Fighting Back: Protecting Reproductive Rights

Looking out onto the landscape of reproductive rights, there are great challenges and obstacles. However, they cannot be allowed to overshadow the victories and hard work pro-choice activists are doing across the country.

Late last month in Albuquerque New Mexico, an extreme municipal ban on abortions after 20-weeks of gestation was voted down by a wide margin. Albuquerque is the only city in New Mexico where with facilities that perform abortions later in pregnancy; if the ballot measure had passed, it would have effectively ended access across the state. It was truly an immense success! Around the same time in November, the Women’s Health Protection Act was introduced in both the House (H.R. 3471) and the Senate (S. 1696). This wide-reaching bill aims to protect basic components of women’s health, particularly concerning abortion. Should this legislation pass, any prohibition or ban of abortion prior to fetal viability will be illegal, as would restrictions that limit a woman’s ability to obtain an immediate abortion when a health care professional believes, based on good-faith medical judgment, that a delay would pose a risk to the woman’s health. Unfortunately, challenges to full enjoyment of reproductive rights exist on both the state and federal level—a staggering 88% of counties in the United States do not have abortion clinics.According to NARAL Pro-Choice America, 15 states have near-total criminal bans on abortion and 20 states have banned abortions after 12 weeks, with only an exception for the health of the mother. Another nine states have banned abortion after 20 weeks without a full health exception for the mother. Pro-choice women and men must continue to be active participants in local political discussions and in the political process so that access to abortion is not defined by where a woman lives. On the federal level, there are two important bills that need your action!           In early November, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of gestation. An identical bill passed the House earlier this year. Tell your Senators to oppose this bill, which will severely limit basic reproductive rights. Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX-1) introduced the Parental Notification and Intervention Act of 2013 (S. 3601), a bill that would require that all minors obtain written consent from a parent or legal guardian before requesting an abortion, followed by a 96-hour waiting period. Not only does this bill contain exceptionally stringent rules for parental notification, it also defines narrow exceptions around this requirement: only in the case of a medical emergency that threatens the life of the mother or in the case of strong evidence of physical abuse of the young woman by the parent can she be exempted. Urge your representatives to vote against this highly restrictive bill!   As Americans and as Reform Jews, it is important that we speak up to defend the reproductive rights of women across the country. Take action on these restrictive measures being considered in Congress, which have the potential to significantly diminish the rights thatRoe v. Wade established nearly 41 years ago.     This blog was originally published at RACblog.