Reproductive HealthDana Grimm, Nader Hakim,

Briana Smith, Maria Majeed, Debra Williams, Jenny Clement,

Hayley Mandell, Ashley Kryscynski

accessibility of reproductive health

services to all women,

with a focus on low-income women and

women with disabilities

WITHOUT FAMILY PLANNING SERVICES, PROPER EDUCATION AND SPECIALIZED SERVICES :

“estimated 1.3 million additional unplanned pregnancies annually, of which … 61% would involve women with a household income below 200%

of the federal poverty level”(Forrest & Samara, 1996, p. 1.)

DISABLED WOMEN ARE AT…

“high risk for unplanned pregnancies and sexually

transmitted diseases, especially disabled teenage girls”

(Fiduccia, 1996, p. 7)

ISSUEWomen with low socioeconomic standing and disabilities… Have minimal access to reproductive

health services.  

Lack of service contributes to:Greater levels of unplanned pregnancy. Greater number of abortions. Greater number of sexually transmitted

diseasesGreater number of reproductive health

problems

ISSUE CONT…

Publicly funded family planning services are helping to narrow

these reproductive health disparities but they need funds &

support in order to sustain.

ISSUE CONT…

And a lot more needs to be done …

In order to ensure these women have proper education,

Have access to birth control And have access to specialized

services in the case that they do become pregnant.

Possible ways of dealing with the issue

Non-profit organizations Planned parenthood, Arbor Vitae etc.

Active mobilizationRallies, walk, fund raisers, building support,

awareness & coalition etc.

Educating the communityAbout the issue and what they can do

Advocate for policies that enable Americans to access reproductive and sexual health care, education, and information

I - INTERVIEW – Lindsay Maas of Planned Parenthood

90 year old grassroots movement that provides reproductive health services, education, and advocacy

Pro-Choice organization that defends a woman’s right to choose and teenagers’ access to sexual education

Provides family planning services to ANYONE

75% of patients are 150% below the poverty-line

1 in 5 women use Planned Parenthood in their lifetime

I - INTERVIEW – Lindsay Maas of Planned Parenthood Strong effort to serve the underserved

communities Current attempts to cut Title X Funding

Leaves 90,000 people just in Michigan without services

Every $1 spent in family planning services saves $6.37 in Medicaid, prenatal services, and the first year of a baby’s life“We’re not firemen and

we’re not surgeons, but we save lives…and that

keeps me going”

ARBOR VITAE

Non-profit organization that provides crisis pregnancy, free counseling and women’s health clinics.

ARBOR VITAE

Ambiguous and two faced agenda

Controversial

Hidden pro-life, anti-abortion agenda that reflects in all their counseling and services.

INTERVIEW STRATEGY: In order to get to the reality of the matter, we

decided to conduct a two –part interview

Part 1: Formal Interview with a representative from the organization that can clear their position.

Part 2: Experiential/Observation – going in as their client and gather information about their treatment, counseling, services and overall environment.

OUTCOMES OF INTERVIEW 1: We contacted them several times They were uninterested, busy and

were not open and welcomed our coming in for an interview.

Finally after giving us a date and providing us with no time – they cancelled the appointment!

REASON: They were not allowed to give an interview and needed a permission from their supervisor!!!

ARBOR VITAE Informal Observation

Take Aways:Clearly having conflicting agendasTheir agenda is clearly towards

abstinence and prevention With a lure of it is all about being safe And it seems crucial for them to help

you towards that end

Educating the community

Many workshops, activist, and seminars organized around the issue

ExampleParticipated in a

campus eventNative Youth Sexual

Health Network

Active Participation

Walk for Choice & Planned Parenthood Truth Tour

In Ann Arbor on Saturday, March 26th

Made posters for the event

Speaking platform for many activist Response to recently proposed budget cuts Both people who supported or opposed

Planned Parenthood attended

We created a short film about both the issue and the walk

Here is the part where the film captures the walk and our participation:

Link:

Mobilization

III - Interview with Gabrielle Butterfield

Executive board member of Students for Choice

Expand reproductive choices of women on campus and in the U.S.

Organize campus events and collaborate with Planned Parenthood

Participated in the Walk“It is ridiculous to me all of the legal,

physical, emotional, financial and mental barriers that women face just in

order to be in control of their own bodies.”

SOLUTION?

SOLUTION…

Although local election results were positive, including a gain of 2 pro-choice seats in the state Senate (moving the dial from 27 to 29,)

We still have our work cut out

for us!

SOLUTION… The state House retained a slim majority of

at least 81 pro-choice legislators (down from a previous count of 95.)

The Continuing Resolution passed by the House is extremely dangerous.

It would deny millions of American women access to: Birth control, Cancer screenings, HIV tests, And other lifesaving care — and that's

unacceptable.  

CASC TAKEWAYS…

BUT …With your help, we WILL/CAN stay vigilant about protecting the political climate for sexual health in the Commonwealth.

By keeping this issue alive and active: On campuses In statehouses and courts In community settings In the mediaAnd online

CACS TAKEWAYS…

We are asking you to:

Stand with and support organizations like Planned Parenthood health centers and strongly support the much needed, essential, primary and preventive health services they provide to thousands of women, men, and teens every day.  

CASC TAKEWAYS…

We also ask you to please

vote - NO

on any legislation that targets Planned

Parenthood and women's health.

Something to think about… Families are the root of any community Therefore

Providing public aid in the form of family planning services

And working to better understand how reproductive health services may need to be altered for those with disabilities and low SES is crucial for healthy sustainability of many communities.

FINAL TAKEAWAY!Fostering health and well-being of

families ensures healthy, sustainable communities & reproductive rights &

reproductive health goes hand in hand in building healthy & strong

communities!

Promotion of reproductive justice is therefore crucial to the building of

healthy families – in order to build a strong community!