A feminist abortion clinic that hosted a “Women for Obama” event where Obama volunteers helped with groundskeeping in a show of support for reproductive rights is profiled in the current issue of The Socialist, the official publication of the Socialist Party USA, in which a clinic official urges feminist socialists to “influence policy” and quotes a famous socialist writer.
The Emma Goldman Clinic in Iowa City, Iowa was the site of a Women for Obama event called “Iowa City Women for Obama Service Project at Emma Goldman Clinic,” which was promoted on the events page of Obama’s official 2012 campaign website.
“Please join women Obama supporters as we give back to those who support our reproductive rights by helping with groundskeeping at Emma Goldman Clinic. Old clothes and comfortable shoes are a must!,” the Obama campaign website reads. The event was hosted by Winnie Garet, former Obama for America staffer and current field organizer for the Democratic National Committee’s Organizing for America project.
The Emma Goldman Clinic, a member of the Feminist Abortion Network, was founded in 1973 by “a group of feminist idealists who strove for political, economic, and social equality for their clients.” The clinic also funds the Emma Goldman Clinic’s deProsse Access Fund, which helps low-income women obtain abortions.
Emma Goldman Clinic director of health services Francine Thompson gave a featured interview for the current issue of The Socialist, the official magazine of the Socialist Party USA, in which she sent a supportive message to the magazine’s socialist audience.
Asked “What message would you like to send to socialist feminists in celebration of International Women’s Day?,” Thompson replied, “I would like us to remember that integrative – multiple oppressions exist at the same time. In order to influence policy and affect change it will require working across social justice issues, bringing diverse issues and people together to obtain the necessary social supports to live healthy lives in healthy families, and in safe and sustainable communities.”
“As Audre Lord [sic] wrote, ‘there can be no hierarchies of oppression.’ We are all in this together,” Thompson said, quoting an essay in which writer Audre Lorde identifies herself as “a Black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, poet, mother of two including one boy and a member of an interracial couple.”