On Sunday, April 25, citizens from across the country will descend on Washington, D.c=, to raise awareness about President Bush’s assault on choice and reproductive rights in the March for Women’s Lives. Threats to women’s rights and health are present and real, and Americans of all stripes must speak loudly in defense of their freedoms.
- Abortion is a serious decision that should only be made by a woman in consultation with her doctor. The government has no business interfering in private medical and life decisions regarding reproduction. Women have the constitutionally protected right to make such fundamental and deeply personal decisions for themselves.
- President Bush is committed to appointing justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who will overturn Roe v. Wade – the constitutional decision that guarantees the legal right to choose an abortion. If these constitutional protections fall, at least 17 states are set to outlaw abortion altogether effectively turning women into criminals for exercising control over their own lives and bodies. Before Roe, 1.2 million women per year sought illegal, back-alley abortions and 5,000 women died each year from these procedures.
- Outlawing abortion is just the beginning of proposed limitations on reproductive freedoms. Right wing elements in government are trying to pry into private medical records, deny access to contraception like Plan B, and block basic sex education for teenagers. But the maintenance of public health – and basic dignity and decency for women – requires access to comprehensive health care including prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS awareness, and access to abortion and contraception services.
Daily Talking Points is a product of the Center for American Progress, a non-partisan research and educational institute committed to progressive principles for a strong, just and free America.