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Tidewater
NOW
elects
new
leaders
In
a
special
election
at
our
November
meeting,
we
elected
a
new
Records
Manager
and
a
new
Treasurer!
Be
sure
to
come
out
and
show
your
support
at
the
next
chapter
meeting
–
see
Calendar.
President
Rosemarie
Morehead,
litescape@worldnet.att.net
Treasurer
Darlene
Collins,
535-0856
Records
Manager
Sarita
Sidhu,
495-2129
At-Large
Tina
Policastro,
721-9001
Task
Force
Chairs:
Reproductive
Freedom
-
Mary
Roberson,
490-0006
Lesbian
Rights
–
Bobbi
Gallegos,
549-0327
Chapter
phone
757-456-1509
Chapter
email
now4equality@hotmail.com
Chapter
website
http://www.tidewaternow.org
Meet Our Records Manager
Sarita Sidhu
I was born in India in 1963, then at the age of about nine months, my family emigrated to Great Britain. Two of my sisters were subsequently born in England, bringing the number of children (all female) in the family to four. In line with cultural tradition, I grew up in a patriarchal family. My experiences were shaped largely by the oppressive authoritarianism of my father, along with the isolation that comes from being a second-generation Indian immigrant in a mainly white British education system.
I discovered the concepts of equality, womens' rights and political liberalism quite late in my life, when I attended university for the second time in order to gain a degree in education. Whilst being concerned with human rights in general, I feel most passionately about womens' rights; my key areas of activism include reproductive rights and female infanticide (rife in my culture).
I moved to
Virginia Beach about two and a half years ago with my husband and two daughters, as a result of a promotion he accepted in his field of employment (no he is not in the military!).
I feel
privileged
and excited in accepting this board
position
within the
organization, and I would urge as many women as possible to attend meetings so that we can all learn from each other's experiences and areas of expertise; I look forward to meeting with all of you in the future.
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
*December
22nd, 4:00 - 6:00
Annual
Holiday
Party,
Sarita
Sidhu's
-
952
Wickham
Court,
Virginia
Beach,
757-495-2129.
Bring
your
favorite
holiday
snack
&
beverage.
*January 9th - 2002
(60
day)
General
Assembly
Session
starts.
Email
cjh@exis.net
to
sign
on
to
Virginia
NOW's
Legislative
Email
Alert
List.
*January 15th
- Tidewater NOW Chapter Meeting, 7 PM, YWCA, Freemason St., Norfolk.
*January 22nd - Annual roe v. Wade Speak out and
Vigil
at
the Federal Building on Granby St. at 7PM.
Call 490-0006 for more information.
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Don't Forget! Tidewater NOW maintains an Abortion Assistance Fund. We asked all members to donate one hour's wages to support this fund. If you have not mailed your check yet, send it today, payable to Tidewater NOW, mail to PO Box 446 Norfolk VA 23501.
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NATIONAL DAY of SPEAK-OUTS:
JANUARY 22, 2001
"ACTION TO PROTECT AND ADVANCE ROE"
The status of Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance with the resignation and/or retirement of a single U.S. Supreme Court Justice while Bush occupies the White House.
If a vacancy occurs, Bush will have the opportunity to appoint a right-wing justice determined to overturn Roe, as he pledged during his campaign and promised his right-wing supporters. George W. Bush's first official act was to reinstate the "Gag rule" on family planning. And he vowed to continue pressing for the elimination of legal abortion in the United States.
In spite of all the emphasis on the current war and answer to terrorists attacks here at home and abroad, this administration and conservative Republicans continue to press for passage of their right-wing agenda in Congress. As we speak, there are over 30 nominees to the District and Appellate Courts before the Judiciary Committee, most with a clear record on abortion, having expressed their disagreement with Roe V. Wade in decisions and/or statements in their respective Courts. The "litmus" test by Bush is clear from these appointees and we expect that the pattern will continue with a nomination of a right wing, anti-abortion Justice to the U.S. Supreme Court.
We passed a resolution at the NOW National Conference last July committing the organization to a series of events aimed at "protecting and advancing" Roe V. Wade recognizing that while legal, abortion remains inaccessible to many women: young, poor, of color, and rural. The future of women's reproductive rights are in danger, increasingly so with the commitment of an anti-abortion administration, renewed terrorists attacks on abortion providers and regressive restrictions on abortion procedures and notification laws.
Join us as we speak out against the efforts to further restrict abortion laws! On January 22nd we will blend our voices with those of women throughout the country to expose the imminent danger to reproductive freedom!
The National Organization for Women will lead the way with NOW activists all over the country, through actions and public education campaigns that will raise the awareness of the threats to legal abortion, the effects of illegal abortions in the United States and the globe, and the consequences of unwanted pregnancies.
We
Need
Your
Help!
On January 22nd, the anniversary of Roe V. Wade, we are holding a "Speak-Out" on abortion at 7:00 PM at the Federal Courthouse, Granby Street, Norfolk. We want to include the following:
a) A testimony of your experiences with restrictions on abortion (accessibility, costs parental notification, etc.)
b) A testimony of how you were affected by illegal abortion or restrictions on abortion in the United States.
c) Your testimony as an expert or individual with information on the effects of illegal abortion prior to Roe v Wade, and/or around the world.
THIS IS IMPORTANT!
We want to document the testimony given at our Speak-Out. These testimonies will be used during the SECOND PHASE of this campaign!
On March 8th, 2002, NOW will stage national sit-in/mock filibusters or conduct meetings in all of 100 Senators' home offices to read and present the personal testimonials collected at our Speak-Outs in an effort to secure pledges from the Senators that they will filibuster any Supreme Court nominee who is not in support of Roe v. Wade. Let's be sure to have plenty of information for Warner & Allen! If you cannot attend the Speak Out on the
22nd, pls. send your testimony via email to
now4equality@hotmail.com.
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Shelters
Portsmouth
HER SHELTER 485-1445
Virginia Beach
SAMARITAN HOUSE 430-2642, 430-2120
Smithfield
GENIEVE SHELTER 800-969-4673
Williamsburg
AVALON 757-258-5051
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Abortion Before Roe v. Wade
The Supreme Court's historic Roe v. Wade ruling did not create abortion in the United States. Whether legal or illegal, abortion has
been a part of life in the United States since the Colonial period.
From the colonial period to the 1800s, abortion was legal before
"quickeninq" about the 4th month of pregnancy. During that period, primitive methods--such as jumping on or hitting a pregnant woman's abdomen, introducing foreign objects into the uterus, or using concoctions made from easily found herbs-- were used to cause abortion, frequently killing or injuring the woman.
Abortion was not a crime, and was quite common, in the United States during the 1700s and early 1800s. The mid-1800s campaign to criminalize abortion stemmed from the medical profession's desire to establish the supremacy of physicians over midwives and homeopaths, an increasing resentment towards the growing women's rights movement, and a racist reaction to the growing number of nonwhite and non-Protestant immigrants.
Laws passed across the country between 1860 and 1880 prohibited all abortions. However, abortion remained widely available throughout the next century. According to some late-nineteenth century sources, approximately two million abortions were performed annually.
Until the 1940s, women could obtain abortions from doctors and midwives, although many times these procedures were unsafe, in addition to being illegal. After the 1940s abortions became increasingly difficult to obtain. But estimates of the annual number of illegal abortions in the 50s and 60s range from 200,000 to 1.2 million.
Abortion
After
Roe v. Wade
Safe and legal abortion saves women's lives, benefits existing families and serves society as a whole. Important advances have been made in the lives of women and families since the 1973 legalization of abortion in the United States.
Each year, half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended, and half of these are terminated by abortion. It is estimated that 1.33 million abortions were performed in 1997, approximately a 15 percent decrease from the 1990 level. An estimated 43 percent of all women will have at least one abortion by the time they are 45 years old.
Women aged 20-24 obtain 32 percent of all abortions, while teenagers obtain 20 percent.
Forty-seven percent of all unplanned pregnancies occur among the 7 percent of women at risk of unintended pregnancy who do not practice contraception. Half of all women having abortions in 1995 had used a contraceptive during the month they became pregnant.
Eighty-six percent of all counties in the US have no abortion provider, and approximately 32 percent of all women aged 15-44 live in these counties. The number of abortion providers decreased from 2,380 in 1992 to 2,042 in 1996.
First-trimester abortion is taught as part of gynecology in only 12 percent of medical schools in the United States.
In 1973, the risk of dying from an abortion was 3.4 deaths per 100,000 abortions. Today the death rate from legal abortion is 0.6 per 100,000 at all stages of gestation and 0.2 per 100,000 for abortions performed before eight weeks of pregnancy. This is 11 times safer than carrying a pregnancy to term.
More than half of all abortions are performed at or before eight weeks of pregnancy and 88 percent occur during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Approximately half of all women having abortions beyond 15 weeks say their delay was caused by problems in affording, finding or getting to the abortion services.
Roe v. Wade did not dramatically affect the number of abortions desired or performed. The marked change occurred in the number of abortions reported. Even when abortion was illegal in the United States, abortions were performed by both skilled medical personnel and untrained individuals commonly known as "back alley butchers."
States that have stringent anti-abortion laws are also states that provide women with the lowest levels of education and where women suffer the highest levels of poverty.
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