Signature Drive Launches for 'Bill of Reproductive Rights'

October 10, 2012 — The Center for Reproductive Rights on Tuesday launched a new campaign called Draw the Line that calls on voters to sign a "Bill of Reproductive Rights" to support legal access to abortion and contraception, the Huffington Post reports.

The online petition states that "fundamental human rights" include the right to make decisions about reproductive health without "intrusion or coercion by any government, group or individual"; the right to "accurate information" and "safe, affordable, and readily accessible reproductive health care," including abortion, contraception, fertility treatment, pregnancy care and preventive services; and "[t]he right to be free from discrimination in access to reproductive health care or on the basis of ... reproductive decisions."

CRR plans to present the petition to Congress and the president (Bassett, Huffington Post, 10/9).

While the campaign does not target any specific political or advocacy group, its message echoes the "war on women" charge leveled at conservatives by supporters of reproductive rights, according to The Hill's "Healthwatch."

Celebrity Endorsements

Several celebrities -- including Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Meryl Streep and Amy Poehler -- are featured in online videos supporting the campaign.

"Every day, the opponents of our fundamental reproductive rights are passing laws designed to take those rights away," Streep says in one video, adding, "They're shutting down doctors and clinics across the nation. They're making it nearly impossible for millions of women to get the essential health care they need" (Viebeck, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 10/9).