Feature Archives

Betty Friedan, who helped launch the contemporary women's movement, died of congestive heart failure on Saturday, February 4th at the age of 85. When she was young, she was active in Marxist and Jewish radical circles. She attended Smith College. In 1963, she wrote the groundbreaking book The Feminine Mystique. In 1966, she and 27 other women and men founded NOW, the National Organization for Women. During her time as president of NOW (from 1966 to 1970), the organization lobbied the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to enforce laws against sex discrimination in employment, and to ban ads that were segregated by sex. In 1968, NOW became the first national organization to endorse the legalization of abortion.

Ms Magazine's Statement from the Feminist Daily News Wire | Statement from NOW | Wikipedia's Betty Friedan page

Planned Parenthood Golden Gate coordinated "Faith in Choice: Reclaiming the Moral Highground," a January 21st event to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. A quiet candlelight vigil was held in Dolores Park, in memory of those who died due to lack of access to a safe and legal abortion. People spoke about what women’s lives were like before choice became law, and then a candlelight procession made its way to Congregation Sha'ar Zahav for a panel discussion with clergy. The panel, which consisted of two women and two men, discussed the long history of nationwide pro-choice action by clergy in the U.S. They said that this past is consistent with religious values of dignity, the sacredness of the human body, and an inherent belief in justice.

In a post to Indybay, reporter greentea pointed out that some in the LGBTQI community may be unaware that the same legal decisions that grant heterosexuals the right to privacy (from government intervention) in birth control and abortion were important decisions relied upon by the U.S. Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 decision that invalidated laws against sodomy across the U.S. The LGBT community now relies on the same legal decisions (especially ‘Roe v. Wade’ and ‘Griswold v. Connecticut’) that the reproductive rights movement has been long served by, and which are under greatest threat by fundamentalist attacks. Report, photos, and analysis

Some 1000 pro-choice Bay Area residents lined the "Walk for Life" today, as thousands of anti-choice people, largely from outside of San Francisco, marched down the Embarcadero and through Fisherman's Wharf, on their way to the Marina. A rally was held down the street from an anti-choice gathering at Justin Herman Plaza, and then the "pro-life" march took to the street. Several groups attempted a barricade to stop the march, but police flooded into the street. Pro-choicers yelled messages about women's rights in the direction of the march. Breaking news reports from the demo

Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Audio: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Reports: 1

Indybay's Walk for Life Story from Before January 21st

On Wednesday, January 18th, the US Supreme Court announced its decision in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, et al. The court recognized its precedent that abortion laws must protect women's health and safety. The case began as a challenge to a New Hampshire law that prevents doctors from performing an abortion for a teenager under the age of 18 until 48 hours after a parent has been notified. Contrary to 30 years of Supreme Court precedent, the law contained no medical emergency exception to protect a pregnant teenager's health. The lower courts had struck down the law because of this omission. The Supreme Court asked the lower court to consider whether the New Hampshire legislature would have wanted this law with a medical emergency exception. If not, the Court said the law should be struck down in its entirety.

"Today's decision tells politicians that they cannot jeopardize women's health when they pass abortion laws," said Jennifer Dalven, Deputy Director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project, and the attorney who argued Ayotte before the Court. "We are relieved that the Supreme Court left in place protections for women's health and safety in abortion laws," said PPFA Interim President Karen Pearl. "We continue to believe that the law should be struck down by the lower court." "The New Hampshire legislature intentionally omitted a medical emergency exception when it passed this law," Dalven added. "We continue to believe that the lower court will recognize this and strike down the law in its entirety." Statement from Planned Parenthood and the ACLU

Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood website

UPDATE 1/13/06: Apparently activists are taking matters into their own hands and many of these advertisements are being defaced, as reported in local corporate media. Read the Catholic League's statement about Indybay

Slick anti-choice advertisements have recently appeared in BART trains and stations. The ads imply that San Franciscans and women in general are opposed to abortion, or at the very least have qualms about it, without discussing the fact that women should be able to choose for themselves if and when to have children. The ads, instead, ask, "Abortion: Have We Gone too Far?"

The roman catholic archdiocese of Oakland wrote that BART’s advertising agency, Viacom, approved a pair of professionally prepared ads targeting women of “pro choice” persuasion for "education" about the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision. These ads, entitled “Choose” and “9 months,” were commissioned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Pro-Life Secretariat. The ads began to appear in BART cars the day after Christmas, a month before the Roe v. Wade anniversary and Samuel Alito's nomination hearings. The ads have also been seen in some BART stations. The entity responsible for these ads is the Second Look Project of the Respect Life Ministry of the Oakland Diocese.

BART has rejected ads from anti-war groups in the past, but apparently it does not object to the content in the anti-choice ads. BART reportedly does not run ads for pornography, tobacco or liquor, although these are legal industries. Contact info for BART and its board members

Some local catholic church organizations: Diocese of Oakland Family Life Office | Young Adult Ministry and Campus Ministry of the SF Archdiocese

Many national organizations are working hard to show their opposition of the nomination of Samuel Alito for Sandra Day O'Connor's post on the US Supreme Court. They believe that the decisions that Judge Alito has written in the past indicate that if he ascends to the Supreme Court, civil rights and women's rights would be endangered. Confirmation hearings for Alito will began in the Senate on January 9th.

Planned Parenthood and Californians for Fair and Independent Judges held a rally against Alito's nomination on Monday, January 9th at 12pm, outside of Senator Diane Feinstein's office at One Post Street at Market in San Francisco. This rally was called for because of the many issues, such as reproductive rights, uncontrolled executive power, and privacy, that are at stake. World Can't Wait held rallies in San Francisco and Oakland that day. Photos

NARAL Pro-Choice America is encouraging people to write to their senators to encourage them to vote against Alito. If Alito joins the supreme court, he would likely tip the balance of justices against abortion and a woman's access to reproductive health care. He has written in the past, "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion." NOW's article about some of Alito's anti-woman statements shows that Alito thinks that a woman should have her husband's consent before she can obtain an abortion, and he favors "states' rights" at the expense of people who face civil rights violations such as sex and race discrimination.

NARAL Pro-Choice America's report: Liberty at Risk: The Vulnerability of Reproductive Rights Under Alito | Facts About Alito | Planned Parenthood's "Who is Samuel Alito?" Page | ACLU Urges Senate to Thoroughly Review Record of Judge Samuel Alito, Expresses Serious Civil Liberties Concerns About Nominee

Read updates about the protest against the March for Life

California State University East Bay's Alliance for Social Justice held an info table on Friday, January 20th in front of the University Union to raise awareness about the threat on women's reproductive rights and to turn out students to the January 21 Counter march to the “Walk for Life March.” Photos and Report

A protest has been called to "Defend Women's Reproductive Autonomy, Confront the Right-Wing Invasion, and Shut down the Walk for Life." Poster Pro-choice people will meet at 11:00am on Saturday, January 21st, at Pier 7 on the Embarcadero, San Francisco. Press release

One year ago, the Walk for Life brought thousands of people from other cities to spread an anti-choice/anti-reproductive rights message in the streets of San Francisco. Their march was lined with pro-choice protesters, and Walk for Life was also disrupted and rerouted by civil disobedience. Walk for Life plans to bring a huge crowd again this year, and people from the Bay Area plan to rise up and stop the anti-choice march in its tracks. Walk for Life March Route

Pro-choice activists are concerned by the fact that the Walk for Life shrouds itself in feminist rhetoric. They state that event co-sponsors Feminists for Life, in supporting the criminalization of abortion and women's reproductive rights, would actually cause harm to women. Interview with Anita from BACORR

Planned Parenthood Golden Gate says, "This year, we hope to counter (the Walk for Life) with a positive event that will help push our movement forward and allow us to reclaim the moral highground and not amplify the message of our anti-choice visitors." PPGG has called for a candlelight march to be held Saturday evening, January 21st, beginning at 5:00pm in Dolores Park.

Anarchist Action | Bay Area Coalition on Reproductive Rights | Planned Parenthood Golden Gate