Momentum is building for a beautiful gathering of abortion rights supporters in Germantown, MD (near Washington, DC) July 31-August 7!
Watch and spread this video of Dr. LeRoy Carhart calling on supporters to come out for a Summer Celebration of Choice: We are all especially excited about the Kick-Off Walk, and encourage all activists to join. The walk is also a fundraiser to support the Abortion Access Fund, which enables women who often travel very long distances to obtain crucially needed and lifesaving abortions.
The National Organization for Women had its annual conference June 23-25 in Tampa, Florida. There, the members passed a resolution of support for both the Summer Celebration of Choice and the Summer of Trust. Thank you to the inspiring leaders and the dedicated members of NOW, and we hope to see you all in Germantown this summer!
Get involved, spread the word, and make your plans to attend now!
Download PDF of this call to action as a flier.
Facebook: Summer of Choice and Summer of Trust
Twitter: @summeroftrust and@summerofchoice
Dr. Carhart’s site: summerofchoice.com
Grassroots activists mobilizing site: summeroftrust.com
Sign up to participate and donate in the fundraising Kick-Off Walk on July 31st at summerofchoice.com!
Against the backdrop of a wave of anti-abortion legislative assaults, Operation Rescue has announced plans for a “Summer of Mercy 2.0? targeting the brave and outspoken Dr. LeRoy Carhart in Germantown, MD July 30-August 7. This organization is the same group that hounded Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, KS, for years (until he was assassinated by one of their associates in May ‘09). Their original “Summer of Mercy” in 1991 shut down access to the Dr. Tiller’s clinic for six weeks and resulted in 3,400 arrests, a very alarming history to invoke.
World Can’t Wait will join with others to mount a serious and determined showing of public support for Dr. Carhart and the Germantown, MD, clinic whose practice he has joined.
Only 40 minutes from Washington, Operation Rescue’s targeting of this clinic in Germantown is an important opportunity to dramatically shift the dialogue over abortion rights. Rather than accept compromises that leave us with less and less ground to stand on, let’s show the national media and politicians a strong pro-choice presence on the streets.
Given the national context, as the right to abortion and birth control is both chipped away and attacked with state laws that are direct challenges to Roe, the need to mobilize boldly is clear. Dr. Carhart is one of the most exemplary and heroic advocates of women’s rights today: he was a close friend and colleague of Dr. Tiller’s, and has stepped into Dr. Tiller’s shoes to provide women with life-saving abortions under the most difficult of circumstances, so-called “late-term” abortions, which are needed in crisis situations. Without his services many women would be left without any choice at all, and would die.
But he hasn’t just provided medical care to women in need: he’s also challenged repressive laws at the level of the Supreme Court (most notoriously with Carhart v. Gonzalez): shared his medical expertise with other doctors and increased the number of providers who can handle the difficult procedures he specializes in: and publicly spoken out against the hatred of the anti-abortion movement, never being intimidated by their threats. This is the kind of person who should be cherished and revered, not forced to face the violence and bullying of the anti-abortion movement alone.
Dr. Carhart is a hero and access to the services he provides are crucially needed. Without this basic right, women can never be free. This summer, we will talk about morality and what is truly immoral: forcing women to bear children against their will.
Join us in Maryland and donate generously to fund transportation, housing, and associated costs for this week of mobilization. Help make this summer a turning point for the right to abortion and fund the kind of actions that can re-orient all of society in a more just way.
Download PDF of this call to action as a flier.
This post was originally published at RH Reality Check, a site of news, community and commentary for reproductive health and justice
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