Tuesday, Jan. 22, saw the 40th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, in which abortion was officially legalized.
San Diego Coalition for Reproductive Choice* celebrated the anniversary with a fundraiser dinner that highlighted the past and present of the organization’s history, including it’s pro-choice fight for safe and legal access to reproductive healthcare.
Abby Silverman-Weiss, a local attorney and champion of reproductive rights, was honored as the 2013 Defender of Choice.
“Tonight is a tremendous sense of belonging and empowerment,” Silverman-Weiss said.
Silverman-Weiss said people should be “much more optimistic’ about the future, and work to equip the next generation with “tools, education and self-esteem sot hat they can lead future generations.”
That being said, the pro-choice fight continues with more draconian anti-abortion laws being devised every day. In New Mexico, Republican Rep. Cathrynn Brown recently introduced House Bill 206, which would prohibit abortion after rape as “tampering with evidence.” According to a report in RT, rape victims would be forced to carry their pregnancies to term as evidence for the sexual assault trial that would ensue after the baby’s birth.
Below are pictures of memorabilia collected over the years, which was displayed at the anniversary dinner, as well as a YouTube video showing the Then and Now history of reproductive justice.
All photos by Annie Lane.
*An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the dinner was hosted by Planned Parenthood.
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San Diego City Council declares Jan. 22, 2007, as Coalition for Reproductive Choice Day. There was a similar declaration in 2008. -
Clinic Escort Apron. -
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1998 - The bombing of Alabama abortion provider results in the nation's first recorded death by bombing at a clinic. -
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Press release concerning the abortion clinic violence occurring during the 1990s. -
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The 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade was hosted at the Jacobs Center on Euclid Avenue. -
Local lawyer and pro-choice advocate Abby Silverman-Weiss
Annie Lane
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I thought Roe v. Wade was a Doctor/Patient privacy case. The right to privacy with your Doctor free from governmental intervention. It affected abortion but was it specifically about abortion?
If that is the case, and should it ever be overturned, aren’t the consequences far greater than abortion alone?
Technically, it’s that the right to privacy extended to a woman’s right to have an abortion.
Prior to Roe v. Wade, a majority of states had laws in effect that criminalized abortion. The decision of Roe v. Wade in 1973 made abortion legal as a private choice to be made by the woman.
No more coat hangers and back alley abortions! It was the start of clean, safe access to reproductive healthcare. Unfortunately, it was also, in my opinion, the start of acts of terrorism by religious, narrow-minded pro-lifers, who insist on inserting themselves into personal decisions that are no business of theirs.
Thank you Annie.
In my view a fertilized egg is neither a chicken nor a person.
But that’s just me.
Annie, thanks for the history or herstory lesson. Could you place some captions to the last couple of photos?
Captions added!
This issue is very close to my heart, so I’m always pleased to see it get some good press!
Hi Annie ~
Thanks for posting and great job. The only thing I would like to clarify is that the dinner was not a Planned Parenthood Celebration it was the San Diego Coalition for Reproductive Choice 40th Annual Dinner.
Thanks!
Megan
Hi, Megan. Thanks for the clarification. The change has been made to the article and the correction noted. All the best!
It is unbelievable that we are still fighting this. What ever happened to separation of church and state?