HLS for Choice is a student organization dedicated to educating ourselves and the greater HLS community on reproductive issues, new reproductive technologies, and threats to reproductive freedoms. Our purpose is to raise awareness on campus of the current legal state of reproductive rights; provide a venue for involvement, activism, and discussion for the promotion of a woman's right to choose; bring practitioners and activists to campus to meet with students; and provide a counter voice to the anti-choice movement at HLS.
In the four years since its inception, HLS for Choice has taken an active role in the reproductive rights movement, both on and off campus, by organizing panels and speakers, raising awareness through postering and tabling campaigns, and distributing our brochure on the reproductive health services available through our student health plan. We also hosted the First National Law Students for Choice Conference in February 2005. Over 150 law students from over 15 law schools attended the weekend conference, which included panels, workshops, and social events with leading reproductive rights activists. Highlights from the 2006-2007 school year included a talk by Yale Law School professor Reva Siegel on the equality argument for reproductive rights, an event with Harvard Medical Students for Choice to teach the basics of the law and medicine of reproductive rights, co-sponsoring a panel on pharmacists refusal to fill emergency contraception prescriptions, a lunch with renowned reproductive rights attorney Janet Benshoof in the immediate aftermath of the Gonzales v. Carhart decision, and a talk on sex-selective abortion in the South Asian Community.
This year HLS for Choice looks forward to organizing provocative, inspiring and enjoyable experiences for the HLS community. Potential upcoming events include a talk on the impact of Gonzales v. Carhart, a fundraiser for a reproductive health clinic, service opportunities with other reproductive rights organizations, sending delegates to regional and national conferences held by Law Students for Choice, and once again coordinating events with other progressive organizations on the HLS campus. If you would like to get involved with HLS for Choice or simply learn more about your reproductive rights, please contact us at HLS for Choice or look for our flyers announcing our first meeting in September 2007.