Women and Children First--South Bay

Women and Children First--South Bay is a network of South Bay individuals and organizations who have come together to address issues of critical importance to women and children here in the South Bay. Our goal is to advocate on behalf of women and children, both legislatively and to the community.

The first critical issue with which our organization is dealing is freedom of choice in the South Bay. We are writing to express our uncompromising support for the physicians who have been or may be selected for harassment by anti-choice demonstrators. We believe this support extends to the community at large and to demonstrate this, we are gathering signatures on a “Statement of Support” for the physicians.

Because the abortion issue is considered so volatile, individuals are generally not inclined to discuss it openly, much less publicly voice their support for it. For this reason, it may appear that physicians do not have as much support in the general community as is actually the case. Polls abound which indicate that even though individuals may never choose to utilize the procedure themselves, they still believe that abortion services must be available or women’s lives will be at risk. Furthermore, the results of the election this past November, which saw all pro-choice candidates elected as state and federal representatives of the South Bay, should eliminate any doubt that the South Bay is generally pro-choice.

Local officials wish to downplay the demonstrations in the hope the demonstrators will just go away. Frankly, we believe anti-abortion protests will not go away until the stigma attached to the provision of safe and legal abortion services is erased. We hope to achieve this end by educating the community that all medical care is safe because it is legal, and this is just as true for abortion as any other procedure. We urge all reasonable people to speak out in this regard as well.

Women and Children First--South Bay

SUSAN ADAMS

ANNEKA DAVIDSON

BETTY FASS

LANNA PIANNANCY BERLIN

LUZ DIAZ

SALLY KERR

GLENDA URMACHER

CAROLYN BURNS

KRISTIN OCKERSHAUSER

DUNN

MARY McKANE

DEBRA BERMAN,

Palos Verdes/South Bay NOW

DEBORAH BLAIR PORTER,

Palos Verdes/South Bay NOW

HELEN COFFEY,

Palos Verdes League

of Women Voters

LESLIE STARR HEIMOV,

Palos Verdes/South Bay NOW

SHEILA HOFF,

Palos Verdes League

of Women Voters

GILA KATZ,

Jewish Federation of the

South Bay

LINDA KAUFMAN,

South Bay Friends, Planned

Parenthood L.A.

NANCY ROEBUCK,

Religious Coalition for Abortion

Rights