Fill the Fridays

We need more volunteers!

Friday the 23rd
and
Friday the 30th

Between 10am and 4pm

Email volunteer@ppottawa.ca to donate your time!

get yourself on the EVERY DAY for CHOICE schedule!

We still have time slots available!

Click here to view the current schedule.

Email volunteer@ppottawa.ca to volunteer your time. Stand up for reproductive rights!

Make sure you SIGN UP on the EVERY DAY for CHOICE clinic schedule

It's the end of week 2 of EVERY DAY for CHOICE.

Every Wednesday, Thursday & Friday we have clinic workers, patients and passers-by thank us for being a visible pro choice presence at the Morgentaler clinic.

You can be part of this - but you need to put yourself on the schedule.

Wear a bright pink shirt and stand silently for women's reproductive rights.

SIGN UP by emailing volunteer@ppottawa.ca

Invite non-internet people to get on the EVERY DAY for CHOICE schedule by phoning Planned Parenthood Ottawa 613-226-3234

Watch our video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D4BnZoLgP8

We're in Capital Xtra!

Check out the awesome article about Pro Choice Coalition Ottawa and EVERY DAY for CHOICE

Tonight's magnificent meeting mavens

Taking the time to show up to a meeting & contributing ideas/knowledge is one great way to support reproductive rights. If meetings aren't your thing just let us know how you'd like to champion CHOICE.

prochoiceottawa@gmail.com

Meeting tonight!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

7:00pm - 8:00pm

Bridgehead Coffee DOWNTOWN LOCATION

109 Bank Street (at Albert)

EVERY DAY for CHOICE video now available!

Music by The Meat Purveyors

licensed under Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

from free music archive

The Launch

Join us in front of the Morgentaler clinic between now and November 1st.

Email volunteer@ppottawa.ca to put yourself on the Pro Choice schedule!

Support EVERY DAY for CHOICE - a grassroots response to the "40 Days for Life"

Every spring and fall, "pro-life" activists camp outside the Bank Street Morgentaler clinic to pray, "counsel" and fast. They publicly engage in overt religious activity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 40 days.

This campaign interferes with a woman's confidential and constitutional right to health services. Women who might seek an abortion or other reproductive health services during "40 days for Life" may face physical and emotional obstacles, might be photographed or followed and/or endure intimidation and biased, unwanted "sidewalk counseling".

Pro-Choice Coalition Ottawa, & Planned Parenthood announce EVERY DAY for CHOICE - a grassroots response to "40 Days for life".

We're going to be at the *kick off rally* for the "40 Days for Life"
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
7:00pm
Parliament Hill

After that, we will be in front of the Bank Street Morgentaler clinic

10:00am to 4:00pm
Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays
(clinic days)
Until November 1st

We need your help.

• Donate an hour or more of your time volunteer@ppottawa.ca

• Lend us your talent prochoiceottawa@gmail.com

• Donate money to cover our costs (pledge form to come)

Everyone has something they can offer.
Help support reproductive justice.

To learn more, email prochoiceottawa@gmail.com

40 Days for "Life" is coming back to Ottawa! We need your help!!!

Starting September 23rd and going to November 1st, "40 days for 'Life'" will be praying, fasting, holding anti-choice signs & "counselling" outside the Bank Street women's health clinic.

According to Joyce Arthur, "40 Days for Life", "interfere(s) with women accessing services, especially at such a vulnerable time when women need privacy. Laws and court injunctions in other jurisdictions have recognized this. Further, patients’ stress and fear caused by protesters increase the risk of surgical complications, and picketers outside clinics increase the risk of violence or vandalism against clinics."

The aim of "40 Days for Life" is to shame, intimidate, bully, harass and upset women going into the clinic!


We need you!! We need your Pro-Choice friends.

Invite your friends to the PCCO facebook group. Forward a link to our blog.

Send us your email address so we can contact you when organizing pro-choice activities in response to "40 Days for Life".

~Trust Women~

Thanks!

We had a blast last Friday!

Thanks to our hosts: Don and China Doll of Shanghai Restaurant.

Much applause for the enthusiastic performances!
Kisses and hugs to our costumed guests.
And oodles of appreciation to all the fantabulous audience members who boisterously cheered into the wee hours of the morning.

Extra special love and respect to our sponsors:

Venus Envy
mother tongue books
After Stonewall
Rossana Rebeccani Massage

You helped us raise $320 for future pro choice activism in Ottawa!

Photos coming soon.

You are invited to our Cumming Out Cocktail Karaoke Party!

China Doll and Shanghai Restaurant present an evening of fancy-pants karaoke, dancing, debutantes & debauchery!

Friday Sept. 11th
8:00pm to 1:00am
Shanghai Restaurant
651 Somerset Street West

Wear your best
*cumming-out* costume.
The most fabulous OUTfit wins a prize!

Raffle prizes donated by:

Venus Envy

mother tongue books

After Stonewall

Rossana Rebeccani massage

$5 suggested donation goes to support
Pro Choice Coalition's continuing activism in Ottawa

Facebook event listing

Click here to download poster

March with us at the Dyke March & Pride Parade!

Please email us if you are interested in marching with PCCO for:

Dyke March
Saturday August 29th
1:00 pm
at the Human Rights monument
Elgin Street

and/or

Pride Parade
Sunday
1:00 pm
Garden of the Provinces and Territories
Sparks Street & Wellington

Pro-Choicers of all ages & identities welcome!

prochoiceottawa@gmail.com

Come to our Raw Sugar social!

Drop by
Raw Sugar
between
5:00pm and 7:30pm
tomorrow, Monday August 17th

for crafts, banner decorating, cake and tea.

We'll have a supervised craft table for the kids :-)

We're looking forward to meeting you!

Pro Choice Coalition Ottawa

Next Meeting

Hello Rights-Lovers!

Just a reminder that our next super cool awesome get together is at Bridgehead coffee house at the corner of Bank and Gilmour (366 Bank St) on Tuesday at 7:30! EVERYONE is welcome, and encouraged to come. It's not nearly as formal/scary/intimidating as you think it is. Besides, sometimes there's cake! Don't you want a piece of cake? Or pie? How can you say no to pie?

So please come and bring your ideas, opinions, and smiles with you!

Meeting Recap

These are the notes from the July 28th meeting at Bridgehead:

Attendance: Justine, Jenn, Chris, Amanda, Lindsay, Heather, Emily and Lindsay S.

1. Radio Interview

•Jenn, Chris and Justine will go on CKCU 93.1 tomorrow morning - check it out at www.ckcufm.com

•They will bring two questions to the show: one about how the legality of abortion does not necessarily mean access re: abortion services nor for childcare related needs; and the second about how PCCO is inclusive of gender orientation as well as lgbtq, age, religious etc… orientations.

•They will also discuss past events and incorporate discussions generated from the questionnaire people filled out in the market

Action: Jenn to email dj and group member’s the questions; Heather to email Jenn the questionnaire

2. Capital Pride

•To participate in pride will cost $65
•Group will ask for donations via facebook
•Group should also connect with Dyke March

Action: Lindsay S. will email Pride to see if discount price can be negotiated; Jenn to contact Dyke March

3. Partnerships

•Group talked about the need to work with and connect more concretely with the Ottawa U. pro-choice group

Action: Lindsay S to connect with group member and establish concrete contact points

4. Blog

•Check out the BLOG
http://prochoiceottawa.blogspot.com
•After each event, a participant will be designated to write an entry about the event
•Heather has agreed to put the meeting notes on the Blog
•Jenn and Emily will post links on the blog

Action: Denisse, Jenn and Emily are to write entries for the blog; Heather to post July 28th meeting notes; Jenn and Emily to post links to the blog

5. Social Event

•Emily had an idea for a PCCO social event on Monday August 17th at Raw Sugar Café from 5 – 7 pm so that newbies won’t be so intimidated

Action: Emily to create event on FBook

6. Promotion

•Justine and Amanda can provide promotion of PCCO and events in the Carleton School of Social Work’s newspaper and also during the School’s frosh
•Chris has connected with OPIRG and has secured a 250 word written and photo spot in their paper re: Radical Frosh. There will be a group photo with the banner at next week’s meeting!

Action: Chris and Emily to write article; Chris to determine date for Frosh week; Jenn to bring banner and camera to next meeting; Everyone to come to the next mtg for our group picture!

7. Upcoming Events

•Group discussed having fundraiser events during the first or second week of September (for Frosh time) at HUMP at Mercury Lounge, Shanghai and via a sex-positive, safer sex demo from YSB held potentially at Carleton

Action: Lindsay S to contact HUMP; Heather to connect with YSB; Lindsay to contact Carleton to see if there is space

8. Point People

•The group agreed that while the structure is open and fluid, some things should be more assigned. Emily will be the blog mistress; Jenn will be the facebook mistress; Justine, Heather and Lindsay S will be the email mistresses

•People can join in and help with these or other more concrete roles!

Next Mtg At Bridgehead on Elgin - Tuesday August 4th at 730 pm - GROUP PHOTO woot!

We'd like to meet you!

Come to our next public meeting:

Tuesday August 4th

7:30pm - 9:30pm

Bridgehead Coffeeshop
366 Bank St - corner of Gilmour

We're gonna talk about our presence at the Dyke March, Pride Parade and Carleton's alternative Frosh week (among other things).

Post Abortion Myth Essay

Hello Faithful Pro-Choicers!

I wanted to offer the following essay that I wrote for my first year Women's and Gender Studies paper at Carleton.

Many pro-life and anti-abortion advocates cite numerous physical and emotional problems women experience after abortion. This essay explores the myth of "Post Abortion Syndrome" which is defined as "a condition of lasting guilt, regret, and physical damage allegedly caused by abortion." This essay examines the lack of scientific evidence for PAS, and then explores why the concept is still used, even though it has been disproved. It looks at how PAS is not a genuine health concern for the mother, but actually a tool to restrict women's rights, and cause women mental and physical harm.

http://rapidshare.com/files/252398188/The_Myth_of_Post_Abortion_Syndrome2.docx

Please feel free to e-mail comments to heather.mont@gmail.com, post comments here, or on the facebook page for discussion. Thanks!

July 14th Meeting

Hello Pro-Choicers!

The next meeting will be July 14th at 7:30pm at the Horn of Africa on 364 Rideau Street. Everyone is welcome (and yes, that means you there that has never come to a meeting before)! Bring your opinions and ideas!

PCCO

Next Meeting

Hi Folks,

Our next meeting will be Tuesday July 6th, 7:30pm at the Mayflower! Looking forward to seeing the regular crew and hopefully some new faces.

PCCO

What is PCCO?

PCCO (Pro Choice Coalition Ottawa) is coalition of groups/individuals committed to promoting reproductive justice.

Operating from an anti-oppression approach we seek to draw links between multiple instances of reproductive INjustice.

We Believe That Everyone Has The Right To:
- control their own reproduction
- decide when/where/how they have children
- safe accessible abortions on demand
- high quality accessible childcare on demand
- social, economic, and community support for their parenting on demand
- reproductive technology on demand

and every other reproductive right imaginable!

***Our next meeting is expected to be Tuesday at 7:30pm with location TBD. Stay tuned to the blog for details!***

Free Coffee If You're Pro-Choice!! Great Glebe Garage Sale :)

Thanks to the lovely folks at Glebe House for hosting our table!

Emily and Jenn showed up before 6:30am. The neighbourhood was already abuzz. Greg helped us hang our huge banner. Denise showed up around 10:00am

The reception we got was overwhelmingly positive. People would come over and say things like, "I don't want coffee, I just wanted to say how happy I am to see you here!". After folks insisted on giving us donations we made a donation jar out of a mangled Bridgehead cup. We used the donations to replenish our supplies (which we started to run out of at about 9:00am) We had dozens of folks asking about Pro-Choice Coalition Ottawa. We invited them to look us up on facebook and google YouTube for our videos.

Over the course of the day we gave out:

400+ cups of coffee

360 Tim Bits

10 packages of cookies

We're gonna do this again next year!

Pro Choice Presence at the March for Life

PCCO organized a
Pro-Choice Presence
at the "March for Life" this year.

Jenn videotaped the entire event.

Here are some of the highlights: