Student groups support abortion clinic in Mississippi with concert
Shaun Boutwell
Issue date: 5/4/05 Section: News
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"It's an especially important issue," Benjamin Terry, vice president of URI Students for Social Change, said. "Mississippi has one of the highest rates of poverty in the country. By shutting down the last remaining clinic that provides abortions, it could have a long-time, crippling effect on the poor."
Terry said all donations from the Pro-Choice or No-Choice Concert are going to the Jackson Women's Health Organization, a state-licensed facility specializing in reproductive health care including emotionally supportive abortion care.
Cynthia Nuara, a member of the Raise Your Voice Campaign, came up with the idea for the event after reading a Newsweek article addressing the issue of Mississippi's increasing anti-abortion efforts.
"It's a very important cause for me," she said.
Nuara said she contacted staff at the Jackson clinic and they were very happy about the idea.
"They are so grateful and so glad that someone in New England knew about what was going on in a Mississippi abortion clinic," she said. "They are really excited about [the concert]."
URI College Democrats, Promoting Awareness for Gender Equality, Peer Advocates and the URI Musicians Guild also sponsored the concert.
"We love helping out other progressive groups whenever we can," Kate Gorton, director of events for the College Democrats, said.
"It's a great time," College Democrats Director of Communications Rob Pachico said. "Everyone is going to have a lot of fun and they are going to learn something while doing it."
PAGE members Colleen Hayes-Costello and Kelly Long said they thought the concert was a great idea.
"It's really nice to have unity among all these different organizations to show support," Long said. "I think having a concert was a great idea because it brings a lot of people in."