At our last annual meeting, members of Wayne County NOW were offered a glimpse into the workings of the United Nations when Renee Chelian reported on her recent trip to Geneva as representative for U.S. abortion providers . She was part of the Human Rights Network of the U.S., reporting on human rights violations within the U.S.. This was the first time that the U.S. had agreed to be reviewed by the U.N. on human rights. Renee spoke about access to abortion as a human right. She was allowed 5 to 7 minutes to speak on four different issues, and her speech was interrupted midway when the room where the hearing was being conducted had to be cleared for another hearing. She noted that hearing speakers were asked to sign up starting at 7 am., and many U.S. detractors were lined up as early as 2 am to sign the list.
Renee also commented on a recent horror story coming from Philadelphia concerning an abortion clinic that treated mainly poor immigrant women and was cited for a number of violations. Renee said that other clinic providers had reported this clinic to the local health department for the past five years. The director of that clinic had been denied membership in the abortion providers association because of the terrible conditions of his clinic. It was an all-too familiar reminder of the bad old days before Roe.
Renee also reported that abortion providers like herself continue to live with threats to themselves and their clinics. She continues to operate on the front lines of this conflict and to earn the NOW SHERO award Detroit NOW gave her many years ago.
