Reproductive Freedom in Peril: A Perspective on Women's History Month
Synopsis: Mass NARAL encourages men and women to continue to fight for reproductive rights during Women’s History Month.
Statement of Mass NARAL Executive Director, MELISSA KOGUT
Boston, Massachusetts – “Throughout the month of March, celebrations and events across the country will mark Women’s History Month, honoring the successes of women through the decades. Central to women’s history is the struggle for reproductive freedom culminating in Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that established the right to choose and changed the course of women’s lives. Three decades later, the right to choose is an embattled freedom, under assault by an anti-choice President, House and Senate.
“Today, the freedom to choose is poised to become the first civil right in American history to be taken away. Since 1995 alone, Congress has voted 148 times on matters affecting reproductive rights and all but 25 were lost. President Bush and the anti-choice leadership in Congress are working daily to restrict reproductive freedom and strip women of this fundamental civil right.
“The President’s actions to restrict abortion, limit access to contraception and gut sex education have been unthinkable. They include anti-choice executive orders, regulations, legal briefs, legislative maneuvers, and anti-choice appointments. The appointment of just one anti-choice justice – the gravest threat to choice – will be enough to overturn Roe. If given the opportunity, Bush has said he will nominate justices modeled on Scalia and Thomas – the Court’s two most ardent opponents of Roe.
“Women in Massachusetts already face limitations on their ability to exercise their rights, including a dwindling number of abortion providers and lack of access for low-income and uninsured women.
“Women’s History Month provides an opportunity to reflect upon women’s achievements and celebrate successes. It’s also a time for a renewed call to action. Mass NARAL is fighting hard to change history’s course by joining with NARAL Pro-Choice America to launch a massive new nationwide mobilization initiative.
“By mobilizing across the state, along with other states across the country, we will secure the right to choose the same way we won it - one person, one neighborhood, one community, one state and eventually one nation at a time. We will use a combination of old-fashioned shoe leather and community-to-community organizing to educate, mobilize and rally the pro-choice majority to protect the rights central to Roe.
“Additionally, Mass NARAL is working to build support for the Emergency Contraception Bill authored by the Coalition for Choice, a statewide coalition chaired by Mass NARAL and including organizations dedicated to protecting reproductive freedom in Massachusetts. The bill would make emergency contraception available at pharmacies through a collaborative agreement with doctors and require hospitals to provide EC to rape survivors.
“Emergency contraception has tremendous untapped potential to reduce unintended pregnancy. Mass NARAL is proud to be leading efforts at the State House to secure support for the bill and educate the public about the potential benefits of EC.”
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