Today is Women’s Equality Day

By Zakiya Thomas

Today we celebrate Women’s Equality Day, marking the anniversary of a major milestone in the voting rights movement which allowed some women to vote under the 19th amendment. While we celebrate the strides made in the movement towards equality for women, we must also acknowledge how far we have left to go.

Almost a hundred years after the ratification of the 19th amendment, it’s clear that our fight for true equality is far from over. I’m encouraged by the groundswell that has swept the country — and the Commonwealth — this year; thousands of women are marching, organizing, lobbying and fighting for equality every day. As a member of the NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia board, I have a front-line view of the work being done daily to move the needle forward for women in the Commonwealth. I am proud to stand in solidarity with those fighting on behalf of us all.

However, as the only woman of color managing a statewide campaign this election cycle, I also see how far we have to go. True equality for women means equal pay for equal work, access to the full range of reproductive health care options, paid sick leave and maternity leave, affordable childcare, and so many other vital issues impacting Virginia’s families. Economic security and opportunity for all Virginians is the core tenet of our campaign. In order to make that vision a reality across the Commonwealth, equality and reproductive rights must remain priorities.

Many organizations and people work hard to protect reproductive rights in Virginia and defend the choices a woman makes about her body. Planned Parenthood served 23,587 individuals across the Commonwealth in 2015, a majority of those patients may not have had access to care otherwise. Legislators in the General Assembly who attempt to defund Planned Parenthood and other women’s health clinics ignore that a woman’s ability to participate equally in society depends first on her ability to control her own body. She can’t do that without access to the services women’s health clinics provide, from breast exams and pap smears to HIV prevention to abortion services.

Some opponents assert a false narrative about women’s health clinics and the services they provide, further stigmatizing a woman’s personal medical decisions. The fact is, clinics like Planned Parenthood serve communities that face structural barriers to basic, affordable health care — barriers like racism, discriminatory public policies, and poverty. Women of all ages seek preventive health services, primary care, and sex education at their local women’s health clinics. We must keep up the pressure in Richmond to protect these vital clinics in communities across the Commonwealth.

That’s why NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia seeks to educate, advocate, organize, and elect pro-choice candidates in order to make sure that every woman has access to all options when making decisions about her own reproductive health. With thousands of volunteers across the Commonwealth, we fight for reproductive health and freedom to ensure that every Virginia woman can make the personal reproductive decisions that are best for herself and her family, without stigma or political interference. These decisions include preventing unintended pregnancy, having healthy pregnancies and births, and choosing safe, legal abortion. By working with candidates, elected officials and passionate advocates, NPCV mobilizes people to fight back against regressive policies affecting reproductive rights.

Reproductive rights are often written off as a “social issue” or exclusively a women’s issue. The truth is: reproductive rights are an economic issue. Over 50% of women are the breadwinners in their household. In a country lacking affordable childcare and paid maternity leave, affordable health care is key to economic security. We all understand the decision to have children has economic ramifications. A woman cannot control her economic security if she can’t control if and when to start a family. Economic security and opportunity for all is the key to a strong economy here in Virginia and reproductive rights are critical for that goal.

These are rights worth fighting for — on Women’s Equality Day and every day.

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Justin Fairfax for Lt.Governor

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2017 Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor of Virginia. We want to hear your stories. #FutureIsNow #FairfaxforLG

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