Dr. Jocelyn Elders Speaks at Clinic Event
| Bringing Back Beijing
ACTIVIST WOMEN'S VOICES
Dr. Joycelyn Elders Speaks at Clinic Event
Three hundred and fifty people gathered on January 23 for a fundraising
event to celebrate choice and to honor Dr. Charles deProsse. Keynote speaker
for the event was Joycelyn Elders, M.D., former United States Surgeon General.
She spoke about the need to educate the young for pregnancy prevention and
keep reproductive choice accessible for all women. She called on the audience
to become advocates for choice. If you weren't able to attend, we want to
give you a sample of the important things Dr. Elders had to say. Excerpts
from her speech follow. If you are interested in seeing more, call the Clinic
to arrange a time to view the video tape of her speech.
"Reproductive freedom is the most fundamental freedom that a woman
has. Because if you can't control your body, you certainly can't control
your life. In order for women to have reproductive choice, they must have
knowledge, access, and funds."
"In the U.S., before abortion was legal, the most common cause of death
among pregnant women was complications from botched abortions. Hospital
emergency rooms were filled with women suffering from unsafe abortions.
This was considered a public health problem. Now abortions are safe as long
as they are legal but we know abortions happened even before they were legal.
The difference was that many women died. If we don't continue to fight for
reproductive rights, we are saying we don't care."
"Sixty percent of the pregnancies in this country are unplanned or
mistimed. Fifty percent of those end in abortion; 1.5 million annually,
400,000 of those to teenagers. We have the highest teenage pregnancy rate,
the highest teenage birth rate, and the highest teenage abortion rate in
the industrialized world. Still we refuse to admit our children are having
sex. We must stop legislating morals and start educating our children."
"If you are opposed to abortion, you should be for education and family
planning. But the religious right is opposed to education and family planning
.... We have to recognize we have crisis in this country in the area of
sexuality .... We have tried ignorance for a thousand years and we still
have a problem."
"There is a myth that only teenagers receive abortions. The reality
is that many married women receive abortions. Many religious women receive
abortions. Many fundamentalist Christian women have abortions. It is a decision
she needs to make between herself, her doctor, her significant other, and
her god. No politician is good enough to make that decision for her."
"We need to make sure that every child born in America is a planned
and wanted child. This is our collective responsibility. We need to provide
contraceptive services. We've got to educate our people because the best
contraception is a good education. We have to fight all attempts to take
away a woman's right to choose."
"I want you to know I went to Washington to be your Surgeon General.
I didn't go there to get a job - I had a job. I went there to do the job.
And I want you to know, if I had it all to do over again, I would do it
exactly the same way. I did it right the first time."
In her opening remarks, Elders stated that Alison Abreu, President of Medical
Students for Choice, was instrumental in her decision to keynote the Choice
Dinner '96. Our thanks to Alison and all of the Medical Students for Choice
for their time and energy on this event. We would also like to acknowledge
Loret Mast, Jacqueline Bolden, Charles Read, Karen Kubby, Sondra Smith,
Alicia Starr, David Conklin, Ted Heald, and Jim Gilmore for their help in
making the Choice Dinner '96 a success.
Bringing Back Beijing
In September, the United Nations held the Fourth World Conference on Women
in Beijing, China. The conference and NGO Forum were attended by thousands
of women from around the world, including 32 women from Iowa.
Signed by 185 UN member nations, the Platform for Action that arose from
the conference states as its purpose the "full implementation of the
human rights of women and of the girl child as an inalienable, integral
and indivisible part of all human rights and fundamental freedoms."
The Platform for Action calls on governments, non-government organizations
and individuals to commit themselves to advancing the equality of women
and the girl child.
Women's hopes and struggles are universal. As Bella Abzug stated at the
"Bringing Back Beijing Conference" hosted by the Stanley Foundation,
"This conference created an international consensus on women's rights."
Though the Platform for Action addresses the status of women globally, it
contains a strong message for the Emma Goldman Clinic. Our work to provide
quality reproductive health care, that seeks to increase access and is sensitive
to the needs of women and girls, is essential to realization of women's
equality. These efforts are one piece of the worldwide women's rights movement.
Key points for the Women and Health portion of the Platform for Action follow.*
It is our job to hold governments accountable for implementing this document.
We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the platform and consider
how you can commit yourself to the advancement of women beginning in your
own community.
Excerpts from the Women and Health section of the Beijing World Conference
Platform for Action.
- "Good health is essential to leading a productive and fulfilling
life, and the right of all women to control all aspects of their health,
in particular their own fertility, is basic to their empowerment."
- "Health is a state of complete... well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity."
- "Women have different and unequal access to and use of basic health
resources... Women's health is also affected by the gender bias in the health
system..."
- "Counseling and access to sexual and reproductive health information
and services for adolescents are still inadequate..."
- "Reproductive health therefore implies that people are able to
have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to
reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. [This
includes].... the right of men and women to be informed and have access
to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family planning
of their choice, as well as other methods of their choice for regulation
of fertility..."
- "Unsafe abortions threaten the lives of a large number of women,
representing a grave public health problem... Most of these deaths, health
problems and injuries are preventable through improved access to adequate
health care services..."
- "Sexual and gender-based violence... place girls and women at high
risk of physical and mental trauma, disease and unwanted pregnancy."
Strategies
- Increase women's access throughout the life cycle to appropriate, affordable
and quality health care, information and related services.
- Strengthen preventative programs that promote women's health.
- Undertake gender-sensitive initiatives that address sexually transmitted
diseases, HIV/AIDS, and sexual and reproductive health issues.
- Promote research and disseminate information on women's health.
- Increase resources and monitor follow-up for women's health.
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