Feature Archives

On Sunday, October 1st, right-wingers from the religious "right" were in San Francisco to hold a "life chain" event. Apparently, every year on the first Sunday in October, Life Chain invites churches in each city and town across North America to stand on a local sidewalk and pray for one hour, while holding signs that include approved pro-life messages. In San Francisco, the life chain was on Park Presidio Blvd. between Geary and Clement from 2:00pm to 3:30pm. BACORR and others were there to support the "No on 85" campaign and to counter the right's extremist messaging. Photos

Saturday, October 7th was a No on 85! Day of Action. A rally was held in Dolores Park at 12pm. Photos | Audio People planned to join together to try to form the World's Largest Human No on 85 Sign. At 1pm people planned to conduct voter outreach and visibility in District 8, and at 5pm, a NO on 85 Happy Hour and Comedy Show was held at Martuni's Martini bar.

Proposition 85, the "Waiting Period and Parental Notification Before Termination of a Minor's Pregnancy" initiative, was rejected by California voters on November 7th, 2006. It would have amended California's state constitution to young women under the age of 18 from obtaining abortion care without government-mandated parental notification. Opponents of Prop 85 pointed out that California's adolescent pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates have declined in the last ten years. In San Francisco, pro-choice activists gathered November 8th to learn about the history of abortion laws, and to consider the possibilities that face the pro-choice movement in the future.

On Saturday, September 23rd, BACORR, the Bay Area Coalition for Our Reproductive Rights, hosted a meeting in the Women's Building in San Francisco. Several Bay Area activists, including Linci Comy, the Executive Director of the Women's Choice Clinic, speak about the current climate and what is at stake in the battle for reproductive justice. During the meeting, the group discussed proposed upcoming activities, such as a protest against the "Life Chain" in San Francisco on October 1st.

On the evening of Friday, September 15, 2006, members of the Filipino/ American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity (FACES) and Women for Genuine Security (WGS) lay in symbolic protest around the Dewey statue in downtown San Francisco. The silent protest was held in response to the brutal rape by US Marines of Nicole, a 22-year-old Filipina woman, at the former Subic Naval Base in Olongapo, Philippines on November 1st, 2005. Currently, the Marines face trial in the Philippines.

On August 24th, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its decision to allow Plan B, the emergency contraceptive (EC) manufactured by Barr Pharmaceuticals, to be sold without prescription (over-the-counter) to women age 18 and older who show proof of age. National women's organizations are calling this an "incomplete victory" because it does not include young women aged 17 and younger. EC contains the same medication found in birth control pills, which have been used by millions of women for decades.

Radical Women will host a celebration of Women’s Rights Day at 7:30 pm on Saturday, August 26th at Radical Women's office, New Valencia Hall, at 1908 Mission Street. The event will feature a multi-racial panel of female activists who have been organizing as part of a national movement to bring full rights to immigrants. They will be talking about the essential role of immigrant women in leading the fight for unconditional amnesty, open borders, and an end to criminalization and discrimination based on citizenhip status.