Feminist Friends,
I know we were all shocked and disgusted by the passing of Oklahoma House Bill 1595 which blatantly disregards women's basic rights and privacy by posting intimate details of her life on a public website. Well, as it turns out, there IS life in Oklahoma. College students across the state are uniting against the new legislation. Here is the exciting press release issued by the University of Oklahoma's Women's and Gender Studies Student Association. Pass it along to everyone you know!
"College students from across the state of Oklahoma are taking a stand on Oklahoma’s newest abortion law, enacting the Statistical Abortion Reporting Act. In a response to this legislation, the students are planning Reproductive Rights Week on the campus of the University of Oklahoma and all events will culminate with a statewide protest at the Oklahoma State Capitol on November 6, at 9am.
The legislation, H.B 1595, is a new provision on Oklahoma abortion laws that now requires an official record and reporting system of all abortions occurring within the state. This information would be made public and includes specific demographical information on the women. The bill also restricts the types of abortions or reasons for women having abortions. In addition, this website will cost upwards of $281,285 the first year and $256,285 each subsequent year.
Although this legislation has been in the works since the beginning of this year, college students from across the state were shocked to hear that it went into effect with such little public discussion. More importantly, they were surprised that there was not more mobilization around the issues.
“Everybody kept waiting for a response from the community,” Sandra Criswell, English and Women’s and Gender Studies senior at the University of Oklahoma said. “We were hearing plenty of outrage but there seemed to be no place to focus all of this energy. Hopefully, this protest will do that.”
Through the awareness campaign and rally, the students hope to renew a long-silenced dialogue about reproductive rights in this region by forming a statewide coalition of pro-choice advocates. Reproductive Rights Week hopes to raise awareness about not only the legislation but also reasons why the Oklahomans should be outraged by this law.
“This is not about being pro-choice or pro-life, Republican or Democrat,” Criswell said. “This is about demanding non-discriminatory health care and holding our government accountable for their actions. These types of laws set a precedent for future legislation that can control the most personal aspects of our lives.”
Although the Women’s and Gender Studies Student Association at OU initially led this initiative, students from across the state are joining forces to unite against this new legislation. “There IS power in numbers, so it is pertinent to come together, especially in a state that has continually ignored a serious call for change amongst its younger citizens. We will no longer be silent or inactive,” Cait Thompson, recent graduate of Oklahoma State University and founding member of Oklahomans for Reproductive Justice, remarked.
“We want our legislators to know that their personal political agendas or petty government partisanship will not stand in the way of our rights,” Caitlyn Wright, OU WGS senior said.
To get more information on the protest or to contact organizers of the event, please e-mail wgssaou@gmail.com.
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A CORRECTION:
The rally at the capitol will take place from 12pm-3pm!!
PLEASE JOIN US!