9/3/13

Free Abortions on Demand Without Apology | The Nation

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Free Abortions on Demand Without Apology

JessicaValentionAugust27,20131:51PMET
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Abortion rights advocates gather in Smith Park in Jackson, Mississippi, to rally support for a woman's right to an abortion, Saturday, July 15, 2006. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) When did so many feminists get polite on abortion? I cannot take hearing another pundit insist that only a small percentage of Planned Parenthoods work is providing abortions or that some women need birth control for medical reasons. Tiptoeing around the issue is exhausting, and its certainly not doing women any favors. Its time resuscitate the old rallying cry for free abortions on demand without apology. It may not be a popular message but its absolutely necessary. After all, the opposition doesnt have nearly as many caveats. Theyre fighting for earlier and earlier bans on abortions, pushing for no exceptions for rape and incest, fighting against birth control coverageeven insisting that they have the right to threaten abortion providers. The all-out strategy is working; since 2010, more than fifty abortion clinics have stopped providing services. The anti-choice movement isnt pulling any puncheswhy should we? This may be the outcome of 2012s war on women: messaging that mobilized voters, got mainstream media coverage and put reproductive rights at the center the national conversation. But efforts to appeal to all often meant framing reproductive rights issues in the most palatable way possible: by shying away from wholeheartedly supporting comprehensive abortion access.

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9/3/13

Free Abortions on Demand Without Apology | The Nation

Earlier this month, I went to the launch of All Above All, a campaign dedicated to restoring public funding for abortion. I listed to partners in the campaignrepresentatives from organizations like the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and the Center for Reproductive Rightsdescribe the desperate need to stop treating funding for abortion as a third-rail issue. They talked about women who had to sell diapers and formula to be able to afford their abortions, and the incredible toll the Hyde Amendment takes on low-income families. Its a message reproductive justice proponents and organizations have been hammering home for years, a message the mainstream movement has been hesitant to take on. I understand the trepidationwe live in a country where even talking about insurance coverage for birth control erupted in a national slut-shaming extravaganza. But the cost of remaining mainstream-friendly is too high. Women should not have to count on bowl-athons and yard sales to be able to access the care they need. As wonderful as abortion funds are, their existence is proof that the United States is failing the most in need.
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Too many of usespecially those with access and power to the mainstreamhave become convinced that public funding for abortions will never happen. But Hyde is only a given if we refuse to take it on. All feminists should be taking a cue from the work that reproductive justice organizations and activists have been doing for so longcentering the most marginalized. Free abortions on demand without apology is a call for equal access to a constitutional right. More importantly, its a promise that feminists wont ignore the needs of all women in favor of tailoring messages to the mainstream. Because being pro-choice means doing whats right, not whats popular. In her letter to Chelsea Manning, Aura Bogado talks about making the world a better place for all women.

RelatedTopics:Feminism|ReproductiveRights|Society
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Free Abortions on Demand Without Apology | The Nation

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