WSW EDITORIAL Vol. 8, no. 10

By Marycatherine Krause

Was 1973 to pro-abortion and pro-choice activists what 1981 is shaping up to be to anti-abortionists? Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that

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legalized abortion, was the culmination of a long, hard struggle waged by women to gain control over our reproductive lives. In the eight years since that decision, anti-abortion groups have zealously organized people, money, and resources for the sole

CONTENTS

Features

R2N2 v. Human Life Amendment............... Backward Steps for Civil Rights......

Photo Essay: The Dinner Party....... Women and Our Bodies......... Interview with Diane Gelon......

8-9

..6

Rural Women Lose Ground......

..4

The Feminization of Poverty..

..5

Review

....6

Local.

Palimony Case Encouraging.............

Find It Fastest....

.back cover

Reagan Budget: Women Fare Badly.

..4

Classified Ads.......

CWW Wins Victory........

Take Back the Night Needs Help........

..2

What's Happening.

Cover by Louise Luczak

What She Wants

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purpose of denying us our reproductive rights. Recent anti-abortion victories in local, state and federal court decisions and legislative proposals that have limited women's access to abortion attest to the effectiveness of their national moral minority movement.

Not coincidentally, three anti-abortion bills are now pending in the Ohio General Assembly. Sponsored by Democratic Representatives Ken Rocco and Ron Suster, House Bills 92, 93 and 94 would place restrictions on the women who seek abortions and the physicians and clinics who provide them. Each bill poses a threat to women's reproductive freedom; together they suggest an attempt to build momentum for passage of the Human Life Amendment in the next session of the Ohio Senate.

Of the three bills, H.B. 92, "The Anti-Abortion Bill," is, the most immediate threat. This version of the familiar parental/consent/informed/consent restriction is already under subcommittee scrutiny. According to State Rep. Mary Boyle, H.B. 92 may be voted out of the subcommittee within the next two weeks.

H.B. 92 seeks to erode our reproductive rights by providing that I) an unmarried minor, 16 or under, must obtain the informed written consent of a parent, or prove in Juvenile Court that she is sufficiently mature and well-informed to decide for herself in order to obtain an abortion; 2) not less than 48 hours and not more than 30 days before a woman consents to an abortion, her physician must orally inform her of a description of fetal development and possible serious complications of undergoing an abortion; and 3) there be a 48-hour waiting period between a woman's request for an abortion and the performance of the procedure.

The best way to defeat this legislative challenge to our reproductive freedoms is to act today to kill this bill while it is still in committee. Write or wire Vernal G. Riffe (Speaker of the House), Vernon Cook (State Government Committee Chair), and subcommittee members Francine Panehal, Vernon Cook, C.J. McLin, John Davidson and Marie Lansey today.! Tell them you believe the bill should be defeated and ask for their support for your position. Refer to H.B. 92 and its provisions. Be specific. Call EFCO (621-8224), CARAL (522-0169), or NARAL/Ohio (614-469-9628) for more information on H.B. 92. Or use this sample letter:

Rep.

Ohio House of Representatives Columbus, Ohio 43215

Dear Rep.

I believe that all women should be informed before they obtain an abortion. This is currently being done. H.B. 92, which is in the State Government Committee, does not, as it purports to do, protect maternal health but intimidates women who seek to have an abortion. I respectfully urge you to defeat this legislation. Sincerely,

But do it now. As Mary Boyle noted, "We cannot expect someone else to take care of this issue for us. Since women as a group do not wield a lot of power, individual women must tell the subcommittee where we stand on H.B. 92. It will matter".

If it matters to you, if you can imagine yourself forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term, you ,will act to preserve our reproductive rights.

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May, 1981/What She Wants/Page 1