Congress itself began to exercise direct power over women’s health and women’s bodies as early as 1970, when the Senate Pill Hearings allowed the mostly male group to decide how much information women should know about the birth control pill’s potential side effects.[2] But deliberations, definitions, and depictions of the female body have resided in spheres of male power for centuries prior. Male doctors were the first to make abortion a doctor’s decision rather than a woman’s,[3] male psychologists were the first to categorize sexually interested women as mentally unstable,[4] and male professors were the first to claim that female biology made females unprepared for the same tasks as men.[5] The war on women’s health has been, and still continues to be, carried out in large part by establishments of male-a-garchy.

We truly applaud Senator Lautenberg for speaking up against traditional norms of male power, and we acknowledge and appreciate the many male voices in Congress that join his in supporting female autonomy. But we also hope that Sen. Lautenberg’s criticism of the male-a-garchy can serve to remind us of the importance of creating more gender-balanced legislatures on the national, state, and even local levels. In the fight for female choice, we need to elect strong, pro-choice female politicians to diffuse the archaic power of male-a-garchic establishments.

This legislative achievement is monumental for the pro-choice movement in the context of current debates. The issue of birth control coverage has stirred controversy on state and national levels since the beginning of President Obama’s healthcare reform. It is important, in addition, not to overlook just how monumental this decision is within the broader American historical context.

Multiple social historians have argued that the advent of the birth control pill was one of the most influential cultural developments in modern American history. The pill, invented in the 1950s and approved by the FDA in 1960,[2] acquired a complex social symbolism from its earliest market appearances. In a societal backdrop characterized by intense, explicit divisions along lines of race, class, and gender, the pill was viewed by certain Black groups as an instrument of “racial genocide,” perceived by numerous activists as poverty reduction method targeted toward poor women, and advertised by various parties as an option that was morally acceptable only for women who were married.[3] Furthermore, the pill became an overt symbol of the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, in which women demanded a new kind of ownership of their bodies and their sexualities.

The pill, in its earliest history, was thus threatening on many levels; in a time of myriad social changes, it served to further shake the roots of long-standing cultural norms. In the time since then, movements toward a more egalitarian America have shed the pill of some of these broad associations, but the recent achievement of federally mandated coverage must be recognized as a pivotal moment in this ongoing history. In contrast to past perceptions of the pill as an instrument of social power, this decision places birth control within the realm of every woman’s equal right to choose. By this decision, our government—for the first time in our history— has legally defined birth control access as a universal and inalienable right.

At NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina, we are celebrating this moment by encouraging our supporters to send emails to the White House. Please join us and the larger NARAL Pro-Choice America movement in thanking our government for taking this important step in securing the right to choose by visiting the following link: https://secure.prochoiceamerica.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=5079.

This past October, we released a report exposing the alarming prevalence and impact of Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs). CPCs are clinics run by anti-choice organizations that often provide incorrect or misleading information and falsely advertise as medical facilities despite their lack of medically licensed personnel. Women who enter these clinics seeking abortions and unbiased information are subjected to such a degree of anti-choice pressure that those who decide not to have the abortions cannot be said to have truly exercised “choice.” We identified 122 CPCs in the state of North Carolina alone and were moved to action by the apparent lack of awareness about these centers.

We are currently in the process of recruiting campus representatives to serve the pro-choice movement on college campuses across the state, with the intention that these representatives will raise awareness about CPCs and spread the results of our investigation. The work and deception of CPCs provide a clear illustration of the extent to which women’s freedom is degraded when their choice is restricted, and we believe that educating young voters about this issue will garner a stronger understanding of the need to protect female choice. It is our hope that, in the course of this CPC consciousness-raising, campus representatives will introduce the NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina cause to young voters and to stimulate stronger pro-choice movements in the university setting.

Since our report was released, NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota undertaken and published its own investigation of the status and prevalence of CPCs. We hope, in the face of the 2012 elections, that folks across the state and country will join our efforts to generate awareness of CPCs as both a means to end this injustice and a platform to promote a greater understanding of the pro-choice position.

]]> http://prochoicenc.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/blog-for-choice-day-2012/feed/ 0 Blog for Choice Day 2012 prochoicenc http://prochoicenc.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/north-carolinas-eugenic-past/ http://prochoicenc.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/north-carolinas-eugenic-past/#comments Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:45:41 +0000 NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina http://prochoicenc.wordpress.com/?p=722 Continue reading »]]> By Claire, Communications Intern

Way back when we started this blog we had a post about the now defunct sterilization program in North Carolina.  A formal apology was issued in 2002, but until now talk of compensation for the victims of the program had been stalled.  Governor Perdue has stated she is determined to fix that problem while she is in office.  She set up the NC Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation under the Department of Administration in order to “provide information and assistance to affected individuals.”  Currently the Governor’s Task Force is assessing the best method for compensation.

North Carolina operated its eugenics board and sterilization program from 1929 to 1974.  Thirty-one other states had eugenics programs during this time as well.  The goal of eugenics committees was to identify “degenerate elements” in American society and prevent them from reproducing and passing their “degenerate genetics” onto the next generation.  They were concerned with actual inheritable traits like epilepsy, and traits they assumed to be inheritable like alcoholism, promiscuity and “feeble-mindedness.”  In North Carolina the population viewed by the board to be degenerate was overwhelmingly female and disproportionately people of color.  One third of the sterilizations were performed on people under the age of 18.  At least 7, 600 people were sterilized in North Carolina; only around 2,000 are still alive.

Eliane Riddick, who we covered in our first eugenics post, is a perfect example of how terrible and misguided the eugenics movement was.  Riddick was raped by a neighbor when she was 13.  She became pregnant and the eugenics committee saw her as a prime candidate for sterilization.  Underage, black, poor, unwed and pregnant; she was everything they thought needed fixing in North Carolina.   Instead of helping Riddick through her traumatic ordeal, they labeled her “promiscuous” and “feeble-minded.”  She was sterilized without her consent or knowledge right after her son was born.  Her rapist was never brought to justice.  Her story is not uncommon for the tens of thousands of people sterilized in the name of public health over the decades.  More information about her and about North Carolina’s shameful history can be found here.

We have to remember that choice is more than about the right to pregnancy prevention and abortion.  For so many people it is just the opposite.  Everyone deserves to make the best decisions for themselves with all the facts given to them in a medically accurate, unbiased way.   Forcing someone to be sterilized is just as bad as forcing them to be pregnant.

We all saw what happened when the anti-choice and anti-LGBT majority was voted into the General Assembly last November.  Let’s not have that happen in our cities and counties this year.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections has a great user-friendly website for all your election day and voting related questions.  If you need to double check your polling location, go here.  If you would like to see a sample ballot for your county, go here and just select the county you are registered in or look up your county Board of Elections for more information.

If you are not registered to vote please register as soon as possible.  Primaries are in May and there will be plenty to vote on then too.  You must be registered at least 25 days before the election to be eligible to vote.

A hearing in North Dakota on the outlawing of drugs used in medical abortions has been put on hold again.  The hearing will not happen until sometime next year.  North Dakota passed a law earlier this year to ban the “off-label” use of drugs which are commonly used in early medical abortions.  This would effectively make medical abortion illegal in North Dakota.  The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as well as the World Health Organization support the use of these drugs for medical abortion.

Ohio’s controversial “heartbeat bill” is currently awaiting a Senate vote.  Supporters of the bill have wasted no time mobilizing their target audience.   TV commercials supporting the bill will air next week  during The O’Reilly Factor and Hannity.

Michigan has introduced legislation that will make physicians screen patients for abortion coercion and domestic violence before they perform abortions.  Physicians will be required to tell victims of domestic violence that coercion is illegal and grounds for civil action, and delay the abortion for 24 hours.  They will also be required to have pamphlets on domestic violence in their office for patients to view.  Unfortunately this bill does not cover reproductive coercion in whole; it only addresses “abortion coercion” and leaves out any redress for women being coerced into pregnancy and motherhood.  While the bill states it will offer “financial compensation” to women who seek civil action over their abuse, it is also unclear how the state will help protect and empower women (and their potential children) from further abuse.

This week we want your support in calling for state regulation of these CPCs to prevent further misinformation from negatively affecting the lives of North Carolinians.

Add your name to a growing list of North Carolinians who agree that all people in our state deserve medically accurate and unbiased information!

Sign the petition here!

The portion of the law that mandates some of what physicians are required to tell women, including a an ultrasound and description of the fetus, has been blocked.  The rest of the law goes into effect today, including the 24-hour waiting period.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles stated that proponents of the law ”have not articulated how the speech-and-display requirements address the stated concern in reducing compelled abortions, and none is immediately apparent.”

This ruling is a step in the right direction.

Another hearing is scheduled for December.  We can only hope that Judge Eagles recognizes what an incredible violation of privacy and bodily autonomy this law is.

Watch it here!

A constitutional amendment to re-define the definition of when life begins to the moment of fertilization was proposed in Mississippi a while back.  The November 8th vote is quickly approaching as pro-choice activists try to persuade the public of the long-term, dangerous and invasive consequences of Amendment 26.

Amendment 26 states that  “The term ‘person’ or ‘persons’ shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof.”  Opponents of this amendment are very concerned about the implications this new definition will have on the legality or criminalization of birth control methods, miscarriage, bodily autonomy, in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments, and other issues pertaining to pregnancy or potential pregnancy.   

Currently, both gubernatorial candidates from both parties support the amendment. 

Mississippi already has some of the strictest abortion restrictions in the country.  This amendment has a real chance of passing despite its far-reaching effects on all potential pregnancies, including wanted pregnancies that may end in miscarriage and those created with IVF. 

If you have any pro-choice friends or family in Mississippi, or know people who simply don’t believe in the government enforcing such a vague and potentially dangerous constitutional amendment, make sure to let them know to vote NO on Amendment 26. 

If you’d like to get involved or donate money visit Mississippians for Healthy Families. 

Or donate your time and money to Parents Against MS 26.