Interfaith Coalition Questions Bush's Omission of Women in "Culture of Life" 1/22/2004
From: Marjorie Signer of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, 202-628-7700 ext. 12 WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 -- The following is a statement by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice on the 31st Anniversary of Roe v. Wade: Today, the 31st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, President Bush addressed the annual anti-abortion rally on the National Mall with facile words about creating a "culture of life" -- without mentioning women's lives or suggesting how a compassionate society can be created unless women are equal, free, and respected. We ask President Bush how he can believe that all life is sacred and yet promote legislation and policies that result in exactly the opposite outcome for women and men, adults and teens. He boasted of refusing to spend tax dollars on promoting abortion overseas -- when in reality, the Administration's refusal to fund humanitarian family planning programs in poor countries has left millions of women without basic health care. He boasted of opposing "the destruction of embryos for stem cell research" -- when, in reality, those embryos, which could be used for life- saving research, were created for in vitro fertilization and will be discarded. He boasted of signing the so-called "partial-birth abortion ban"-legislation that will criminalize safe procedures as early as the 12th or 13th week of pregnancy, including procedures that may be the best medical options for preserving a woman's ability to have children in the future. He boasted of his State of the Union proposal to double spending on abstinence education. He should know that unproven abstinence-only education, in which contraception cannot be mentioned, even for disease prevention, puts our young people at greater risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and of having unintended, unwanted pregnancies. After 30 years of steady attacks on the right to choose, many of the most vulnerable -- women of color, women who are poor, those who are young -- do not feel protected in the most personal aspects of their lives. Organizations in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice are rightly outraged by these grave injustices and the lack of compassion they show for all women. We are convinced that the political efforts to deprive women of reproductive options will stop only if voters are educated about the dangers ahead. We salute Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) for introducing the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), federal legislation to restore and protect women's ability to make reproductive decisions. ------ The Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, founded in 1973, is the interfaith alliance of organizations from 15 denominations and faith traditions, including the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Methodist Church, United Church of Christ, Unitarian Universalist Association, and Reform and Conservative Judaism. |