National non-profit erects pro-abortion billboards across state
A national non-profit is working with college students and young leaders in Alabama to destigmatize abortion, including raising four new billboards placed around the state Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity (URGE) works with young people to promote sexual and reproductive justice and lead grassroots movements in communities reproductive rights are at stake. Kimberly Inez McGuire, executive director of URGE, said the non-profit wants to show that people who have had an abortion or need to have an abortion are not alone. She said young people are often the ones most harmed by abortion ban legislation and that many young people in Alabama are engaged in fighting for reproductive rights…
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Keep in mind that if you are a minor, you will likely need parental consent to get an abortion. “Unfortunately, most states force young people under 18 to involve their parents in their decision to end a pregnancy,” Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, previously told Elite Daily. “Most of these states require the consent or notification of only one parent, though some states require the involvement of both parents.”
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Annabeth Mellon: …This May, Alabama passed the most restrictive abortion ban in the country, which would outlaw the procedure, even in cases of rape and incest. The bill was passed by 25 Republican male senators and signed into law by Republican governor Kay Ivey. When the bill passed, Mellon grieved what was happening to her beloved state. Then she sprang into action. As the president of her college chapter’s Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity (URGE)—where she helps students on campus get access to reproductive health care and hosts events that create safe spaces to talk about body autonomy—she’s working to help raise money for local grassroots organizations like the Yellowhammer Fund and the National Network of Abortion Funds. While the debates about abortion access have raged across the country, for Mellon, activism is all about… Read more »
Boycott or Not? Many Organizers in Abortion Ban States Say “No”
Executive Director Kimberly Inez McGuire of Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity (URGE), which works in both Alabama and Georgia, says the idea of a boycott is complicated; she doesn’t “support boycotts that aren’t asked for or didn’t originate in the states.” In Georgia…during session, there was some discussion of boycotts. But I support the self-determination of local communities. For us, the question is: “What are our young people doing? What are our partners saying?”
Abortion is still legal in America
Still, reproductive rights advocates say that despite problems with access, people throughout the country, including in Alabama, should know that they can still get abortions. “On the federal level, abortion is still legal. Roe is still in place,” Monica Edwards, an Alabama native and fellow with the group Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, told Vox before the Alabama law was signed. People who have questions about accessing an abortion in their state should contact their local abortion fund, she said.
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“Imagine trying to navigate steep or icy stairs just to get to affordable transportation. Now, imagine having to do that on your way to or from an appointment for an abortion or other necessary healthcare,” says Kimberly Inez McGuire, Executive Director of Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity (URGE). “It’s not enough to have abortion clinics and other healthcare providers in our communities. In order to access those services, people also need to have childcare, transportation to clinics, and paid sick leave. It’s about the bigger picture of what reproductive justice truly means.”
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“Patriarchy and misogyny is absolutely holding women back and actively holding back trans and non-binary folks at the same time. Our patriarchal system is about keeping cis men in power,” said Alexis Cole, policy director of URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, who focuses on reproductive health care in the South and advocates for queering reproductive justice spaces. “In light of Kennedy’s retirement, that also shows us the importance, given that Kennedy was an important vote on abortion and LGBTQ rights. We know our fates are sealed together here,” she added.
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Leading the push for reproductive justice are women like Johnson, who’s been working with URGE, a youth-driven organization centered on gender, reproductive rights, and sexual health issues, since 1999. “This administration has already brought a number of daunting challenges to our doorstep,” Johnson tells Bustle. “But women, people of color, young people, immigrants, we know what it’s like to fight impossible odds. We have to continue to be vigilant and resist and protest and dissent and expose the lies and hypocrisy and continue to take action because we really do have power both to change hearts and minds and to change policies.”
U.S. House Votes To Permanently Ban Taxpayer Funding For Abortion
Kierra Johnson, executive director of Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity (URGE), also noted that the bill would disproportionately affect women who are already at a disadvantage. “Black women in our country are already suffering the harms of bans on abortion coverage, and rather than improving our access to necessary health services, the new Congress is obsessed with restricting abortion and doubling down on the Hyde Amendment,” she said. “Americans are more supportive than ever of keeping abortion legal, available, and covered by insurance. Shame on these out-of-touch politicians.”
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“He made it clear that he was going to wage war on women and on issues of abortion rights and sexual health and bodily autonomy,” Johnson said. “We know we’ve got a fight ahead of us, and we’re committed to engaging in it. We’re going to work like hell to continue to move the needle on repealing Hyde, and we’re going to be even more ferocious in our fight for justice at the state level.”
