October 2007 |  From the desk of Kelli Conlin, President
The future of the pro-choice movement depends on training and empowering the next generation. And this means not only young people who will become advocates and leaders, but also the next generation of health care providers who will ensure quality care in the future. Luckily, we found a way to foster leadership on both groups with one program: TORCH (Teen Outreach Reproductive Challenge). TORCH selects several talented and enthusiastic NYC high school students each year; trains them about sexual health and rights, healthy relationships and political organizing; and then sends them out into the community to share their skills and knowledge with other young people. But the outreach doesn't end there. The same talented teens also work with medical residents and other health care professionals to help to improve their interactions with and treatment of adolescents. It make sense - if you are aspiring to provide the best possible care to adolescents, shouldn't you learn to deal with adolescents by, well, dealing with adolescents? Do you know a young person who would be great for TORCH? Have them go to www.torchprogram.orgto apply to be in our next TORCH class. Help us train the next generation. For Choice,
Kelli Conlin |
Pro-Choice Crush of the Month: Manhattan Mini Storage 
You may have received our alert a few weeks ago about Manhattan Mini Storage's awesome billboard reminding New Yorkers about the growing threat of losing our right to choose. Well, it looks like all the media hoopla the ad caused made them decide to feature a survey on their website asking the public, "What do you think of our campaign ads?" The "letter" ad they write to the public announcing the survey is pretty hilarious: Dear Public, Some think social commentary doesn't belong in our ads, that we should focus on our awesome storage options, 17 locations and free concierge service. We think they are half-baked, dippy, not-right upstairs kooky meshuggenehs who would be less angry if they had storage. Thank You,
Marketing Department
In other words, the New York storage company gave a big "so what" to those who wanted to censor them. And we like that. They even gave the public the option to vote on either getting "edgy" ads or "just the facts," and the results were victorious; the majority voted for the same great, edgy (and pro-choice) ads they've always been featuring. And for that, they are our Pro-Choice Crush of the Month.
NARAL Pro-Choice New York Update: Passing the TORCH  Our Teen Outreach Reproductive CHallenge (TORCH)program has been kicking some serious tush. And on October 1, we put the call out for new trainees to form next year's TORCH team. Not only are TORCH peer educators able to educate other teens about serious reproductive health issues that affect all of us, but they get paid for it too! So if you know a teen that wants to be a part of this awesome program, let them know about TORCH. Send them hereto apply! On top of that, they've also added four seriously important issues to their list of workshops. And what better than to learn about these new options by playing the game What's Your Favorite Workshop??? *Cheesy game show background music comes on* Behind door number one... Comprehensive Sex Education vs. Abstinence-Only Education!!! Will abstinence-only education continue to give inaccurate information that endangers teens' sexual health (*audience boos*), or will comprehensive sex education prevail in their efforts to effectively inform students of the risks they face and protections they can use to maintain a healthy lifestyle? (*screams and loud applause*) The battle is on, but TORCH is on sex ed's side. This ain't gonna be pretty! Door number two reveals... Human Papillomavirus (HPV)!!! HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) out there, even though a lot of people don't even know what it is. So what can we do about it? Educate teens about the infection and how they can prevent contracting it. TORCH peer educators will talk to your teens about this STI, the new vaccine that's just been introduced to prevent it, and how and why HPV affects them. All the information you want know about this serious STI is within hand's grasp! Number three is a big one... Reproductive Justice!!! Sure, we're pro-choice, but not all of us get the same access to reproductive health care (*audience boos*). Economic and cultural status, racial and gender identity, and geographic location all come into play. And many don't understand that. If you want to learn how reproductive health affects all of us and about this critical movement that pays closer attention to the margins, choose this door and help open doors for women everywhere. Door four will give you... Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer: Exploring Sexual Orientation!!! The GLBTQ community is largely misrepresented by the media, the public, and along with reproductive rights, has been a target by the Bush administration (*audience boos*). That's why TORCH wants to talk to you about various forms of sexuality, gender identities, and discrimination and laws that repress GLBTQ rights. Get educated about the issues, the movement, and what you can do to take action. *Applause and curtain.* We just need new contestants (a.k.a. peer educator trainees) to help us spread the word about these important issues. So if you know an awesome teen that would be a good fit for the job, make sure to send them an application form! *Disclaimer: These are not the actual TORCH workshop descriptions, we just like to have a little fun now and again. You can find a more informative and less game-show-esque picture of what ALL of the workshops entail here.
Choose Wisely: Our Top Five Pro-Choice Halloween Costumes We reached out to staff for ideas on what would be the perfect pro-choice Halloween costume, and this is what we came up with:  | EC pill and birth control pack Planned Parenthood's Pillamina and Packy serve as the inspiration for this idea, because we think they are the cutest pill-pack duo ever. After all, what better than to be the birth control you're fighting for? |
Lady Liberty Because Lady Liberty needs the right to choose too. One of the definitions for "liberty" is "a female figure personifying freedom from despotism." And that serves pretty darn close to what we're trying to achieve within the pro-choice movement. Not to mention she IS a New Yorker, too. Hot. Rosie the Riveter This one is a given. Rosie has served as a feminist icon for quite some time. But more specifically, we can look to Back Up Your Birth Control (BUYBC), which is a campaign that does outreach and advocacy around emergency contraception (EC) so that every woman can back up her birth control. Rosie the Riveter is BUYBC's poster girl; therefore, we love her. |  |
George Bush Okay, okay, it's not pro-choice per se, but if you want to expose him for the anti-choice president he is, we thought it would be funny to wear a Bush suit and mask but add a few key components: - Put stashes of birth control sticking out of pockets
- Wear an anti-choice shirt under his suit
- Carry a book of abstinence-only education titled No Sex for You, You Floozy: A Guide to Abstinence-Only Education
There's much more we could add to the list, but better that you incorporate your own creativity to the ensemble! Anti-Choice Supreme Court Justice We’ll let you use your imagination on this one. We hope you enjoyed our ideas and put them to good use - or at the least, they inspire you to think of you own pro-choice Halloween costume! Have a Happy Halloween!
Upcoming Event: Politics and the F Word  The Woman's Campaign Forum, an organization that helps pro-choice women get involved in politics, is sponsoring an event next week in NYC that promises to be quite interesting.
"Politics and the F Word: Does Feminism Matter?" is featuring panelists Hillary Clinton Strategist Ann Lewis, Us Weekly Editor Janice Min, Teachers Union President Randi Weingarten, NYU Public Affairs SVP Lynne Brown and Community Board 1 Chair Julie Menin to talk about a number of issues surrounding the issue of women and politics. The discussion is much-needed. Yes, we have a female Speaker of the House and leading presidential candidate, but let's not forget that women still hold less than 25% of all elected offices in the U.S. So if you're in town and want to come by and check out the (free!) feminist fun, here are the details: Date: Tuesday, October 23
Location: NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service,
The Puck Building, 2nd Floor, 295 Lafayette Street
Time: 8:30 a.m. breakfast, program 9 – 10 a.m. RSVP onlineor by phone at 212-981-5285 Co-Sponsors: NARAL Pro-Choice New York
National Organization for Women (NOW) – NYC
Planned Parenthood of NYC | A Few Choice Words Staff | Vanessa Valenti, Writer
Mary Alice Carr, Editor |
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