Today marks the 36th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. In response, NARAL has asked that bloggers dedicate a blog to choice today.
I think it’s a great idea to get work out in the blogosphere. Not only is it the 36th anniversary of a very important legal decision that drastically affected women’s lives, it is also 2 days after Barack Obama has become our President. In addition to the historic election of an African-American, the departure of George Bush, and the exciting prospect of having a progressive president in the White House, it is also important to say that it’s an incredible change for good to have a President on the side of women’s reproductive rights.
Though an executive order has not YET been secured, I have been hearing word that Obama will soon reverse the Bush “Mexico City” policy of banning government aid to ANY international orgs that even *mention* the word “abortion.” This has drastically affected women who need health care and family planning the most. In addition, I hope President Obama will reverse what Bush has done to birth control.
*if you have beliefs that result in your inability to perform your duties as a doctor, pharmacist, medical staff, etc, then YOU NEED TO FIND A NEW JOB. the patient must NOT pay for that.
“ I’m just a loud-mouthed middle-aged colored lady with a fused spine and three feet of intestines missing and a lot of people think I’m crazy. Maybe you do too, but I never stop to wonder why I’m not like other people. The mystery to me is why more people aren’t like me. ”
“ Women all over the world need to do whatever they can so that women’s voices, wherever they are, will not be silent. Never again. We need to work for women’s right to stand up and say anything they want without the fear of being silenced or beaten or murdered or deprived or fired. I hope every woman who hears me will identify her own power to change her life, and the lives of others, whether in her community, her family, or her country. ”
Sarai Aharoni, Israeli feminist who fights for women’s voices in the Israel-Palestine peace process. She facilitated the acceptance of Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security which was accepted by the United Nations Security Council in October 2000 and is seen by the international women’s movement as one of the biggest achievements of the movement during the last decade. It officially recognizes the need to incorporate women in all peace negotiations and everything to do with conflicts—prevention, management, and resolution.
“ I think of feminism as a socially just and imaginative world. You know, in my twenties I was taught that feminism meant we had to be supersmart, in the realm of intellectualism—to make rational, detached, unemotional pleas. But now I think what Gloria and all our sisters have given us is imagination. It’s a question of: Can I imagine that world? ”
Virginia Apgar. Invented the Apgar test that is used to assess the health of newborns— at a time when female doctors were nearly nonexistent. It has drastically reduced infant mortality everywhere.
