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.
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