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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 22, 2000)
Conference discusses pro-choice ■ Labeling the pro-choice movement as exclusively pro-abortion was one of many issues raised over the weekend gathering while looking at the movement By Emily Gust Oregon Daily Emerald As the campus swarmed with people outside during the Willamette Valley Folk Festival this past weekend, a smaller, more serious event was taking place in doors. Students for Choice presented “Body of Choice: Educating Each Other About Reproductive Free doms,” a conference aimed at clar ifying what “pro-choice” means. “Pro-choice means that a woman has a right to have safe sex, which means being able to use contraceptives, and the right to decide whether or not to have an abortion,” said Anna Peterson, who helped organize the confer ence through the Women’s Center. Several different events were held during the three-day period, including a keynote address, workshops, a movie and a panel discussion. Cathy Pace, a former clinic organizer, started the con ference Friday by delivering a keynote address. State Rep. Vicki Walker partici pated in the conference in a lec ture Saturday regarding elections and legislation issues associated with the pro-choice movement. A panel held Saturday seemed to agree that pro-choice means more than pro-abortion, which many said was a common miscon ception. The movement doesn’t revolve around the issue of abor tion; rather, it supports having ac cess to contraception, a compre hensive sex education and the op tion of abortion or adoption said Crystal Plati, field director for Choice USA. Choice USA is a national organ ization that researches, educates and mobilizes pro-choice activists and leaders. “It’s for women to be their own moral agents and to control their destinies and have a child when they want to,” said Rebecca Zani, outreach and education coordina tor for All Women’s Health Ser vice. While the greatest misconcep tion pointed out at the conference was by far that pro-choice equals pro-abortion, several panelists also mentioned that some people are not educated enough about the issues and are susceptible to mak ing uninformed judgments. “Before pregnancy occurs, there’s so many choices that need to be made,” said Renne DeLau rentis, public affairs fund-raising associate with Planned Parent hood. “It’d be really helpful if peo ple understood that.” Discussion eventually led to what could be done to improve the movement. Several panelists said the “anti-choice” segment has influenced many people into be lieving the pro-choice movement is something it is not. As a result, education of the public stood out as one of the major goals. “We have quite a lot of work to do in terms of organizing young people,” Plati said. “Anti-choice has been really successful in defining our movement for us.” She added that people between the ages of 15 and 20 are more likely to be “anti-choice” than any other generation before them. In addition, when polled, most in that age group thought the majori ty of abortions occurred in the third trimester of pregnancy, which Plati said is simply untrue. People of later ages, however, are not exempt from the need to be taught, DeLaurentis said. People of her generation, she said, are complacent when it comes to the issue of contraception and they don’t realize that just because it’s here now doesn’t mean it’s going to stay. The panelists shared their indi vidual levels of involvement with in the pro-choice movement and the experiences that led them there. In addition to Walker’s presen tation, social change advocate Teri Gutierrez spoke about internation al reproductive issues. A third workshop on clinic escort training was postponed. Sunday’s wrap-up included a movie about a woman who died while having an abortion. The conference concluded with a Speak Out during which students were invited to share their own thoughts about the pro-choice movement. UO Summer Session Glasses Begin June 19. Register Now! It's Not Too Late. Book Your Summer in Oregon Pick up your free summer bulletin today in the Summer Session office, 333 Oregon Hall, or at the UO Bookstore. You can speed your way toward graduation by taking required courses during summer. University of Oregon Summer Session liitp://uosummer.uoregon.edu/ Get a higher score anytime, anywhere. Study this summer in one of our 160 centers or online! 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