State Legislatures and Choice

The actions of state legislators around the country have some of the biggest effects on women's access to safe reproductive health care.

In the Albany Times Union, NARAL Pro-Choice New York President Kelli Conlin explains how political actions that seem completely unrelated to choice--like the chaos in the New York State Senate--can have a devastating effect. New York had been close to passing the Reproductive Rights Act:

 "While you saw two men cross the aisle, I sat in the New York Senate chamber and saw three years of hard work and real coalition-building in the service of women's health go up in smoke. While you watched the lights go out in the Senate chamber, I watched the state go dark on reproductive rights."

If you live in New York, you can still take action. Tell your senators that they should still support the Reproductive Rights Act.

On the other side of the country, Arizona legislators are considering bills with a number of anti-choice provisions. In this op-ed from The Arizona Republic, an Arizona native shares a personal story and calls on lawmakers to take a difference approach:

"Shouldn't we be focused on reducing the number of unintended pregnancies instead of judging women who make the painful decision to terminate them? All of these factors in the proposed bills simply will add up to more pregnant women who cannot obtain reliable medical care.

Reducing the number of abortions in Arizona must start with honest sex education, access to contraception and comprehensive prenatal care. That would be a bill I could enthusiastically support.

In 2012, the state of Arizona will celebrate its 100th birthday. Do we want our centennial to be recognition of how far we've come in providing medical care to all Arizonans, or a sad realization of how far we have yet to go?"

Contact NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona for more information on the bills and to find out what you can do.