Voices for Change and KSC Feminist Collective hosts discussion of female reproductive rights
Regan Driscoll
Equinox Staff
Keene State College’s Voices for Change and the Feminist Collective hosted a panel discussion “Reproductive Rights in New Hampshire and Beyond: What You Need to Know Before You Vote.”
The panel discussed the progress made with reproductive rights, various attempts to change the rights, and the consequences of having those rights taken away.
According to panelists, Mitt Romney’s plan puts women at risk of having their reproductive rights stripped, denying them access to contraception, which is currently required in all health insurance plans.
This poses problems for those who are taking birth control for medical reasons, such as irregular or painful menstrual cycles, migraines or endometriosis.
Some college students cannot afford contraception without it being included in health insurance, let alone thousands of other women who struggle financially.
Planned Parenthood already had a close call with losing their entire funding last year. The elective council for Title X Funding, which in New Hampshire consists of five men, voted 3-2 to rescind the funds, causing three months of disruptive services for the clinic.
However, the US Department of Health and Services gave the organization an emergency grant for 16 months, which is now almost up. Marianne White, Planned Parenthood organizer, described the multitude of bills proposed in the last couple of years.
She said a bill proposed by John Boehner threatened to defund Planned Parenthood in 2010, was stopped by President Obama.
Other bills White discussed were the Personhood Amendment, which would have given fertilized eggs human rights, and another bill which would have required women to have a trans-ultrasound before having their abortion.
According to the panelists, there is a bill that would take away funding for any organization that provides abortions. She explained this includes Planned Parenthood, but that is only a tiny fraction of the services they provide.
Most patients are there for things such as pelvic exams, contraception, pregnancy and STD tests, offered at a cheaper cost without health insurance.
Thousands of women would be put out of place, no longer able to afford birth control or medical examinations, according to the panel. Felix Seidel, treasurer for the Feminist Collective group, stated Planned Parenthood had a “huge impact” in his life. He said that, being transgendered, he still feels comfortable there and there is “no weirdness…they recognize individual medical needs.”
Cyndy Chase, a New Hampshire state representative, reflected on how far women’s reproductive rights have come in the past few decades. She mentioned Bill Baird, who was arrested in 1967 because he was in favor of birth control.
It wasn’t until 1972 that the Supreme Court ruled single women could not be discriminated against and had the right to contraception in the Eisenstadt versus Baird case. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brennan wrote in that decision, “If the right of privacy means anything, it is the right of the individual to be free from unwarranted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as to whether to bear or beget a child.”
Women shouldn’t be taking a step backwards now, 40 years after this ruling, according to Chase.
Chase declared, “When I was born there wasn’t a stamp on my uterus that said Property of the United States.”
She went on to say, “Women’s fight for contraception has been long and it’s been hard…you must not lose it…we can go back if we’re not careful.”
Chase spoke about what life was like before women were granted these rights, describing fatal abortions.
She mentioned how many women would bleed to death giving themselves abortions with coat hangers because they were illegal.
Evelyn Cauchon and Kya Roumimper, KSC freshmen, stated afterwards how scary it is to think that if reproductive rights are taken away, these dangerous abortions could happen again.
Not everyone is ready to have a child, whether it be emotionally or financially and options need to be given, according to Chase. Chase said how revoking female reproductive rights would leave “Three alternatives; celibacy, having your tubes tied, or just get pregnant.”
Maggie Brown, a freshman and mother, said she knows how hard it is and that it isn’t for everyone. She stated how “it’s scary to think they may not have a choice.”
Gina Velasco, professor of Women’s and Gender Studies, said how society tends to “take a lot of these rights for granted.”
“Many don’t realize what’s at stake,” Feminist Collective vice-president Krista Sullivan noted. Sullivan said how all you need to bring to the election is your student I.D. card in order to vote.
Velasco added, “It is particularly important to vote in New Hampshire because it is a swing state.”
Chase stated, “We’ve come this far because the ban did not work, why go backwards?”
Regan Driscoll can be contacted at
rdriscoll@keene-equinox.com