donors undergo the same initial and periodic screening and testing process used in anonymous donation.

For Transgender

For transgender individuals considering a transition, it is important to cryopreserve sperm or egg specimens prior to hormonal therapy or surgery.  For transgender females, you need to develop a plan that involves using the patient’s own sperm, or donor sperm and eggs, and a gestational carrier.  For transgender males, you need to develop a treatment plan that involves use of a patient’s own eggs, or donor eggs and sperm, as well as a gestational carrier.

For a more in depth look at treatment options, check out this recent blog post written by Dr. Leondires on Fertility Preservation for the Transgender Community.

Legal Issues

 Some of the legal issues associated with third party reproduction and gay parenting can differ from state to state. By working with an experienced attorney, you can help make sure that your parental rights are protected to the fullest extent of the law in any state where you choose to build your family. You can also make sure that your child’s rights are protected.

Prepared through the cooperation of and facts provided by the Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut

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By Dominic M. Calabro

While most Floridians are working and going to school this week, elected officials in Tallahassee are considering how to spend an eye-popping $80 billion of your hard-earned tax money. That’s nearly $4,000 for every adult and child in the Sunshine State.

Too few Floridians have the time to keep an eye on Tallahassee to make sure lawmakers are making prudent decisions with your money. That’s why Florida TaxWatch – the state’s premier independent government watchdog group – is on the job. It is part of our mission to ensure that your money is invested wisely in schools, transportation and many other areas while protecting the public’s right to know.

Lawmakers are finalizing their spending plans for the 2016-17 fiscal year. It seems likely that spending on education will be higher than ever and that other critical investments will be made as well.

Lawmakers often add funding for projects in their home district into the budget. Such funding for local projects does have a place in the state budget; however spending with statewide impact should be the priority. When the Legislature decides state money should be used locally, Floridians deserve to have these decisions scrutinized and prioritized.

Unfortunately, in the last days of the budget process, the budget is often stuffed with member projects, some that were never discussed or debated in public. Once the stuffed budget reaches the floor to be voted on, lawmakers cannot vote on individual projects or offer amendments, but only vote up or down on the whole budget. These “budget turkeys” skirt the budgeting process, diminishing transparency and accountability.

Florida’s hard-working taxpayers have the right to know when their tax dollars are being appropriated for special projects behind closed doors.

Every Legislative Session, Florida TaxWatch holds lawmakers accountable by bringing attention to these member projects through the release of our annual Budget Turkey Report. Florida TaxWatch’s “Budget Turkey” label is not a judgment of a project’s worthiness nor does it target specific members, but rather follows a strictly defined set of criteria, as follows:

• A project that circumvents established review and selection processes, such as a low-priority project funded ahead of high-priority projects;
• An appropriation that is inserted in the budget during the conference committee process and did not appear in either the Senate or House final budget; or
• An appropriation from an inappropriate trust fund; a duplicative appropriation; or an appropriation contingent on legislation that did not pass

In the interest of transparency, Florida TaxWatch delivered each lawmaker a letter at the beginning of session explaining these criteria so that they understand what exactly we will be looking for when we craft our list for this Legislative Session. Our goal with this report is to encourage legislators to give every appropriation the scrutiny and deliberation that our hard-working taxpayers deserve. Please visit our website – www.floridataxwatch.org – to sign up for our updates and learn more about what we are doing to make sure lawmakers remember every day to put you and your fellow taxpayers first in their minds and in their decisions.

Dominic Calabro is the President & CEO of Florida TaxWatch, the state’s premier taxpayer watchdog for more than 35 years.

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FORT MYERS–Arlene Goldberg, the lesbian widow denied her late wife’s Social Security when the state of Florida refused to recognize their New York marriage, will finally begin to receive survivor’s benefits, according to the ACLU.

“I’m very happy. I feel like I’m fulfilled, thanks to the ACLU, of course — their hard work and perseverance,” said Goldberg. “This is the beginning for other folks like me. I have friends whose partners died, just like Carol did, and they’re waiting now. Florida doesn’t have its act together in passing the information to Social Security. This will pressure them into giving other folks what they deserve.”

Photo Credit: miamiherald.com

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JAMES NORD
Associated Press

PIERRE, SD (AP) – South Dakota’s governor vetoed a bill Tuesday that would have made it the first state in the U.S. to approve a law requiring transgender students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that match their sex at birth.

South Dakota would have been the first state to take such a step. But Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard rejected the bill after the American Civil Liberties Union, the Human Rights Campaign and transgender students and adults called the legislation discriminatory. The ACLU of South Dakota said earlier Tuesday that if the governor signed the bill, the group would have encouraged any student harmed by the new law to file a federal civil rights complaint.

The Republican-controlled Legislature approved the proposal last month, with supporters saying it was meant to protect student privacy.

Transgender rights are a new flashpoint in national culture fights following the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage last year. The high court victory encouraged advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights to push harder, prompting backlash from conservatives.

Caitlyn Jenner, the transgender activist and former Olympic decathlon gold medalist, had called on Daugaard to veto the bill.

Other high-profile cases include last week’s vote in North Carolina by the Charlotte City Council to allow transgender people to choose a bathroom. The vote was immediately criticized by Gov. Pat McCrory, who said it denied privacy rights for those who expect to share restrooms or locker rooms only with people born with the same anatomy.

In Texas, Houston voters soundly defeated an ordinance that would have banned discrimination against transgender people after opponents alleged it would allow sexual predators to go into women’s bathrooms.

Daugaard vetoed the measure a week after hearing the personal stories of three opponents of the bill who are transgender in what was his first knowing interaction with transgender people. The governor initially offered a positive reaction to the proposal, but said he needed to research the issue and listen to testimony before making a final decision.

Opponents called the legislation an attack on vulnerable transgender students that would further marginalize them at school. They also criticized comments made by some lawmakers, including Republican Sen. David Omdahl. When asked about the bill in February, he said:

“I’m sorry if you’re so twisted you don’t know who you are,” he said when asked about the bill in February. “I’m telling you right now, it’s about protecting the kids, and I don’t even understand where our society is these days.”

Under the plan, schools would have been required to provide a “reasonable accommodation” for transgender students, such as a single-occupancy bathroom or the “controlled use” of a staff-designated restroom, locker room or shower room.

Supporters said the proposal was a response to changes in President Barack Obama administration’s interpretation of the federal Title IX anti-discrimination law related to education. Federal officials have said barring students from restrooms that match their gender identity is prohibited under Title IX.

Republican Rep. Fred Deutsch, the proposal’s main sponsor in the South Dakota House, has said the plan “pushes back against federal overreach and intrusion into our lives.”

Heather Smith, executive director of the ACLU of South Dakota, said Tuesday that schools would have been forced into the tough position of having to choose whether to follow federal Title IX or state law if the governor signed the legislation.

Opponents of the bill also used a Twitter hashtag created by South Dakota’s Tourism Department to pan lawmakers and take aim at the state’s roughly $3.8 billion visitor industry.

Photo Credit: cnn.com

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