Sunsara Taylor | July 23, 2013

“I am a volunteer clinic escort at Jackson Women’s Health Org., the last abortion clinic in Mississippi. The undue burden that women must endure to travel hours to our only clinic is heartbreaking. Yet they are so grateful to have this ‘last resort’ to turn to when making one of the most crucial decisions in their lives. If it takes fighting to my last breath, THIS CLINIC STAYS OPEN!”

—D.H., signer of the "Abortion on Demand and Without Apology" statement and donor to the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride

Abortion is an issue that divides this country. This is no accident. How one thinks and feels about abortion flows fundamentally from how one views women.

We recognize that women are full human beings who must have the right – through unrestricted and unstigmatized access to birth control and abortion – to decide for themselves when and whether they will have children. We reject the view that a woman's highest purpose and fundamental “duty” is to bear children, even those she does not want or cannot care for.

Reproductive rights are in a state of emergency. Abortion is an issue that divides this country. This is no accident. How one thinks and feels about abortion flows fundamentally from how one views women.

Dr. David Gunn was educated at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee and received his M.D. from the University of Kentucky. Dr. Gunn completed his residency in OB/GYN in Nashville, where he was named Chief Resident. Upon completion of his residency, Dr. Gunn moved to Brewton, Alabama. Dr. Gunn elected to live in a poor, rural community where no other OB/GYN was practicing. Initially a specialist in infertility, Dr. Gunn began performing abortions for the same reason he chose to aid women who were having trouble conceiving: he believed that patients have the right to decide for themselves what services they need.In effect, Dr. Gunn believed that the physician served the patient; he was committed to providing all of his patients’ health care needs without judgment.

We spent most of yesterday at the Supreme Court for the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. We began by honoring the doctors and providers who risk their lives every day to provide women with abortions.

We read statements from some of these doctors as passersby paused to listen. Behind us was a droning voice of a hate-filled anti-abortion fanatic (he later called one of our leaders, “Bitch!” and threatened to “knock [her] out”). Off to the side were a hundred or more anti-abortion activists praying in small circles or kneeling in prayer before the Supreme Court.

Jan 21-26: Week of Action— Washington, DC and San Francisco

Abortion and birth control are fundamental rights. Forcing women to have children against their will is a form of enslavement. And if women—half of humanity—are not free, then no one is free. 

January 22, 2013 will mark the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion. Yet today, abortion is morestigmatized, more dangerous to provide, and more difficult to access than at any time in the last 40 years.

On Tuesday, January 15th, the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law  published our study, “Arrests of and Forced Interventions on Pregnant Women in the United States, 1973-2005: Implications for Women’s Legal Status and Public Health.” This study makes clear that post-Roe anti-choice and “pro-life” measures are being used to do more than limit access to abortion; they are providing the basis for arresting women, locking them up, and forcing them to submit to medical interventions, including surgery.

We are fast approaching the 40-year anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion on January 22, 1973. Yet, the stark reality is that despite its formal legality, abortion is more stigmatized, more dangerous to provide, and more difficult to access than at any time in the last 40 years.

by Samantha Goldman

We may have forgotten what a Dark Ages mentality looks like in office with George Bush’s departure, so Republican office holders are reminding us.

From the SF Bay Chapter of World Can't Wait

Sunday August 26th, a coalition of many organizations put together by the new organization, WORD [Women Organized to Resist and Defend]  came together for a  March and Rally to "Stop the attacks on women's rights".   The event began with a rally with short speeches at the 24th Street BART in San Francisco which is heavily Latino.  The circular setting with the BART structure in the background was excellent. 

Press release from Stop Patriarchy!
August 13, 2012. New York, NY: 

“The church must not be allowed to be a sanctuary for slavery and forced motherhood is female enslavement” said Sunsara Taylor upon her release from jail after a night at the MidTown North NYPD precinct. Taylor and fellow activist Alice Woodward were arrested on Sunday, August 12 at 1:05 pm as they were leaving St. Patrick's Cathedral. The two were part of a group of women and men who stood up during a break in the church service and shouted, "Abortion on demand and without apology!" "Forced motherhood is female enslavement!" and “Stop the war on women!"

Beyond the Catholic Church's long-standing opposition to both birth control and abortion, St. Patrick's Cathedral is the home of Cardinal Timothy Dolan who spearheaded the recent lawsuit and political outcry by Catholic bishops against new requirements that Catholic institutions provide birth control coverage to secular employees.