Abortionfest at the University of San Francisco

The University of San Francisco, a Jesuit institution, will host the "Global Women's Rights Forum"

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. (California Catholic Daily) - The University of San Francisco, a Jesuit institution, will host the "Global Women's Rights Forum" from Monday, March 8 through Thursday, March 11. The forum is sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences, the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good, the Sociology Colloquium, the School of Nursing, the Politics Department, the Gender and Sexuality Studies Department, and curiously, the Theology and Religious Studies Department. The three speakers at the forum´s Wednesday event, "Bringing Home the right to Health: Critical Interventions in Women's Health Care," are Lori Freedman, visiting scholar at the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health at UCSF; Destiny Lopez, executive director, ACCESS, Oakland; and Eve Zaritsky, a physician at Oakland Kaiser, and the medical director of the Women's Community Clinic, San Francisco. At UCSF, Professor Freedman works as a research associate at the ANSIRH (Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Heath) think tank. ANSIRH´s "Later Abortion" Web page says: "This website is dedicated to the memory and spirit of Dr. Tiller and is a resource for women, clinicians, researchers and journalists who want to learn more about later abortion care." The reference is to notorious partial-birth abortionist Dr. George Tiller who was murdered in 2009. ANSIRH spearheaded the "Second Trimester Abortion Initiative" which "...promotes a strategic vision for securing access to and provision of second trimester abortion care in the United States," and provides a list of clinics that provide what they call "Later Abortion." Freedman also has a forthcoming book called Willing and Unable: Doctors´ Constraints in Abortion Care, which "...examines how abortion politics affect medical practice, focusing on the challenges to integrating abortion into physician practice. Unexpected findings from the interviews led her to research and write about the intersection of religion and health care, especially in the case of Catholic-owned hospitals." Freedman also expressed concern with Catholic Hospitals´ policies in a August 13, 2008 paper published in the American Journal of Public Health, "When There´s a Heartbeat: Miscarriage Management in Catholic-Owned Hospitals." From the abstract: "As Catholic-owned hospitals merge with or take over other facilities, they impose restrictions on reproductive health services, including abortion and contraceptive services." The second speaker at the forum is Destiny Lopez, executive director of ACCESS. Prior to her work at ACCESS, Lopez was vice president of programs at NARAL Pro-Choice New York. She currently sits on the boards of both the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health and California Latinas for Reproductive Justice. Ms. Lopez received her BS from another Jesuit institution, Georgetown University. From the ACCESS "Direct Services" page: "Our Practical Support Network ensures that all women can obtain safe abortion services without isolation or delay. When a woman cannot rely on her personal resources to get to a clinic, our network of more than 100 volunteers can provide rides, overnight housing, child-care, translation or other assistance." From ACCESS´s "Policy Advocacy" page: "We are active members of the California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom, the National Network of Abortion Funds, the National Abortion Federation and the Having Our Say Coalition." In 2007, Lopez made three appearances before the Oakland City Council, urging adoption of Oakland´s "bubble ordinance," a restriction on speech applicable only outside abortion businesses and only to abortion opponents. The passage of the ordinance resulted in the imprisonment of Oakland pastor, Rev. Walter Hoye. Rev. Hoye´s conviction is currently being appealed in Alameda County Superior Court, and the constitutionality of the ordinance is being challenged in federal court. The third speaker is Dr. Eve Zaritsky. In addition to her work for Kaiser Permenante, Dr. Zaritsky is the medical director of the Women´s Community Clinic in San Francisco. The Women´s Community Clinic "Services" page offers "Emergency Contraception," which, depending on the timing, can be an abortion. The Women´s Community Clinic does not offer non-emergency contraception abortions, but will refer women to organizations that do. According to her biographical page, other fields of interest for Dr. Zaritsky include "queer health." The forum will be held at USF´s Fromm Center. All events are free and open to the public.
 
-----

This article appeared in the March 8, 2010 edition of the California catholic Daily as "Abortion Fest at USF" 

---

This article originally appeared in California Catholic Daily and is reprinted with permission.