abortion

The 36th Anniversary of Roe v Wade

Today marks the anniversary of the historic supreme court decision that allowed women access to safe and legal abortion. It is a day to celebrate the success of women such as Dottie Doyle, a former state representative from Maine and a Unitarian Universalist who worked with so many others to help decriminalize abortion in the United States. Read her story here on the UUA website. After learning about Dorothy and her compatriots, I was struck but not surprised to learn that activism surrounding a woman’s right to choose was spurred on and supported by a resolution adopted at the 1968 Unitarian Universalist General Assembly to repeal laws restricting or criminalizing abortion. UUs all over the U.S. and Canada acted on this resolution. In Michigan, for example, many women worked tirelessly circulating petitions and collecting signatures in the face of threats, verbal abuse and ostracism. Without a doubt, Unitarian Universalist efforts contributed to the right to choose when to bear children being upheld as a constitutional right of women in the United States of America.

If a resolution adopted at General Assembly can make such a contribution, I have no doubt in my mind that, with the inauguration of a new administration and a new day dawning in Washinton, our voices as people of faith can and will be heard. As the new Legislative Assistant for Women’s Issues at the Washington Office for Advocacy I am grateful to those who have worked for justice before me. Together we can have faith that we can help to change the laws of our country so that they reflect our values to uphold the inherent worth and dignity of every human being. I can have faith that I will see such changes not in some far-off dreamed future, but in the next year or two. I draw joy and strength and courage from that faith.

While celebrating and anticipating successes, however, I remain cautious, and I feel compelled to point out that Roe v Wade still needs our support and protection on all fronts. In most states, access to abortion is still restricted by mandates for parental notification and/or consent. In many states, women can barely seek information about abortion due to legal bans on counseling, biased counseling, and mandatory delays for abortion care. In all but the three states of Alabama, New Hampshire, and Vermont, health care providers can refuse care entirely to a woman seeking an abortion (see naral.org). These barriers to access continue to disproportionately affect poor women and women of color who have long struggled not only to gain access to quality and affordable health care but to be allowed to make informed choices about their own fertility. A woman living in a rural, northern county of my home state of Wisconsin would probably have to pay for her own abortion as well as travel for 6 to 8 hours, if she had access to a car and could drive, in order to reach a clinic that would perform the procedure.

In short, we still have a lot of work to do. True reproductive justice means that our societies protect girls and women from rape and sexual assault by teaching all children and adults that each person the right to make decisions about the sacred boundaries of their bodies. Reproductive justice means that no woman anywhere in the world is forced or coerced into bearing children when she does not choose to do so. Reproductive justice means that all women have access to safe and legal means of birth control and accurate information about possible side-effects and how to use them. Reproductive justice means that women and men undergo medical procedures that may affect their ability to have children only after giving their full and informed consent. Reproductive justice means that poor women and women of color are not denied or restricted from accessing any form of reproductive health care, nor from making an informed decision about any medication or procedure.

Access to safe, legal, confidential and affordable abortion is a right and a milestone along to path to achieving Reproductive Justice for all. I am proud to be part of an organization that has been working to this end for over 40 years, and I hope to do my best to continue in the footsteps of those who have walked this path before me.

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Reproductive Justice

The Bush Administration and Birth Control Part II

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Secretary Leavitt’s proposal that broadly defined abortion to include some types of birth control. Many of you immediately responded to my request to tell Secretary Leavitt to reject the proposed regulation. Leavitt responded, and the definition of abortion was removed; however, the proposal still moved forward in its new form.

On August 26th, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed the new regulation which would allow health care providers to refuse to perform services they deem morally objectionable. Although abortion is not defined in this version, the regulation remains open to interpretation and allows employees to refuse to conduct or assist research activities. A full text of the proposal can be found here.

This regulation could severely affect a woman’s access to reproductive health care, including, but not limited to, abortions. The regulation does not include patients’ rights, and federal funding can be taken away from clinics that do not comply. This is particularly damaging to low-income women who may not be able to visit multiple clinics to receive the healthcare they need.

Currently, there is a 30-day comment period for the regulation. Act now and send your comments to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt expressing your opposition to the regulation!

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Reproductive Justice

Thirty-Five Years of Choice

Blog for Choice Day

Today marks the 35th anniversary of Roe v Wade. Thirty-five years ago today the Supreme Court determined that abortion is legal until the fetus is viable outside the mother’s womb or if necessary to protect the health of the mother.

People across the United States are blogging about the importance of choice, specifically why it is important to vote pro-choice, while others are picketing and decrying the landmark legislation. Here at the UUA we are celebrating. The Unitarian Universalist Association has been a strong proponent of abortion rights since the 1960’s and has stood beside numerous organizations in support of Roe v. Wade. Many of our congregations and members have worked tirelessly to help women obtain safe abortions. Stories will be posted on the UUA website throughout the next few months; make sure to check www.uua.org and read the remarkable stories about UU’s and choice.

On this historic day, let us not take for granted all that has been accomplished for abortion rights. Year after year Roe v Wade and other abortion legislation is threatened. Both the appointment of conservative judges to the Supreme Court and the harmful decisions about access to abortion in individual states are real threats to Roe v Wade. We must continue to support abortion rights and let people know why we are pro-choice.

I am pro-choice because I feel a woman has a right to have control over her body. I am pro-choice because I feel women are strong and capable of making good decisions. And most of all I am pro-choice because I believe a child’s life is sacred and that children should be borne into loving and open arms.

Today, share your reasons for being pro-choice and listen to women that have made the tough decision to have an abortion. Reflect on what it means to you and what it means to others.

And remember, today is a day for celebration! Celebrate in support of a woman’s right to have control over her body. Celebrate thirty-five years of struggling to keep this protection in place. Celebrate those that continue to fight for access to abortion and an end to restrictive parental notification laws. Celebrate to give us hope and strength for the next thirty-five years.

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Reproductive Justice