Amnesty Group 137 Online Meeting: Reproductive Rights

Join us Monday, Feb. 8, at 7:00 pm. for our monthly (virtual) meeting. This month we will discuss reproductive rights with a presentation by Alice Dahle, chair of Amnesty's Women's Human Rights Co-group.

Please register. A Zoom link will be emailed to those registered the day of the meeting.

PRESENTER:

Alice Dahle is a 38 year member of AIUSA and chairs the Women's Human Rights Co-group. She coordinated the Stop Violence Against Women campaign in Iowa and represented AIUSA at the International Women's Human Rights Network conference in Marakesh. An active campaigner for US ratification of the UN Women's Treaty (CEDAW), she serves as legislative advocate for several organizations.

BACKGROUND:

Access to affordable and relevant health services and to accurate, comprehensive health information are fundamental human rights. Yet, gender-based discrimination, lack of access to education, poverty, and violence against women and girls can all prevent these rights from being realized for women and girls — challenges that are often particularly acute when it comes to sexual and reproductive health rights and safe motherhood.

Sexual and reproductive rights mean you should be able to make your own decisions about your body and:

• get accurate information about these issues
• access sexual and reproductive health services including contraception
• choose if, when and who to marry
• decide if you want to have children and how many

They also mean our lives should be free from all forms of sexual violence, including rape, female genital mutilation, forced pregnancy, forced abortion and forced sterilization.

Amnesty is calling for

• Governments must stop using criminal law to control people’s sexuality and reproduction.
• People should be empowered to make their own decisions about their bodies and they live their lives without interference from others.
• Governments should make sure that sexual and reproductive health services, education and information are available and easy to access.
• Countries should prohibit all forms of discrimination and violence.