At the Women Ignited Now (WIN) rally

When my friend Ann called me a few weeks ago to invite me to speak at a rally for women’s reproductive rights, I was a little conflicted about whether I wanted to get any more public with my story. But after a series of conversations and a lot of contemplation, I decided it was the right thing to do.

I abridged my original essay and added some other remarks about what’s happened since the piece was published. My part in the rally was small. But I was deeply impressed and moved by the other speakers at Wheeler Park on September 28th.

The rally wasn’t very well attended (my opinion), but the organizers didn’t seem particularly discouraged by that. I think a Saturday afternoon event maybe had something to do with the low attendance; a lot of my friends and acquaintances were out of town that weekend.

State Senator Paula Aboud, one of the organizers of the Women Ignited Now (WIN) rallies, has asked me to make the kimono that I had referred to in the essay, in time to display it at the state legislature in January before the Arizona legislature opens its 2013 session on January 14.

Also, out of that series of rallies also came the video, Vote, posted on YouTube, and it’s worth watching. There’s a very specific assault being waged on women’s rights to make their own reproductive choices in the state of Arizona. If we value our reproductive freedom to choose, we must take action to preserve those rights.