Stop Blaming, Start Educating - Catholic Identity and Abortion

As a woman and a Catholic, I'm very frustrated that diocesan churches preach the evils and horrors of abortion rather than teach ways to use love, care, and education to prevent unplanned or unwanted pregnancies or find loving homes for unwanted babies.  My fiance and I have discussed this at length and how being pro-choice both fits into our Catholic identity and does not make us pro-abortion.  I support a woman's right to choose, but I think we, as a society, could be doing more.

After much discussion with my fiancé, we have come up with an idea to reduce the abortion rate, thus creating a culture of life that is centered around Christ's primary teaching - love.  Neither of us have any experience in running a non-profit, though we both have volunteer experience, so this is where, hopefully, a blog can help us recruit others to help us with our mission. We are not sure what we would call our organization, but here is what we are all about.

First we would like to give boys and girls more education about sex before and during the onset of puberty, ideally between 4th and 7^th grade.  Sexuality is not something for children to be embarrassed or ashamed of, rather it is a part of how we identify ourselves and should be valued in all people.  Children need to be taught anatomically correct language and accurate scientific information regarding pregnancy.  Children should also be taught how to correctly use condoms and birth control, and told (*not taught because there isn't anything to teach besides one sentence) that the only way to 100% prevent unwanted or unplanned pregnancy is to practice abstinence.  I believe condoms and birth control should be used but that we need to break the myth that they are 100% effective.  Speaking from experience, I have a friend with three children who became pregnant with two of her children while she was on birth control, not knowing that their effectiveness decreases when taking other prescription drugs.

Second, we would like to empower young men and women to communicate their sexual wishes, or as I like to call it, teaching girls how to say "No means no."  This also means making females aware of situations that increase vulnerability that can lead to unwanted sexual contact or rape such as alcohol and or drug consumption, peer pressure, or being alone or isolated from peers.  This area also includes teaching young men what constitutes consensual sex versus what they are seeing in the media.  It also means viewing females as equals in terms of wants and desires, relating to the previous blog post about the misrepresentation of women.

The third and final area is dealing with unwanted or unplanned pregnancies in a way that fosters the female's mental health and physical health.  Domestic adoptions can be made more accessible (though I know little on this topic) and clinics that offer prenatal care can also offer free counseling services and access to networks. Young pregnant women can be partnered up with a mentor who can offer them advice on child-rearing and realistically discuss finances and family involvement.  Regardless of what young women decide, they need to know that we are a country that takes care of each other and that
their child's life is one of value.

In conclusion, this is not just a women's issue.  It is political, social, community based and media influenced.  A recent article in the New York Times (Feb. 17, 2012) by Jason Deparle and Sabrina Tavernise stated that 52% of babies born today in this country to women under 30 are to single women.  The study also cites major racial and educational imbalances related to this number.  As a nation, we need to stop passing the blame and start educating and taking action to help one another.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Deanna is a an early childhood educator with a degree in Communication from Temple University and a Masters in Education from Arcadia University.  She lives in Ardmore, PA.  For more information, please feel free to contact us at hello@womenscollaborativecircle.org and we will pass along your interests, thoughts and ideas to Deanna and her fiance Brian! 

Volunteers Needed - Drop-In Program for Women in North Philly!

A year ago, the Community Center at Visitation (CCV) established a Drop-In Program for women actively engaged in prostitution in the Kensington Neighborhood of Philadelphia. The Drop-In Program provides an opportunity to reach out to, connect, and build relationships with women in this vulnerable situation of prostitution, poverty, and, usually, homelessness in order to invite each woman to look toward a next positive. The program is a front-line service, enabling women to address immediate needs while offering them connections to other services. The Drop-In is open Thursday and Friday evenings from 9:30pm-12:00am. As its second year begins, the center is committed to strengthening and expanding the program, particularly in adding Street Outreach on Thursday and Friday evenings around 6:00pm.

The Drop-In Program is foremost a venue where women, who are typically socially isolated, are welcomed into a judgment free community. From the Program, women have been placed in hospitals, shelters, and with families or friends. Women are able to receive a healthy meal and a warm greeting two nights per week. Women currently prostituting are on the periphery of society and work in a neighborhood that is, itself, an outcast from the rest of Philadelphia. In the sharing of food and stories in the center’s kitchen women know they belong and are heard, this societal belonging will bear an impact on women who are everyday isolated and used. The impact of the Drop-In is also on those who choose to serve. It is an opportunity, as one volunteer shared, to “be present with another in her humanity.”

The Drop-In Program is staffed primarily by committed volunteers and Social Work Interns and its basic supplies (a meal, hygiene products, and coats) are donated by other volunteers and center partners. We would like to invite you and your organization to take part in this developing and essential ministry. We provide training and policies meant to increase the safety of the women and the Program’s Volunteers. Please consider committing yourself to one night per month for either the Drop-In or Street Outreach and know that I am happy to meet with you to answer any questions. We look forward to working with you in this important endeavor.

Please contact me with any questions: kowens@visitationbvm.com or 215-426-9422 ext. 34203.

Blessings,

Sr. Karen Owens SSJ

Director

Community Center at Visitation

Robin Lim Wins CNN Hero of the Year -A Win for Human Rights

Motherhood, should never be a death sentence and birthing in a clean, safe and healthy environment is a human right.  That is why Robin Lim, a mother of eight who was born and raised in the Philippines, then moved to the United States became a midwife when she experienced the tragic death of both her sister and her newborn baby due to birth complications.  Robin Lim or "Mother Robin" as she is so fondly called by communities of women, mothers and their families in Bali who she champions for on a daily basis.

Mother Robin, is the founder of Bumi Sehat Foundation International, a non-profit organization that provides maternal/fetal health care to pregnant women and their children throughout impoverished and underserved communities in Indonesia.  Women's access to health care, including sex education, accessibility to contraception, menstrual products, and education is an ever increasing human rights violation.  This is why individuals, groups, communities and organizations globally are celebrating the efforts of Mother Robin.

The Right Way? Musings from a Summer Internship

For most people, the first word that comes to mind upon hearing the words Planned Parenthood (PP) is abortion.  Because of the sensitivity associated with abortion, people seem to solely focus on that issue and disregard all of the work Planned Parenthood does.  Before this summer, I knew it performed abortions, but I honestly did not know what else it did.  During my summer volunteer position at PP, I learned of the vital medical services it offers to women.  I did not understand why people wanted to get rid of such an organization.  It all seemed to be because of one word: abortion.

On one of my scheduled work days, a day when abortions are performed,  there are anti-choice protesters that gather outside of the building holding signs.  I also stumbled upon this one website iamemilyx.blogspot.com which is a collection of stories written by activists and staff of Planned Parenthood from all over the country and focus on the anti-choice protesters and their encounters with them.  Some PP locations have to have escorts walk with women who want an abortion to protect them from heckling and harassment of the anti-choice protesters.  I read about how one group of anti-choice protesters rented the building next to a PP location and advertised “Free Pregnancy Tests.”  In reality, this was to lure women in and pressure them into not getting an abortion.  I just did not realize how far these protesters would go to prevent women from having an abortion.  I understand that people have their morals.  They have every right to do so, but what a woman wants to do with her body is her choice. 

The negative opinions surrounding PP just kept appearing to me and overwhelmed me.  One thing I had to do for PP is phone bank.  Because I assumed that these people were not against PP, I did not expect any negative responses, but I was so wrong.  I gave my usual response of “OK. Thank you. Have a nice day,” but some people’s hostile reactions got to me.  Here I was making a harmless and polite phone call and in response I got to hear how you “abhor” what “my people” do.  As if I am some kind of alien or different kind of human being just because I think a woman has the right to choose what to do with her body.  Just because we had differing opinions concerning what PP does and represents does not give them a reason to be rude.  Even though I had only listened to two nasty responses, I was still really affected by them.  That along with everything else made me think, “If there are so many negative and hostile reactions, there must be something wrong with what I’m doing.”  I know that is immature and childish thinking, but for some reason, that thought just filled my mind.  Then, of course, my line of thinking went to, “Am I doing something wrong then?”  At that point, I just broke. 

With the help of talking to my mom, I realized that I was absolutely not doing anything wrong.  My work with Planned Parenthood reflected a personal opinion of mine, and not everyone agreed with that opinion, which is absolutely fine.  I mean, not everyone is going to agree with me that mixing hot chocolate and coffee is absolutely amazing.  Or that Sia is an amazing songwriter/singer.  It’s a fact that there is always going to be someone who disagrees with you on something.  I realized this and I learned to accept that even though I don’t agree with anti-choice protesters and the methods in which they express that, they have the right to do so.  But the work that I did with PP this summer is helping millions of women everywhere, and I absolutely proud of that. 

Ariana is a guest post contributor to the WCC blog with her ongoing column, The Right Way? Ariana is currently a senior at Bryn Mawr College where she is majoring in Political Science and minoring in Gender and Sexuality Studies.  Her intention for the column is to share her experiences during the last two years in her college bubble before she enters the big and scary real world.  She hopes you enjoy her posts because she certainly enjoys writing them.