Planned Parenthood on Native Land

I just read this message from a friend’s journal, and had to share:

“Contact info here: http://kathrynt.livejournal.com/366823.html

News story here: http://www.indianz.com/News/2006/013061.asp

The President of the Oglala Sioux Nation of Pine Ridge, President Cecilia Fire Thunder, has said she will open a Planned Parenthood clinic on her own land, where the state of South Dakota has no legal jurisdiction.

If you can, please, send the Oglala Sioux a donation, or at least a letter of support. You can specify that donations go towards this effort, but please bear in mind that the tribe is in need of funds in general, and making a nonspecific donation to the tribe, as well as one to OST Planned Parenthood Cecilia Fire Thunder, could really help them out.

This is amazing. She is really going to draw a lot of fire, and this is going to erupt in a big way— I mean anti-choice people challenging tribal sovreignty, in days at the outside. Please help them out.

Thanks for listening.

Edit: Some have called this ‘ironic’ in light of the recent history of forced sterilization of Native women. I don’t deny that it is ironic, but I think the irony is that the tribes are now providing an opportunity for the women of South Dakota as well as Native women to have more power over their bodies. I don’t equate voluntary abortions with forced sterilization (not saying anyone else does either) and I see the entire issue as one of choice, of sovreignty, over the body and laws made to control the body.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 28th, 2006 at 11:25 am and is filed under Health, People of Color, Politics, Sexuality Education, Uncategorized, Women . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.