Issue #13 THIS PERILOUS MOMENT

KEEP ABORTION ACCESSIBLE. SPEAK UP AND SPEAK OUT.

QUICK QUIZ
True or False?

1. The Supreme Court is poised to weaken or overturn the constitutional right to abortion this June.

2. Since 1973, over 1,300 abortion restrictions have become law in states across the US. Louisiana enacted 89, more than any other state.

3. The most harmful regulation—the 1976 Hyde Amendment—ended federal funding for Medicaid recipients’ abortions.

4. Abortion opponents have intimidated, injured, or murdered staff, used bombings and arson to damage or destroy abortion clinics, and continue to harass clinic clients.

5. If constitutional protection is revoked, abortion will become a criminal offense in many places.

6. Police in Texas arrested and charged a woman with murder for allegedly performing what they called a “self-induced abortion.”

These statements are all true.


THIS PERILOUS MOMENT
The majority of Americans want to keep abortion legal. What’s more, when faced with an untimely pregnancy, many anti-abortion people seek to terminate their own pregnancies or those of family members and friends.
Despite these facts, some abortion opponents relentlessly pursue obstacles to abortion care, and politicians use family planning issues to consolidate and retain power. As a result, the Supreme Court has the votes to end the right to abortion, and 20 states are ready to keep, revive, or enact abortion bans.
We must protect people from being forced to remain pregnant. This is no time to remain on the sidelines. Consider:

  • Donating to one of the more than 90 abortion funds helping vulnerable people obtain abortion care.

  • Sharing information about abortion pills and medication abortion, which make pregnancy termination more accessible.

  • Urging members of congress to pass the Women's' Health Protection Act when it is reintroduced in congress.

  • Contributing to one or more of the many local and national institutions working for reproductive freedom and family supports.

  • Staying focused on voting rights and political candidates willing to fight for legal abortion. These organizations offer vital information for doing this:

  1. NARAL Pro-Choice America lists the reproductive-freedom record of every member of congress.

  2. Force Multiplier spotlights key US senators and representatives needing our support.

  3. Seed the Vote and Movement Voter Project support volunteers working in states where candidates in favor of abortion rights face stiff competition.

  4. Planned Parenthood Action Funds provide election endorsements.

As OWRS--Older Women Remember and Speak Out, we (Elayne Archer, Vicki Breitbart, Betsey McGee, Jini Tanenhaus, and Alice Radosh) write short emails with reliable information that you can use to start conversations and support others doing the same. Previous emails are available at ARCHIVE. Share our emails on social media. Ask family, friends, and co-workers to go to OWRSpeakout.org and sign up.

We can’t change something we don’t talk about.
From Older Women Remember and Speak Out
OWRS Issue #13, April 2022

OWRS