Posts Tagged: abortion
Abortion Access Month: Improving Access in 5 Easy Steps
September is an important month for reproductive justice activism. Besides the fact that it’s my birth month, it also happens to be Abortion Access Month. This September also marks the 38th year of the dreadful piece of legislation called the Hyde Amendment. The Hyde Amendment makes it extremely hard for low income people to access abortion care. Roe is law of the land but you wouldn’t know it with all of the 1,100 abortion and reproductive health restrictions laws introduced all over the country in 2011 alone. 2011 was “The Year of Abortion Restrictions” but 2013 may end up with even more anti-choice laws on the books. A recent Toledo closing of an abortion clinic is among the latest casualties I am seeing here in Ohio as a result the… Read more »
Assembly Bill 154 and Young Californians: Increasing Access to Safe Abortion Care
California is nationally recognized as one of the most progressive states in the Union and a national trendsetter for progressive issues, including reproductive justice. In fact, I am proud to report that the Golden State has none of the major types of abortion restrictions, such as waiting periods, mandated parental involvement or limitations on publicly funded abortions, in place. However, our lack of legal roadblocks to safe, affordable, and accessible abortion care do not mean that every Californian has the same kind of access or that access is uninhibited. In fact, my home state is the perfect example of why the fight for reproductive justice is always important and never finished. Assembly Bill 154, or the Early Access to Abortion Bill, is the next piece of vital legislation for Californians,… Read more »
Abortion Access Month: How (Dis)Ability Can No Longer Be Ignored
What does abortion access look like to you? For many, it’s having private insurances and Medicaid cover the cost of the procedure, creating strong networks of social support and not having to drive five hours or out of state for a clinic. September is Abortion Access Month; For the reproductive justice movement, access is more than just Roe vs. Wade. It’s access on all levels – being able to afford the procedure, erasing the stigma behind it and having a high quality clinic nearby. What the movement tends to forget in this fight is how ability can impact accessibility.
An Open Letter to Senator Marco Rubio
Senator, as I am sure you are aware, it was forty years ago that the landmark court case of Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in the United States. But as I see my fellow low-income women, women of color, and queer women repeatedly denied not only abortion care access under the Hyde Amendment but also access to comprehensive sex education across our state I am personally reminded of the absolute worthlessness that Roe has to us because of you and other anti-choice politicians. I understand that you “feel very strongly about this issue”, Senator. But I must admit it’s rather curious to me that you wish to lead a 20 week abortion ban when less than two percent of abortions take place after 20 weeks, according to a study released… Read more »
Kansas Opens Its Doors For Women’s Health
It is with great pleasure that I am able to write about the recent opening of a full service* women’s health clinic including: STI Testing & Treatment, Contraception, Plan B, Well-Woman Exams, Medical & Surgical Abortion, Pregnancy Confirmation, Abortion Counseling, and much more in my hometown of Wichita, Kansas. The South Wind Women’s Center LLC opened nearly four years after the hate-driven murder of Dr. George Tiller, a hero and champion of all women. Julie Burkhart, director of Trust Women and former colleague of Dr. Tiller, saw this huge gap in health care services for hundreds of thousands of Kansas women and did something about it. Knowing the centrally conservative nature of my city, I can only imagine how difficult and intimidating it would be to reopen this clinic in… Read more »
Making Communities Healthier
Cross-posted with permission from Provide. “Places get healthier when the people who live in them make informed choices about what they put in their bodies, and when the communities themselves are committed to better health. Those steps improve the workforce and change how families use their resources.” Dee Davis,Speak Your Piece: Living in a fixer upper I was struck by this quote from Dee Davis, president and founder of the Center for Rural Strategies in Whitesburg, KY because it reminded me of what we believe at Provide and why we are working in rural communities to increase access to abortion. Abortion access may only be one of the health-related issues a rural woman might face in her lifetime, but it is the one she may be most reluctant to discuss with a social service… Read more »
A Woman’s Issue, RIP.
This post is part of a series celebrating Choice USA’s Bro-Choice Week of Action. For more information, please visit our website and take the Bro-Choice pledge. My name is Travis Ballie and I am writing to announce the death of the “woman’s issue.” It died June 4, 1988, when an asthmatic brown boy was born into an opinionated and ambitious immigrant enclave of women. It died when that brown boy’s mother, grandmother, and aunt pooled their funds, love, and wisdom to raise him to never feel foreign in this new land of America. It died when that boy walked across the stage as the first member of his family to graduate college, the women in his life being too busy raising him to ever consider the option for themselves. That… Read more »
Lo Que Los Fanáticos Religiosos Se Esconden
“that which the religious zealots are hiding” So I’m a little bummed today. The legislation in Kansas we’ve been fighting against was passed in both the House and Senate. It waits to receive its guaranteed signature from Governor Sam Brownback, who has continually proven to support harmful legislation that further endangers and marginalizes women. This recent development proves that Kansas does not have women’s best interest in mind. We did not lose without fighting. Senator David Haley, D-Kansas City, was a champion for us during the hearing. He stood up to dangerous wording and implications of the new laws. He went as far as to say that Republicans promote “narrow Taliban-like philosophies on our state’s persons.” I can’t say I disagree. Please can someone PLEASE tell me how it’s helpful… Read more »
How to Get an Abortion
Let’s imagine five years from now we lose the rest of what remains of our civil liberties and all abortions are outlawed. Obviously just because it is illegal, does not make it unwanted. So what’s a girl to do when she experiences an unplanned pregnancy? Well don’t worry; I’ve compiled a list of options compiled by our all-knowing internet. Please note this is purely satirical and under no circumstances do I suggest attempting any of these procedures. In high school I often heard girls in the bathroom talking about high amounts Vitamin C to have a “natural” abortion. This highly trusted blog says that “the vitamin C works to produce an unfavorable climate within the uterus so that the egg does not implant, or cannot maintain its grip on the… Read more »
Expanding Access to Abortion in California Could Be a Model for the Country
By Katherine Sheldon, Co-Vice President of Choice USA at Sacramento State Let us start by taking a moment on behalf of uteruses everywhere to give thanks to Roe v. Wade for allowing us to do what we want, when we want, with our bodies. Forty years after becoming law, there are still people fighting to take our rights to our own bodies away from us. Over the last two years, 135 laws have been passed across the nation restricting abortion access. This is not only physically dangerous for women, but it shows them that the government doesn’t take their health seriously. AB 154 is a bill that will allow more medical professionals, including nurses and midwives, the ability to perform first-trimester abortions. Allowing these professionals to perform abortions increases the… Read more »
