Posts Tagged: MakeRoeReal
Abortion Speakout harkens Back to Pro-choice Activism’s Roots
On January 19th, over 100 people shared their abortion stories during a six hour live-streamed Abortion Speakout hosted by the 1 in 3 Campaign, a grassroots organization dedicated to ending the shame people are made to feel about their abortion . Dubbed the “people’s brief” to the Supreme Court, the speakout provided a platform for people from around the country to share their experiences and respond to the Supreme Court’s decision to review one of the most important abortion cases in two decades. The virtual Speakout brought a decidedly vintage political strategy into the 21st century. Providing a platform for people who have had an abortion to tell their beautifully complex stories free of shame is an unflinchingly radical practice which predates the “right to privacy” celebrated in Roe v. Wade in 1973. Before Roe,… Read more »
Make Roe Real: A World Without Roe
Thank you to the world of Roe. It’s been 41 years since the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision, making abortions legal in the United States. When talking about Roe, it’s important to remember we are all making efforts to not only make Roe real, but keep Roe a reality. A way to do that is to reflect on what society would look like in a world without the important SCOTUS decision. Lawmakers and legislators around the country are slowly bringing down the pillars to safe and legal abortions. Though it’s legal, anti-choice groups are doing everything they can to restrict access and to put up as many barriers as possible to it. If they continue winning these legislative victories, the court decision might be stripped of all its power… Read more »
Make Roe Real: The Story of Gerri Santoro and Others
In 1964, an image of a young woman named Geraldine Santoro made history. Gerri, as she liked to be called, lived in Connecticut with her two children, recently separated from an abusive husband. After her separation she’d met a man named Clyde Dixon and began their extramarital affair in secret and eventually became pregnant by him. Gerri’s husband, Sam, had plans of visiting their daughters, and fearing for her life Gerri made a decision to terminate the pregnancy by any means possible. On June 8th in 1964, Gerri and Clyde checked into a hotel in Connecticut with the intention of doing the procedure themselves. When Clyde realized that Gerri was beginning to hemorrhage he fled, leaving Gerri to die alone, bloody, and in agony. Gerri’s body was found the next… Read more »
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 »
