The current climate for women’s reproductive health rights is
frighteningly chilly. For the first time in the 31-year history of
legal abortion, government officials are seriously threatening Roe
v. Wade. President Bush’s personal pledge has been the abolishment
of Roe v. Wade, and he has gained significant ground since he began
his term. The partial-birth abortion ban that he signed last
November is simply a catalyst to outlaw abortion.
If you think that Bush isn’t serious about taking away a woman’s
right to choose, chew on this fact: 169 anti choice judges have
been appointed by Bush, which according to pro-choice officials
means that we are only two votes away from making abortion a crime.
Furthermore, pro-choice organizations say he won’t stop there. They
claim that he will ultimately eliminate rights to family planning
and even contraception!
Most of us in the Mills community don’t remember the days of
back alley abortions, but our mothers and grandmothers do. They
remember the suffering, sickness and death that accompanied the
laws that were in place, and doctors that were unwilling to help
them. We cannot return to that time. We have come so far.
Many women of the Mills community have enjoyed the luxury of
being born in to a society of reproductive freedom. Now, we must
stand up to protect the right that was so fervently fought for. We
must accept the torch that is being passed on from our mothers and
grandmothers, to honor them and to protect the future for our own
daughters and granddaughters.
The Weekly feels passionately that in this time, especially at a
woman’s college, we must individually and collectively take a
stand. Here are some things that you can do to protect women’s
reproductive rights:
-Write letters to your senator and congressman/woman and let
them know what you think.
-Go to www.prochoiceaction.org and sign the petition for The
Freedom of Choice Act, initiated by Barbara Boxer.
-Spread the word. Tell your friends, sisters, mothers, brothers,
and partners what dangers we are facing and have them get involved
in the fight.
-Vote Bush out of office. Get behind a pro-choice candidate and
get everyone you know to do the same.
-Educate your children on this civil liberty and it’s importance
to all citizens.
-Go to the march in Washington D.C. in April, for more info go
to www.marchforchoice.org
-Volunteer at your local family planning health center.
If this sounds like a call to action, it is. We must defend this
civil liberty; we mustn’t take for granted that it will always be
here. We need to act and the time is now.
