A New Year for Reproductive Justice
2009 is here, and I think many of us are grateful to say goodbye to the old year–a year of economic catastrophe and, for those supporting progressive causes, a frustrating final hurrah of a lame duck administration inimical to many areas of human rights, including reproductive rights. As LSRJ members prepare to start school again, our eyes turn unavoidably towards January 20th–the day we hope to see a new era of reproductive justice allies in the U.S. executive branch. With Democratic Senator Tom Daschle as the new Cabinet head of Health and Human Services, the Obama administration’s most pressing task in the reproductive health department will be to repeal the damaging new regulations promulgated by the outgoing regime that give a “right of conscience” allowing providers to refuse health services. We’ll be watching closely to see whether our new leaders make this important repair job a priority.
Here’s a short round-up of links for this first week of January:
– The Vatican, continuing to maintain their hard-line position against reproductive freedom, has adopted an environmental argument against the use of contraceptives. While feminizing hormones in the water supply is certainly a serious health concern, the Catholic Church’s ingenuous statement that the pollution derives chiefly from birth control ignores a much more significant, better established source of synthetic estrogen: industrial pollution, particularly from pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and plastics. It’s clear that the Church’s official position has less to do with genuine concern for the environment than with a continued effort to undermine women’s rights and health.
– Logan Kelly of RH Reality Check outlines the success of Death with Dignity campaigns, pointing out the similarity of right to death laws to abortion rights:
It’s fall of 2008, and a ballot measure is up for popular vote in Washington state. Supporters say the measure would expand choice and individual autonomy, while opponents warn voters to “protect the vulnerable.” Catholic dioceses across the country pour money into the opposition campaign, and the measure’s supporters warn of the encroaching power of one religious group to mandate morals for all. Then the opposition ramps up fears that an individual would not even need to notify their spouse to undergo a medical procedure. Sounds like a typical abortion campaign, right? In fact, this ballot measure legalized aid in dying in Washington state.
– An article in the New York Times focuses on the use of misoprostol and other non-medical methods of abortion among the urban Dominican-Latina community. Because of cultural stigma against abortion, many women choose less safe alternatives rather than risk being seen entering a clinic–but may risk their own health in the process.
– To end today’s blog entry on a positive note, RH Reality Check lists 2008’s Top Ten Wins for Women’s Health, including triumphs for reproductive rights both here in the US and abroad. 2008 was not without its bright spots–and I for one am looking forward to an even brighter year for reproductive justice in 2009.