Building a Stronger Movement: Lessons from the Northeast Regional Conference
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
I was delighted to attend the Northeast Regional LSRJ Conference at New York Law School on February 13, 2010. Leigh Campbell and Courtney Patterson did an excellent job organizing. The theme was “The New War on Reproductive Justice: The Changing Tactics of the Anti-Choice Movement.” The following are the primary pieces of information I took away from each informative panel.
Jordan Goldberg from the Center for Reproductive Rights and Alexa Kolbi-Molinas from the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project discussed the importance of acting on a state and local level, rather than focusing only on Supreme Court decisions. The state representatives are much more likely to listen to individual members of their constituencies, meaning that time spent contacting legislators is certainly not wasted. Currently, there is legislation in many states throughout the country aimed at redefining life and personhood. If this legislation is passed it could effectively outlaw abortion, many forms of contraception and emergency contraception in that state. Additionally, it would open the doors to criminal charges on behalf of the fetus. Needless to say, the implications are staggering and those developments are worth following.
Sabrina Shulman, the Political Director at NARAL Pro-Choice New York, talked about the latest strategies of the anti-choice movement. Ms. Shulman described the movement as being an “under-the-radar campaign of fear and intimidation.” The most startling aspect to me (more…)