Friday marks the 37th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize abortion in the famous Roe v. Wade case, and the University group Students for Choice is hosting a week of celebration with the theme “the right to choose.”
“We are focusing on the right to choose through the lens of the recent health care debate,” said Erin Howe, public relations coordinator of the University Women’s Center. “It is especially important to celebrate the value of this decision as access has recently been severely threatened under the Stupak-Pitts Amendment.”
The amendment, which passed in the House of Representatives in November last year, prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for an abortion or pay any costs of a health plan that includes coverage for abortion, except in cases of rape or incest.
Students for Choice is a student organization that “promotes reproductive freedom and raises awareness about reproductive health issues on campus, including access to health care, contraceptive parity and knowledge of contraception,” according to the Holden Leadership Center’s Web site directory of student groups and organizations.
The group will kick off the three-day event Wednesday, when it begins fundraising for its cause, and will continue through Friday. Members of Students for Choice will be at the corner of East 13th Avenue and University Street throughout the week, where they will hand out condoms, dental dams and literature. They’ll also sell T-shirts for $5.
Though not everyone on campus has the same opinion on the abortion issue, Howe isn’t worried about hecklers.
“As a group, we have always received primarily positive feedback from our campus
community,” she said.
Tonight, Students for Choice will be screening the film “The Education of Shelby Knox” in 177 Lawrence Hall at 8 p.m. The film is a 76-minute documentary about a young girl who becomes a proponent of comprehensive sex education after receiving abstinence-only education in a Texas town with a high rate of teen pregnancy and STIs. Students for Choice will hold a brief discussion before the film and will serve free food.
On Thursday, Cynthia Pappas, the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon, will join Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy and a representative from NARAL Pro-Choice America in a panel discussion at 6 p.m. in the EMU Ben Linder room. The panel will highlight the importance of Roe v. Wade in the proposed changes for the nation’s health care system.
The week will end with a dance party at the Lorax, featuring Samba Ja and DJ Chilly Willy. Students for Choice will offer chocolate, condoms and literature. Admission will be $5, or free with the purchase of a T-shirt.
Students for Choice, which advocates for all reproductive choice, not just abortion, wants to educate both men and women in this week’s events, Howe said. It is important that men partake in the activities because they, too, can fight for women’s health care, she added.
Women’s rights are “constantly challenged,” Howe said. “That is why we celebrate the anniversary every year, as well as to educate the community about current issues
involving choice.”
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Seeing Roe v. Wade in today’s health debate
Daily Emerald
January 19, 2010
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