The War on Young Women's Reproductive Freedom

By Cynthia Choi

Recent legislative efforts to implement mandated parental involvement for minors who seek abortion services must be viewed in the greater context of an all-out assault on women's sexual and reproductive justice by all levels of the government. The cuts in federal family planning programs, the increased funding for ineffective "abstinence-only-until marriage" education, and the campaigns against access to contraception and abortion are all part of a broader conservative agenda to regulate sexual behavior. Social conservatives, aided by the Bush Administration, have fought quietly but forcefully to change cultural norms in order to change policy, and vice versa. This article describes the efforts of Khmer Girls in Action (KGA) -- a California community-based organization dedicated to creating positive social change through youth organizing -- to fight back.

California Battleground: If It Can Happen Here, It Can Happen Anywhere
In the state's November 2005 Special Elections, voters considered Proposition 73, a measure that would force young women under the age of 18 to notify a parent at least 48 hours before obtaining an abortion, except in cases of medical emergency or when a judge deems that she does not have to involve her parents (called a "judicial bypass"). Proposition 73 also attempted to grant full legal status to fetuses.

In the face of research and the facts, the motives of the wealthy conservatives and anti-choice advocates supporting Proposition 73 were clear. They were not concerned with improving family communication, reducing teenage pregnancy, or expanding access to reproductive health care. The Proposition 73 campaign was, rather, part of a larger effort to chip away women's right to make decisions that impact their bodies and their health, and make abortions increasingly difficult to obtain for yet another segment of the population. The attack was targeted at young people because anti-choice advocates thought that teenagers had neither the power nor the initiative to fight back. They were wrong.

KGA joined a coalition, primarily composed of mainstream women's and civil rights organizations, to form the "No on Proposition 73" Campaign to defeat the measure. The Campaign stressed that, without access to confidential and professional health care, teenagers were more likely to delay seeking services, turn to illegal abortions, or even attempt to perform abortions on themselves. By prioritizing messages about health and safety, however, the pro-choice advocates missed an opportunity to address the broader goal of ensuring that all women (including young women) have the right to access safe and confidential reproductive health care.

Ironically, while young women would bear the consequences if Proposition 73 passed, their perspective and presence were noticeably absent from the mainstream "No on Proposition 73" campaign. For KGA, however, the effort was different and directly involved youth themselves. KGA provided the important voice of youth of color to the anti-Proposition 73 campaign, which otherwise lacked both diversity and a youth voice.

Young people proved vital to convincing voters in the Southeast Asian community to vote against Proposition 73. KGA educated its youth base on the potential effects that Proposition 73 would have on young women, and grounded its defensive battle in the larger context of the Reproductive Rights and Justice Movement. KGA developed safe, non-judgmental, and creative ways to talk within our own families, communities, and society as a whole about complicated issues such as family, gender, religion, and values. KGA's young activists, unable to vote themselves, met face-to-face and talked one-on-one with hundreds of voters through community presentations, phone banks, and precinct outreach. The youth explained how Proposition 73 would harm them, personally, and urged members of the Southeast Asian community to go to the polls and vote "no".

These efforts worked and 52.6 percent of voters rejected Proposition 73. In a speech given at an election night victory party, 14-year old KGA member Narun Chang asserted, "I've learned a lot in these past months - working on Proposition 73 showed me that youth have the right to privacy and that Proposition 73 endangers young girls' lives. It also made me look at abortion differently. I had thought abortion was bad, but I have come to realize that there are many reasons why women decide not to bring a child into this world yet. They possibly can't afford it, or still have goals in their lives that they have yet to accomplish, like completing school. Young women should have the right to make a decision that they feel is best for them."

While this victory is significant, we know abortion foes will be back. In fact, the same San Diego newspaper publisher who backed the Proposition 73 Campaign is paying $2.2 million for a "new and improved" version called the "Parents' Right to Know and Child Protection Measure." This initiative, to appear on the ballot in November, largely mirrors Proposition 73 except for the language defining the legal status of a fetus. Its proponents believe that Proposition 73 lost because of voter backlash against Governor Schwarzenegger and unrelated special election initiatives on union dues and teacher tenure. (Indeed, Proposition 73 lost by the closest margin of the eight measures defeated in November.)

Even in a solidly pro-choice state like California, we need to be concerned that this new initiative has a significant chance of passing the second time around. Early polling on Proposition 73 showed that likely voters were on the fence about minors having access to a full range of reproductive services, especially abortions. For this reason, the "No on Proposition 73" Campaign chose a tactical approach and intentionally did not engage young people in the opposition process. This route marginalized young women, and neglected a vital opportunity to groom the next generation of reproductive justice advocates in California. If we choose short- term tactical strategies, we must be clear about the long-term sacrifices we make. Building a civically engaged society does not happen overnight. We need a long-term plan that is inclusive and -- at its core -- democratic.

Conservatives have a long-term vision and strategy for overturning Roe v. Wade and limiting sexual and reproductive rights. Progressives must actively develop a proactive organizing agenda that, at its most basic level, involves those who are most directly affected. The social justice movement must move beyond viewing young people merely as the subject of debate, and view them instead as active agents of social change. Low-income, immigrant, and youth of color must gain opportunities to genuinely lead the movement -- not only because they are the ones most impacted by unjust sexual and reproductive health policies, but also because they have the passion, commitment, and vision to do so.

Cynthia Choi is the former Executive Director of Khmer Girls in Action and currently the Community Partnerships Director of the National Gender and Equity Campaign.