We are a group of people who refuse to allow attacks on the right to reproductive freedom to go unchallenged. Abortions will happen- whether they are safe, legal, and in a clinic or doctors office, or unsafe while at home or in a back-alley, putting women at risk. Hundreds of thousands of women, men, and other allies fought long and hard through the ’60s and ’70s for the right to safe and legal abortion- unfortunately, decades of attack have meant those rights have been steadily chipped away. Since 2010 alone, 338 new restrictions on abortions have been passed across the country, and 87% of US counties lack abortion providers.
The approach of non-confrontation which many feminist organizations have pursued in response to this onslaught has unfortunately been a failing strategy. Now, more than ever, we need a fighting grassroots movement.
We refuse to go back to a time when scared women with few options sought back-alley procedures. We also recognize that abortion procedures will always be available to the wealthy, and that attacks on our rights are also attacks on poor, working women- particularly women of color. If “pro-lifers” really cared about children, they would fight for money for families, a better education system, higher wages, and equality for all people. Their hypocrisy is made clear in that fact that they only appear to care about life when it is in the womb, not after it is delivered.
For too long reproductive justice advocates have taken a “moral high ground” approach. This clearly has not worked. It is time to go on the offensive- to stand up against right-wing bigots trying to roll back our rights, and to push back for OUR side, to demand equal access to healthcare and the right to full decision-making power over our bodies.
We assert:
- A free and equal society MUST begin with FULL ABORTION RIGHTS. We must have full autonomy over our bodies and medical decisions and giving birth must be a voluntary decision.
- We want FREE AND LEGAL ABORTION ON DEMAND, no legal restrictions, no parental consent forms, no waiting periods, no 20-week bans, no economic or racial barriers to access.
No apologies. - Politicians and NGOs might at times be allies, but winning full abortion rights NECESSITATES A FIGHTING GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT that democratically makes decisions about political tactics, responses, and demands, independent of parties, NGOs, and lobbyists.
Press:
- Anti-abortion politics are far right politicsFor over forty years, abortion clinics in the U.S. have served as a theater for right-wing spectacle, featuring pickets, religious processions, arson, and even murder. Megan Lessard describes the history of the anti-abortion movement in the U.S. and explains that it is an important part of the growing threat posed by the far right. Read on … Read more
- The Fight for Abortion Must Be Part of the Fight for Medicare for AllAnti-abortion advocates have gained ground in recent decades by separating abortion from health care overall. We have to see abortion rights as an integral part of the fight for Medicare for All.
- The Abortion Rights Movement Must Rethink Its StrategyIn the face of an aggressive assault by the right, the abortion rights movement should abandon its defensive stance and advocate fully integrating abortion into the country’s healthcare system.
- Abortion Access Will Only be Won Through a Broad Grassroots MovementThe attacks on abortion rights aren’t new. Here, Anne Rumberger explains why we can’t trust the Democrats, we have to build a movement for reproductive justice.
- Defend Your ClinicsIt’s time for an abortion rights movement that’s not directed from the top-down by the Democratic Party and big nonprofits. Clinic defense is a crucial part of that mass, democratic, and militant movement.
- “Shout Your Abortion!”The Alabama abortion ban and the spate of draconian “heartbeat” laws are vicious attacks on reproductive rights. We have to fight back with an unequivocal demand: free abortion on demand.
- Why I Believe It’s Important to Reclaim the Space in Front of Abortion ClinicsPutting my body in the street has raised the stakes for me.
- The Lessons Of Our CounterprotestsJen Roesch, one of the organizers of a February 11 counterprotest against anti-abortion forces in New York City, looks at the political questions raised by this success.
- Planned Parenthood Asked These Pro-Choice Activists Not to Rally Outside Its Clinic. Here’s Why They Did Anyway.Under Trump, strategies have diverged.
- Why We Counter-ProtestAnti-abortion groups have called a nationwide day of protest at Planned Parenthood clinics on February 11 to support defunding the women’s health-care provider. They intend, according to their website, “to call on Congress and President Trump to strip Planned Parenthood of all federal funding and reallocate those funds to health centers that help disadvantaged women without … Read more