People from across the commonwealth gathered in Frankfort February 26 to rally for reproductive rights in Kentucky.
During the rally the National Association of Social Workers Kentucky (NASWKY) announce their opposition to anti-abortion legislation in the 2015 General Assembly. Details:
NASWKY, which represents more than 1,600 social workers throughout Kentucky, issued a statement on Feb. 10 that expresses concern over the effects of proposed anti-abortion legislation on the health and well being of Kentucky women.
“Social workers have a unique and nuanced understanding of how restricted services and limits to personal decision-making affect individuals, their families, and their local communities,” stated Melissa Johnson, executive director of NASW’s Kentucky chapter, in a letter directed to the Kentucky General Assembly.
“As social workers, we support the right of individuals to decide for themselves, without duress and according to their own personal beliefs and convictions, whether they want to become parents, how many children they are willing and able to nurture, the opportune time for them to have children, and with whom they may choose to parent,” Johnson said.
NASWKY issued its statement after the Kentucky Senate passed two separate anti-abortion bills (SB 4 and SB 7) this session that interfere with the doctor-patient relationship and are designed to shame a woman out of her decision to end a pregnancy.
“When an organization that represents social workers comes out against these bills, it should be a clear indication that this legislation is not in the public’s best interest,” said Derek Selznick, director of the Reproductive Freedom Project for ACLU of Kentucky.
“Every year, certain politicians in Frankfort believe it is their prerogative to decide for women what is medically necessary when it comes to abortions,” Selznick continued. “However, most people in this state recognize that medical decisions are best left to doctors and their patients, not politicians.”
Johnson said the NASW Code of Ethics requires social workers to promote “socially responsible self-determination” by their clients.
“To support self-determination, these reproductive health services, including abortion services, must be legally, economically, and geographically accessible to all who need them,” she said. “Denying people with low income access to the full range of contraceptive methods, abortion, and sterilization services, and the educational programs that explain them, perpetuate poverty and the dependence on welfare programs and support the status quo of class stratification.”
Read the full NAWSKY statement here.
View all of our rally photos here.
