Get Tickets for the 2022 Courageous Voice Breakfast!
In overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court gave politicians permission to control what we do with our bodies, deciding that we can no longer be trusted to determine the course for our own lives. This dangerous and chilling decision will have devastating consequences, forcing people to travel hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles for care or remain pregnant.
While abortion remains legal in Oregon, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon will not back down and will not compromise on our bodies, our dignity or our freedom. Together, we will reclaim our freedom and build a future beyond Roe, where every person belongs, has the power to determine their own futures and access to the care they need.
Since 2011, the Courageous Voice Breakfast has celebrated brave leaders who speak truth in the face of hostility. Now more than ever, it is crucial to harness our collective power and amplify our stories to say loud and clear that everyone must have the care they need to control their bodies and build their futures.
This year’s keynote speaker is Verónica Cruz Sánchez, a feminist and social worker who founded and leads Las Libres (“the free ones”), an abortion rights organization in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato. She has helped pioneer an abortion accompaniment model (the provision of emotional and logistical support for abortion) that has spread throughout Latin America alongside the “Green Wave” movement for human rights. In 2006, Human Rights Watch awarded her their highest honor for her work in Mexico. You can listen and learn more about Sánchez from this New York Times podcast.
A leading trusted provider of safe abortion information and access all across the country, Las Libres is changing the abortion landscape in Mexico by expanding its support through in-person and telehealth care. It has built organizational and training processes for the investigation, documentation, defense and litigation of cases of people criminalized for abortion, particularly survivors of sexual violence, while fighting for the elimination of abortion stigma. It has also helped more than 1,500 women living in the United States to access pills, information and accompaniment. Mexico’s Supreme Court declared in 2021 that abortion can no longer be considered a crime.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon will also proudly present the Marilyn Epstein Pro-Choice Champion Award and the Volunteer Excellence Award to leaders who have demonstrated a longtime commitment to our movement.
Please note: This will be a hybrid event, so you can join us in person or from anywhere in Oregon. Masks and vaccination cards are required for in-person guests, and contact information will be collected for contact tracing if it becomes necessary.