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30th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade Statement

Reproductive Freedom Task Force of Refuse & Resist!

ABORTION ON DEMAND AND WITHOUT APOLOGY!

January 22, 2003 will mark the 30th anniversary of the landmark abortion rights decision of Roe v. Wade. We celebrate this 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade in a climate of war, repression, racism and misogyny. In this time of momentous challenges to reproductive freedom, the Reproductive Freedom Task Force of Refuse & Resist! issues a clarion call to defend Roe and the providers that make abortion possible, more relentlessly than ever!

Although Roe was an imperfect compromise that, in fact, only assured women the ultimate decision-making power in the first trimester of pregnancy; it did grant, for the first time, millions of women a legal right to define their own biological destiny. Sadly, the fragile promise of choice has never seemed quite so fragile as it is today, two years into the Bush presidency. The government’s assault on reproductive rights has been a part of the ongoing and larger repressive agenda in this country, exported to women all across the globe, and now being accelerated by the Bush administration. As a New York Times editorial said on Jan. 12th, 2003, “it is apparent that reversing or otherwise eviscerating the Supreme Court's momentous 1973 ruling that recognized a woman's fundamental right to make her own childbearing decisions is indeed Mr. Bush's mission. The lengthening string of anti-choice executive orders, regulations, legal briefs, legislative maneuvers and key appointments emanating from his administration suggests that undermining the reproductive freedom essential to women's health, privacy and equality is a major preoccupation of his administration second only, perhaps, to the war on terrorism.”

We cannot comfortably celebrate the legality of abortion when the termination of government payment of abortions for the poor puts millions of women at grave risk to their health and ability to better their lives. We cannot tolerate a climate of legal misogyny, in which the President of the United States signs a bill giving all hospitals, religious or otherwise, the right to claim exemption from dispensing emergency contraception, even to rape victims! We cannot accept a state of affairs in which 86% of all U.S. counties lack any abortion providers, because they have been driven from the field by a climate of siege and terror. Seven doctors and clinic staff have been murdered, more than thirty others wounded, and hundreds of clinics closed because of attacks, threats and economic pressure. Other doctors have been tied up in laborious litigation or jailed on bogus charges. The ramifications could not be clearer or starker: put simply, without providers, there is no choice!

In such a climate, and for the 30th year of Roe v. Wade, there is a powerful way every person in this country can stand up and be counted on the side of abortion rights: on March 10th, honor your providers for saving women’s lives! In 1996, Refuse and Resist! initiated the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers, to fall on the anniversary of the first physician murdered, Dr. David Gunn. Openly honoring our providers is an expression of defiance against those who would like to silence them forever.

In this atmosphere of repression and ugliness, we can set new terms for the fight and preserve the values we cherish. We won’t go back to the bad old days of abortions in back alleys or on kitchen tables, by coat-hanger and by bleach, in shame, prejudice and silence. On March 10th, let’s stand, more firmly and gratefully than ever, with the courageous men and women who risk their lives every day to keep abortion safe and accessible. Together, we can turn the slender thread of choice into an unbreakable rope of solidarity, equality, and accessibility.

For more information or comments: Reproductive Freedom Task Force (RFTF) of Refuse & Resist! email: rftf@refuseandresist.org

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Join Refuse & Resist!
305 Madison Ave., Suite 1166, New York, NY 10165
Phone: 212-713-5657
email: info@refuseandresist.org