The View From Under the Bus: The Search for "Common Ground" on Abortion
On November 7, 2009, the Stupak Amendment passed the U.S. House of Representatives—and seemed to take the entire pro-choice movement by surprise. Yet Rep. Bart Stupak had publicly signaled his intentions as early as June 25. What happened during those next five months? And how did this very public and entirely predictable attempt to restrict reproductive rights take an entire movement by surprise? Panelists will offer their perspectives on the 2009 fight over abortion in health care reform and discuss strategies for a grassroots-driven, cross-movement strategy moving forward. This session will also discuss the broader implications for movement politics and issue organizing, examining how these lessons can be applied to other areas in progressive politics.
Will Neville serves as Director of Strategy Communications at Advocates for Youth, working to expand the scope of Advocates' communications, new media, and mobilization strategies. He works closely with program, policy, and communications staff to develop and implement a wide variety of advocacy campaigns and marketing strategies in various media, including print, online, and video. Will received a bachelor's degree in Theatre from Davidson College before spending a year in the United Kingdom and Europe on a postgraduate fellowship from the Thomas J. Watson Foundation, and recently completed a Master's degree in Political Management from the George Washington University
Sarah Audelo is the Senior Manager of Domestic Policy at Advocates for Youth. She works sexual and reproductive health policy for young people including: comprehensive sex education, GLBTQ rights, HIV prevention, contraceptive access, and abortion rights. Before joining Advocates, Sarah was a high school special education teacher in La Joya, Texas as part of the Teach for America program.
