From Abortion Rights to Social Justice:
Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom
April 7-9, 2006
Hampshire College
Amherst, MA

The conference is probably the best annual student activist conference in the U.S.  But
I highlight it here, because it is a rare opportunity, especially for young people, to learn about and discuss the religious right as it relates to reproctive rights and related issues.

The role of the panel at the conference also offers a model for how other organizations could and should include such information and analyses in their conferences. This is something that is rarely done.

Here is part of this year's conference description:

If you are committed to reproductive rights and social justice, this is THE place to be. On April 7-9, 2006, people will be gathering at Hampshire College to unite for reproductive justice. For this 20th annual reproductive rights conference, we are expecting hundreds of participants from the US and abroad and are offering more than 30 workshops and trainings. Conference speakers address reproductive freedom as it relates to a broad range of social justice initiatives including economic justice, healthcare reform, racial equality, peace, freedom from violence, youth liberation, civil liberties, and LGBTQ rights.

Over the weekend, you will learn about and share organizing experiences and strategies, broaden your understanding of reproductive rights, and make connections with other related movements and issues.

The conference is free and open to everyone. Whether you have been working on reproductive rights for decades or are new to the movement, you belong here! The conference is a forum for learning and networking for people of all ages and from a diversity of backgrounds.

Conference organizer Marlene Gerber Fried told me for an article I wrote about the conference a few years ago:

There are very few places where a young person might get a broad vision of reproductive rights," Fried explains. "If you just focus on abortion, it not only seems so beleaguered, but it is so separated, that you feel you will never win."

Fried says that one of the conference goals is that participants come away "feeling inspired by understanding the need for allies and to create a movement that is capable of winning and expanding women's rights."