Open Letter to Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif.

Dear Rep. Speier
I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for sharing your story Friday (2/18/11) and in doing so, standing up for women every where who make the decision to terminate a pregnancy for a wide array of personal reasons. Sometimes sharing our most personal stories are the scariest but most powerful. I tell my students to speak up even when their voices shake. Thank you for giving them a role model to look up to. And thank you for taking on a battle that impacts women lives in the most profound ways.

With the embattled culture we have surrounding reproductive rights in this country it is no wonder that there are rampant mis-conceptions about abortion and the women who have them. I believe that the mystery around abortion and politics that have ensued are the result of a targeted campaign by anti-choice extremists and politicians who wish to convolute the issues and remove women from the debate. We so often talk about abortion in this nation with a failing to recognize that behind every abortion is a woman making the best decision she believes she can at the time. When we remove her from the discussion we create an debate that is impersonal and hypothetical. We lose any compassion or recognition of women themselves at the very heart of the issue. Abortion is neither something one believes in or not, it is a reality in the nature of who we are. Women have had abortions since the beginning of human time, and will continue to have them until the end of human time. We have abortions for as diverse of reasons as we ourselves are diverse. Not all women choose abortion and not all women find that they have a choice. To deny women accessible and safe abortion, is to deny women dignity and self-determination. A fact, given your story, I am sure you are aware.

Often those who represent us hear only from us when we complain. I wanted to take a moment publicly to thank you. So thank you...thank you for standing up and speaking out and for doing so even though it may put you into a firestorm of anti-choice harassment. Know that many support you.

Sincerely,
Megan Seely

P.S. Readers...Often we are motivated to contact representatives when something is wrong, when we want to protest. I encourage this! But I also think that it is important to let representatives know when we like something that they have done. Especially, when their actions have likely made them the target of harassment. So on this note, I encourage you to thank Rep. Speier and recognize the incredibly brave act she did in speaking out. To contact Rep. Jackie Speier, click here.

For all those who believe in equality...a powerful new film

Miss-Representation
Click here for the trailer

"Writer/Director Jennifer Siebel Newsom brings together some of America’s most influential women in politics, news, and entertainment to give us an inside look at the media’s message. Miss Representation explores women’s under-representation in positions of power by challenging the limited and often disparaging portrayal of women in the media. As one of the most persuasive and pervasive forces in our culture, media is educating yet another generation that women’s primary value lies in their youth, beauty and sexuality—not in their capacity as leaders. Through the riveting perspectives of youth and the critical analysis of top scholars, Miss Representation will change the way you see media."
From the website

Book recommendation

"...decades of experience have taught us that gaining reproductive rights is not a simple answer to the bigger problem of ensuring reproductive justice for all women." Started reading a new book this morning...In Our Control by Laura Eldridge. Only a chapter or so in but already want to recommend!

Wikileaks, Assange, and Michael Moore

When I first heard that Michael Moore posted the bail of Julian Assange after two separate allegations were filed against him by women in Sweden I was outraged. I wondered, once again, how it is that we continue to discount women's voices and the global epidemic of violence against women. While appreciate the work that Assange has done to expose secrets and to tell the truth of governmental actions I am endlessly frustrated that we are so often willing to cast women aside for the 'greater good.' And I am exhausted by the men who fight for justice socially and politically but violate the human rights of women they encounter personally. OK, even if only 'presumably' in Assange's case. Regardless, women's lives are not expendable.

I was happy to come across this blog from the ever fabulous Rachel Maddow who interviews Michael Moore and discusses this issue further. And while I would have like to hear Michael Moore address the allegations against Assange and the impact his endorsement has on public perception, I do agree with him that despite the good work that Assange has done, the wikileaks founder must address the allegations of rape that stand against him. Take a look...Click HERE for the interview.

Great article...must read

Fighting the Black Anti-Abortion Campaign: Trusting Black Women
by Loretta J. Ross

Mother Jones article

The GOP's New Abortion Agenda
12/2/2010

Feminist for Choice

Check out my new interview with Feminist for Choice!