I arrived yesterday with a couple of fellow NARAL Pro-Choice America employees – we were tabling and getting everything set up. We had a free evening, and we walked over to the nearby Target to pick up a few things we’d forgotten to pack. And, because a woman’s reproductive rights supporter’s work is never done, we just had to seize the opportunity to ask the pharmacist if that pharmacy stocked Plan B ®. The answer was, “Yes. Would you like me to get it for you?” – SUCCESS! Target in Rosemont gets a gold star!

Moving on. Today, the always-magnificent Loretta Ross, the coordinator of SisterSong, welcomed the attendees to the conference. In her charismatic style, she told us that reproductive justice is about the right to not have kids, the right to have kids, and the right to parent.

After the welcome, I attended a session called “Controlling the Bodies of Women of Color: Impact of State Restrictions on Abortion Access.” The speakers were from the Center for Reproductive Rights and the National Abortion Federation.

This session covered the different elements that affect access to abortion, and how the Bush administration attempts to block women of color from making their own decisions about their bodies and reproductive health. The restrictions that are alive and well in the states disproportionately affect the poor which, more often than not, are people of color. Just because Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land, it does not mean that all women have access to abortion care. This session focused on three states: South Dakota, Louisiana, and Mississippi (a state anti-choicers call the “Mississippi Miracle” because of its restrictive anti-choice laws). People of color in these states account for a disproportionately high percentage of the poor. These are the people that are suffering the most from the incremental attacks on abortion access, like mandatory waiting periods.

They also discussed Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) and how they further the disparities between people of color. NARAL Pro-Choice America and our affiliates have done a lot of research on CPCs. Media reports show that CPCs are targeting black and Latina women through new initiatives aimed at minority churches and schools. Remember, CPCs don’t even discuss birth control—so they create a ripple effect of dishonest reproductive health information. Even worse, they often get federal or state funding. Women deserve better.

More later- I’m off to another session.