#CLPP2014

This weekend I attended the 28th annual conference "From Abortion Right's to Social Justice Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom." The event is hosted by the Civil Liberties and Public Policy program at Hampshire college.

The experience is described well in the introduction and welcome statement in the conference program. "CLPP is a national reproductive rights and justice organization dedicated to educating, mentoring and inspiring new generations of advocates, leaders and supporters. Combining activism, organizing, leadership training and reproductive rights movement building, CLPP promotes an all inclusive agenda that advances reproductive rights and health and social and economic justice."

A lofty goal no doubt, and one that may have even seemed impossible to me had I not gone and experienced it myself. As challenging as creating an environment of acceptance and education is, the CLPP conference comes the closest I have ever been to experiencing an "all inclusive" agenda.

This annual Spring conference is held at Hampshire College and is put on by Civil Liberties and Public Policy (CLPP). The three day conference starts on Friday night and goes through Sunday afternoon. The conference features an Abortion Speak out as well as workshops on a wide variety of topics. Some examples from this years conference include Creative Solutions to Abortion Restrictions, Queering Reproductive Justice, Invisible: Women in America's Prisons and Jails, Birth Justice, Showing up in Solidarity When Racism and Privileges are the Co-Hosts, Organizing for Reproductive Justice in Religious Communities, The Intersection of Immigrant Rights and Reproductive Justice and MANY MANY MORE...in fact, if I had to criticize the conference structure for anything it would be that their are just too many workshops on the Saturday schedule (three sessions) and not enough on Friday and Sunday (One session each), I would love it if the conference were spread out another day or two just to give participants the opportunity to attend more workshops. I would have loved to have been able to go to another few workshops on topics that weren't my first choice issues but t

Conferences like these are important for both the Reproductive Justice (RJ) field as well as all individuals who want to work towards social justice in any form. There is an incredible amount of topics and resources available at CLPP and it is crucial for discussions to take place around these vital topics. Without the opportunity to be exposed to the experiences and opinions of those unlike ourselves we are unable to grow and thrive as individuals. I appreciated the vast intersectionality that CLPP demonstrated by grouping class, race, gender and gender identity under the large umbrella of Reproductive Rights and Social Justice as a whole.

For me personally, my most memorable experience was having Dr. Susan Robinson (one of only four late term abortion providers in the country) sit next to me during a workshop and chat with her about Crisis Pregnancy Centers. She later gifted me with a necklace made by her husband featuring a tiny copper wire hanger on a black string; reminding us of how far we've come and how much further we have to go in the field of Reproductive Rights.

CLPP 2015 will be held on the Hampshire College campus on April 10-12th. More information can be found here.