Petrichorium
Professional Writing Sample Only
Summer 2019: Communications Fellowship with Michelle Wu for Reelection to Boston City Council Campaign
Michelle:
First, thank NARAL for honoring me as a change-maker tonight. Also, congratulations to Representative Livingstone for being honored tonight.
NARAL plays a vital role in politics today, and I am proud to be here and affiliated with such an important organization. As I am sure you are aware, NARAL is firmly pro-choice.
With so many abortion bans being passed in states throughout the country, supporting women’s reproductive health rights is of the utmost importance. Many clinics that provide women’s reproductive health services do not offer abortion services at the same rate as normal health checkups – for example, pap smears, mammograms, birth control STI services, and more. Such services protect women from unwanted pregnancies or simply prevent a life-threatening pregnancy. These services allow women to screen for ovarian and/or breast cancer, along with concerning diseases like HPV, and HIV, and menstrual-related conditions, like endometriosis.
Women in Massachusetts are luckier than many women in other states that have recently passed the heartbeat bills that will ban abortion because we have access to clinics. However, the fight for women’s rights in Massachusetts is far from over.
Equity and inclusion for all Boston residents are of the utmost importance to me as a Boston City Councilor. From showing my support at Pride, and making city contracts more accessible for local and small businesses, to promoting increased accessibility to women’s healthcare, I strive to make Boston a home for everyone to be happy and thrive in. That means increasing the availability of abortion clinics, and women’s health clinics throughout Massachusetts. The first step in this fight is making our hometowns more accessible for women to visit reproductive health clinics.
Additionally, the Roe Act is up for a vote next week at the state house. The Roe Act will ensure that all women have access to proper healthcare in Massachusetts, as not everyone has access to safe, legal abortions. Everyone has a right to choose to be a parent or not. That is not the choice of politicians to decide what women want. The Roe Act is a proactive step to ensuring safe and legal abortions in Massachusetts. Furthermore, abortion care is health care. I strongly support equity in healthcare – I filed an equity in healthcare ordinance with City Council Ayanna Pressley. The ordinance took steps to ensure transgender people who work for the city of Boston have city-sponsored healthcare coverage, equal to every other Boston city employee. Equity in healthcare must apply to everyone. That includes transgender people, women, and the right to choose to have an abortion.
Revoking a woman’s right to have safe and legal abortions is just as unjust as others calling mothers who bring their children to work unprofessional. As a mother and a legislator, I am fully aware of the struggle my fellow mother legislators and fellow women face on a day-to-day basis. While most are supportive of bringing young children to work, so long as they do not cause a ruckus, some still see it as unprofessional. They say it proves how a mother cannot also be a legislator because she would not be able to provide her full attention. It is no one else’s right to tell me I can or cannot bring my baby to work if I need to. It is no one else’s right to tell me I cannot have an abortion if I desire. It is the same for women throughout the country and the state.
