The Story
VOX Participates in Statewide Pro-Choice Protest
On Monday, February 22, approximately twenty students, most members of William and Mary’s Voices of Planned Parenthood Club (VOX), gathered in front of the Crim Dell to protest sixteen anti-choice bills and an amendment to the only pro-choice bill recently proposed in the Virginia General Assembly.
“ ‘VOX’ isn’t an acronym, it means voice in Latin,” said Noelle Francois, President of VOX.
“Voices of Planned Parenthood is a program to educate and mobilize students and youth in support of reproductive health and rights,” says the website for the William & Mary chapter for VOX. VOX sponsored events have included emergency contraception drives, guest lecturers, and plays such as The Vagina Monologues, which opened on February 25th.
According to the Virginia Pro-Choice Coalition website, “Planned Parenthood is the most trusted reproductive health care organization in the country.” Care that the centers provide includes family planning, low cost birth control, gynecological exams, cancer screenings, free pregnancy tests, and HIV testing.
“Planned Parenthood offers women the resources they need to truly have options; that is what choice is all about,” said Julia Schaumburg (’10), one of the main organizers of the protest.
The Virginia General Assembly convened on January 13, 2010 and the sixteen anti-choice bills were proposed. These bills included HB 393, which would require Planned Parenthood to file as a hospital, and the HB 986, which states that a pregnant woman who intentionally aborts her unborn child or produces a miscarriage would be considered guilty of a Class 4 felony.
“I am deeply disturbed by legislation such as HB 393, which would require Planned Parenthood to register as a hospital - which it is not - as it gives a variety of health services,” said Margaret Smith (’10), a member of VOX and another organizer of the protest. “Such legislation would effectively close eight Planned Parenthood clinics in Virginia alone, decreasing women's access to health care options and pro-choice medical facilities.”
Smith was not alone in her feelings about the proposed legislation. In fact, the protest held on Monday was part of a statewide protest.
“When Jennifer Old at Hollins [University] contacted me to see if William and Mary would stand in solidarity with protests at colleges all across the state, I was honored to help,” said Schaumburg.
Although protesters were generally against all of the sixteen pieces of anti-choice legislation, there was a narrower focus to the protest.
“More specifically, we are protesting an amendment to [the] license plate bill that passed in the House and would divert funds from the plates away from Planned Parenthood,” said Francois.
The license plate bill to which Francois is referring is the only pro-choice bill proposed, HB 1108. It would allow for a specialty license plate to be sold in Virginia that reads “Trust Women/Respect Choice.” The amendment protested against was one delegate Todd Gilbert added that changed the recipient of the funds from Planned Parenthood to the Virginia Pregnant Women Support Fund.
“This is an unprecedented move in the state of Virginia,” said Francois. “Never has the recipient of funds from a specialty license plate been changed from the organization who originally submitted the proposal.”
The protesters gathered, despite the downpour, between 1:30 and 2:30 PM. They carried signs with messages like, “No to HB 1108,” “Trust Women, Respect Choice,” and “My Body My Right.” The group also participated in chants such as, “Our bodies, our lives, our right to decide” and “House of Delegates lend an ear, Your war on women stops right here.” The group also handed out a fact sheet about the legislation to passers-by.
“Right now [VOX] is working in conjunction with our grassroots organizer in Richmond to see what our next steps should be,” said Francois.
Currently HB 1108 has been passed in two different forms, one with the amendment changing where the funds go and one without. Therefore, the House and the Senate must go back to subcommittees and then come again later to the floor to reconcile the differences.
“Because there is a ‘Choose Life’ license plate already available in Virginia (it passed last year with no problems), Planned Parenthood might weigh the possibility of a lawsuit because of the discrimination they have faced,” said Francois of possible future actions.
However, there is action you can take now if you are concerned about this legislation.
“Call or write your local legislator and express your discontent with the amendment to HB 1108 (the license plate bill),” said Francois.
“Anti-choice legislation in Richmond will hurt students at the College by decreasing their access to honest, medically unbiased services such as STI testing, low-cost birth control, and abortion services,” said Smith.
“Our state government needs to know that we are present, pro-choice, and we vote,” said Schaumburg.
The Virginia General Assembly is expected to adjourn this legislative session on March 13th. The future of the bills at this time is unclear.