By Julie Pratt
Iıve never been more hopeful or proud about being pro-choice than I was at a recent gathering at the Womenıs Club in Charleston. The occasion was the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that most abortion laws violated a womanıs constitutional right to privacy.
I was 18 when the case was decided, and Iıve been to a lot of these events. What struck me about this one was how the young women have grown to be the new leaders, and even more, what a timely and compelling vision they have for what it means to be pro-choice.
I recall anniversary events in the early years that focused on remembering the women who had died from illegal abortions. I never want to forget them, nor the women who continue to die from back room abortions because they canıt afford legal ones or overcome the hurdles of waiting periods and parental consent laws. No matter what justification is given for these patronizing laws, their singular purpose is to restrict women from exercising their right to safe and legal abortions.
Yet "choice" has always been about more than abortion. This yearıs event, sponsored by WV FREE, was an invitation to celebrate choice all of them.
The keynote speaker was Grayson Dempsey, a young woman named by Choice USA as one of the "Top 30 under 30 Activists for Reproductive Freedom." She had a strong grasp of history without being tethered by it. She was both insightful and humble, with a healthy sense of humor and optimism.
Dempsey talked about the toll-free national talk line she helped form in 2004. Their trained volunteer counselors support women in making their own reproductive choices, whether it be pregnancy, parenting, abortion or adoption. They are not there to weigh in on one side of a debate or another. They are there to honor each womanıs experience and help her follow her own conscience.
While supporting women, one at a time, is critical, itıs not enough, Dempsey said. We have to address the larger societal issues that impact the choices women have. She urged more dialogue that embraces diversity of experience and opinion, and that respects women as the moral decision-makers of their own lives.
And we need to make it easier to be a parent, for people who so choose. Amy Weintraub was honored that evening for her advocacy for women and families. Weintraub has been a tireless advocate not only for reproductive rights, but also for legislation to protect the right of mothers to breastfeed their babies in public places. She helped found a local organization for moms who take time out from their careers to stay at home with their young children. A mother herself, she recently returned to the workforce full-time as the new director of Covenant House.
Weintraub reminded the audience that we canıt talk about choice without addressing poverty. The legal right to choose abortion has no meaning if women donıt have the resources to exercise that right. Similarly, the choice to become a parent feels like a precarious one for low-wage women and couples, who canıt afford decent housing, live with the ever-present economic fear of getting sick or having their cars break down, and face waiting lists for affordable child care.
This is where pro-choice women and men are stepping forward. We know that unless we take on the larger issues, true reproductive freedom will continue to belong only to the affluent. Thatıs why we also support raising the minimum wage, expanding health insurance and similar efforts that give people the economic security they need to raise children, if thatıs what they desire to do.
Young women like Grayson Dempsey and Amy Weintraub, along with Margaret Chapman and Julie Archer of WV FREE, are the 21st Century champions for choice, in my book. Most of them were born after Roe v. Wade was decided. They have no personal memory of a time when women were denied the legal authority to determine the course of their own pregnancies.
Yet they are carrying on the efforts of their mothersı generation to protect this basic constitutional right. They have a vision of reproductive freedom that is broad, inclusive, respectful of women and good for families. I applaud them and am delighted to follow their lead.
Pratt is a Charleston writer and Gazette contributing columnist.