“A lot of people think that the United States is the best place in the world to have a baby, and that’s just not true. It’s the most dangerous place in the developed world to have a baby.” This statement by artist and birth justice advocate Michelle Hartney may sound like an exaggeration, but it’s hard to argue with the statistics. Hartney is part of a growing movement fighting for women’s right to choose when it comes to their maternal health care.
In the inaugural article of my new column for Seacoast Sunday (The Portsmouth Herald/Fosters Daily Democrat), I wrote about the discriminatory nature of the Hyde Amendment, which unfairly targets poor women by restricting access to their legal right to have a safe abortion. It’s a matter of inequality.
Once the attacks on Planned Parenthood were proven to be a coordinated smear campaign, I joined Senator Shaheen from New Hampshire, along with Senators Patty Murray and Richard Blumenthal, along with Representatives Diana DeGette, and Jan Schakowsky, to call for an end to the efforts to take away access to necessary health care services.