progress on the prairie

Women have been giving themselves abortions since the beginning of time. We have used everything from herbal remedies to coat hangers in our struggle for self-preservation. Women MUST have access to medically safe and private abortions. Period. Any other way does NOT demonstrate a concern for life; it is simply naive, stubborn, intrusive, controlling, and authoritarian.

But some of Oklahoma’s old-school lawmakers don’t see things this way. They passed some terrible legislation this past year, as some of you know. 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.

Luckily, college students from across the state of Oklahoma are taking a stand on Oklahoma’s newest abortion legislation! Today! At the State Capitol! Yeehaw! In a response to this legislation, the students have planned and are participating in a statewide protest at the Oklahoma State Capitol TODAY Friday, November 6, at 9am. Like many of us, these students were surprised that this outrageous legislation received such little media coverage and public attention: “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.”

“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.

That’s the word!

Spring