Reproductive Freedom
Reproductive freedom is the ability to make informed choices about bearing children. But extremists try to make value judgments for everyone, denying access to critical family planning data and health care.
For instance, extremists attempt to control sex education programs in schools by implementing an “abstinence-only” curriculum that ignores contraception and sexually transmitted diseases. They further work to limit access to various types of contraception.
One preferred method is through “conscience clause” legislation, which gives physicians, pharmacists and other health care professionals who dispense medication the ability to deny women this access. Perhaps most notably, extremists try to chip away at Roe v. Wade by enacting laws that prohibit certain procedures, require parental or judicial consent, and impose restrictions on clinics, among other things.
In Virginia, certain members of the General Assembly, with support from the Virginia Family Foundation, have focused an enormous amount of energy on restricting women’s reproductive freedom. For example, during the 2003 session, legislators introduced 26 anti-choice bills, at least six of which dealt with limiting access to emergency contraception, a form of birth control.
Former Loudoun Delegate Dick Black’s labeling of EC as “chemical infanticide” and “baby pesticide” is just one example of the grotesque, medically inaccurate and intimidating language used by those who fear giving women any control over their reproductive rights.