Abortion Rights Freedom Ride 2014: GROUND ZERO TEXAS
BAsics 3:22
You cannot break all the chains, except one. You cannot say you want to be free of exploitation and oppression, except you want to keep the oppression of women by men. You can’t say you want to liberate humanity yet keep one half of the people enslaved to the other half. The oppression of women is completely bound up with the division of society into masters and slaves, exploiters and exploited, and the ending of all such conditions is impossible without the complete liberation of women. All this is why women have a tremendous role to play not only in making revolution but in making sure there is all-the-way revolution. The fury of women can and must be fully unleashed as a mighty force for proletarian revolution.
Bob Avakian
Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA
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Call to Action
END PORNOGRAPHY AND PATRIARCHY: THE ENSLAVEMENT AND DEGRADATION OF WOMEN!
We are told that "equality for women has been won" and that "there are no limits to what girls can achieve." BULLSHIT!
Every 15 seconds a woman is beaten. Every day three to four women are killed by their partners. One out of four female college students will be raped or sexually assaulted while in college.
In recent years, pornography has become increasingly violent, cruel, degrading towards women; women are referred to as “cumdumpsters” and “fuckbuckets”; the “money shot” (ejaculation in a woman’s face) is standard; humiliating cruelty—like violent “ass-to-mouth” penetration—is normalized, and racist bigotry is sexualized. Meanwhile, the broader culture has been pornified: pole dancing is taught at gyms, “sexting” is a national phenomenon among teens, and the strip club is the accepted backdrop to “male bonding.” All this is tied in with, and reinforces, the trafficking of millions of women and girls as literal chattel in the international sex industry.
This is NOT society becoming more comfortable with sex....
Forced Motherhood is Female Enslavement!
Abortion on Demand & Without Apology!
There have been decades of assault on women's right to abortion. But in the last few years this has taken a dramatic leap with hundreds of laws passed restricting access to abortion, closing down abortion clinics, and leaving huge parts of the country with no abortion providers at all.
Texas concentrates a lot. In 2011, there were 46 abortion clinics in a state of 26 million people. By September 1 this year, it's very likely that there will only be six abortion clinics left.
As Sunsara Taylor has said: “It is no exaggeration to make the analogy between this Abortion Rights Freedom Ride taking on the fight against female enslavement and the original Freedom Rides which challenged the brutal regime of the Jim Crow South. Forced motherhood IS female enslavement.”
Women and men from many different perspectives have joined this ride directly or in other ways, including financially, come to its support. The Revolutionary Communist Party fully supports and commends these efforts as fulfilling a great need and calls on all those who do not want to see women enslaved to their reproduction to recognize and act on this great need.
Follow the progress of these mobilizations, join these efforts, support them financially.
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ABOUT THE
EMERGENCY
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INVOLVED
STOP FORCED
MOTHERHOOD
STATEMENT
A FETUS
IS NOT
A BABY!-
VOICES
ON THE
FREEDOM
RIDE - REPORTS
FROM THE
ROAD
& PRESS - ABORTION
RIGHTS
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READINGS
To those who call themselves "pro-choice" but say that “Abortion On Demand and Without Apology” is “too extreme”:
Revolution Interview
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Women will begin dying from dangerous illegal abortions. Others will be imprisoned for self-inducing abortions. Thousands more will have their lives foreclosed by being forced to bear children they do not want – shattering their dreams, trapping them in abusive relationships, and/or driving them into humiliating and dangerous poverty. Rural, poor, immigrant, and women of color will be hardest hit.
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Reports from the Road
Updated September 18, 2014
Stop Patriarchy Protester: Don't Give Up the Fight for Abortion Rights
Posted September 18, 2014. I protested because I feel responsible to act on what I know to be true. The closure of abortion clinics nationwide must be stopped because without the right to decide for themselves when and whether to have a child, women cannot be free. Read more
That Look: The Final Day of the Week of Defiance
Posted September 6, 2014. I got the call outside of Governor Rick Perry's mansion on Friday, August 29. It was nearly 5 pm. The clock had ticked incredibly slowly that day, and there we were, for the seventh time, at the culmination of weeks of struggle, protest, and exposure. The person on the other end of the phone said, "The judge ruled. He blocked the law. The clinics won't close on Monday, but the Attorney General is going to appeal it." I felt a combination of cautious relief and determination. Read more
Abortion Rights Freedom Ride 2014 Picnic—Ground Zero Texas!
Posted September 5, 2014. It was an Austin-hot day: the sun beaming down strong, and in a shady clearing along the riverfront, blankets were laid down. Joining the Freedom Riders who had been part of ARFR2014 traveling through Houston, San Antonio, the Rio Grande, and Austin were riders who had gone home for a short spell and returned, riders who were just joining in anticipation of the pending closure of clinics, and University of Texas students who had met the Freedom Riders during their bold traffic-stopping action outside UT a few days prior. Read more
8/27/14 Flash: Sunsara Taylor & 4 Other Abortion Rights Freedom Riders Arrested in Austin, TX
Posted August 27, 2014. Sunsara Taylor and four other members of the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride: Ground Zero Texas 2014, were arrested on Wednesday, August 27, in Austin, Texas. Sunsara and other Freedom Riders courageously marched into the middle of Guadalupe St., bordering the campus of the University of Texas where 50,000 or so students just started class this week. When the Freedom Riders boldly went across Guadalupe St., a chaotic, swirling scene quickly disrupted the normalcy of business as usual as far as the eye could see. Read more
From Stop Patriarchy
Day 1 and 2 of the Week of Defiance
Posted August 30, 2014. Read more
From Stop Patriarchy blog
A Morality Based on Reality: I’m Counting on YOU to End the Attacks on Abortion Rights
Posted August 22, 2014. A heroic doctor, who has been providing abortions for 40 years in Texas in the face of death threats and legal attacks, recently welcomed the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride into his clinic. I want to share some of his stories with you, along with some reflections on morality. Read more
Urgently Needed: A Week of Defiance to Stop the Attacks on Abortion Rights
A letter from the 11 Freedom Riders arrested outside Rick Perry's mansion on August 13, 2014
Abortion Rights Freedom Ride – Ground Zero Texas
Outrageous Brutality and Cruelty Against Nonviolent Civil Disobedience
August 19, 2014. An Abortion Rights Freedom Rider reflects on the stakes of the battle for abortion rights—a future of forced motherhood and female enslavement versus a future in which women are truly liberated and a driving force in the emancipation of all humanity—and their noviolent civil disobedience, a profoundly moral act supported by all those who recognize abortion as a basic right of ALL women. Read more
From Stop Patriarchy
11 Abortion Rights Freedom Riders arrested outside Rick Perry's mansion on closing day of major Texas abortion trial
August 14, Austin, Texas.
Read more
From Stop Patriarchy
We were acting for millions…
Posted August 30. On August 13, 2014, I, along with ten other Abortion Rights Freedom Riders, got arrested for engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience, blocking traffic, in front of Rick Perry’s mansion. Read more
From Stop Patriarchy
"Anybody on the side of women’s lives has to put everything on the line"
Posted August 30. I was born in 1995, so I don’t have personal memories of a pre-Roe society, but I know enough after living through the murder of eight abortion providers, after witnessing the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar as she was persistently denied an abortion in Ireland, to know that anybody on the side of women’s lives has to put everything on the line to ensure we don’t “go back.” Read more
From Stop Patriarchy
Jailhouse Blog
Posted August 30. Commentary by one of the 11 Abortion Rights Freedom Riders arrested at the Texas governor's mansion on August 13. Read more
From Stop Patriarchy
Brownsville, Day 1
Posted August 30. First day in Brownsville we headed over to a local flea market. Right off the bat, we had a group of 4 girls that loved what Stop Patriarchy was about. Read more
From Stop Patriarchy
“The more people I spoke to the more confident I became”
Posted August 30. Before heading to Brownsville I confided in a fellow freedom rider that I was nervous about speaking to people about abortion and really taking initiative. Her response speaks volumes about the richness of today’s outreach: she said to me that talking about abortion is easy or at least gets easier in time. Another freedom rider echoed this sentiment by emphasizing the strength in our varying degrees of experience and knowledge, and that bolstered my confidence. Read more
The Second People's Hearing of the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride
Courage and Strength Shatter the Silence—We Must Act On What We Know
August 9, by Sunsara Taylor. She was a young, poor, and very innocent student growing up in Mexico when a friend invited her over to study. She arrived with books in hand, but he told her, “We are not here to study.” He closed the door and a group of his friends proceeded to join him in raping her. Read more
Scientific Sex Ed
Posted August 17, from Stop Patriarchy blog. While talking to people in front of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas a man started yelling at us from across the street, “Close your legs! Close your legs! Close your legs!” …..this is not the first time we have heard this sentiment, and these kind of comments. Across the country, from NYC, to Wichita, and now in Texas, we’ve heard this kind of argument against abortion. Things like “Women gotta be ready to have the baby every time they have sex” or “If you make a mistake, if you have sex, you have to suffer the consequences!” FUCK all that. Read more
From Stop Patriarchy
This is a State of Emergency!
Posted August 31. Read more
From Stop Patriarchy
On the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride 2014: Ground Zero Texas
Posted August 31. A fellow freedom rider recently said “we did not choose to be here at this time, we had to be here at this time.” Read more
"The time has long passed for politeness and respect"
August 10, from an Abortion Rights Freedom Rider. I was part of a crew that went out to the University of Texas campus recently to talk to people about the fact that abortion rights are in a state of emergency. Read more
From Stop Patriarchy
A Case for Breaking the Shackles of Mainstream Morality
Posted August 31. An Abortion Rights Freedom Rider shares a conversation with a student at UT Austin who identified herself as "pro-life." Read more
From Stop Patriarchy
Protest at Rick Perry's
Posted August 31. Excerpts from a conversation with Abortion Rights Freedom Riders after August 7 protest at Governor Rick Perry's mansion. Read more
Letter from Sunsara Taylor
August 7. On Monday, a very important trial began down here in Austin, Texas over whether the next round of abortion clinic closures will go forward in Texas. The media couldn't ignore the powerful presence of the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride outside the courthouse with our bold message: “Forced Motherhood is Female Enslavement.” Read more
From Stop Patriarchy
It's Not That Complicated
Posted August 31. "Forced Motherhood Is Female Enslavement." This truth is the foundation on which Stop Patriarchy is built, but what does all that mean? How do we step back and understand this message? Read more
August 4, 2014: Day 1 of the Trial
"Mortality-wise, abortion is safer than a shot of penicillin"
August 5. Mary Lou Greenberg attended the first day of the Austin, TX trial that will determine whether all but six abortion clinics in the state will be closed on September 1. Read her report
Emergency In Texas: First Day of Austin Abortion Trial
Sunsara Taylor reports from Austin Texas, August 4, the first day of a trial that will determine whether on September 1 all but six abortion clinics in Texas will be forced to shut down. Read more
Abortion Rights Freedom Ride 2014, Ground Zero Texas, Has Successfully Launched!
Forecast—Hot August in Texas
A report from the first days of the Freedom Ride—a fight to turn the tide in the all-out assault against women's right to abortion and birth control. Read more
From Stop Patriarchy blog
Official Launch of Abortion Rights Freedom Ride and First People's Hearing in Houston
The first People's Testimony was live broadcasted on StopPatriarchy.org and the recording is available here at revcom.us (see "Voices on the Freedom Ride" tab) and at StopPatriarchy.org. Read more
From Stop Patriarchy
Welcome to the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride 2014: Ground Zero Texas
Posted August 31. Greetings and welcome to the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride 2014: Ground Zero Texas, organized by Stop Patriarchy. I have been with the Riders for almost a week. I am a little short on sleep and clean clothes but I would not want to be anywhere else. Read more
From Stop Patriarchy blog
Report from Austin: You are Not Alone, and You are Needed Now More Than Ever
from an Abortion Rights Freedom Rider: The Abortion Rights Freedom Ride has hit the streets of Austin, in preparation for a raucous and revealing month of resistance against the attacks on abortion. We have been talking to many people—on street corners, in theater lines, at student unions, and outdoor markets—about women, abortion, society, and the role we all can play in making history right now. Read more
From Stop Patriarchy
"Nobody should be forced to have a child they don’t want."
Posted August 31. On the university campus, in Austin, TX, we asked students whether they knew there will be only six abortion clinics in the entire state after September. Many didn’t. A lot of people knew about the Wendy Davis filibuster, but they had not heard that abortion clinics continue to and will be closing. Read more
Additional reports posted at StopPatriarchy.org and Stop Patriarchy's blog.
Press Coverage
Updated September 18, 2014
An Abortion Rights Battle Bigger Than Texas, an interview with Sunsara Taylor
August 6, 2014 | Dennis Trainor, Acronym TV
Opponents Spar In Court Over Texas Clinics That Do Abortions
September 12, 2014 | NPR Weekend Edition
Sunsara Taylor interviewed by Michael Slate
The Michael Slate Show, KPFK Radio, Los Angeles
Interview with Sunsara Taylor and Dennis Trainor
August 31, 2014 | Project Censored Radio
The second segment of this show, starting about 20 minutes in, is an interview with Sunsara Taylor, correspondent for revcom.us/Revolution and initiator of StopPatriarchy.org, and Dennis Trainor of Acronym TV about attacks on, as well as censorship of the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride. Other segments are Kevin Gosztola (firedoglake.com) recounting his experiences in Ferguson, Missouri and UK Guardian writer Nafeez Ahmed about universities assisting the Pentagon in creating data-mining systems to spy on political dissidents.
Listen here
Abortion Rights Group Arrested on UT’s West Campus
August 27, 2014 | Austin American-Statesman
Compilation of media coverage shown at San Antonio People's Hearing
San Fernando Cathedral, San Antonio, TX
August 15, 2014 | Univision San Antonio
11 arrestos en Austin provocados por el tema del aborto en Texas
August 13, 2014 | Univision Austin
Audio Journal 8/15/2014
August 15 | KPFT Radio, Houston
Sunsara Taylor on Sabrina Jacob's "Rude Awakening"
July 14, 2014 | audio interview on KPFA
I Was Warned About Stop Patriarchy
by Mary Lou Singleton | On the Issues
Protesters arrested for obstructing traffic on the Drag
August 27, 2014 | The Daily Texan
Five arrested at abortion rights protest at UT
August 28, 2014 | Austin American-Statesman
Abortion rights protest on the Drag, 08.27.14
August 27, 2014 | Austin American-Statesman photo gallery
Abortion rights protesters arrested Aug. 13 claim mistreatment by authorities
August 24, 2014 | Austin American-Statesman
Group protests abortion clinic law
August 21, 2014 | Valley Morning Star
Groups Clash over Abortion Rights in Main Plaza
August 15, 2014 | Fox San Antonio
Abortion rights activists, counter-protestors clash in Main Plaza
August 14, 2014 | San Antonio Express-News
Abortion protests heat up as both sides gather downtown
August 14, 2014 | KSAT News, San Antonio
Pro-Choice, Anti-Abortion Protesters Square Off at Main Plaza
August 15, 2014 | WOAI New Radio, San Antonio
Hundreds Protest Outside Texas Abortion Law Hearing
August 4, 2014 | Texas Public Radio
Crowds Fill Courthouse Lawn for Start of Abortion Trial
August 4, 2014 | Time Warner Cable News
Rallies Accompany Start of Abortion Trial
Austin American-Statesman
Texas abortion law back in court over surgical center requirement
August 4, 2014, Houston Chronicle
Abortion Debate
August 4, 2014, KTBC-TV, Austin
Abortion legislation trial gets underway
August 4, 2014, KTBC-Austin
Stop Patriarchy Protests Outside Harris County GOP Office
Houston Press Blog, August 1, 2014
Abortion Rights Freedom Ride in Austin
Week of Defiance, Seattle
Photo: Special to Revolution/revcom.us
Photo: Special to Revolution/revcom.us
Photo: Special to Revolution/revcom.us
BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian is a book of quotations and short essays that speaks powerfully to questions of revolution and human emancipation.
On this planet today, there are no questions that are more important—and no answers that are more thoroughgoing—than what is spoken to in BA Speaks: REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS! And there is no person more filled with contempt for the powers-that-be and the horrific order they trumpet and enforce—nor more filled with scientific confidence in the potential of masses of people to change all that—than Bob Avakian, the Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA.
"She makes an excellent exposition of the view that sexual differentiation of status, role, and power are built on small asymmetries in biology as, for example, the division of reproductive labor, in societies where the development of a surplus gives rise to a general class structure. No better theory has yet been advanced than this general view that we owe originally to Engels, and I found Ardea Skybreak's book a very thoughtful and persuasive exposition of that view." 
Away With All Gods! Unchaining the Mind and Radically Changing
the World
