President Obama flinches every time support for abortion comes up in policy debates -- from the stimulus bill to healthcare reform. How can we be motivated to come out to the polls when we doubt whether our needs are his priority?

I find myself somewhat depressed by what’s going on in this

moment. A year ago, millions of us watched with great hope the inauguration of

President Obama. I did not expect him to be a miracle worker, given the

overwhelming crises he inherited from George Bush — an economic meltdown, two

wars, an out-of-control deficit, and a crisis of faith in our government and

public institutions. The Office of the President had lost all credibility as

the multiple lies and manipulations of the Bush-Cheney administration brought

our country to its knees.

President Obama had a full-blown mess on his hands. He

needed to prioritize saving the economy, ending the wars, combating terrorism,

enacting health care reform, and restoring trust in the government before he

could get to the main issues I wanted as a reproductive justice activist. I

fully understood that we had elected a neo-liberal to beat back a neo-fascist

agenda. So his support for Wall Street, for corporations, for moneyed interests

— while disappointing — was not surprising. He had to have centrist,

pro-business politics to get elected. After all, this is the America I know,

love, and criticize.



The author talks about the racial and economic dynamics of abortion, STDs, teen pregnancy and health care. Sex. Abortion. Parenthood. Power. The latest news, delivered straight to your inbox. SUBSCRIBE

What was truly disappointing was the way President Obama

flinched every time support for abortion came up in policy debates — from the

stimulus bill to healthcare reform. As Sharon Camp from the Guttmacher

Institute puts it, "He can’t make eye contact with abortion," an observation

those of us in the reproductive justice movement can’t help but agree with. His

failure to stand up for the human rights of women — and to trust us — began to

make me wonder about his commitment to those of us who were his core

constituents and helped elect him. He’s like the prom date I had last night who

can’t remember my name this morning.

In many ways, his failure of leadership on abortion rights

has made things worse. In the healthcare reform debates, we have Democratic

politicians increasing restrictions on access to abortion. President Obama

openly supported the Hyde Amendment prohibiting the use of federal funds for

abortions for poor women, women in the military, and women receiving healthcare from the Indian Health Service. Instead of dismantling Hyde, he’s

defending it, while not understanding that a country that can be persuaded that

poor women are second class citizens who don’t deserve funding for abortions

can morph into a country that believes that all poor people don’t deserve

funding for healthcare at all.

So as I continue SisterSong’s work of building a movement of

women of color for reproductive justice, I wonder what the New Year will bring.

Will we finally begin to see White House leadership help us save the lives of

women of color who desperately need us to stand up for them? Will national

political leaders wake up to the reality that poor women and rural women in

states like Kentucky suffer most when the federal government compromises on

access to reproductive health care? Will

President Obama offer policies to substantiate his brilliant rhetoric? Will he

support our human rights to have children, or to not have children? To parent

our children in safe and healthy environments which are the cornerstones of

reproductive justice?

The tea baggers on the right who loathe his agenda are

the least of his problems. The diminishing faith among those in his core base

should really worry him. How can we be motivated to come out to the polls when

we doubt whether our needs are his priority?