The CAF Board of Directors and Staff believe:
That abortion is a choice for women without judgment or qualification. It is a decision that a woman has the right to make at any time during a pregnancy, for any reason, despite her age, marital status or income, and without coercion.
That reproductive rights encompass access to a full range of affordable and accessible health care services, safe and effective birth control, access to health and sexuality information and surgical and medical abortions. All these services must be provided in ways that are safe and high quality, economically, legally and geographically accessible, non-coercive and provided with informed consent.
We oppose any social or governmental policies that target any group or community to purposely restrict or reduce their rights to reproduce, such as forced sterilization, limits on childbearing - particularly when tied to economic benefits. There is racism and classism inherent in many of these policies.
We support a woman's right to have children. This right is not dependent on income and we recognize the necessity for pre- and post-natal care, health care, economic supports and affordable, high quality child care.
We believe there are enormous economic disparities in access to health care; for example:
• A first trimester medical abortion costs $500 and a second trimester surgical abortion can cost up to $1,500+;
• There is no public funding for abortion, including for women on Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) or who are wards of the state, except in documented cases of rape or incest.
The mainstream reproductive rights movement has, in some instances, perpetuated the threads of racism and classism. It has been elitist and ignored and the needs of women of color and low-income women. We will not be a party to the discrimination of any woman based on race or class by limited her access. We actively seek racial and class diversity on our board and staff. We actively aim to empower our clients, most of who are women of color, by helping them discover and utilize resources, by supporting their abortion decision and by bringing them into the decision-making body of the organization.
We are committed to education and advocacy as the only way to progress towards our ideal vision, which includes all we have laid out in this statement. We seek to influence our clients, the pro-choice community, and organizations dealing with related issues, the general public, administrators, policy-makers, legislators and clergy. This education and advocacy can take many forms, such as: conversations, speaking engagements, participations in workshops and conferences, correspondence with the media, supporting and opposing legislation, advocacy, and the creation and dissemination of written materials.