First Night: Harvard Students for Choice

For the first day of Channukah, we're featuring the Harvard Students for Choice, the Harvard pro-choice group.

Description:

• "Students for Choice is concerned with the social, political, legal, and cultural issues surrounding reproductive rights and abortion. Our mission is global, but our emphasis is on Harvard and the surrounding community."

Facts about abortion in America:

• Half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended, and the majority of pregnancies among Latina and African American women are unintended.
• Almost 3/4 of voters believe that health insurance should cover the full cost of birth control. This would be an effective way to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies in America.
• In the Netherlands, where teenage sexual activity is about the same as in the U.S., pregnancy rates are only one-ninth those of the United States because teens receive more education about sexuality and have more access to contraception and family planning services.
• 55% of young women birth control users report that there has been a time when the cost of birth control has made it difficult to use consistently and correctly.
• Each year, 20 million abortions take place in unsafe conditions and as a consequence, an estimated 80,000 women die.

Happy Channukah!