Walk for Choice Feb. 26 in Oakland by Trust Women/ Silver Ribbon Campaign

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Women's rights, human rights, workers' rights are under siege in Congress and statehouses, according to organizers of the Walk for Choice. A Congress with no solutions to the nation's pressing crises has voted to defund basic health care services and family planning (Title X). Their plan would force more unintended pregnancies on the most vulnerable women.  And then HR 3 would deny access to abortions.  This is another tragic and twisted redefinition of rape.   

In Madison, Wisconsin, state officials are attacking nurses, teachers and firefighters for a financial crisis caused by the housing market collapse and Wall Street's irresponsibility.

"The House's budget bill, HR 1, is the equivalent of a bully's snigger," said Ellen R. Shaffer, PhD, of the Trust Women/Silver Ribbon Campaign, a co-sponsor of the Walks. "They have come to push us around and take our money for their own binges, while bellowing about freedom and fiscal responsibility."

Generations of activists will Walk for Choice at Lake Merritt on Grand Ave. and the Embarcadero, Oakland, CA, on Saturday, Feb. 26, at noon, joining walks across the world linked by social media. Rep. Jackie Speier and Barbara Lee will be represented at the Noon event. The group will walk to the gazebo at 1 pm for additional cultural events. For other Walk for Choice locations go to http://walkforchoice.tumblr.com/participating.

"It's time to stand with each other to reclaim our rights," said organizer Rachel Reyes, a student at Mills College.

"The Silver Ribbon represents science over ideology," said Sophia Yen, MD MPH, of Trust Women. "We're wearing Silver Ribbons to show that we Trust Women to make the right choices about what happens to our bodies support reproductive rights, support free access to birth control, and keeping abortion legal and accessible. We stand with people around the nation  who are mobilizing to protect our way of life."

"We need to renew our vision and our voices, to rebuild our power," said Shaffer. "It's time to come together to stop the extreme attacks on women's choices and our lives. We cannot sacrifice the precious women's lives that are at risk."

http://oursilverribbon.org

SOURCE Trust Women/ Silver Ribbon Campaign