Activists rally at Hampshire College in Massachusetts for their annual abortion conference.
Over the weekend, the Hampshire College Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program held its 20th reproductive rights conference titled, "From Abortion Rights to Social Justice: Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom."
According to an article in The Republican speakers from around the world were scheduled to talk at this pro-death event. "It's really incredibly broad," said Marlene Gerber Fried, director of the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program at Hampshire. "It's really an activist conference. There's a lot of scope for participation and discussion."
The Hampshire College website reports that more than 500 activists attended the rally to "strategize" how "to keep abortion legal and accessible." Some 30 workshops were offered on various topics including sex education, worker's rights, population control, the environment, HIV/AIDS, and peace. Other workshops focused on "careers in the reproductive rights movement," according to the news story.
That's interesting…I thought a career in the reproductive rights movement would result in a "dead"-end job.
I digress.
The article that appeared in The Republican said the rally "is to connect reproductive rights with other social justice issues encompassing economics, class and race."
Peace activist Frances Crowe said, "We all need to come together and organize. Women's reproductive rights are at great risk from what is coming down from the Bush administration."
Eesha Pandit, associate director of the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program, said, "We hope to build a broad-based movement. Ultimately it's about getting everyone to work towards the same broad social justice goals," Pandit said. "There's a lot of strategizing and building links."
According to The Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program's website, it is a "reproductive rights organization" located at Hampshire College in Massachusetts "that trains, educates, and inspires new leaders, organizers, and supporters nationwide."
The group is also works to connect reproductive rights to women's health, safety and empowerment, economic and racial justice, youth liberation, queer rights, environmental justice, peace and security, disability rights, and immigrants' rights.
