The Past and Future of reproductive Rights in New York

7pm

Recent restrictions on abortion rights and access to contraception at the federal and state levels, including the Supreme Court’s recent decision concerning the federal abortion ban, have further rolled back women’s right to self-determination. In the face of these persistent attacks on our rights, what strategies and analysis are useful in our work to try to defend and advance the struggle for women’s ability to control their reproduction? This event brings together activists, attorneys and allies to discuss past and recent victories and set-backs in the fight for reproductive rights, how these can be applied to our work today and ideas for action.

Speakers include:

Annie Tummino
Co-chair of the Women’s Liberation Birth Control Project and lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the FDA’s failure to approve the Morning-After Pill as an over-the-counter drug without any age restrictions.

Rhonda Copelon
Professor of Law and Director of the International Women’s Human Rights Clinic of the City University of New York School of Law, former CCR staff attorney and lead attorney in Harris v. McRae, which challenged the Hyde Amendment federal restrictions on the use of Medicaid funds for medically necessary abortions.

Nancy Stearns
Lead attorney in CCR’s 1972 landmark case, Abramowicz v. Lefkowitz, which was the first challenge in the nation on behalf of a class of women to declare the NYS ban on abortion unconstitutional. The case sparked similar challenges in other states and created precedent for the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize abortion in Roe.

Introductory remarks:

Andrea Costello
Organizer with Redstockings Allies and Veterans of the Women’s Liberation Movement and CCR Staff Attorney.

Organized by:

The Women’s Liberation Birth Control Project & The Center for Constitutional Rights

The Women’s Liberation Birth Control Project is an organization that fights for justice for women, including our right to birth control and abortion. We are building a feminist movement to win reproductive control and true equality with men. www.birthcontrolproject.org

The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change. www.ccrjustice.org

For more information, call Lauren Melodia at (212) 614-6481