Looking Ahead
Special Section on Plan A: NCJW's Campaign for Contraceptive Access
by Sammie MoshenbergIn a packed room at Washington, DC's prestigious National Press Club, NCJW President Phyllis Snyder took to the podium and officially launched Plan A: NCJW's Campaign for Contraceptive Access on June 7, 2007, the 42nd anniversary of the historic Supreme Court decision legalizing birth control for married women, Griswold v. Connecticut.
But the message of the day was not about past victories. It was about present-day challenges that mean we can no longer take access to birth control for granted. And it was about committing to a new campaign. Plan A's proactive, community-based approach will help advocates around the country to secure and protect access to contraceptive information and options for all women.
Since the launch, Plan A activity has accelerated. Equipped with the Plan A Healthy Community Checklists, volunteers are taking to the streets, the phones, and the Internet to gauge their communities' standing on five Plan A issues: affordable contraception, comprehensive sexuality education, emergency contraception, pharmacy refusals, and young women’s access. From Arizona to Minnesota, they are mobilizing and educating their communities through forums, screenings, and newspaper articles, and encouraging them to sign up for Plan A action alerts on www.ncjw.org.
Why now? In October, President George W. Bush appointed an outspoken birthcontrol opponent, Dr. Susan Orr, to oversee the government’s family-planning program. Thanks to changes in Medicaid, drug companies have lost their incentive to supply colleges and community health centers with discounted contraceptives. And in November, both the House of Representatives and the Senate approved a $27.8 million increase in abstinence-only-until marriage funding. (On the plus side, a $27.8 million increase for Title X, the nation’s family-planning program, was included in the same package.)
But the real action is at the local level, where Plan A can have a huge impact, building on the presence NCJW already has in communities around the country. In some states, this means expanding access, in other states it means blocking restrictions. Already, the list of involved NCJW sections and individuals is growing, as grassroots supporters take action in their own backyards, determining whether local schools teach comprehensive sexuality education and if contraception — including emergency contraception — is easily available and affordable.
In the months to come, NCJW will be reaching out beyond its own constituency to other progressive, religious groups and leaders, whose voices have a special resonance on these issues. After all, the argument for restricting birth control and denying students anything but abstinence-only curricula is often couched as a religious issue. Plan A seeks to clarify that imposing one religious belief on all impinges religious freedom — stifling the ability to make personal health decisions based on one’s own religious beliefs.
NCJW believes that the protection of women’s rights is a moral imperative, and a woman must have the right to exercise her own moral judgment when making personal decisions. This is an especially powerful message when carried by people of faith, speaking out in their communities. And that voice is being strengthened thanks to Plan A: NCJW's Campaign for Contraceptive Access.