Historic Abortion Rights Freedom Ride
July 23 - August 25, 2013

I am a volunteer clinic escort at Jackson Women's Health Org., the last abortion clinic in Mississippi. The undue burden that women must endure to travel hours to our only clinic is heartbreaking. Yet they are so grateful to have this "last resort" to turn to when making one of the most crucial decisions in their lives. If it takes fighting to my last breath, THIS CLINIC STAYS OPEN!

Derenda
Brandon, Mississippi

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I am more than just a future mother.

Lucy
Student, New Hampshire

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Without clinics there is no choice.  My abortion was my best decision I ever made.

Jean
Greenfield, CA

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The legislation against women is fascist and radical. We need to be radical and stop pandering to the Right. Our lives are literally in the hands of these legislators and that is completely unacceptable. We need to stop making sure no one is offended. WOMEN WILL DIE FROM THIS LEGISLATION.

Heather
Single mom, birth doula, graduate student in public health
Grand Forks, ND

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You cannot grant rights to one potential person at the cost of a real person's liberties. Women are people, fetuses are NOT!

Marius
Engineer, Baton Rouge LA

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Will look for you in ND in August.

Wendy
Education, Horace, ND

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Having the government force women to give birth against their will is tyranny.

Solvei
Energy Efficiency Outreach Coordinator, Binghampton, NY

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I thought I was all alone in wanting this.  THANK YOU!

Lisa
Writer, Waddy, KY

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Women are people first. Period.  Before fetal rights, there are FEMALE rights. Criminalizing abortion does not stop abortion, it simply further punishes women - without similarly punishing the men who got them pregnant in the first place. (Not that anyone should be being punished for consensual sex.)

As a woman, and as a mother, I am done being controlled by politicians who will never face an unplanned, unexpected or unwanted pregnancy, or the threat of pregnancy. It's time we take back our rights.

Bree
Sexual Health and Consent Educator, Longmont CO

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What is there really to say? The idea that we find ourselves in the 21st century and there are still people that believe, or at least claim to, that a woman's rights are subservient to an embryo or fetus, or that people cannot engage in healthy sexual activity without taking steps to prevent disease or pregnancy cannot is simply beyond absurd.

Jeremy
Writer, Adamsville, AL

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American Patriarchy - the new Taliban, for a new century.  Stop it now.

Charles
Systems Engineer, Canada

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Until all of us are free, none of us are free.

Jared
Systems Administrator
Haslett, MI

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A family member of mine got pregnant even though she was on the pill. Fortunately, abortion services were legal and available, so she terminated her pregnancy.  Today, she is a successful executive, with two wonderful children of her own. If she'd been forced to carry the fetus to term, she would not have been able to stay in college, would not have been able to choose her present career, would not have met and married the wonderful man who is now her husband, and her life would most certainly be poorer.  Abortion, on demand without restriction, is a right that MUST BE PROTECTED.

Bryan
Technology Consultant,
Houston, TX

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I think that children are important, and we shouldn't have them frivolously. The decision to have a child should be an active decision. I don't think that "Oops, I'm pregnant" is a valid reason for having a baby. People shouldn't go through with a pregnancy on the off-chance that someone else somewhere will take care of it. That is irresponsible.  Speaking of people being irresponsible. One of the arguments against abortion is that people will use it as birth control. I think that's a good thing. If someone is that irresponsible during sex, they won't be any more responsible as parents. Such people should be encouraged to at least be responsible about whether to go through with a pregnancy or not.  Having a baby is not a trivial event. It is harsh on a woman's body and have life changing consequences. As such, it should be totally up to the woman whether she goes through with it or not. It shouldn't be up to others.

Eric
Trustreason.com, Herndon, VA

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I am disabled, and if I were to become pregnant, would need to have an abortion.  The recent attacks on women's agency are frightening.

Margaret
Writer, Cleveland, GA

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It is unthinkable and inhumane in this age of effective contraception to deny or limit any persons' access to all forms of birth control. Unwanted pregnancy leads to emotional, social, and economic hardship for all involved. To squelch the great medical advances we have made in reproductive health is immoral and plain stupid.

Charles
Retired Educator,
Las Vegas, NV

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What goes into or comes out of my uterus is my business. Limiting abortion means more maternal death due to complications and more hacks like Kermit Gosnell preying on the vulnerable and killing more patients. Abortion on demand is a human right!

Karen
Fundraising Professional
Washington, DC

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As the father of two daughters and a husband, my female children and wife should have every right to determine their medical decisions.  It is their RIGHT to determine their health care.

Michael
Information Technology,
Lawrence, KS

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"Abortion on Demand and Without Apology" - that's a sentiment I agree wholeheartedly with. Not only is one human being NEVER entitled to another human being's body without their consent... but a fetus isn't even a human being. Taking away abortion rights is giving fully grown women fewer rights than something that isn't even human. Terrible.

Jessica
Craftsperson, Chattanooga, TN

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Yes. No more of this "safe, legal, and rare" bullshit.  Safe, legal, and accessible. No questions asked. No conditions.  Abortion is not a tragedy. It's not a murder. It's not "sadly necessary." It's a non-issue for everyone but the woman who decides to have one.   End of story. Liberals need to stop apologizing and compromising.

Josh
Nonprofit, Winooski, VT

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It's my body. Taking one of my kidneys out to transplant without my consent would be illegal. How can forcing me to keep a fetus I don't want be anything but criminal and morally repugnant?

Beatrice
Feminist, Chicago, IL

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Adding to the petition:  The demographic data are clear: restricting access to abortion does not decrease the rate of abortion.  All it does is to make the abortions that occur unregulated and unsafe, leading to large numbers of women being permanently harmed or dying.  The only thing that decreases the rate of abortions is increased use of effective contraceptives, so that fewer pregnancies are unwanted.  The actual pro-life position is to make abortions available to every woman who wants one, and also to support contraceptive use.

Michael
Research Scientist
Socorro, NM

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The most fundamental of all rights is the right to bodily autonomy - without it, all other rights are rendered meaningless. It is one of the greatest obscenities of the modern age that right now, in the world's richest and nost powerful democracy, a vast and concerted effort is being undertaken to deny women that right. To deny their status as people, and replace it with that of a living incubator.  This is nothing less than the most socially acceptable face of modern slavery. It has to stop. Now.

Gregory
Retailer, New York, NY

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Women should always be in 100% control of their own body. End of discussion. Your morals and beliefs should have zero effect on someone who is not you.

Wil
Father, Portland, OR

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A woman's right to body autonomy is non-negotiable! The rights of a woman to control her reproductive function is a basic human right. 

Stacey
Concerned Citizen, Feminist,
Hadley, MA

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why do we STILL have to fight this fight?  Why doesn't the church get it?  Haven't they read the Constitution?  What don't they understand about "Pass no law respecting an establishment of religion”?

Edward
Retired, New York, NY

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In addition to women not being "incubators, neither are they "ovens" as Louisiana State Senator Gary Smith called them in his effort to legalize the commodification and exploitation of women through commercial surrogacy. 

Kathleen
National Organization for Women (NOW)
West Hartford, CT

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Women who wish to have an abortion should have unfettered access to the procedure at all stages of pregnancy.  A woman is not an incubator and does not forfeit her rights or autonomy when she becomes pregnant.

Scott
Forester, Deltana, AK

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I believe that women have the right to choose to have a family or not, without giving up fulfilling relationships, whatever form they may take, or even having no relationships at all. No one should be able to make this choice for someone else.

Anthony
Network Administrator,
Detroit, OR

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I serve as a peace corps volunteer in a country without any abortion rights whatsoever.  The results are horrific.  Women die.  Please don't make me come home to a similar situation. 

Joanna
Peace Corp Volunteer

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Every woman should have access to medical care for a safe abortion.. period.   In 1942 my aunt died from infection which was the result of a back room abortion. Single, pregnant at 22 years old, Irish Roman Catholic that was the only avenue open to her. Her death pretty much broke up the family. Times were so different then... we don't need to return to those dismal days.....

Jamie
Retired, Tuscaloosa, AL

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I have had two...the first illegal decades ago after navigating the world of creeps and fakes, finding a decent person to do it, and the second safe and legal in a local hospital.  I could not handle financially or emotionally either pregnancy.  I already had two small children, but still would have had those babies except the spineless father wouldn't even offer me moral support through pregnancy and ran like a coward.  It was more than I could do alone, and I have always felt sad that those were the circumstances.  If men would step up and meet their responsibilities as half "owner" of those pregnancies, things might be different.  As it is, women are way too frequently left alone to make the decisions and don't need to be controlled and dictated to when they make their choices.

Lynne
Merchant Marine Officer
Juneau, Alaska

The most urgent front in the War on Women. I also remember the "before time". All those thousands of women's names are not to be found on any monument or national memorial. They reside in the hearts of us that recall the days of coat hangers and exsanguinated young girls in every back alley and stairwell. Never Again!

Avra
Fight Slavery Now!
Abolitionist

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Though I did not choose an abortion, through manipulation from my child's paternal family and through the health care center I went to for help, I want to ensure anyone who is pregnant (not all who have a uterus are women and not all women have a uterus), has a choice. Choice is important when it comes to reproduction and one's body.

Heidi
Computer Programmer,
Baton Rouge, LA

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"Abortion on demand and without apology.  Forced motherhood is female enslavement."
I agree wholeheartedly and without reservation with the entirety of this statement, especially with the quoted sections, and am eager to see it published.   You have my permission to use my full name when you publish.  Thank you for putting out this statement.

Anu
Atheist, Mill Creek, WA

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We need to reverse this trend of restricting access to abortion. Reproductive rights are human rights. Everyone should be able to decide when or if they have children.

Patricia
Clinic Escort, Jeffersonville, IN

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I'm a young ambitious woman who has seen the lives of many of my female friends completely derailed by having unwanted children. I grew up in a poor rural area where girls barely out of high school typically ended up married with children that they couldn't care for. I was lucky enough to get an education elsewhere through scholarships, but the futures for these women and their children is really dim and it saddens me to see these smart, loving, and kind women have their lives reduced to staying at home because they can't afford daycare

Nora
Graphic Designer
Cleveland, OH

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There is no greater good that can come from the way the Pro-Life movement, as publicly represented, tries to pursue this. Even if there were, the deontology of the situation trumps utility.

Matthew
Recent College Graduate and Job Seeker
San Jose, CA

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Extreme religious interpretations of acceptable behavior cannot be allowed to become the basis of our laws, regardless of the particular religion.

Joseph
Citizen, Fergus Falls, MN

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Those women who have the financial means to obtain a safe abortion will still be able to get one; therefore, most of these laws are discriminatory against women who do not have the means and should be struck down.

Melissa
Retired, Henrico, VA

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Women's reproductive health and rights are for each woman to decide for herself.  We don't need men to dictate what we can and cannot do.  What men can do, however, is be supportive of the women they love and, eventually, of all women.  It's just common respect.

Patricia
Feminist, Seattle, WA

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Women who do not want or who are not ready to have children should not be forced to have them. It is as simple as that. A woman should have the right to choose for herself. It's in her best interest, and in the best interest of society.

Alice
Speaking for Myself
Oakland, CA

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Every woman must have the right to control her own destiny.  Whether she wants or does not want to bear a child or children.  However she sees fit to lead her life as a woman and a human being without interference from anyone or any organization or any government.  It is up to that woman as to what she wants to do with her life.

Adele
Member of NOW
Forest Hills, NY

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Freedom is Multi-dimensional

New York, NY

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Stop the religious rights' assault on women's rights!

Monette
Secular Woman, Stow, OH

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I support individuals' right against forced birthing.  It's the path of least harm, me thinks.

Torsten
Information Systems Coordinator
Corvallis, OR

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Women deserve reproductive rights over their own bodies!

Mark
Magazine Editor
Canoga Park, CA

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A woman's body is HERS, not anyone else's!

Killian
Retired, San Marcos, CA

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The right to abortion is already compromised and it needs to be freely available for women to have a chance at liberation.

Nancy
Registered Nurse, Seattle, WA

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Abortion upon demand must be available to all women in the United States if women are to be free.

Milton
Professor, UCSD
Encinitas CA

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We know the anti-choice movement is not really pro-life, because they don't promote birth control. Their real core agenda is control of females, because they worship patriarchy as their stone-age guide to society. True freedom requires freedom from ancient myths.

Bruce
Professor of Chemistry
Tempe, AZ

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An infant breaths air.  A fetus does not.  Say NO to fetus fetishizers and embryo idolizers.

Bruce
Harmonicaist, Los Angeles, CA

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I support 100% bodily autonomy for all women and demand that they have full reproductive rights, which includes easily accessible and affordable contraception, as well as full access to abortion procedures.

Anthony
Restaurant Manager
Brent, FL

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These anti-abortion bills have nothing to do with loving or respecting life, because if they did children wouldn't be hungry or homeless in our society. 2 million children are officially homeless, How many then are there unofficially? This is just about keeping women down. To force them to have children, they can't afford, so they will be forced to work for low slave wages to support their children.

Jessica
Social Worker, Jersey City, NJ

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I was 14 when I asked my father about the justification for abortion. Since he ran a school of nursing I felt he could explain the medical issues. He pointed out that EVERY pregnancy has a risk of maternal death that NO man is EVER exposed to, and no doctor with a conscience could refuse a request to terminate any pregnancy - no questions asked.  As a man I have no business even attempting to interfere with the health and safety of any woman, any more than any woman should have any say in any surgical procedure I might choose to have performed on my genitalia. Nobody should be allowed to come between a woman and her doctor in determining her choices in medical care.

Marius
Design Engineer @ ABB Inc.
Brownfields, LA

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People protesting the right to abortions should use their energy to protect and improve the right of the already born!  People need food, housing, education and a clean environment.....work on that instead of restricting our Constitutional Rights!!

Julie
Community Organizer
Oak Park, IL

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I am 41. I have always been for CHOICE. I am the author of the blog DIRTy 30 and Beyond and The Freaking Feminist! I am a student of women's studies and support your organization. Contact me for any help needed. I'll do whatever I can do.

Christine
The Hills, Texas

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A woman's right to body autonomy requires clear, unambiguous and unbiased parenthood planning information and sex education for all.  This includes access to abortion services.  To deny this is shaming, a dehumanising of the woman, oppressive and a removal of human rights for the woman.  An attack on access to abortion services is reprehensible, and will lead to the deaths of thousands of women.  Stop this attack on women, now.

Tina
London, UK

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Not every female body is capable of bearing healthy offspring.  Many women are required to ingest medical regimen that include medications that are CONTRAINDICATED FOR HEALTHY GESTATION AND DELIVERY. In most cases, such medications are required to sustain the healthy life of the individual woman and DIRECTLY CONFLICT WITH CREATING HEALTHY EUKARYOTE CELLS FROM WHICH A HEALTHY EMBRYO IS FORMED, INSTEAD ALLOWING EXTERNALLY DISRUPTED GENETIC LINES TO  BE INCLUDED IN FETAL DEVELOPMENT, i.e., newborn with gross anatomical deformation, missing organs, agonizing existence, and early death.

THERE IS NOTHING BENEVOLENT IN THIS MODEL AND IT REVEALS THE MALIGNANCY ATTACHED TO IDEOLOGY FROM THE RIGHT ABOUT FEMALE EXISTENCE AT ITS MOST BASIC. ignoring us will not change this reality.

Savannah
New York, NY

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This is a strong unapologetic statement and is much needed now. I agree with it. Women are independent, intelligent beings and need to be treated that way. What we decide for our bodies and our lives is nobody's business but ours.

Shawn
ABQ, NM

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Control of our reproductive capabilities is a requirement for women's liberty and equality. Women should not be held enslaved to our biology.

Susan
Retired Citizen, Deltona, FL

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My body is mine, not yours, and only I get to decide whether I want to be pregnant.  Anything else is slavery.

Margaret
Software Engineer
Albuquerque, NM

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Teenage student who wants to be in control of her own life. You an even think about it in an economic sense if that helps some people. When a woman has a child she's out on maternity leave for however many months keeping her out of the work place while still getting paid, therefore losing companies money. I don't like to think about it that way, but it might help change some minds.

Camille
Albuquerque, New Mexico

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This situation is becoming more and more serious.  Even 10 years ago, I would not have expected the anti-abortion supporters to go so far.  What kind of society is this for young women--and men, for that matter--to grow up in?

Grace
Writer, Montreal, QC

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This campaign fills a desperate need of women and of the feminist movement. Women coming into this campaign refuse to be cowered by misogynist fanaticism which seeks to reverse women's liberation. 

Kathleen Barry, Ph.D.
Feminist, Human Rights Activist
Santa Rosa, CA

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A 64 year old retired woman who remembers the days of coat hangers and backroom abortions and who says WE ARE NEVER GOING BACK!

Rhoda
Oak Park, IL

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Fetuses are NOT babies. Abortion is NOT murder. Women are NOT incubators.

Matthew
Cancer Geneticist, Lovell, ME

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You cannot end abortion with legislation; you can only end safe abortions.

Rebecca
RN, Portland, OR

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One's body is one's own. No questions, no exceptions.

Kevin
Retailer, West Hartford, CT

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Stop the war on women.

Franklin
Health Care, Iowa City, IA

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I believe every woman should have the freedom to make whatever decision best suits her life and circumstances.

Jennifer
Mother, Sister, Daughter
Moorhead, MN

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Women are not breeding animals to be forced to carry children to term is they do not wish to.  Period.

Ray
Disabled – Computer Tech
Decatur, GA

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We need to fight those who are fighting for a fetus' squatter rights in a woman's body!

Ian
Student, Fredericton, NB
Canada

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We're all better off when we're ALL better off.

Mark
Anti-theist, Richfield, MN

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thank you!

Karen
Business Owner
Bainbridge IS, WA

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KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

Beth
RETIRED OLD LADY
New Port Richey, FL

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Women have the right to control their own bodies.  End of story.

Zale
Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
Nanaimo, BC

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I am personally committed to a woman's right to control her reproductive life.

Mary
Editor, Freelance
Middleboro, MA

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Fetuses are NOT babies.
Abortion is Not murder.
My body is NOT yours to control.

Marcia
Disabled, Moscow, PA

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Fetuses are NOT babies. Abortion is NOT murder. Women are NOT incubators.

Pat
Retired, Richmond, VA

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The right of the individual woman must come first.

Anne
Registered Nurse
Walled Lake, MI

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I could not have said it better. Thank you.

Emily
Educator, New York, NY

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Our government should make no law regarding a person’s right to contraception, abortion or reproduction.

Kevin
IT Consultant, Cincinnati, Ohio

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Sovereignty over your own body is a fundamental human right. A clump of cells is not a person. Abortion should be legal, safe, affordable, and accessible everywhere.

Leah
Author, Chicago, IL

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Keep speaking out!

Lynda
Retiree, Northville, MI

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Very tired of the War Against Women; in general, going backward; and the growing inequality amongst states.

Caroline
RETIRED, Somerville, MA

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I fully support this cause

Soumita
Mother, Arvada, CO

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Emancipation now!

Tina
Salem, OR

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I had an abortion, I consider it the most responsible thing I've ever done.

Carol
Retired, Oak Valley, NJ

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Self directed women because I had access to safe and afforable abortions and a very proud aunt of my lovely neice who deserves the same.

Leanne
San Leandro, CA

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A woman's right to chose is fundamental.

Earl
Youth Director, Lakewood, OH

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'The government has no right to determine who comes into or out of my body'
   (Grace Slick/Jefferson Airplane)

Sweet Grass
Teacher/Feminist/Parent/
Caregiver, Berkeley, CA

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Nosotras parimos, nosotras decidimos!

Angelina
Theatre Artist, Chicago, IL

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I want abortion to be free and available when a woman decides she needs to have an abortion.

Heloise
Retired, Brooklyn, NY

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A woman's body belongs to herself and herself alone. This is the most basic right of self-determination, and cannot be compromised.

Rebecca
Legal Clerk, Minneapolis, MN

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It's about human rights. Period.

Theresa
Irvine, CA

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If you were ever loved by a woman, as a man, you should show some type of support.

Isaac
San Antonio, Texas

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Not the church, not the state, women will decide their fate!

Netiya
Student & Volunteer with the Illinois Choice Action Team
Chicago, IL

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Student and young woman who won't allow the government to regulate my body.

Arial
Starke, Florida

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Women should have - and deserve - control over their own bodies . They don't need politicians to dictate what they should and shouldn't do!

Micki
Pro-Choice, Feminist, Activist
Burlington, Ontario

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I'm ready to fight the war on women. It's gone far enough. Let's go!

Matthew
Columbia Heights, MN

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My body, my choice.

Karen
New York, NY

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Supporting the right to an abortion and the Stop Patriarchy Abortion Rights Caravan.

Lori
Middletown, NY

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I will pass this on to my daughters and the other women in my life. Thank you for helping us and encouraging us to not back down!

Lauraine
Albuquerque, NM

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And I thought the Pope was an asshole!

Stanley
Mt. Vernon, Ohio

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I pledge. I don't want my daughter or niece to grow up in a world that is back tracking into the dark ages.

Jamie
Bedford, Texas

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Women are not farmed animals to be subjected to mandated pregnancy.

Elaine
Fort Bragg, CA

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Women have a right to decide if and when they will have children in order to choose their own destiny.

Halli
Bernalillo, NM

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Artist, illustrator, pissed off woman who is sick of these powerful men telling us we must give birth!

Margot
Montesano, WA

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We are DONE with being oppressed, these are OUR bodies!

Lisa
Sahuarita, AZ

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Please stop the reversal of abortion rights.

Gaylen
Colfax, CA

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Hatred of women by religions, government, corporations,..... must end.

Jerome
Retired – Fed Gov, Tempe

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Would love more information on how to get involved with the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride.

Laura
Member of Peoria NOW
Peoria, IL

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I support women's choice without judgment.

Jennifer
Fashion, New York, NY

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Social worker, mother and feminist seeking to restore women's rights and protect freedom of choice!

Gisella
Martinez, CA

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I had an abortion and am THRIVING

Katie
Austin, Texas

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As a 71 year old woman, I've watched women's rights go forward and now backwards once again.  Good luck fighting the ignorance that now reigns in America.

Colleen
Retired Business Owner
Anchorage, Alaska

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Each person has the right to control her own body, and why we continually cede that control to others, instead of fighting the attempt with every breath we take is mind boggling!!

Dannie
Attorney, Tallahassee, FL

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I believe in a woman's right to choose what care, medical practices, attention or procedures she prefers, just as I believe in the same rights for a man.

Michael
Citizen, Petrolia, CA

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I am not an incubator.  I am not my husband's property.  I am not here solely to have children.  I am myself, I want to live the way I want, and being forced to have children is a crime against my autonomy.  No woman should be forced to have a child she doesn't want, for whatever reason she doesn't want it. 

Meg
Child-Free Woman
Florence, KY