Missoulian, Wednesday, August 28, 2013 – B5
OPINION
GUEST COLUMN
Groups work side by side on reproductive justice By MAGGIE MORAN
I
t is an incredibly exciting and challenging time for the reproductive justice movement in Montana. With new leaders at both NARAL Pro-Choice Montana and at Planned Parenthood of Montana, we have an amazing opportunity to educate the public and legislators on what it means to be prochoice and why it is so important to ensure that privacy and individual freedoms are secure in our state. As a leader of the reproductive justice movement, I would like to clarify what it truly means to be pro-choice. First, being pro-choice means we believe that everyone should have access to all reproductive health options – this includes access to birth control, infertility treatments, sterilization, and, yes, abortion. However, being pro-choice also means advocating for preventative techniques that reduce the need for abortion. This means believing in access to affordable birth control and family planning resources, as well as honest and accurate sex education for young people. It is through these techniques, as well as advocating healthy relationships and reducing sexual violence against women, that we will reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, making abortion rare. When faced with an unintended pregnancy, the decision to parent, adopt, or terminate the pregnancy is an incredibly private and personal one – one that should be made only by a woman with counsel from her family, loved ones, and physician – not politicians. This is what being prochoice truly means. As I begin my tenure here in Montana, I will work consistently to bring these prochoice beliefs from the public to the legislature. We must ensure that
reproductive rights and privacy for personal decisions are secure in our state. My goal is to grow our dynamic cadre of activists from all backgrounds and provide them with a direct line to the elected officials who represent them. I also strive to ensure that every young person has comprehensive, medically accurate sex education, which includes information on sexuality, gender identit, and healthy relationships. In short, my goal is to ensure that every Montanan has access to affordable reproductive health care, is fully informed of their choices and has the freedom to plan their family how they see fit. Lofty goals, yes; but, I am certainly not alone in the fight. I would like to thank the Montana Reproductive Rights Coalition for their commitment to reproductive justice and support of NARAL Pro-Choice Montana in the past and into the future. Organizations like Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana, Blue Mountain Clinic, the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Montana Human Rights Network and the ACLU of Montana bring important perspectives and enthusiasm for our goals. I am honored to be a part of such an amazing team. I am committed to working alongside our allies throughout the state on issues of reproductive justice. There are many ways you can support NARAL Pro-Choice Montana. Go to www.prochoicemontana.org more information. I welcome your conversations, ideas and activism as we work hard every day to protect all Montanans’ civil rights.
Irene Marchello
Susan Liane
Sharon Palmer
370-1010 susanl@lambrosera.com
239-1614 sharonp@lambrosera.com
Make It a Move You’ll Approve! 249-0969 irenem@lambros.com
Maggie Moran of Helena is executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Montana.
Letters ECONOMY Perhaps thrift store shopping a trend As usual, Al Lewis wrote an excellent article (Business page, Aug. 25) on why America is not shopping. He mentioned several corporations that are experiencing flagging sales and two or three where sales figures are up. Just as a thought, perhaps more Americans are shopping at thrift stores. These stores, often owned and operated by charities, sell merchandise for considerably less than the stores mentioned by Lewis. Many items sold in the thrift stores are new, and there no longer seems to be a stigma attached to shopping at these stores. The electronic typewriter that I used to type this letter cost $2.50 at Teen Challenge. The typewriter ribbon cost less than a dollar at Goodwill. My last two swimsuits, purchased new, cost 89 cents each. The various dollar stores often have good buys. I hope this letter does not ruin Missoula’s economy and destroy the capitalist system as we know it. George Sherry, Missoula
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT Senators forget they are our staff Think we have a representative form of government? Nothing could be further from the truth; want to prove it to yourself? Try writing to either of our “good Senators” with a question or concern and wait for a response. The reply, if you even get one, will be political double speak, a non committal statement or a form letter. I have called the office of Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., on several occasions and was told by senator’s staff that the senator was too busy to answer letters for constituents. Try telling your employer that you don’t have time to answer their questions; you would quickly join the ranks of the unemployed. So, why do we tolerate this kind of behavior from our elected officials? Our senators seem to have forgotten that they are accountable to the people who sent them to Washington. Both Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Baucus have faithfully followed the party line while promising the people of Montana everything under the sun. They have supported our president and his policies to the detriment of all Americans. They have passed bills without reading them, voted for unpopular amendments, advocated use of the IRS to intimidate and mislead the people of Montana. Form letters, dodging issues important to Montanans, blindly supporting the current administration policies, abject loyalty to the Democratic Party, ignoring the will of the people and political double speak. These are not the attributes of an
n Comments: Keep the conversation going. To comment on any of these letters, go to Missoulian.com/news/opinion/ mailbag.
elected official in a representative government. Think we have a representative form of government; think again, our senators are only representing their party’s interest. They really don’t care how their votes affect the rest of us as long as they blindly follow party doctrine. John Mello, Kila
SOME KIDS ARE CHIPS OFF THE NEW BLOCK. Fostering changes lives. Hear how at a foster parent education session, Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. It’s free. There’s no obligation. Dan Fox Family Care Program 515 S. Reserve St., Suite 5 And financial stipends are available for 541-1664 | danfoxfamilies.org foster families.
ED CHABEREK Rhetoric skips history, facts Ed Chaberek of Superior needs to have reviewed the creation of the United States of America and done a little research into the funding of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America before writing his letter to the editor (Aug. 23). First: The history of our government’s relation to religion is the result of people fleeing England to be free (among other things) of the King’s strict mandate that the only religion to be practiced was the Church of England. In large part due to this history, our Constitution requires separation of state and religion. If you are old enough, think back to the concern raised that the Pope would run our country if JFK was elected. The purpose of this separation is NOT the persecution of Christians as Chaberek clams, but was intended by our founders to allow multiple forms of religion without government intervention, such as Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Unitarian, etc. Second: a little research into the Planned Parenthood organization will reveal to Chaberek that only approximately one third of its funding is from the U. S. Government, which by law, cannot be used for abortion. Further, Planned Parenthood doesn’t have the authority to “direct” any woman to have an abortion, as Chaberek suggests. Planned Parenthood dispenses health advice, some of which include the options available to pregnant women – one of these is abortion. Each woman is free to choose her own path. Obamacare (which is not evil) has been unfolding for quite some time and has resulted in a number of positive things, such as not being rejected due to prior illness, extended coverage for older children living at home, reduced “donut hole” of medical expenses for the elderly, $1.1 billion in rebates from insurance companies, etc. – look it up. The government is not “murdering” the unborn, Chaberek. C. Burt Caldwell, Missoula
Editorial policy: The Missoulian strives to present ideas from a diverse array of writers. Missoulian editorials express the views of the newspaper’s editorial board. Signed commentary, columns, letters and editorial cartoons represent the independent views of the authors. Letters policy: The Missoulian welcomes and encourages letters to the editor on topics of general interest. Letters should be no more than 300 words. The Missoulian reserves the right to reject or edit letters for content and length. The Missoulian prints as many letters as possible, but cannot print them all due to space considerations. More letters are available online at www.missoulian.com/news/opinion/mailbag. Submission of letters and other commentary constitutes permission to publish in print and online editions of the Missoulian. Letters must contain the writer’s name, address and telephone number (phone numbers are for verification, not publication). Mail letters to: Missoulian Letters, P.O. Box 8029, Missoula, MT 59807-8029. Fax: (406) 523-5294. Email: oped@missoulian.com.
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