American Nurses Association Endorses Kerry for President

     Comment: With National Nurses week coming up May 6-12, this news is disappointing but not surprising. In 1996, the ANA issued a press release opposing a ban on partial birth abortion saying that "Registered nurses have worked for decades to make real the goal of every birth being planned and wanted. These late-term abortions are rare and tragic, and they occur when something has gone terribly wrong with a pregnancy," said ANA President Virginia Trotter Betts, JD, MSN, RN...This protection of a woman's right to choose safe, reproductive care is the essence of Roe v. Wade." 
(source: http://www.nursingworld.org/pressrel/1996/veto.htm)

     The latest statistics I found on membership in the ANA is from 2000: 180,000 out of 2.2 million nurses or 8% of all nurses even though the ANA purports to represent the entire profession.

     Years ago, I joined ANA to try to make a difference and after a successful idea, I was approached by a national ANA person who told me that I had the potential to go far in the organization-if I would drop the pro-life "stuff." I told her that, if I was indeed considered a good nurse, it was BECAUSE I was pro-life.

     - Nancy V.

     (Nursing World - www.nursingworld.org) American Nurses Association Endorses Kerry for President Nurses Say Change is Needed to Improve Health Care for All Washington, DC - The American Nurses Association (ANA) will announce today, at a Town Hall meeting in Ohio, its endorsement of U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) for president in the 2004 election. Citing the need for dramatic improvements in the nation's health care system, as well as continued support for registered nurses and their role in health care, ANA president Barbara A. Blakeney, MS, APRN,BC, ANP, on behalf of the ANA Board of Directors, declared Sen. Kerry the best candidate to lead health care reform efforts.

     "Health care is at a crossroads in the United States," Blakeney said. "Too many Americans are without accessible, affordable, quality health care and nurses can play a critical role in turning that around," she added. "We pledge our support to help Sen. Kerry become the next president because, as president, we can count on him to continue his support for issues that are high on the agenda of nurses."

     In the Senate, Kerry has been a consistent advocate for increased funding for the Nurse Reinvestment Act and other nursing workforce development programs. He supported the ANA-backed mandatory overtime bill known as the Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act (S. 373); and opposed the repeal of strong ergonomic protections that were passed during the Clinton Administration.

     Sen. Kerry was, in fact, co-author of both the Nurse Reinvestment Act and the Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act and has been a strong advocate on behalf of nurses throughout his entire senatorial career.

     "For ANA, each election is a powerful opportunity to advance nursing's perspectives on health care," said Greer Glazer, RN, CNP, PhD, FAAN, Chair of ANA-PAC. "More than 2.7 million strong, registered nurses represent the largest group of health care professionals. We are acutely aware of the changes that need to be made to improve health care for all and we will use our power at the ballot box to make health care a priority," she added.

     ANA has been making presidential endorsements since 1984. The endorsement process included sending a questionnaire on nursing and health care issues to all of the democratic and republican candidates, an invitation to all of the democratic and republican candidates for a personal interview and an online survey of ANA's membership.

     The American Nurses Association is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation's 2.7 million registered nurses (RNs) through its 54 constituent member associations. The ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting apositive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

Source: Nursing World
Publish Date: February 2004