Dan DaranciangStudents received a crash course in pro-choice and a call to action yesterday, when Students For Choice and the National Abortion Rights Action League Pro-Choice Missouri hosted a leadership summit that drew attendees from Washington University and other area universities.
The summit featured speakers active in the pro-choice movement and offered students strategies for organizing initiatives on campus and for debating with those opposed to their cause.
Senior Beth Kurtz, the event’s organizer, was inspired to coordinate the event by her experiences interning with the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) two summers ago.
“This is an opportunity for students to learn everything they need to know or want to know to be the best pro-choice advocates they can be,” said Kurtz. “It’s a really important issue right now, so we’re hoping to bring together students for a blow-out, learn-all-you-can event to learn about reproductive rights and the current issues that we are dealing with right now as a country and as the state of Missouri.”
Complacency is not an option when it comes to reproductive rights, Kurtz said, citing recent legislation such as South Dakota’s recent statewide ban on abortions.
“[Reproductive rights] is certainly a relevant issue and something that our generation has to step up and take the lead on,” said Kurtz. “While we’ve never known the days when abortion has been illegal, we need to take ownership of our rights and really stand up for these issues so that we can continue in the future to enjoy our constitutional rights and be able to access birth control and reproductive health services.”
The summit began with a talk from Rachel Storch, Missouri state representative of the 64th district and a Washington University School of Law graduate.
Storch has heard her fair share of arguments from advocates for pro-life legislation, arguments she finds troubling. On March 15, for example, she was dismayed when the Missouri House voted to cut funding by the state of contraceptives for low-income women.
The sponsor of the proposal, Republican Representative Susan Phillips of Kansas City, said Storch, seemed to have views that represented a disturbing trend – the misinformed pairing of contraception with abortion to the detriment of women’s health.
“It’s stunning because all of a sudden, we see that [the pro-life] side has moved into new arenas,” said Storch. “We already know that the fight to outlaw abortion in Missouri is bumping into women’s health. But now it’s getting to the point where they’re trying to pull the plug on contraception.”
Phillips’ proposal reflects another incorrect assumption, said Storch, emphasizing that attacking contraception has the potential for disturbing consequences.
“The sad thing is, I think, that [pro-life advocates] are simply unwilling to examine the unintended or obvious consequences of what they’re doing,” said Storch. “It’s a platitude to say that to have fewer abortions would mean to have fewer unwanted pregnancies. But just last week, I pulled out an article I’d clipped.that showed a huge drop in teenage pregnancy rates in Missouri through the ’90s. And they attributed it to a wider availability of contraception. So why, then, would you join this march backwards to undo the progress we’ve made? It’s really a strange, strange thing.”
With misinformation and dangerous assumptions shaping policy, Storch said, immediate action is the only solution.
“There is no time for complacency at all,” said Storch. “I think it’s really easy, including for myself sometimes, to disengage from what’s happening in Jefferson City. In reality, though, there’s a huge impact on our day-to-day lives and certainly on our private lives. And it’s going to be the voices of people like us who are going to have to speak out against what is going on.”
The next speaker of the afternoon was Angie Postal, political and field director of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri. Postal presented tips for engaging in discussions about pro-choice issues.
Finding common ground in a debate is of utmost importance, as Postal found in discussions with her aunt about whether pharmacies should be required to prescribe emergency contraception (EC). Her aunt does not support abortions on the grounds of her religion.
“We found out through this pharmacy issue that we had shared values,” said Postal. “She’s not the type to march with NARAL – in fact, she’d most likely be in other marches. But she was like, what are [pharmacists refusing to fill EC] doing? Why can’t women access birth control? How can they promote decreasing abortions from unwanted pregnancies if they’re not promoting birth control?”
Those who find themselves without common ground must disengage from a debate, advised Postal. She once found herself in such a discussion while attempting to get signatures on a petition supporting birth control at Pride Fest. One attendee, a gay man, contested her position.
“This guy came up to the table and said, ‘I think your position is wrong,'” said Postal. “I asked if he wanted to sign my petition on birth control, and he went, ‘Birth control? That’s even worse. All sex should be for procreation.’ I started saying, ‘Wait a minute,’ and he goes, ‘Wait, sorry. All heterosexual sex should be for procreation.’ I had to disengage at that point.”
The results of a recent survey by NARAL, however, suggest that there is more common ground than some might think. According to the survey, 80 percent of those who identify with the pro-life side of the debate feel that the choice is ultimately in the hands of women, not of the government. Nearly 80 percent of those who disagreed with abortion for religious reasons felt that pharmacies should not be allowed to refuse to fill EC prescriptions.
Like Storch, Postal urged the attendees to take action, as she believes complacency could lead to the elimination of the choices vital to preventing unwanted pregnancies.
“How can women be responsible, if you don’t have the option to have sex responsibly through the use of contraception?” asked Postal.
Senior Danielle Wessler has already answered the call to action put forth by the summit. As the president of Students for Choice, Wessler volunteers as an escort at an abortion clinic, helping to guide women past any protestors who might be present. Her experience has shown her the necessity of taking action on reproductive rights issues.
“Having people thank you for being there, [is the most memorable part of volunteering],” said Wessler. “Yesterday there were 50 protesters marching [outside the clinic], and you’re wearing this bright yellow thing that says ‘pro-choice.’ And you meet women who are crying, who are visibly upset, but will come up and thank you afterward and say, ‘That really helped just knowing I wasn’t alone out there.’ So, we’re on the front line of pro-choice and reproductive rights and really seeing what it’s like to be there in an abortion clinic.”