Despite the presence of enormous individual student ambition and drive here at Harvard, it's pretty much impossible to incite enthusiasm from any large-ish group about anything besides the upcoming exam in Social Analysis 10. When only about twenty people show up to watch candidates debate for the Massachusetts Senate seat left vacant by Ted Kennedy, I figured my high school activism for reproductive rights wouldn't be matched. Stupak proved me wrong.
Last week, I showed up to a student initiated "Stop Stupak Emergency Planning Meeting," led by Gina Glantz, Chair of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and Kim Gandy, former President of NOW (both fellows at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics), to find a room packed with students: law students, humanities graduate students, graduate government school students, college students, and, notably, a large contingent of freshmen.
"Yes!" I thought. Students care about reproductive health care, women's right to choose, and the knowledge that women's health care is health care. We understand that no one plans an unplanned pregnancy, something that both private and public insurance plans will be forced to cast aside if the Stupak amendment makes it into the final version of the healthcare bill.
We established two primary goals in our advocacy:
We listened, planned, and are taking to the streets (or the T) Wednesday with coat hangers--yes, we're reviving the '60s imagery because we're scared, too, and refuse to let Stupak and anti-choicers bring us back to the dark ages of amateur and dangerous abortions.
Watch out, America's politicians, students are back on the streets. We voted last year because of Obama, and you have just given us a reason to vote next year.
Please join us!
If you are a student, feel free to adopt our plan of action and join us this Wednesday with a protest of your own.
If you are in or near the Boston area, come to the Harvard Square T-stop between 3:30 and 5:30 PM to show your outrage and stand up for women's reproductive rights.
Follow Stopstupaknow on twitter for updates.
Join our facebook group to garner support for Students Stop Stupak.
Check out our website and get ready for a student revolution to STOP STUPAK NOW.
Stay tuned for more action alerts and ideas, and in the meantime, please sign the petition to STOP STUPAK.
Follow Leah Reis-Dennis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/stopstupaknow
Get the Health Care now for Millions and then change the Abortion Laws later !!!!!!
Come on Millions need Health Care Daily so PLEASE DO NOT PLAY THE REPUBLICAN GAME~~~~~~
Talk to some Harvard Business students about how they would deal with a poison pill in a business agreement .
No one plans diabetes, no one plans lung cancer, and no one plans AIDS. But behavioral decisions sure do make such complications much more probable don't they? How about instead of forcing everyone to buy health insurance we resrtict people from having extramarital sex and smoking? Do you think our health care costs would go down?
I don't seriously think that regulating smoking and sex is a desirable solution, but I also don't think it's fair to make those of us who consider abortion murder to pay for the procedure or to force Americans who live healthy lives to pay the health costs of smokers, drinkers, drug users, and overeaters.
I respect your right to have a definitive decision about abortion and I want to remind you that there are already laws on the books that stipulate federal dollars are NOT to pay for abortion. The Stupack agenda is just a measure to come into the back door and impose his views on the rest of society by prohibiting private insurance companies who participates in subsidized funding ....from including abortions. Now, let me tell you why it is wrong for this posture. Religious institution receives federal dollars for non-religious programs that is apart of their outreach to the public. Somehow these religious institutions manages to separate the federal dollars from the funding they receive from their congregation to promote their particular stance on faith. I think that there could be the same mechanism implemented within the private insurance companies that separate the monies received from the federal government that will be NOT used in any fashion to pay for abortion .....but the other profits that are received can still be used to expand coverage for abortions.
If religious institutions are able to accomplish this "separation" where the federal dollars are never used to spread their religious ideology but to be used as directed for community services minus the religious agenda.....then insurance companies can do the same. If not...this is just a measure of others to sneak into the back door and impose their well held beliefs unto those who do not believe...which is wrong.
I am a believer and have strong views on abortion...and strong views on choices. I look at God as a pro-choice God. After all, he never once forced human beings to worship him but always extended an invitation to us ...and if we reject his invitation...to our own eternal detrimental destination....he still permits it. WE on the other hand seek to force everyone regardless of their God given choice to get it right or wrong...to do things our way. We try to walk in a manner that God himself did not walk in.
Think about what the guy said, watch hardball and listen to his position. It is obviously different from your own but a political decision was made to try an end run around hyde and guess what, it blew up in our faces. That is what happens when people play games with issues like abortion.
J