public policy advocacy

Reproductive Rights Statement

Introduction

YWCA Clark County is a pro-choice organization.  However, being pro-choice does not mean being pro-abortion.  Some YWCA Clark County Board members, staff, volunteers and other stakeholders are personally opposed to abortion and they respect the right of other individuals to make their own decisions.  The YWCA does not fund or pro-actively advocate for abortion or any form of contraception, but it defends a woman’s right to choose from among all legal options.

The issue of reproductive rights is about empowering women to be able to make decisions about their own bodies and lives. The YWCA position on reproductive rights is based on the following principles:

Freedom:

• Reproductive choice means that every woman has the freedom to make decisions about her body that best suit her physical, mental, emotional and economic needs, making her own health care decisions privately with her physician’s guidance and based on her own religious and ethical values.
• Women must have the freedom to decide whether or not to have sex, become pregnant, and have children to be truly empowered.
• They have the right to be informed about and have access to all legal contraceptive and reproductive options.
• These decisions must be each woman’s without government interference or pressure from other individuals or groups.

Education

• In order to make reproductive decisions, women need education about the full range of reproductive health options.
• This means age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education that teaches young people about all of their reproductive health choices, including information about abstinence, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion and parenthood.
• This also means that women seeking health services should not be refused information about their health options based on a health care provider’s religious or moral beliefs.

Access

• All women must have access to quality health care, including reproductive health services, regardless of their race or ethnic background, socioeconomic status, age or where they live.
• It is especially important that women and girls who have been raped or sexually assaulted have access to a full range of reproductive health care options, that they receive sensitive and understanding medical treatment and advocacy, and that they are supported in whatever personal decisions they may make.

YWCA Clark County supports policies that affirm these principles, and it opposes efforts to reduce or deny reproductive choices.

Public Policy Statement on Reproductive Rights

YWCA Clark County believes it is the right of every woman and girl to have:

• access to comprehensive quality care,
• the education to make informed decisions about her reproductive health,
• the freedom to make decisions about her reproductive health care based on her own beliefs and values.