NOW Activists On the Front Line in the Fight to Save Women's Lives

March 16, 2006

Only six weeks after Sam Alito replaced Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court, already legislatures in many states are setting up a showdown on abortion rights with the ultimate goal of reversing Roe. South Dakota was simply the first in what anti-choice leaders hope is a long list of state legislatures banning abortion. Mississippi and Tennessee are poised to abolish a woman's right to choose an abortion along with AL, GA, KY, MO, OH, OK, TN, and WV. NOW leaders in states around the country are mobilizing activists and leading the fight in front of statehouses and inside hearing rooms. Each day brings new developments in legislatures around the country.

Michelle Colón, President of Jackson NOW, with NOW activists Felicia Brown and Tyffine Jones at the Mississippi Statehouse

In Mississippi, according to Jackson NOW President Michelle Colón, "The legislature declared war on Roe v. Wade last week after Rep. Steve Holland, chairman of the House Public Health and Human Services Committee, added language to Senate Bill 2922 that would effectively ban legal abortion in the state." Colón adds, "Many Mississippians will not speak up for choice because doing so requires defending their Christianity. The existing climate regards pro-choice as meaning anti-religion and anti-life. The state legislature is against abortion, birth control, emergency contraception—all of which, in their view, constitutes abortion." Mississippi has only one abortion clinic and some of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the country. Sheila Hailey, President of Mississippi NOW notes, "Middle-class and upper-class women have always had access to abortion. Everybody knew doctors who would perform them if you had money to go to a family doctor. Lower-income women were left to their own devices, which were horrible, or to back-alley abortions." Activists are organizing visibility events, maintaining a presence in the committee meetings, and mobilizing phone calls to legislatures hoping to keep the legislation from going to conference committee, leaving it to die this session.

Tennessee NOW members and leaders from Nashville NOW are packing the hearing room in Legislative Plaza hoping to stop legislation from making it out of the house subcommittee. TN NOW activists are mobilizing members to join in visibility events, attending hearings, and making calls to legislators asking them to stop the proposed amendment to Tennessee's constitution that would force women, including victims of rape and incest, to continue an unwanted pregnancy. According to Cynthia Bennett, Nashville NOW, "Tennessee's Supreme Court has ruled that the people of this state have an explicit right to privacy. It is outrageous that Tennessee politicians now want the women of Tennessee to give up our constitutional right to make private decisions about our own bodies. They distrust women so much that they will not even include an exception in cases of rape, incest, or to save the live of the woman. We will not let this happen!"

The News Isn't All Bad

Just in from Melissa Fadeley, Indiana NOW State President, who writes, "Great news, the Indiana legislative session just ended last night without a final vote on two terrible bills. The first, HB 1080, would have required clinics offering abortion services, as well as other healthcare procedures, to meet unrealistic building codes, essentially closing all Indiana abortion clinics. The second, HB 1172 was a fetal pain bill, with the additional wording of 'life begins at conception.' We are very proud of not following in South Dakota's footsteps!"

These battles, led by NOW activists, are critical in our collective fight for social justice and women's equality in the United States. The victories give us hope for a better future where women and girls are no longer under attack by the right wing, out to roll back our rights, liberties, and freedom. We applaud all of the efforts of our sisters and brothers on the front line.