Post by Aaron Graf on Jan 28, 2005 7:18:38 GMT -5
The Following is a Letter I have received from the Feminist Majority urging us to stand up and protect the ONLY abortion clinic in all Mississippi.
Dear Feminist Supporter,
Urgent help is needed to save the only remaining women's health clinic in Mississippi that provides abortions.
Anti-abortion extremists have vowed to shut down the Jackson Women's Health Organization the sole provider of abortions in Mississippi. For ten years with the Feminist Majority Foundation's help this clinic has withstood every other challenge, from threats by anti-abortion protesters to punitive restrictions imposed by state lawmakers.
We simply cannot let anti-abortion protesters get away with denying these vital healthcare services to women in Mississippi. With one of the highest poverty rates in the country, the situation for women couldn't be worse. The state has the highest teen birthrate in the country, and one of the highest infant-mortality rates.
Right now, only days after the 32nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Jackson Women's Health Organization is featured in the press, including Newsweek and The Nation. While the eyes of the world are on Mississippi, we must act to make sure the Jackson WomenÂ’s Health Organization remains open and serving the women in Mississippi.
Half of your emergency contribution will support the FMF National Clinic Access Project's work with federal, state, and local law enforcement, community leaders and the Jackson clinic to counter the protesters and prevent deadly attacks.
And the other half of your emergency contribution will be put into a special fund created by the Jackson Women's Health Organization to help poor women in Mississippi obtain abortions.
This is not the first time your Feminist Majority Foundation has worked to keep abortion clinics open in Mississippi. More than ten years ago, we coordinated with federal and state law enforcement to provide 24 hour protection to a doctor in Gulfport, Mississippi, who extremists were threatening to kill.
Concerned that a sole abortion provider in the state was too vulnerable, we began urging more clinics to open. Taking up the challenge, the National Women's Health Organization built a state-of-the-art medical clinic in Jackson, Mississippi. Even before construction was finished, we mobilized hundreds of pro-choice supporters to defend the clinic against massive blockades and demonstrations threatened by abortion opponents. Since the day the clinic opened, it has courageously fought back with lawsuits against the protesters and injunctions against the worst of the state laws. But all of this costs a great deal of money.
We need your help now to keep the Jackson clinic open and keep the Feminist Majority Foundation strong in our struggle to stop this domestic terrorism against women's health care providers. Across the country, desperate extremists are threatening violence, and nearly one quarter of all women's health clinics in the country are targets each year of violence and threats.
Please make an emergency contribution today. Your gift will directly help the Jackson Women's Health Organization and poor women, as well as FMF's community organizing, legal action and coordination with law enforcement for better protection of the Jackson clinic and clinics all across the country. We cannot allow anti-abortion zealots to win through violence and intimidation.
For Women's Rights and Lives,
Eleanor Smeal
President
Katherine Spillar
Executive Vice President
Dear Feminist Supporter,
Urgent help is needed to save the only remaining women's health clinic in Mississippi that provides abortions.
Anti-abortion extremists have vowed to shut down the Jackson Women's Health Organization the sole provider of abortions in Mississippi. For ten years with the Feminist Majority Foundation's help this clinic has withstood every other challenge, from threats by anti-abortion protesters to punitive restrictions imposed by state lawmakers.
We simply cannot let anti-abortion protesters get away with denying these vital healthcare services to women in Mississippi. With one of the highest poverty rates in the country, the situation for women couldn't be worse. The state has the highest teen birthrate in the country, and one of the highest infant-mortality rates.
Right now, only days after the 32nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Jackson Women's Health Organization is featured in the press, including Newsweek and The Nation. While the eyes of the world are on Mississippi, we must act to make sure the Jackson WomenÂ’s Health Organization remains open and serving the women in Mississippi.
Half of your emergency contribution will support the FMF National Clinic Access Project's work with federal, state, and local law enforcement, community leaders and the Jackson clinic to counter the protesters and prevent deadly attacks.
And the other half of your emergency contribution will be put into a special fund created by the Jackson Women's Health Organization to help poor women in Mississippi obtain abortions.
This is not the first time your Feminist Majority Foundation has worked to keep abortion clinics open in Mississippi. More than ten years ago, we coordinated with federal and state law enforcement to provide 24 hour protection to a doctor in Gulfport, Mississippi, who extremists were threatening to kill.
Concerned that a sole abortion provider in the state was too vulnerable, we began urging more clinics to open. Taking up the challenge, the National Women's Health Organization built a state-of-the-art medical clinic in Jackson, Mississippi. Even before construction was finished, we mobilized hundreds of pro-choice supporters to defend the clinic against massive blockades and demonstrations threatened by abortion opponents. Since the day the clinic opened, it has courageously fought back with lawsuits against the protesters and injunctions against the worst of the state laws. But all of this costs a great deal of money.
We need your help now to keep the Jackson clinic open and keep the Feminist Majority Foundation strong in our struggle to stop this domestic terrorism against women's health care providers. Across the country, desperate extremists are threatening violence, and nearly one quarter of all women's health clinics in the country are targets each year of violence and threats.
Please make an emergency contribution today. Your gift will directly help the Jackson Women's Health Organization and poor women, as well as FMF's community organizing, legal action and coordination with law enforcement for better protection of the Jackson clinic and clinics all across the country. We cannot allow anti-abortion zealots to win through violence and intimidation.
For Women's Rights and Lives,
Eleanor Smeal
President
Katherine Spillar
Executive Vice President