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Planned Parenthood

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides reproductive and sexual healthcare, and sexual education in the United States and globally. It is a member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF).

PPFA has its roots in Brooklyn, New York, where Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, in 1916. Sanger founded the American Birth Control League in 1921, and 14 years after her exit as its president, ABCL's successor organization became Planned Parenthood in 1942.

Planned Parenthood consists of 159 medical and non-medical affiliates, which operate over 600 health clinics in the United States. It partners with organizations in 12 countries globally. The organization directly provides a variety of reproductive health services and sexual education, contributes to research in reproductive technology and advocates for the protection and expansion of reproductive rights. Research shows that closures of Planned Parenthood clinics lead to increases in maternal mortality rates.

PPFA is the largest single provider of reproductive health services and the largest single provider of abortions in the United States. In their 2014 Annual Report, PPFA reported seeing over 2.5million patients in over 4million clinical visits and performing a total of nearly 9.5million discrete services including 324,000 abortions. Its combined annual revenue is US$1.3billion, including approximately US$530million in government funding such as Medicaid reimbursements. Throughout its history, PPFA, and its member clinics have experienced support, controversy, protests, and violent attacks.

Origins

The origins of Planned Parenthood date to October 16, 1916, when Margaret Sanger, her sister Ethel Byrne, and Fania Mindell opened the first birth control clinic in the U.S. in the Brownsville section of the New York borough of Brooklyn. They distributed birth control, birth control advice, and birth control information. All three women were arrested and jailed for violating provisions of the Comstock Act, accused of distributing obscene materials at the clinic. The so-called Brownsville trials brought national attention and support to their cause. Sanger and her co-defendants were convicted on misdemeanor charges, which they appealed through two subsequent appeals courts. While the convictions were not overturned, the judge who issued the final ruling also modified the law to permit physician-prescribed birth control. The women's campaign led to major changes in the laws governing birth control and sex education in the United States.

In 1921, the clinic was organized into the American Birth Control League, the core of the only national birth-control organization in the U.S. until the 1960s. By 1941, it was operating 222 centers and had served 49,000 clients. In 1923, Sanger opened the Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau (BCCRB) for dispensing contraceptives under the supervision of licensed physicians and studying their effectiveness.

Some found the ABCL's title offensive and "against families", so the League began discussions for a new name. In 1938, a group of private citizens organized the Citizens Committee for Planned Parenthood to aid the American Birth Control League in spreading scientific knowledge about birth control to the general public. The BCCRB merged with the ABCL in 1939 to form the Birth Control Federation of America (BCFA). In 1942 the name of the BCFA was changed to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

1940s–1960s
Under the leadership of the National Director D. Kenneth Rose, the PPFA expanded its programs and services through the 1940s, adding affiliate organizations throughout the country. By the end of World War II, the Federation was no longer solely a center for birth control services or a clearing house for contraceptive information but had emerged as a major national health organization. PPFA's programs included a full range of family planning services including marriage education and counseling, and infertility services. The leadership of the PPFA, largely consisting of businessmen and male physicians, endeavored to incorporate its contraceptive services unofficially into regional and national public health programs by emphasizing less politicized aspects such as child spacing.

During the 1950s, the Federation further adjusted its programs and message to appeal to a family-centered, more conservative post-war populace, while continuing to function, through its affiliated clinics, as the more reliable source of contraceptives in the country.

From 1942 to 1962, PPFA concentrated its efforts on strengthening its ties to affiliates, expanding public education programs, and improving its medical and research work. By 1960, visitors to PPFA centers across the nation numbered over 300,000 per year.

Largely relying on a volunteer workforce, by 1960 the Federation had provided family planning counseling in hundreds of communities across the country. Planned Parenthood was one of the founding members of the International Planned Parenthood Federation when it was launched at a conference in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, in 1952.

In 1961, the population crisis debate, along with funding shortages, convinced PPFA to merge with the World Population Emergency Campaign, a citizens' fund-raising organization to become PPFA-World Population.

Both Planned Parenthood and Margaret Sanger are strongly associated with the abortion issue today. For much of the organization's history, however, and throughout Sanger's life, abortion was illegal in the U.S., and discussions of the issue were often censored. During this period, Sanger – like other American advocates of birth control – publicly condemned abortion, arguing that it would not be needed if every woman had access to birth control.

1960s–present

Following Margaret Sanger, Alan Frank Guttmacher became president of Planned Parenthood, serving from 1962 until 1974. During his tenure, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the sale of the original birth control pill, giving rise to new attitudes towards women's reproductive freedom. Also during his presidency, Planned Parenthood lobbied the federal government to support reproductive health, culminating with President Richard Nixon's signing of Title X to provide government subsidies for low-income women to access family planning services. The Center for Family Planning Program Development was also founded as a semi-autonomous division during this time. The center became an independent organization and was renamed the Guttmacher Institute in 1977.

Planned Parenthood began to advocate abortion law reform beginning in 1955, when the organization's medical director, Mary Calderone, convened a national conference of medical professionals on the issue. The conference was the first instance of physicians and other professionals advocating reform of the laws which criminalized abortion, and it played a key role in creating a movement for the reform of abortion laws in the U.S. Focusing, at first, on legalizing therapeutic abortion, Planned Parenthood became an increasingly vocal proponent of liberalized abortion laws during the 1960s, culminating in its call for the repeal of all anti-abortion laws in 1969. In the years that followed, the organization played a key role in landmark abortion rights cases such as Roe v Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v Casey (1992). Once abortion was legalized during the early 1970s, Planned Parenthood also began acting as an abortion provider.

Faye Wattleton became the first African American president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1978. Wattleton, who was also the youngest president in Planned Parenthood's history, served in this role until 1992. During her term, Planned Parenthood grew to become the seventh largest charity in the country, providing services to four million clients each year through its 170 affiliates, whose activities were spread across 50 states.

From 1996 to 2006, Planned Parenthood was led by Gloria Feldt. Feldt activated the Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF), the organization's political action committee, launching what was the most far-reaching electoral advocacy effort in its history. The PPAF serves as the nonpartisan political advocacy arm of PPFA. It engages in educational and electoral activity, including legislative advocacy, voter education, and grassroots organizing to promote the PPFA mission. Feldt also launched the Responsible Choices Action Agenda, a nationwide campaign to increase services to prevent unwanted pregnancies, improve the quality of reproductive care, and ensure access to safe and legal abortions. Another initiative was the commencement of a "Global Partnership Program", to build a vibrant activist constituency in support of family planning.

On February 15, 2006, Cecile Richards, the daughter of former Texas governor Ann Richards, and formerly the deputy chief of staff to the U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (the Democratic Leader in the United States House of Representatives), became president of the organization. In 2012, Richards was voted one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World.

Richards' tenure as president of the organization ended on April 30, 2018. Current Planned Parenthood board member Joe Solmonese was appointed as transition chair to temporarily oversee the day-to-day operations of Planned Parenthood after Richards' departure.

On September 12, 2018, the organization announced that Leana Wen would take over as president, effective November 2018. Wen was removed as president of Planned Parenthood by the organization's board of directors on July 16, 2019. Alexis McGill Johnson, a board member and former chairwoman, became the organization's acting president.

Data breaches
In October 2021, a hacker gained access to the data network of the Los Angeles branch of Planned Parenthood and obtained the personal information of approximately 400,000 patients. On December 1, 2021, The Washington Post reported that the breach was a ransomware attack. The organization did not say if they paid the ransom or if the perpetrators made any demands. There was no indication as to who was responsible for the hack. The Metropolitan Washington branch of Planned Parenthood was also hacked in 2020 with donor and patient information compromised, including dates of birth, social security numbers, financial information, and medical data.

Margaret Sanger Awards
In 1966, PPFA began awarding the Margaret Sanger Award annually to honor, in their words, "individuals of distinction in recognition of excellence and leadership in furthering reproductive health and reproductive rights." In the first year, it was awarded to four men: Carl G. Hartman, William Henry Draper Jr., Lyndon B. Johnson, and Martin Luther King Jr.   Later recipients have included John D. Rockefeller III, Katharine Hepburn, Jane Fonda, Hillary Clinton, and Ted Turner.

Services
The services provided by PPFA affiliates vary by location, with just over half of all Planned Parenthood affiliates in the U.S. performing abortions. Services provided by PPFA include birth control and long-acting reversible contraception; emergency contraception; clinical breast examinations; cervical cancer screening; pregnancy testing and pregnancy options counseling; prenatal care; testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections; sex education; vasectomies; LGBT services; and abortion. Contrary to the assumption of some, Planned Parenthood conducts cancer screenings but does not provide mammograms, although Planned Parenthood physicians do refer their patients to other outside clinics where they can get mammograms.

In 2013, PPFA reported seeing 2.7million patients in 4.6million clinical visits. Roughly 16 percent of its clients are teenagers. According to PPFA, in 2014 the organization provided 3.6million contraceptive services, 4.5million sexually transmitted infection services, about onemillion cancer related services, over onemillion pregnancy tests and prenatal services, over 324,000 abortion services, and over 100,000 other services, for a total of 9.5million discrete services. PPFA is well known for providing services to minorities and to poor people; according to PPFA, approximately four out of five of their clients have incomes at or below 150percent of the federal poverty level. Services for men's health include STI testing and treatment, vasectomy procedures, and erectile dysfunction services. Education is available regarding male birth control and lowering the risk of sexually transmitted infections.

Planned Parenthood won the 2020 Webby Award for Machine Learning and Bots for their Sex Education chatbot.

Facilities

PPFA has two national offices in the United States: one in Washington, D.C., and one in New York City. It has three international offices, including a hub office in London, England. It has 68 medical and related affiliates and 101 other affiliates including 34 political action committees. These affiliates together operate more than 700 health centers in all 50 states in the U.S. plus the District of Columbia. PPFA owns about US$54million in property, including real estate. In addition, PPFA spends a little over US$1million per year for rented space. The largest facility, a US$26million, 78000 sqft structure, was completed in Houston, Texas, in May 2010.

Worldwide availability
PPFA's international outreach and other activities are performed by Planned Parenthood Global, a division of PPFA, and by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) which now consists of more than 149 Member Associations working in more than 189 countries. The IPPF is further associated with International Planned Parenthood Federation affiliates in the Caribbean and the Americas, and IPPF European Network, as well as other organizations like Family Planning Queensland, Pro Familia (Germany) (de) and mouvement français pour le planning familial (French Movement for Family Planning) (fr). Offices are located in New York, NY; Washington, D.C.; Miami, FL; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Abuja, Nigeria; and Nairobi, Kenya. The organization's focus countries are Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya. The Bloomberg Philanthropies donated US$50million for Planned Parenthood Global's reproductive health and family planning efforts in Tanzania, Nicaragua, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Uganda. Among specific countries and territories serviced by Planned Parenthood Global's reproductive planning outreach are Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, Barbados, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Guyana, Cape Verde and Samoa.

Funding
Planned Parenthood has received federal funding since 1970, when President Richard Nixon signed into law the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act, amending the Public Health Service Act. Title X of that law provides funding for family planning services, including contraception and family planning information. The law had support from both Republicans and Democrats. Nixon described Title X funding as based on the premise that "no American woman should be denied access to family planning assistance because of her economic condition."

Donors to Planned Parenthood have included the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Buffett Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Turner Foundation, the Cullmans, and others. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's contributions to the organization have been specifically marked to avoid funding abortions. Some donors, such as the Buffett Foundation, have supported reproductive health that can include abortion services. Anti-abortion groups have advocated the boycott of donors to Planned Parenthood. Corporate donors include CREDO Mobile.

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, total revenue was US$1.3billion: non-government health services revenue was US$305million, government revenue (such as Medicaid reimbursements) was US$528million, private contributions totaled US$392million, and US$78million came from other operating revenue. According to Planned Parenthood, 59 percent of the group's revenue is put towards the provision of health services, while non-medical services such as sex education and public policy work make up another 15 percent; management expenses, fundraising, and international family planning programs account for about 16 percent, and 10 percent of the revenue in 2013–2014 was not spent.

Planned Parenthood receives over a third of its money in government grants and contracts (about US$528million in 2014). By law (Hyde Amendment), federal funding cannot be allocated for abortions (except in rare cases), but some opponents of abortion have argued that allocating money to Planned Parenthood for the provision of other medical services allows other funds to be reallocated for abortions.

A coalition of national and local anti-abortion groups have lobbied federal and state governments to stop funding Planned Parenthood. As a result, federal and state legislators have proposed legislation to reduce funding levels. Eight states—Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Utah—have enacted such proposals. In some cases, the courts have overturned such actions, citing conflict with federal or state laws; in others the federal executive branch has provided funding in lieu of the states. In some states, Planned Parenthood was completely or partially defunded.

In August 2015, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal attempted to end Louisiana's contract with Planned Parenthood to treat Medicaid patients at a time when there was an epidemic of sexually transmitted infections in Louisiana. Planned Parenthood and three patients sued the state of Louisiana, with the United States Department of Justice siding with Planned Parenthood.

On February 2, 2016, the U.S. House failed to override President Obama's veto of (Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015) which would have prohibited Planned Parenthood from receiving any federal Medicaid funds for one year.

Late in 2016, the Obama administration issued a rule effective in January 2017 banning U.S. states from withholding federal family-planning funds from health clinics that give abortions, including Planned Parenthood affiliates; this rule mandates that local and state governments give federal funds for services related to sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy care, fertility, contraception, and breast and cervical cancer screening to qualified health providers whether or not they give abortions. However, this rule was blocked by a federal judge the day before it would have taken effect. In 2017, it was overturned by new legislation.

The proposed American Health Care Act, announced by Congressional Republicans in March 2017, would have made Planned Parenthood "ineligible for Medicaid reimbursements or federal family planning grants."

On August 19, 2019, Planned Parenthood voluntarily withdrew from Title X funding due to a regulatory gag order stating that medical institutions that receive Title X funding cannot refer patients for abortions.

Political advocacy

Planned Parenthood is an advocate for the legal and political protection of reproductive rights. This advocacy includes helping to sponsor abortion rights and women's rights events. The Federation opposes restrictions on women's reproductive health services, including parental consent laws for minors. To justify this position, Planned Parenthood has cited the case of Becky Bell, who died following an illegal abortion rather than seek parental consent for a legal one. Planned Parenthood also takes the position that laws requiring parental notification before an abortion can be performed on a minor are unconstitutional on privacy grounds.

The organization opposes laws requiring ultrasounds before abortions, stating that their only purpose is to make abortions more difficult to obtain. Planned Parenthood has also opposed initiatives that require waiting periods before abortions, and bans on late-term abortions including intact dilation and extraction, which has been illegal in the U.S. since 2003. Planned Parenthood supports the wide availability of emergency contraception such as the PlanB pill. It opposes conscience clauses, which allow pharmacists to refuse to dispense drugs against their beliefs. Planned Parenthood has been critical of hospitals that do not provide access to emergency contraception for rape victims. Citing the need for medically accurate information in sex education, Planned Parenthood opposes abstinence-only education in public schools. Instead, Planned Parenthood is a provider of, and endorses, comprehensive sex education, which includes a discussion of both abstinence and birth control.

Planned Parenthood's advocacy activities are executed by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which is registered as a 501(c)(4) charity, and files financial information jointly with PPFA. The committee was founded in 1996, by then-president Gloria Feldt, to maintain supportive health rights and supporting political candidates of the same mindset. In the 2012 election cycle, the committee gained prominence based on its effectiveness in spending on candidates. Although the Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF) shares some leadership with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the president of PPAF, Cecile Richards, testified before Congress in September 2015 that she did not manage the organization. The Planned Parenthood Action Fund has 58 active, separately incorporated chapters in 41 states and maintains national headquarters in New York and Washington, D.C. Planned Parenthood has received grants from the Obama administration to help promote the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or ObamaCare.

Political spending
Planned Parenthood spends money on politics and elections through the Planned Parenthood Action Fund (its federal political action committee), through its Super PAC, and through a variety of related 501(c)(4) entities. Planned Parenthood endorsed Obama in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. In the 2014 election cycle, Planned Parenthood spent US$6,587,100 on contributions to candidates and political parties (overwhelmingly to Democrats) and on independent expenditures.

Before the U.S. Supreme Court

Planned Parenthood regional chapters have been active in the American courts. Several cases in which Planned Parenthood has been a party have reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Notable among these cases is the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the case that sets forth the current constitutional abortion standard. In this case, "Planned Parenthood" was the Southeast Pennsylvania Chapter, and "Casey" was Robert Casey, the governor of Pennsylvania. The ultimate ruling was split, and Roe v. Wade was narrowed but upheld in an opinion written by Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy, and David Souter. Harry Blackmun and John Paul Stevens concurred with the main decision in separately written opinions. The Supreme Court struck down spousal consent requirements for married women to obtain abortions, but found no "undue burden"—an alternative to strict scrutiny, which tests the allowable limitations on rights protected under the Constitution—from the other statutory requirements. Dissenting were William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Byron White. Blackmun, Rehnquist, and White were the only justices who voted on the original Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 who were still on the Supreme Court to rule on this case, and their votes on this case were consistent with their votes on the original decision that legalized abortion. Only Blackmun voted to maintain Roe v. Wade in its entirety.

Planned Parenthood v. Casey, along with Roe v. Wade, was eventually overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in 2022.

Other related cases include:

 * Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth (1976). Planned Parenthood challenged the constitutionality of a Missouri law encompassing parental consent, spousal consent, clinic bookkeeping, and allowed abortion methods. Portions of the challenged law were held to be constitutional, others not. The decision was superseded by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022).
 * Planned Parenthood Association of Kansas City v. Ashcroft (1983). Planned Parenthood challenged the constitutionality of a Missouri law encompassing parental consent, clinic record keeping, and hospitalization requirements. Most of the challenged law was held to be constitutional. The decision was superseded by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022).
 * Planned Parenthood of Columbia/Willamette v. American Coalition of Life Activists (2002). The American Coalition of Life Activists (ACLA) released a flier and "Wanted" posters with complete personal information about doctors who performed abortions. A civil jury and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals both found that the materials were "true threats" and not protected speech. ACLA appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, but the appeal was rejected.
 * Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood (2003). Planned Parenthood sued U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for an injunction against the enforcement of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. Planned Parenthood argued the act was unconstitutional because it violated the Fifth Amendment, namely in that it was overly vague, violated women's constitutional right to have access to abortion, and did not include language for exceptions for the health of the mother. Both the district court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, but that decision was overturned in a 5–4 ruling by the Supreme Court.
 * Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (2006). Planned Parenthood et al. challenged the constitutionality of a New Hampshire parental notification law related to access to abortion. In Sandra Day O'Connor's final decision before retirement, the Supreme Court sent the case back to lower courts with instructions to seek a remedy short of wholesale invalidation of the statute. New Hampshire ended up repealing the statute via the legislative process. The decision was superseded by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022).

Other court cases
Some state attorneys general have subpoenaed medical records of patients treated by Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood has gone to court to keep from turning over these records, citing medical privacy and concerns about the motivation for seeking the records.

In 2006, Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, a Republican, released some sealed patient records obtained from Planned Parenthood to the public. His actions were described as "troubling" by the state Supreme Court, but Planned Parenthood was compelled to turn over the medical records, albeit with more stringent court-mandated privacy safeguards for the patients involved. In 2007 Kline's successor, Paul J. Morrison, a Democrat, notified the clinic that no criminal charges would be filed after a three-year investigation, as "an objective, unbiased and thorough examination" showed no wrongdoing. Morrison stated that he believed Kline had politicized the Attorney General's office. In 2012, a Kansas district attorney found that the practices of the Kansas City-area Planned Parenthood clinic was "within accepted practices in the medical community" and dropped all of the remaining criminal charges. In all, the Planned Parenthood clinic had faced 107 criminal charges from Kline and other Kansas prosecutors, all of which were ultimately dismissed.

In 2006, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that Planned Parenthood was not required to turn over its medical records in an investigation of possible child abuse. In 2005, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota was fined US$50000 for violating a Minnesota state parental consent law.

In 2012, a Texas state court judge, Gary Harger, denied Planned Parenthood's request for a temporary restraining order against the State of Texas, concluding that the State may exclude otherwise qualified doctors and clinics from receiving state funding if the doctors or clinics advocate for abortion rights.

In 2022, Nicole Moore, a Black woman who was the director of Planned Parenthood's multicultural brand engagement from January 2020 to November 2021, filed a lawsuit alleging that she faced months of racial discrimination while working at Planned Parenthood.

Impact
A 2020 study found that closure of Planned Parenthood clinics resulted in increases in the maternal mortality rate: "Planned Parenthood clinic closures negatively impacted all women, increasing mortality by 6–15% across racial/ethnic groups."

A 2016 study found that the exclusion of Planned Parenthood-affiliated clinics from Texas's Medicaid fee-for-service family-planning program was linked to reductions in the provision of contraception and an increase in child-bearing for women who used injectable contraceptives and who were covered by Medicaid.

Margaret Sanger and eugenics
In the 1920s, various theories of eugenics were popular among intellectuals in the U.S. In her campaign to promote birth control, Sanger teamed with eugenics organizations such as the American Eugenics Society, although she argued against many of their positions. Scholars describe Sanger as believing that birth control and sterilization should be voluntary, and not based on race. Sanger advocated for "voluntary motherhood"—the right to choose when to be pregnant—for all women, as an important element of women's rights. As part of her efforts to promote birth control, however, Sanger found common cause with proponents of eugenics, believing that she and they both sought to "assist the race toward the elimination of the unfit".

Critics of Planned Parenthood often refer to Sanger's connection with supporters of eugenics to discredit the organization by associating it, and birth control, with the more negative modern view of eugenics. Planned Parenthood has responded to this criticism directly in a leaflet acknowledging that Sanger agreed with some of her contemporaries who advocated the voluntary hospitalization or sterilization of people with untreatable, disabling, or hereditary conditions, and limits on the immigration of the diseased. The leaflet also states that Planned Parenthood "finds these views objectionable and outmoded" but says that it was compelled to discuss the topic because "anti-family planning activists continue to attack Sanger[...] because she is an easier target" than Planned Parenthood.

Abortion
Planned Parenthood has occupied a central position in the abortion debate in the U.S. and has been among the most prominent targets of the U.S. anti-abortion movement for decades. Some members of Congress, overwhelmingly Republican, have attempted since the 1980s to end federal funding of the organization, nearly leading to a government shutdown over the issue in 2011. Planned Parenthood has consistently maintained that federal money received by Planned Parenthood is not used to fund abortion services, but anti-abortion activists have argued that the federal funding frees up other resources that are, in turn, used to provide abortions.

Planned Parenthood is the largest single provider of abortions in the U.S., but pro-choice advocates have argued that the organization's family planning services reduce the need for abortions; in the words of Megan Crepeau of the Chicago Tribune, Planned Parenthood could be "characterized as America's largest abortion preventer". Anti-abortion activists dispute the evidence that greater access to contraceptives reduces abortion frequency.

Undercover videos by anti-abortion activists
Periodically, anti-abortion advocates have tried to demonstrate that Planned Parenthood does not follow applicable state or federal laws. The groups called or visited Planned Parenthood health centers posing as victims of statutory rape, minors who by law need parental notification before an abortion, racist donors seeking to earmark donations to reduce the African American population, or pimps seeking abortions for underage prostitutes. As a result of some of these videos, several Planned Parenthood workers have been disciplined or fired. An article in Salon] stated that a 2005 inspection by the Bush administration's Department of Health and Human Services "yielded no evidence of clinics around the nation failing to comply with laws on reporting child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape or incest".

Live Action videos
Beginning in 2010, Live Action released several series of undercover videos filmed in Planned Parenthood centers. Live Action said one series showed Planned Parenthood employees at many affiliates actively assisting or being complicit in aiding a prostitution ring, advising patients on how to procure sex-selective abortions, while one who said they would immerse a child born alive after a botched abortion in a chemical solution to make it stop moving and breathing. No criminal convictions resulted, but some Planned Parenthood employees and volunteers were fired for not following procedure, and the organization committed to retraining its staff. Additionally, one center was placed on probation.

Violence by anti-abortion activists
In the U.S., abortion providers have been threatened with death, and facilities that provide abortions have been attacked or vandalized. Planned Parenthood clinics have been the target of many instances of violence by anti-abortion activists, including but not limited to bombing, arson and attacks with chemical weaponry. In 1994, John Salvi entered a Brookline, Massachusetts Planned Parenthood clinic and opened fire, murdering receptionist Shannon Elizabeth Lowney and wounding three others. He fled to another Planned Parenthood clinic where he murdered Leane Nichols and wounded two others. In 2012, a Grand Chute, Wisconsin, Planned Parenthood clinic was subject to a bombing perpetrated by an unknown individual. In 2015, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Pullman, Washington was heavily damaged by arson.

2015 shooting
On November 27, 2015, a gunman shot and killed two civilians and a police officer during a five-hour gun battle at the Colorado Springs, Colorado clinic. The 57-year-old gunman, Robert Dear, surrendered to police and was taken into custody. During his arrest, he gave a "rambling" interview in which, at one point, he said "no more baby parts", echoing language used in the news media about the clinic following the Center for Medical Progress videos. Dear was declared incompetent to stand trial for the shooting, citing experts' finding that he has "delusional disorder, persecutory type" and is now confined indefinitely to a state mental hospital.

title: Planned Parenthood


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Forever Eden

Forever Eden is an American reality television series broadcast by the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox). The series premiered on March 1, 2004, and it concluded on April 9, 2004. The contestants in the series could live in a resort not for weeks or months, but for years. It was hosted by Ruth England. In the end, contestants Shawna and Wallace won a combined total of $260,000. Brooke and Adam were runners-up.

The show was pulled after seven episodes, leaving eighteen episodes unaired. The remaining episodes were eventually screened in the United States on Fox Reality.

Format
Set in Jamaica, the series followed a group of unmarried men and women who lived together at a luxury resort. The contestants, who voluntarily agreed to cease contact with their friends and family, had the opportunity to live at and enjoy the amenities of the resort indefinitely. Contestants accrued a monetary reward pursuant to however long they resided at the resort. This reward, however, was contingent on the contestants remaining at the resort for predetermined periods of time. Contestants had the ability to leave the series at anytime, however, they would no longer receive the reward if they opted to leave. As the series progressed, producers introduced new contestants and guest stars, which included former partners and long-lost relatives of the contestants. The series was hosted by English television presenter Ruth England.

Production
The concept for the series stemmed from the reality television series Paradise Hotel.

The series was filmed in Jamaica at a cost of $750,000 per episode.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Forever Eden


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2004 Republican Party presidential primaries

From January 19 to June 8, 2004, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 2004 United States presidential election. Incumbent President George W. Bush was again selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 2004 Republican National Convention held from August 30 to September 2, 2004, in New York City.

Primary race overview
Incumbent President George W. Bush announced in mid-2003 that he would campaign for re-election; he faced no major challengers. He then went on, throughout early 2004, to win every nomination contest, including a sweep of Super Tuesday, beating back the vacuum of challengers and maintaining the recent tradition of an easy primary for incumbent Presidents (the last time an incumbent was seriously challenged in a presidential primary contest was when Senator Ted Kennedy challenged Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination in 1980).

Bush won every state with comfortable margins: his worst performance was in New Hampshire, where he received 79.8% of the vote. The only human challenger to receive over 5% of the vote in any state was Bill Wyatt from California, who received 10% of the vote in Oklahoma in a minor upset. "Uncommitted" also received over 5% of the vote in Massachusetts (8.7%), Rhode Island (12.4%) and Texas (7.5%).

Bush managed to raise US$130 million in 2003 alone, and expected to set a national primary fund-raising record of $200 million by the time of the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City.

Several states and territories canceled their respective Republican primaries altogether, citing Bush being the only candidate to qualify on their respective ballot, including Connecticut, Florida, Mississippi, New York, Puerto Rico, and South Dakota.

Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, an opponent of the war in Iraq, Bush's tax cuts, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and much of Bush's social agenda, considered challenging Bush in the New Hampshire primary in the fall of 2003. He decided not to run, after the capture of Saddam Hussein in December 2003. He would later change his party affiliation to Democratic and run in that party's 2016 presidential primaries.

As of the 2024 presidential election, Bush is the last incumbent president, Democrat or Republican, to win all the delegates going into the national convention.

On the ballot in two or more primaries

 * William Tsangares ran for president under the pseudonym "Bill Wyatt." The then-43-year-old T-shirt maker left the Democratic Party to become a Republican after Democrats voted for the war in Iraq, an action he saw as a betrayal. Tsangares traveled 12,000 miles and spent an estimated $20,000 on his presidential campaign. He managed to get on the ballot in New Hampshire, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, and even the Democratic Primary ballot in Arizona. He finished tenth in the New Hampshire primary with 0.23% of the vote (153 votes), placed second in Missouri, where he received 1,268 votes (1.03%). However, a minor upset occurred on Mini-Tuesday when Tsangares won just over 10% of the vote in Oklahoma and 4% in Louisiana. He also received 233 votes (0.10%) in the Arizona Democratic primary.

 * Blake Ashby, a Republican entrepreneur frustrated with the explosion of debt under President Bush, ran as a protest candidate in the Republican primaries. On the ballot in New Hampshire and Missouri, he spent approximately $20,000 on his campaign, visiting New Hampshire and campaigning in his home state of Missouri and participated in the C-Span Minor Candidates Forum He finished seventh in New Hampshire with 264 votes and third in Missouri with 981 votes.

On the ballot in one primary
All but one of the following were on the ballot only in the state of New Hampshire.

Results
There were 2,509 total delegates to the 2004 Republican National Convention, of which 650 were so-called "superdelegates" who were not bound by any particular state's primary or caucus votes and could change their votes at any time. A candidate needs 1,255 delegates to become the nominee. Except for the Northern Mariana Islands and Midway Atoll, all states, territories, and other inhabited areas of the United States offer delegates to the 2004 Republican National Convention.

Contested primaries
For brevity, states that did not hold a contest or had Bush as the only option on the ballot are omitted. Only candidates who placed third or better in a primary are included.


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Ring-tailed lemur

The ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) is a medium- to larger-sized strepsirrhine (wet-nosed) primate and the most internationally recognized lemur species, owing to its long, black-and-white, ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the Lemur genus. Like all lemurs, it is endemic to the island of Madagascar, where it is endangered. Known locally in Malagasy as maky (, spelled maki in French) or hira, it ranges from gallery forests to spiny scrub in the southern regions of the island. It is omnivorous, as well as the most adapted to living terrestrially of the extant lemurs.

The ring-tailed lemur is highly social, living in groups—known as "troops"—of up to 30 individuals. It is also a female-dominant species, a commonality among lemurs. To keep warm and reaffirm social bonds, groups will huddle together. Mutual grooming is another vital aspect of lemur socialization (as with all primates), reaffirming social and familial connections, while also helping rid each other of any potential insects. Ring-tailed lemurs are strictly diurnal, being active exclusively during daylight hours. Due to this lifestyle, they also sunbathe; the lemurs can be observed sitting upright on their tails, exposing their soft, white belly fur towards the sun. They will often also have their palms open and eyes gently closed. Like other lemurs, this species relies strongly on their sense of smell, and territorial marking, with scent glands, provides communication signals throughout a group's home range. The glands are located near the eyes, as well as near the anus. The males perform a unique scent-marking behavior called spur-marking and will participate in stink fights by dousing their tails with their pheromones and “wafting” them at opponents. Additionally, lemurs of both sexes will scent-mark trees, logs, rocks or other objects by simply rubbing their faces and bodies onto it, not unlike a domestic cat.

As one of the most vocal primates, the ring-tailed lemur uses numerous vocalizations, including calling for group cohesion and predator alarm calls. Experiments have shown that the ring-tailed lemur, despite the lack of a large brain (relative to simiiform primates), can organize sequences, understand basic arithmetic operations, and preferentially select tools based on functional qualities.

Despite adapting to and breeding easily under captive care (and being the most popular species of lemur in zoos worldwide, with more than 2,000 captive-raised individuals), the wild population of ring-tailed lemur is listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List, due to habitat destruction, local hunting for bushmeat and the exotic pet trade. As of early 2017, the population in the wild is believed to have crashed to as low as 2,000 individuals due to these reasons, making them far more critically endangered. Local Malagasy farmers and logging industries frequently make use of slash and burn deforestation techniques, with smoke being visible on the horizon on most days in Madagascar, in an effort to accommodate livestock and to cultivate larger fields of crops.

Etymology
Although the term "lemur" was first intended for slender lorises, it was soon limited to the endemic Malagasy primates, which have been known as "lemurs" ever since. The name derives from the Latin term lemures, which refers to specters or ghosts that were exorcised during the Lemuria festival of ancient Rome. According to Carl Linnaeus's own explanation, the name was selected because of the nocturnal activity and slow movements of the slender loris. Being familiar with the works of Virgil and Ovid and seeing an analogy that fit with his naming scheme, Linnaeus adapted the term "lemur" for these nocturnal primates. However, it has been commonly and falsely assumed that Linnaeus was referring to the ghost-like appearance, reflective eyes, and ghostly cries of lemurs. It has also been speculated that Linnaeus may also have known that some Malagasy people have held legends that lemurs are the souls of their ancestors, but this is unlikely given that the name was selected for slender lorises from India. The species name, catta, refers to the ring-tailed lemur's cat-like appearance. Its purring vocalization is similar to that of the domestic cat.

Following Linnaeus's species description, the common name "ring-tailed maucauco" was first penned in 1771 by Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant, who noted its characteristic long, banded tail. (The term "maucauco" was a very common term for lemurs at this time.) The now universal English name "ring-tailed lemur" was first used by George Shaw in his illustrated scientific publication covering the Leverian collection, which was published between 1792 and 1796.

Evolutionary history
All mammalian fossils from Madagascar come from recent times. Thus, little is known about the evolution of the ring-tailed lemur, let alone the rest of the lemur clade, which comprises the entire endemic primate population of the island. However, chromosomal and molecular evidence suggest that lemurs are more closely related to each other than to other strepsirrhine primates. For this to have happened, it is thought that a very small ancestral population came to Madagascar via a single rafting event between 50 and 80 million years ago. Subsequent evolutionary radiation and speciation has created the diversity of Malagasy lemurs seen today.

According to analysis of amino acid sequences, the branching of the family Lemuridae has been dated to 26.1 ±3.3 mya while rRNA sequences of mtDNA place the split at 24.9 ±3.6 mya. The ruffed lemurs are the first genus to split away (most basal) in the family, a view that is further supported by analysis of DNA sequences and karyotypes. Additionally, Molecular data suggests a deep genetic divergence and sister group relationship between the true lemurs (Eulemur) and the other two genera: Lemur and Hapalemur.

The ring-tailed lemur is thought to share closer affinities to the bamboo lemurs of the genus Hapalemur than to the other two genera in its family. This has been supported by comparisons in communication, chromosomes, genetics, and several morphological traits, such as scent gland similarities. However, other data concerning immunology and other morphological traits fail to support this close relationship. For example, Hapalemur species have short snouts, while the ring-tailed lemur and the rest of Lemuridae have long snouts. However, differences in the relationship between the orbit (eye socket) and the muzzle suggest that the ring-tailed lemur and the true lemurs evolved their elongated faces independently.

The relationship between the ring-tailed lemur and bamboo lemurs is the least understood. Molecular analysis suggests that either the bamboo lemurs diverged from the ring-tailed lemur, making the group monophyletic and supporting the current two-genera taxonomy, or that the ring-tailed lemur is nested in with the bamboo lemurs, requiring Hapalemur simus to be split off into its own genus, Prolemur.

The karyotype of the ring-tailed lemur has 56 chromosomes, of which four are metacentric (arms of nearly equal length), four are submetacentric (arms of unequal length), and 46 are acrocentric (the short arm is hardly observable). The X chromosome is metacentric and the Y chromosome is acrocentric.

Taxonomic classification
Linnaeus first used the genus name Lemur to describe "Lemur tardigradus" (the red slender loris, now known as Loris tardigradus) in his 1754 catalog of the Museum of King Adolf Frederick. In 1758, his 10th edition of Systema Naturae listed the genus Lemur with three included species, only one of which is still considered to be a lemur while another is no longer considered to be a primate. These species include: Lemur tardigradus, Lemur catta (the ring-tailed lemur), and Lemur volans (the Philippine colugo, now known as Cynocephalus volans). In 1911, Oldfield Thomas made Lemur catta the type species for the genus, despite the term initially being used to describe lorises. On January 10, 1929, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) formalized this decision in its publication of Opinion 122.

The ring-tailed lemur shares many similarities with ruffed lemurs (genus Varecia) and true lemurs (genus Eulemur), and its skeleton is nearly indistinguishable from that of the true lemurs. Consequently, the three genera were once grouped together in the genus Lemur and more recently are sometimes referred to as subfamily Lemurinae (within family Lemuridae). However, ruffed lemurs were reassigned to the genus Varecia in 1962, and due to similarities between the ring-tailed lemur and the bamboo lemurs, particularly in regards to molecular evidence and scent glands similarities, the true lemurs were moved to the genus Eulemur by Yves Rumpler and Elwyn L. Simons (1988) as well as Colin Groves and Robert H. Eaglen (1988). In 1991, Ian Tattersall and Jeffrey H. Schwartz reviewed the evidence and came to a different conclusion, instead favoring to return the members of Eulemur and Varecia to the genus Lemur. However, this view was not widely accepted and the genus Lemur remained monotypic, containing only the ring-tailed lemur. Because the differences in molecular data are so minute between the ring-tailed lemur and both genera of bamboo lemurs, it has been suggested that all three genera be merged.

Because of the difficulty in discerning the relationships within family Lemuridae, not all authorities agree on the taxonomy, although the majority of the primatological community favors the current classification.

In 1996, researchers Steven Goodman and Olivier Langrand suggested that the ring-tailed lemur may demonstrate regional variations, particularly a high mountain population at Andringitra Massif that has a thicker coat, lighter coloration, and variations in its tail rings. In 2001, primatologist Colin Groves concluded that this does not represent a locally occurring subspecies. This decision was later supported by further fieldwork that showed that the differences fell within the normal range of variation for the species. The thicker coat was considered a local adaptation to extreme low temperatures in the region, and the fading of the fur was attributed to increased exposure to solar radiation. Additional genetic studies in 2000 further supported the conclusion that population did not vary significantly from the other ring-tailed lemur populations on the island.

Anatomy and physiology
The ring-tailed lemur is a relatively large lemur. Its average weight is 2.2 kg. Its head–body length ranges between 39 and 46 cm, its tail length is 56 and 63 cm, and its total length is 95 and 110 cm. Other measurements include a hind foot length of 102 and 113 mm, ear length of 40 and 48 mm, and cranium length of 78 and 88 mm.

The species has a slender frame and narrow face, fox-like muzzle. The ring-tailed lemur's trademark—a long, bushy tail—is ringed in alternating black and white transverse bands, numbering 12 or 13 white rings and 13 or 14 black rings and always ending in a black tip. The total number of rings nearly matches the approximate number of caudal vertebrae (~25). Its tail is longer than its body and is not prehensile. Instead, it is only used for balance, communication, and group cohesion.

The pelage (fur) is so dense that it can clog electric clippers. The ventral (chest) coat and throat are white or cream. The dorsal (back) coat varies from gray to rosy-brown, sometimes with a brown pygal patch around the tail region, where the fur grades to pale gray or grayish brown. The dorsal coloration is slightly darker around the neck and crown. The hair on the throat, cheeks, and ears is white or off-white and also less dense, allowing the dark skin underneath to show through. The muzzle is dark grayish and the nose is black, and the eyes are encompassed by black triangular patches. Facial vibrissae (whiskers) are developed and found above the lips (mystacal), on the cheeks (genal), and on the eyebrow (superciliary). Vibrissae are also found slightly above the wrist on the underside of the forearm. The ears are relatively large compared to other lemurs and are covered in hair, which has only small tufts if any. Although slight pattern variations in the facial region may be seen between individuals, there are no obvious differences between the sexes.

Unlike most diurnal primates, but like all strepsirrhine primates, the ring-tailed lemur has a tapetum lucidum, or reflective layer behind the retina of the eye, that enhances night vision. The tapetum is highly visible in this species because the pigmentation of the ocular fundus (back surface of the eye), which is present in—but varies between—all lemurs, is very spotty. The ring-tailed lemur also has a rudimentary foveal depression on the retina. Another shared characteristic with the other strepsirrhine primates is the rhinarium, a moist, naked, glandular nose supported by the upper jaw and protruding beyond the chin. The rhinarium continues down where it divides the upper lip. The upper lip is attached to the premaxilla, preventing the lip from protruding and thus requiring the lemur to lap water rather than using suction.

The skin of the ring-tailed lemur is dark gray or black in color, even in places where the fur is white. It is exposed on the nose, palms, soles, eyelids, lips, and genitalia. The skin is smooth, but the leathery texture of the hands and feet facilitate terrestrial movement. The anus, located at the joint of the tail, is covered when the tail is lowered. The area around the anus (circumanal area) and the perineum are covered in fur. In males, the scrotum lacks fur, is covered in small, horny spines, and the two sacs of the scrotum are divided. The penis is nearly cylindrical in shape and is covered in small spines, as well as having two pairs of larger spines on both sides. Males have a relatively small baculum (penis bone) compared to their size. The scrotum, penis, and prepuce are usually coated with a foul-smelling secretion. Females have a vulva with a thick, elongated clitoris that protrudes from the labia. The opening of the urethra is closer to the clitoris than the vagina, forming a "drip tip".

Females have two pairs of mammary glands (four nipples), but only one pair is functional. The anterior pair (closest to the head) are very close to the axillae (armpit). Furless scent glands are present on both males and females. Both sexes have small, dark antebrachial (forearm) glands measuring 1 cm long and located on the inner surface of the forearm nearly 25 cm above the wrist joint. (This trait is shared between the Lemur and Hapalemur genera.) The gland is soft and compressible, bears fine dermal ridges (like fingerprints), and is connected to the palm by a fine, 2 mm–high, hairless strip. However, only the male has a horny spur that overlays this scent gland. The spur develops with age through the accumulation of secretions from an underlying gland that may connect through the skin through as many as a thousand minuscule ducts. The males also have brachial (arm) glands on the axillary surface of their shoulders (near the armpit). The brachial gland is larger than the antebrachial gland, covered in short hair around the periphery, and has a naked crescent-shaped orifice near the center. The gland secretes a foul-smelling, brown, sticky substance. The brachial gland is barely developed if present at all in females. Both sexes also have apocrine and sebaceous glands in their genital or perianal regions, which are covered in fur.

Its fingers are slender, padded, mostly lacking webbing, and semi-dexterous with flat, human-like nails. The thumb is both short and widely separated from the other fingers. Despite being set at a right angle to the palm, the thumb is not opposable since the ball of the joint is fixed in place. As with all strepsirrhines, the hand is ectaxonic (the axis passes through the fourth digit) rather than mesaxonic (the axis passing through the third digit) as seen in monkeys and apes. The fourth digit is the longest, and only slightly longer than the second digit. Likewise, the fifth digit is only slightly longer than the second. The palms are long and leathery, and like other primates, they have dermal ridges to improve grip. The feet are semi-digitigrade and more specialized than the hands. The big toe is opposable and is smaller than the big toe of other lemurs, which are more arboreal. The second toe is short, has a small terminal pad, and has a toilet-claw (sometimes referred to as a grooming claw) specialized for personal grooming, specifically to rake through fur that is unreachable by the mouth. The toilet-claw is a trait shared among nearly all living strepsirrhine primates. Unlike other lemurs, the ring-tailed lemur's heel is not covered by fur.

Dentition
The ring-tailed lemur has a dentition of, meaning that on each side of the jaw it has two incisors, one canine tooth, three premolars, and three molar teeth. Its deciduous dentition is. The permanent teeth erupt in the following order: m 1/1 (first molars), i 2/2 (first incisors), i 3/3 (second incisors), C1 (upper canines), m 2/2 (second molars), c1 (lower canines), m 3/3 (third molars), p 4/4 (third premolars), p 3/3 (second premolars), p 2/2 (first premolars).

Its lower incisors (i1 and i2) are long, narrow, and finely spaced while pointing almost straight forward in the mouth (procumbent). Together with the incisor-shaped (incisiform) lower canines (c1), which are slightly larger and also procumbent, form a structure called a toothcomb, a trait unique to nearly all strepsirrhine primates. The toothcomb is used during oral grooming, which involves licking and tooth-scraping. It may also be used for grasping small fruits, removing leaves from the stem when eating, and possibly scraping sap and gum from tree bark. The toothcomb is kept clean using a sublingual organ—a thin, flat, fibrous plate that covers a large part of the base of the tongue. The first lower premolar (p2) following the toothcomb is shaped like a canine (caniniform) and occludes the upper canine, essentially filling the role of the incisiform lower canine. There is also a diastema (gap) between the second and third premolars (p2 and p3).

The upper incisors are small, with the first incisors (I1) space widely from each other, yet closely to the second incisors (I2). Both are compressed buccolingually (between the cheek and the tongue). The upper canines (C1) are long, have a broad base, and curve down and back (recurved). The upper canines exhibit slight sexual dimorphism, with males exhibiting slightly larger canines than females. Both sexes use them in combat by slashing with them. There is a small diastema between the upper canine and the first premolar (P2), which is smaller and more caniniform than the other premolars. Unlike other lemurs, the first two upper molars (M1 and M2) have prominent lingual cingulae, yet do not have a protostyle.

Ecology
The ring-tailed lemur is diurnal and semi-terrestrial. It is the most terrestrial of lemur species, spending as much as 33% of its time on the ground. However it is still considerably arboreal, spending 23% of its time in the mid-level canopy, 25% in the upper-level canopy, 6% in the emergent layer and 13% in small bushes. Troop travel is 70% terrestrial.

Troop size, home range, and population density vary by region and food availability. Troops typically range in size from 6 to 25, although troops with over 30 individuals have been recorded. The average troop contains 13 to 15 individuals. Home range size varies between 6 and 35 ha. Troops of the ring-tailed lemur will maintain a territory, but overlap is often high. When encounters occur, they are agonistic, or hostile in nature. A troop will usually occupy the same part of its range for three or four days before moving. When it does move, the average traveling distance is 1 km. Population density ranges from 100 individuals per 1 km2 in dry forests to 250–600 individuals per km2 in gallery and secondary forests.

The ring-tailed lemur has both native and introduced predators. Native predators include the fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox), the Madagascar harrier-hawk (Polyboroides radiatus), the Madagascar buzzard (Buteo brachypterus) and the Madagascar ground boa (Acrantophis madagascariensis). Introduced predators include the small Indian civet (Viverricula indica), the domestic cat and the domestic dog.

Geographic range and habitat
Endemic to southern and southwestern Madagascar, the ring-tailed lemur ranges further into highland areas than other lemurs. It inhabits deciduous forests, dry scrub, montane humid forests, and gallery forests (forests along riverbanks). It strongly favors gallery forests, but such forests have now been cleared from much of Madagascar in order to create pasture for livestock. Depending on location, temperatures within its geographic range can vary from -12 °C at Andringitra Massif to 48 °C in the spiny forests of Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve.

This species is found as far east as Tôlanaro, inland towards the mountains of Andringitra on the southeastern plateau, among the spiny forests of the southern part of the island, and north along the west coast to the town of Belo sur Mer. Historically, the northern limits of its range in the west extended to the Morondava River near Morondava. It can still be found in Kirindy Mitea National Park, just south of Morondava, though at very low densities. It does not occur in Kirindy Forest Reserve, north of Morondava. Its distribution throughout the rest of its range is very spotty, with population densities varying widely.

The ring-tailed lemur can be easily seen in five national parks in Madagascar: Andohahela National Park, Andringitra National Park, Isalo National Park, Tsimanampetsotse National Park, and Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park. It can also be found in Beza-Mahafaly Special Reserve, Kalambatritra Special Reserve, Pic d'Ivohibe Special Reserve, Amboasary Sud, Berenty Private Reserve, Anja Community Reserve, and marginally at Kirindy Mitea National Park. Unprotected forests that the species has been reported in include Ankoba, Ankodida, Anjatsikolo, Anbatotsilongolongo, Mahazoarivo, Masiabiby, and Mikea.

Within the protected regions it is known to inhabit, the ring-tailed lemur is sympatric (shares its range) with as many as 24 species of lemur, covering every living genus except Allocebus, Indri, and Varecia. Historically, the species used to be sympatric with the critically endangered southern black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata editorum), which was once found at Andringitra National Park; however, no sightings of the ruffed lemur have been reported in recent years.

In western Madagascar, sympatric ring-tailed lemurs and red-fronted lemurs (Eulemur rufifrons) have been studied together. Little interaction takes place between the two species. While the diets of the two species overlap, they eat in different proportions since the ring-tailed lemur has a more varied diet and spends more time on the ground.

Diet
The ring-tailed lemur is an opportunistic omnivore primarily eating fruits and leaves, particularly those of the tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica), known natively as kily. When available, tamarind makes up as much as 50% of the diet, especially during the dry, winter season. The ring-tailed lemur eats from as many as three dozen different plant species, and its diet includes flowers, herbs, bark and sap. It has been observed eating decayed wood, earth, spider webs, insect cocoons, arthropods (spiders, caterpillars, cicadas and grasshoppers) and small vertebrates (birds and chameleons). During the dry season it becomes increasingly opportunistic.

Social systems
Ring-tailed lemurs live in groups known as "troops," which are classified as multi-male groups, with a matriline as the core group. As with most lemurs, females socially dominate males in all circumstances, including feeding priority. Dominance is enforced by lunging, chasing, cuffing, grabbing and biting. Young females do not always inherit their mother's rank and young males leave the troop between three and five years of age. Both sexes have separate dominance hierarchies; females have a distinct hierarchy while male rank is correlated with age. Each troop has one to three central, high-ranking adult males who interact with females more than other group males and lead the troop procession with high-ranking females. Recently transferred males, old males or young adult males that have not yet left their natal group are often lower ranking. Staying at the periphery of the group they tend to be marginalized from group activity.

For males, social structure changes can be seasonal. During the six-month period between December and May a few males migrate between groups. Established males transfer on average every 3.5 years, although young males may transfer approximately every 1.4 years. Group fission occurs when groups get too large and resources become scarce.

In the mornings the ring-tailed lemur sunbathes to warm itself. It faces the sun sitting in what is frequently described as a "sun-worshipping" posture or lotus position. However, it sits with its legs extended outward, not cross-legged, and will often support itself on nearby branches. Sunning is often a group activity, particularly during the cold mornings. At night, troops will split into sleeping parties huddling closely together to keep warm.

Despite being quadrupedal the ring-tailed lemur can rear up and balance on its hind legs, usually for aggressive displays. When threatened, the ring-tailed lemur may jump in the air and strike out with its short nails and sharp upper canine teeth in a behavior termed jump fighting. This is extremely rare outside of the breeding season when tensions are high and competition for mates is intense. Other aggressive behaviors include a threat-stare, used to intimidate or start a fight, and a submissive gesture known as pulled-back lips.

Border disputes with rival troops occur occasionally and it is the dominant female's responsibility to defend the troop's home range. Agonistic encounters include staring, lunging approaches and occasional physical aggression, and conclude with troop members retreating toward the center of the home range.

Olfactory communication
Olfactory communication is critically important for strepsirrhines like the ring-tailed lemur. Males and females scent mark both vertical and horizontal surfaces at the overlaps in their home ranges using their anogenital scent glands. The ring-tailed lemur will perform a handstand to mark vertical surfaces, grasping the highest point with its feet while it applies its scent. Use of scent marking varies by age, sex and social status. Male lemurs use their antebrachial and brachial glands to demarcate territories and maintain intragroup dominance hierarchies. The thorny spur that overlays the antebrachial gland on each wrist is scraped against tree trunks to create grooves anointed with their scent. This is known as spur-marking.

In displays of aggression, males engage in a social display behaviour called stink fighting, which involves impregnating their tails with secretions from the antebrachial and brachial glands and waving the scented tail at male rivals.

Ring-tailed lemurs have also been shown to mark using urine. Behaviorally, there is a difference between regular urination, where the tail is slightly raised and a stream of urine is produced, and the urine-marking behavior, where the tail is held up in display and only a few drops of urine are used. The urine-marking behavior is typically used by females to mark territory, and has been observed primarily at the edges of the troop's territory and in areas where other troops may frequent. The urine marking behavior also is most frequent during the mating season, and may play a role in reproductive communication between groups.

Auditory communication

The ring-tailed lemur is one of the most vocal primates and has a complex array of distinct vocalizations used to maintain group cohesion during foraging and alert group members to the presence of a predator. Calls range from simple to complex. An example of a simple call is the purr, which expresses contentment. A complex call is the sequence of clicks, close-mouth click series (CMCS), open-mouth click series (OMCS) and yaps used during predator mobbing. Some calls have variants and undergo transitions between variants, such as an infant "whit" (distress call) transitioning from one variant to another.

The most commonly heard vocalizations are the moan (low-to-moderate arousal, group cohesion), early-high wail  (moderate-to-high arousal, group cohesion), and clicks  ("location marker" to draw attention).

Breeding and reproduction
The ring-tailed lemur is polygynandrous, although the dominant male in the troop typically breeds with more females than other males. Fighting is most common during the breeding season. A receptive female may initiate mating by presenting her backside, lifting her tail, and looking at the desired male over her shoulder. Males may inspect the female's genitals to determine receptiveness. Females typically mate within their troop, but may seek outside males.

The breeding season runs from mid-April to mid-May. Estrus lasts 4 to 6 hours, and females mate with multiple males during this period. Within a troop, females stagger their receptivity so that each female comes into season on a different day during the breeding season, reducing competition for male attention. Females lactate during the wet season, from December through April, when resources are readily available. Females gestate during the dry season, from May through September, when resources are low. Females give birth during seasons where resources, such as flowers, are in peak. Gestation lasts for about 135 days, and parturition occurs in September or occasionally October. In the wild, one offspring is the norm, although twins may occur. Ring-tailed lemur infants have a birth weight of 70 g and are carried ventrally (on the chest) for the first 1 to 2 weeks, then dorsally (on the back).

The young lemurs begin to eat solid food after two months and are fully weaned after five months. Sexual maturity is reached between 2.5 and 3 years. Male involvement in infant rearing is limited, although the entire troop, regardless of age or sex, can be seen caring for the young. Alloparenting between troop females has been reported. Kidnapping by females and infanticide by males also occur occasionally. Due to harsh environmental conditions, predation and accidents such as falls, infant mortality can be as high as 50% within the first year and as few as 30% may reach adulthood. The longest-lived ring-tailed lemur in the wild was a female at the Berenty Reserve who lived for 20 years. In the wild, females rarely live past the age of 16, whereas the life expectancy of males is not known due to their social structure. The longest-lived male was reported to be 15 years old. The maximum lifespan reported in captivity was 27 years.

Cognitive abilities and tool use
Historically, the studies of learning and cognition in non-human primates have focused on simians (monkeys and apes), while strepsirrhine primates, such as the ring-tailed lemur and its allies, have been overlooked and popularly dismissed as unintelligent. A couple of factors stemming from early experiments have played a role in the development of this assumption. First, the experimental design of older tests may have favored the natural behavior and ecology of simians over that of strepsirrhines, making the experimental tasks inappropriate for lemurs. For example, simians are known for their manipulative play with non-food objects, whereas lemurs are only known to manipulate non-food objects in captivity. This behavior is usually connected with food association. Also, lemurs are known to displace objects with their nose or mouth more so than with their hands. Therefore, an experiment requiring a lemur to manipulate an object without prior training would favor simians over strepsirrhines. Second, individual ring-tailed lemurs accustomed to living in a troop may not respond well to isolation for laboratory testing. Past studies have reported hysterical behavior in such scenarios.

The notion that lemurs are unintelligent has been perpetuated by the view that the neocortex ratio (as a measure of brain size) indicates intelligence. In fact, primatologist Alison Jolly noted early in her academic career that some lemur species, such as the ring-tailed lemur, have evolved a social complexity similar to that of cercopithecine monkeys, but not the corresponding intelligence. After years of observations of wild ring-tailed lemur populations at the Berenty Reserve in Madagascar and as well as baboons in Africa, she more recently concluded that this highly social lemur species does not demonstrate the equivalent social complexity of cercopithecine monkeys, despite general appearances.

Regardless, research has continued to illuminate the complexity of the lemur mind, with emphasis on the cognitive abilities of the ring-tailed lemur. As early as the mid-1970s, studies had demonstrated that they could be trained through operant conditioning using standard schedules of reinforcement. The species has been shown to be capable of learning pattern, brightness, and object discrimination, skills common among vertebrates. The ring-tailed lemur has also been shown to learn a variety of complex tasks often equaling, if not exceeding, the performance of simians.

More recently, research at the Duke Lemur Center has shown that the ring-tailed lemur can organize sequences in memory and retrieve ordered sequences without language. The experimental design demonstrated that the lemurs were using internal representation of the sequence to guide their responses and not simply following a trained sequence, where one item in the sequence cues the selection of the next. But this is not the limit of the ring-tailed lemur's reasoning skills. Another study, performed at the Myakka City Lemur Reserve, suggests that this species along with several other closely related lemur species understand simple arithmetic operations.

Since tool use is considered to be a key feature of primate intelligence, the apparent lack of this behavior in wild lemurs, as well as the lack of non-food object play, has helped reinforce the perception that lemurs are less intelligent than their simian cousins. However, another study at the Myakka City Lemur Reserve examined the representation of tool functionality in both the ring-tailed lemur and the common brown lemur and discovered that, like monkeys, they used tools with functional properties (e.g., tool orientation or ease of use) instead of tools with nonfunctional features (e.g., color or texture). Although the ring-tailed lemur may not use tools in the wild, it can not only be trained to use a tool, but will preferentially select tools based on their functional qualities. Therefore, the conceptual competence to use a tool may have been present in the common primate ancestor, even though the use of tools may not have appeared until much later.

Conservation status
In addition to being listed as endangered in 2014 by the IUCN, the ring-tailed lemur has been listed since 1977 by CITES under Appendix I, which makes trade of wild-caught specimens illegal. Although there are more endangered species of lemur, the ring-tailed lemur is considered a flagship species due to its recognizability. As of 2017, only about 2,000 ring-tailed lemurs are estimated to be left in the wild, making the threat of extinction far more serious for them than previously believed.

Three factors threaten ring-tailed lemurs. First and foremost is habitat destruction. Starting nearly 2,000 years ago with the introduction of humans to the island, forests have been cleared to produce pasture and agricultural land. Extraction of hardwoods for fuel and lumber, as well mining and overgrazing, have also taken their toll. Today, it is estimated that 90% of Madagascar's original forest cover has been lost. Rising populations have created even greater demand in the southwest portion of the island for fuel wood, charcoal, and lumber. Fires from the clearing of grasslands, as well as slash-and-burn agriculture destroy forests. Another threat to the species is harvesting either for food (bushmeat), fur clothing or pets. Finally, periodic drought common to southern Madagascar can impact populations already in decline. In 1991 and 1992, for example, a severe drought caused an abnormally high mortality rate among infants and females at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve. Two years later, the population had declined by 31% and took nearly four years to start to recover.

The ring-tailed lemur resides in several protected areas within its range, each offering varying levels of protection. At the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, a holistic approach to in-situ conservation has been taken. Not only does field research and resource management involve international students and local people (including school children), livestock management is used at the peripheral zones of the reserve and ecotourism benefits the local people.

Outside of its diminishing habitat and other threats, the ring-tailed lemur reproduces readily and has fared well in captivity. For this reason, along with its popularity, it has become the most populous lemur in zoos worldwide, with more than 2500 in captivity as of 2009. It is also the most common of all captive primates. Ex situ facilities actively involved in the conservation of the ring-tailed lemur include the Duke Lemur Center in Durham, North Carolina, the Lemur Conservation Foundation in Myakka City, Florida, and the Madagascar Fauna Group headquartered at the Saint Louis Zoo. Due to the high success of captive breeding, reintroduction is a possibility if wild populations were to crash. Although experimental releases have met success on St. Catherines Island in Georgia, demonstrating that captive lemurs can readily adapt to their environment and exhibit a full range of natural behaviors, captive release is not currently being considered.

Ring-tailed lemur populations can also benefit from drought intervention, due to the availability of watering troughs and introduced fruit trees, as seen at the Berenty Private Reserve in southern Madagascar. However, these interventions are not always seen favorably, since natural population fluctuations are not permitted. The species is thought to have evolved its high fecundity due to its harsh environment.

Cultural references
The ring-tailed lemur is known locally in Malagasy as maky (pronounced, and spelled maki in French) or hira (pronounced or colloquially ). Being the most widely recognized endemic primate on the island, it has been selected as the symbol for Madagascar National Parks (formerly known as ANGAP). The Maki brand, which started by selling T-shirts in Madagascar and now sells clothing across the Indian Ocean islands, is named after this lemur due to its popularity, even though the company's logo portrays the face of a sifaka and its name uses the French spelling.

The first mention of the ring-tailed lemur in Western literature came in 1625 when English traveller and writer Samuel Purchas described them as being comparable in size to a monkey and having a fox-like long tail with black and white rings. Charles Catton included the species in his 1788 book Animals Drawn from Nature and Engraved in Aqua-tinta, calling it the "Maucauco" and regarding it as a type of monkey.

The species was further popularized by the Animal Planet television series Lemur Street, as well as by the character King Julien in the animated Madagascar film and TV franchise. The ring-tailed lemur was also the focus of the 1996 Nature documentary A Lemur's Tale, which was filmed at the Berenty Reserve and followed a troop of lemurs. The troop included a special infant named Sapphire, who was nearly albino, with white fur, bright blue eyes, and the characteristic ringed tail.

A Ring-tailed lemur played a role in the 1997 comedy film Fierce Creatures, starring John Cleese, who has a passion for lemurs. Cleese later hosted the 1998 BBC documentary In the Wild: Operation Lemur with John Cleese, which tracked the progress of a reintroduction of black-and-white ruffed lemurs back into the Betampona Reserve in Madagascar. The project had been partly funded by Cleese's donation of the proceeds from the London premier of Fierce Creatures.

title: Ring-tailed lemur


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19th Golden Raspberry Awards

The 19th Golden Raspberry Awards were held on March 20, 1999, at the Huntley Hotel Garden Room in Santa Monica, California, to recognize the worst movie industry had to offer in 1998.

Awards and nominations
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Films with multiple nominations
These films received multiple nominations:

title: 19th Golden Raspberry Awards


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Martin Buser

Martin Buser (born March 29, 1958) is a champion of sled dog racing.

Born in Winterthur, Switzerland, Buser began mushing at age seventeen in Switzerland. In 1979, he moved to Alaska to train and raise sled dogs full-time. His training operation, Happy Trails Kennels, is located in Big Lake, Alaska.

He entered his first Iditarod in 1980, and has run every race since 1986, his third Iditarod. Buser has won the event four times, in 1992, 1994, 1997, and 2002. On sixteen occasions, he has finished among the top ten finishers. He ran the fastest finish time on the previous route which was a longer race than it is now. In 2002, the race started in Wasilla. Now it starts in Willow, making the race about 80 miles shorter. In 2002, his team completed the 80 mile longer race in 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes, and 2 seconds. He entered his first Yukon Quest in 2009 and finished in fourth place, earning him "Rookie of the Year." As of 2017, he has the most consecutive race finishes, 31. He was one of the mushers featured in a documentary about the 2008 Iditarod; in that same race, Martin's son Rohn competed for the first time.

His sense of humor and positive outlook have made him a fan favorite. In 2008, he comically caused quite a stir among fans worldwide when he accidentally gave his GPS unit to a pilot who was transporting dogs and equipment to and from a checkpoint, when the race was first introducing GPS tracking on the racers so fans could follow their paths live.

Martin also has a happy-go-lucky way about him. It shows most clearly when he talks in highly exaggerated tone of voice to his dogs. Other top competitors in the Iditarod, like DeeDee Jonrowe and Aliy Zirkle have found this method to work well in communicating with their dogs.

Controversy
Buser has come under scrutiny for Kuskokwim 300 race violations two years running. Most recently, Buser was caught taking short cuts and accepting help in the care of his dogs in the 2016 Kuskokwim 300. While Buser denies intentionally straying from the course, he has been officially penalized by the Kusokwim 300 Race Committee causing him to place last.

title: Martin Buser