Posts Tagged: abortion
Make Roe Real: Buffer Zones, and Drawing the Line Between Freedom of Speech and Violence
In the summer of 2012, I attended the Youth Organizing Policy Institute (YOPI) hosted by Planned Parenthood. It was the first reproductive policy conference (or hell, first conference of ANY kind) I’d ever attended. I was excited and energized to get started on meeting other young people passionate about the same issues I was. The conference itself was being held in Denver, inside the facilities of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains—a Planned Parenthood clinic that’s known for the anti-choice protesters that hang around outside it. The hotel where most conference goers stayed was right across the street from the clinic, so we were informed of how easy it’d be to walk to over to the conference. We were also warned about the anti-choice protesters we might encounter outside the… Read more »
Make Roe Real: How I Make My Personal Life Political
This week marks the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the famous Supreme Court Case that “guaranteed” the right to abortion to American women. But as we discussed just last month, subsequent court cases like Planned Parenthood v Casey seriously compromised the Roe promise, especially for young people. Limited funding and restrictive laws like parental notification requirements make it hard for young and low-income people to get the abortion care that they may need. There are many ways to help make the promise of Roe real for everyone. As a young, generally broke, over-committed college student I sometimes worry that I don’t have the monetary or social capital to really make a difference. But then I remember that the personal is political and by sweating the small stuff, fighting the… Read more »
Let’s Pledge to Make Roe Real
Written by Andrew Jenkins, URGE Field Associate In a few short days we’ll be celebrating a historic moment in the reproductive health and rights movement: the 41st anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade. As a young person, it can be hard to see what it is we’re actually celebrating though. Despite the misguided and pervasive notion that young people don’t get it, we’re facing some of the most strenuous, insurmountable obstacles to reproductive freedom this country has ever seen. For many young people today, Roe has very little meaning beyond its symbolic gesture. So how do we mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, when, in 2013, access to safe and affordable abortion is not a reality for so many people in… Read more »
Harassment – Coming to an Abortion Clinic Near You!
As if shutting down reproductive health clinics throughout the country with ridiculous restrictions and TRAP laws, anti-choice activists are making it even more difficult for people to exercise their freedom of choice. This past Wednesday, the US Supreme Courth began the hearings to the McCullen v. Coakley case. The Massachusetts buffer zone law creates a 35-feet bubble between protesters and the health clinic. Eleanor McCullen, an avid sidewalk “counselor” argues that first amendment rights are being violated when they are denied their right to practice freedom of speech wherever they choose. Well Eleanor, there’s a huge difference between free speech and hate speech. The current law seems to be a fair balance where anti-choice protesters are allowed to vocalize their message, just 35 feet away. The buffer zone provides a… Read more »
Keeping an Eye on the “Incremental” Abortion Restrictions in Ohio
I set out to write this piece about the impact that Governor Kasich’s budget bill has had in Ohio since it was signed into law six months ago. I thought the budget bill, or House Bill 59, was the worst blow to Ohio reproductive rights. What I didn’t know was that while House Bill 59 was a pretty tough blow, it was just one of many tough blows to the state’s fragmented reproductive rights protections. Turns out reproductive rights in Ohio have been steadily chipped away by the state’s government officials for over twenty years. Unless you have been part of the small group of people on the ground fighting back, you may not have known. And it’s all because of the approach the state government officials have taken. Instead… Read more »
Roe v. Wade, Young People and the Supreme Court
ThinkProgress recently published a fantastic yet depressing report on the Supreme Court’s gradual and subtle weakening of Roe v. Wade which has effectively nullified the right to an abortion in the United States. For many young people, reports like these may be one of the first instances where court cases that occurred after Roe v. Wade become visible. Planned Parenthood v. Casey has serious implications for young people in the United States, specifically legal minors and those who may need financial assistance. In Casey, the Supreme Court ruled that a state could impose 24-hour waiting periods and parental consent requirements without violating Roe v. Wade’s abortion guarantee. But for many young people, requirements like these effectively violate their right to the entire offering of reproductive choices.
The Truth about Teenage Pregnancy Rates
Have you heard the news? Pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates are at an all-time low for women ages 15-19. This recent statistic most likely surprises a lot of people. People often have the perception that teenage pregnancy is an “epidemic” among millennials, because we are clearly the most irresponsible and self-centered generation. Recently, I have had several conversations about pregnancy rates in the US. Because of the work I do in reproductive justice, I’m asked about “all of these girls who get pregnant in their teens” (a cringey way of asking about teen pregnancy regardless). I often ask, “What do you mean? Teenage pregnancy is at an all-time low compared to the nineties.”
Some Words for the Man Who Told Me I Should Be Ashamed
The summer of 2012, I was a public affairs intern at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Kansas and Mid-Missouri. I’d just finished my freshman year, and two months before the plan had been to get a job as a barista back home, to live yearning endlessly for my college town, where even if it’s not perfect, is at least a place where the pro-choice bumper stickers don’t get scraped off my car. But somehow in my feminist awakening
“I Work at an Abortion Clinic” – Life as an Advocate
“What do you do for a living?” This is not always the easiest question, especially if you work at a health clinic that provides abortion care. Recently I read this article about people who work at abortion clinics (presumably patient advocates and doctors) being pressured to leave their jobs by anti-choice groups. In many ways, pressuring patient advocates to leave reminded me of my own position as an advocate at a domestic violence shelter, and
Reproductive Rights in America Have Gotten Worse After Tiller
I know enough about abortion politics in this country, but I still didn’t know what to expect going in to see the movie After Tiller. For anyone planning on seeing it, and I urge everyone to see it, you might want to bring a some tissues. After Tiller is a documentary film that looks at late term abortion in the aftermath of Dr. George Tiller’s murder. The movie follows the four remaining doctors who perform all of the late term abortions in America. Dr. Tiller performed late term abortions in his clinic in Kansas. He was murdered in church by the anti-choice extremist Scott Roeder in May of 2009. Dr. Tiller was performing usher duties at Reformation Lutheran Church when Roeder walked in, shot and killed him. In an article… Read more »
