40 Days of Obscenity

This morning (Feb 16th 2013) at the Fertility Control Clinic a 40 Days for Life protester was displaying graphic images to every person who passed by on foot or in a vehicle. Patients entering the clinic found these to be so distressing that the clinic called for Police attendance, labelling the images obscene.

Police were unable to stop the woman displaying the images as she claimed to have authorisation from the courts. A compromise was reached whereby she would not display them to children or towards the road, while Police took photos of the images to verify her claims.

We do not intend to reproduce the images here but this image censored to remove the images shows how the woman displayed them to passers by.

Clinic staff despair at these protesters as they have to explain to their patients and families how they are allowed to inflict grief and shame. Sadly these religious bigots just don’t care for women.

With strength in numbers we can keep 40 Days for Life away from the clinic entrance.
Join us 9:30am every Saturday at 118 Wellington Parade East Melbourne.

40 Days for Life Clinic Defence

The next 40 Days for Life Campaign runs from Wednesday 13^th February to Sunday 24^th March. For the duration of Lent anti-choicers will intimidate women at the Fertility Control Clinic in East Melbourne and Dr Marie – Marie Stopes International in Croydon. This is despite accepting a “Statement of Peace“.

Campaign Director Fons Janssen states in an email dated January 11, 2013 that he has incorporated the ideals of 40 Days for Life in a new flyer:

To Fons a pregnant woman needs the protection of the father of her unborn child. As though a woman is incapable of making the right choice for her.

It clearly demonstrates the sexist patriarchal outlook of the anti-choicers. They don’t trust women.

Campaign for Women’s Reproductive Rights does trust women and defends their right to reproductive choice. To demonstrate that trust Campaign for Women’s Reproductive Rights will defend the clinic on the first morning on the 40 Days for Life. Join us.

13th February 2013
7:30am – 9:00am
Fertility Control Clinic
118 Wellington Parade East Melbourne

On this first morning of the the 40 Days for Life we will make it clear that a woman’s access to legal abortion is here to stay and that we are NEVER GOING BACK.

#OurClinic #NeverGoingBack

When Bullies Come Out

What happens when the Fertility Control Clinic is undefended?  Bullies come out to play.

The Campaign for the Women’s Reproductive Rights (CWRR) has had great success at keeping the Rosary Procession away from the entrance to the Fertility Control Clinic in East Melbourne.  For 7 years on the fourth Saturday of the month CWRR had kept the bigots to the other side of the road.  The Rosary Procession had not turned up at the clinic since October 2012 due to the presence of CWRR and the mass rally by Melbourne Feminist Action – until yesterday.

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Like cowards and bullies the Rosary Procession varied their regular schedule to march on the third Saturday of the month to avoid CWRR’s regular clinic defence on the fourth Saturday of the month.

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Rather than stay to the south side of Wellington Parade they crossed the road.

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They positioned themselves at the entrance of the Fertility Control Clinic to intimidate patients and their families.
The sight of four men bearing the Virgin Mary on a platform was the sight to confront anyone leaving the clinic.

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They flagrantly ignored the white line set by Melbourne City Council to keep the path clear and intimidated passers by.

During the time they spent in front of the clinic three patients were forced to leave by the rear entrance to avoid them.

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The Rosary Procession left after approximately an hour, but John Forster from 40 Days for Life stayed outside the clinic. Although the 40 Days for Life doesn’t begin until February 13th in his words “It’s never too early to advertise.”

It was the first time in seven years that the Rosary Procession stood on the clinic side of the road.  It shows how important it is that the clinic be defended by the prochoice majority. Together we can keep the antichoice minority away from the clinic entrance. When faced with the clinic defence the Rosary Procession has proven they avoid confrontation. Just like a bully.

Join us for the next CWRR Clinic Defence
9:30am – Saturday 26th January
118 Wellington Parade East Melbourne

#OurClinic #NeverGoingBack

The Bullies and Cowards No Show

On the last Parliamentary sitting day for 2012 only prochoice messages were seen by Victorian MPs.

Like the true bullies and cowards they are Helper’s of God’s Precious Infants (HOGPI) did not show up at Parliament this morning. This is despite pledging to be in attendance on each of the 70 sitting days of Victoria’s parliament this year.

Dozens of cars, cyclists and even a few trams sounded their support for a woman’s right to reproductive choices demonstrating that Victorians in their majority support choice.  As they drove into the Parliamentary car park, Victorian MPs saw women and men standing together supporting choice.
Victoria Police had expected HOGPI to show up, providing half a dozen officers to keep an eye on proceedings. When it was clear they weren’t turning up with their banner the police departed and left us to continue our peaceful action.

The failure of HOGPI to show up (again) demonstrates how prochoice action is making a difference in Victoria. Their Rosary Parade has failed to turn up at the Fertility Control Clinic since October.  As the bullies they are, when confronted, they hide away like cowards.  Our presence keeps them from intimidating women accessing services at the clinic and gives a voice to the prochoice majority outside Parliament.

Our success requires your ongoing support.
We have two more clinic defences before Christmas.
Fertility Control Clinic
118 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne
9:30am
Saturday, 15 December
Saturday, 22 December
Join us and keep those who seek to intimidate and harass women away from the clinic entrance.

Make your Stand for Choice

On each Parliamentary sitting day (bar one) Helpers of God’s Precious Infants has protested at the entrance to the Victoria’s Parliament House car park as part of a concerted campaign to recriminalise abortion. They’ve displayed a banner marked with crosses, representing the number of abortions alleged to have occurred in Victoria in 2012. They claim that by the end of the year, the banner will extend the length of the street.

We plan to peacefully stand shoulder to shoulder on Macarthur Street to demonstrate that despite all their efforts, safe and legal abortion is here to stay.

Join Campaign for Women’s Reproductive Rights (CWRR) on 13th December 2012 – the last sitting day of Parliament for 2012 – for a Counter Protest.

Make your Stand for Choice
Thursday 13th December 2012 – 7:30am-9:30am
Macarthur Street, East Melbourne

Hold our “HONK IF UR PRO-CHOICE” signs – hold your own sign – or simply make your stand for choice.

With each honk of a car horn our presence we will remind MPs that the vast majority of Victorians believe in a woman’s right to choose – and we’re Never Going Back!

What rally were you at?

A NUS Women’s Department blog post took aim the CWRR’s Rally for Abortion Rights.
“These streets are ours – and other words you never thought you’d hear coming out of ‘left wing’ male mouths.”

Debbie Brennan responds on behalf of CWRR

 

A question: What rally were you at?!

I’m one of the abortion rights rally organisers. I am also a member of Radical Women, a socialist feminist women’s leadership organisation that helped found Campaign for Women’s Reproductive Rights (CWRR) in 1989. From its beginnings, CWRR has been a united front of organisations and individuals working together to build a broad, militant grassroots reproductive justice movement. This is what it will take to defeat the far right that would have women confined to children, kitchen and church (Kinder, Küche, Kirche). Men have always been active in CWRR, because they understand that a society which denies women our rights is not one they want to live in. This misogynist system, which would relegate women to breeders, housekeepers and cheap labour, is also anti-union, racist, xenophobic and homophobic (half its targets being men). The magnificent number of men at the rally showed what solidarity looks like — something you find distasteful.

I’ll correct your sexist distortions about the rally. Of the two MCs, one was a woman — whom you disappeared, maybe didn’t notice. Of the six speakers, five were women — again, disappeared.

The sexism that underlines your red-baiting is offensive. And your hostility to linking obviously inter-connected struggles is downright mindboggling. Women’s control of our bodies and our lives doesn’t encompass walking freely and safely in our streets? Really? I’ll go further: control of our bodies and lives also means to take our place as leaders in public life, not holed up in a privatised house. Didn’t you hear the loud chanting, “Whose streets? Our streets! Whose world? Our world!”?? As for the poster demanding freedom for Julian Assange — Yes!! The capitalist State, which is ready to waste Assange for telling the truth about its depraved inhumanity, wants women chained to the kitchen sink, bed, playpen and church! It’s so connected!

CWRR did broad outreach for rally endorsements. We contacted the NUS, and we didn’t get a reply. Look at the rally endorsers: unions, feminist, socialist, anarchist, LGBTI organisations, women’s health services, university women’s departments. No NUS. Why?

You’re clearly hostile to the Left — the very movement that consistently hits the streets for women’s rights. You seem phobic about hitting the streets — ie militant grassroots leadership. You fool no one.

Rally for Abortion Rights: Jessica Lenehan

Hello all! My name is Jessica Lenehan and I speak to you today as a student from La Trobe University, and member of the Campaign for Women’s Reproductive Rights.
We’re here today, all of us, because we believe in a woman’s right to choose.

Because we trust women.

And we know that real choice means the ability to terminate or go to term, although we know which has the more obnoxious lobby group. And to have the support that you need along the way. To then be able to raise your children as best you can, to access doctors, nurses, midwives, doolas; to do what you want to do.
To not be blamed if you can’t afford nutritious food. To not be blamed for being poor, stressed, and sad.
So I want to talk to you about education, and making these options a reality.

This means being able to choose the sex that you want.
This means understanding the consequences of your decisions. And this is supported by education – education is a reproductive right. Access to quality education is so important for women and for their families.

The TAFE cuts are worse for women. This will come as no surprise, and is reiterated in this report. We know that when there are education cuts, when austerity measures come in, when the pressure is on, we know that this burden falls on the most vulnerable.

Education doesn’t just help us get by in this society; it also teaches us how to transform it. With education comes confidence, and with confidence amazing things can happen. Like all of these people coming out today to protest the bigotry and hate of the right-wingers who want to deny women the right to choose. Through education we can learn the history of these struggles, and with education we can win. We won in 2008 and we are never going back! Thank you.

Fertility Control Clinic’s 40th Anniversary

Campaign for Women’s Reproductive Rights was happy to recognise the Fertility Control Clinic’s 40th Anniversary with a special clinic defence.

Local residents joined CWRR, members of Radical Women, the Australian Sex Party and others to celebrate.

A letter from the Fertility Control Clinic to CWRR was read out, the history of the clinic was detailed and the goals of the campaign were discussed.

Happy Birthday was sung (awkwardly, Fertility Control Clinic is a mouthful) and cake shared among all.

It is important to recognise these anniversaries as they help to recall the history of the campaign for reproductive rights and the journey that remains.

Fertility Control Clinic message to CWRR – 40th Birthday

We are happy to publish the letter from the Fertility Control Clinic to CWRR on the occasion of the FCC’s 40th Birthday.

Make your Stand for Choice!

Join Campaign for Women’s Reproductive Rights (CWRR) for a Counter Protest against an ongoing anti-abortion protest at Parliament House.

13th September 2012 between 7:30am-9:30am
Macarthur Street, East Melbourne

Helpers of God’s Precious Infants have staged a protest at Victoria’s Parliament House on each Parliamentary sitting day – except one.  As planned on 14th August 2012 we turned up but they were absent.

So we’ll do it all again.  Join us on Macarthur Street, East Melbourne between 7:30am-9:30am.  Hold our “HONK IF UR PRO-CHOICE” signs – your own sign – or simply make your stand for choice.

With our presence and with each honk of a car horn, we will remind MPs that the vast majority of Victorians* believe in a woman’s right to choose.

“Separation of Church and State – Oh My God that would be great!”