28 Reasons We're Still Fighting for Choice
(And you should too)
When the Supreme Court issued its landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, many
who supported a woman's right to choose thought that a long struggle was finally
over. But in some ways it had only begun: 28 years later we are still fighting to
ensure that all women have the full range of reproductive choices, including family
planning, abortion, and healthy pregnancy and childbirth.
We continue the struggle because pro-choice activism can create access to
essential reproductive health services. And we continue because opponents of a
woman's right to choose are fighting ceaselessly to take away every advance we have made.
Below are 28 of the reasons that we continue to fight for Choice in 2001:
1.The most anti-choice Governor in the U.S. now holds the nation's highest office.
2.For the first time since Roe v. Wade, we have an anti-choice House, Senate and President.
3.Before Roe v. Wade, illegal and unsafe abortion claimed women's lives throughout America. If abortion
were once again illegal, women would still have abortions, but they would be unsafe.
4.As of January 2001, the Supreme Court is only two votes away from outlawing abortion again.
5.President George W. Bush is attempting to fill his administration with anti-choice extremists like John
Ashcroft and Tommy Thompson. Ashcroft and Thompson not only have the power to do severe damage
to our reproductive rights but prove how serious Bush is about advancing his anti-choice agenda.
6.After prolonged pro-choice activism and anti-choice political maneuvering, mifepristone is finally
available to women in the U.S. - more than a decade after it was first available to women in France,
Sweden, Great Britain and elsewhere.
7.Support for a woman's right to choose acknowledges the variety of religious and philosophical beliefs in
today's society.
8.33% of California counties have no identifiable abortion provider. Nationwide, the percentage is 86%
overall, to 96% in rural counties.
9.Extremists opposed to Roe v. Wade have carried out a campaign of harassment, intimidation, bombing,
arson, anthrax threats, and even murder - and they show no signs of ending their assault on a woman's
right to choose.
10.64% of states prohibit most government funding for abortion, putting it out of reach for many poor
women.
11.Women who need hospital-based abortions may not be able to get them: only 5% of California's
hospitals are abortion-accessible.
12.United States servicewomen overseas can't get abortions in military hospitals, even if they are willing to
pay for the procedure with their own money. Federal employees can't choose a health plan that covers
abortion.
13.Catholic hospitals are taking over non-religious hospitals at a record rate, eliminating abortions, tubal
ligations, birth control and emergency contraception. Currently, Catholic Healthcare West is the largest
hospital group in California.
14.Thanks to pro-choice elected officials and activists, California women can get contraceptives through
insurance plans that cover other prescription drugs. Insurance companies in California, and the rest of the
country, have fought for years to be able to exclude contraceptives -- even though they were eager to
cover Viagra.
15.Legislatures nationwide are trying to outlaw specific abortion procedures, interfering in the most intimate
of physician-patient relationships.
16.Only 12% of OB-Gyn residency programs in the United States offer routine training in abortion.
17.School districts across the country are increasingly implementing "abstinence only" programs that offer
students misinformation and threaten their ability to make responsible decisions. These programs are
often mandated by anti-choice legislatures along with bans on any other form of sex education.
18.Parental notification and consent laws that are enforced in 32 states - and are regularly advanced as
legislative bills or ballot initiatives in California - endanger the health and well-being of minors, who may
resort to desperate measures rather than tell their parents they're contemplating abortion.
19.Only 1% of U.S. women have ever used emergency contraception, although it is up to 89% effective at
preventing unintended pregnancy.
20.An internet "hit list" advocates murdering abortion providers and people who support the right to choose
- and a new list is geared toward mifepristone providers.
21.Teenagers need access to family planning advice and contraceptives in order to avoid pregnancy. Yet
anti-choice activists and politicians successfully restrict access to education, contraception and abortion
for teens.
22.Pro-choice activism increases our options - two emergency contraceptive kits that arrived on the market
in the late 1990's have the potential to prevent millions of unwanted pregnancies.
23.Even when birth control is available, it is never foolproof; abortion will be needed as long as birth control
can fail.
24.Reproductive choice is one of the gains of the 20th century, along with suffrage for women and gains
made in the civil rights era.
25.Many anti-abortion activists and groups trying to overturn Roe v. Wade oppose abortion even in cases of
rape, incest or life endangerment. Many also oppose making contraceptives better or more accessible,
which would obviously prevent many abortions.
26.With all the gains that women have made, it may seem as though the fight is over. But until women have
control over their own bodies and reproductive health, equality will not be reached.
27.If abortion rights were firmly established, we could spend our time on preventing the need for abortion
through public sexuality education and increased availability of contraception.
28.Come on - it's the year 2001 and we need to move forward with trust and compassion for women, not
to strip women's hard-fought gains. |
