Get Involved!

1. Register to Vote and Vote.

To register to vote, you can go to any fire station, police station or public library. Fill out the voter registration forms there. Or register to vote at: www.beavoter.org. Also, when you renew or get your first driver's license, you can register to vote at the same time.

Ask for a permanent absentee ballot! That way you can vote by mail every time. When you are ready to vote, sit down and review the voters guide and any information you have about the candidates. Call the candidates if you want to know their views on an issue. Washington residents can request to vote by mail always.

Resources on local, state, and national candidates and officials:
League of Women Voters: http://www.lwv.org/voter
Project Vote Smart: http://www.vote-smart.org

2. Write to your elected representatives - Letters make a difference!

The people who represent us need to know we are pro-choice. Give your personal reasons and urge elected officials to do all in their power to protect every women's right to safe accessible abortion, regardless of her age, income, or the state in which she lives. Tell them you trust women to decide.

Click here for a sample letter. Copy it and paste it into your word processor or email program. Then personalize it adding your own views. Hand-written letters get the most attention.

If you use e-mail, sign yourself up with the National Abortion Federation to receive alerts for when to contact your Members of Congress. Or, use the button below.

Do you know who represents you?

If you live in WA, the League of Women Voters can tell you who represents you. Call 206-622-8961 or 206-329-4848. If you are registered to vote, your voter registration card tells which precinct and district you reside in. This information determines who your elected representatives are.

For WA residents: check out the Washington Legislature's District Finder and use your zipcode to find what district you're in or to find out the address for your state legislators in Olympia.

If you live outside WA, ask Project Vote Smart.

Send Email to U.S. Senators and Members of Congress. Click here for a sample letter.

Contact Congress - Map of US, lists of members of Congress with complete lists of addresses, phone numbers, faxes and emails.

Project Vote Smart - election results, Congressional votes on issues, voter registration info, ballot measures - for all 50 states.

The Library of Congress tracks all current and recent federal legislation, roll-call votes, and information on legislative process.

Congressional Quarterly - news about legislation in the U.S. Congresss - House and Senate members can be found by name, committee, party affiliation, city, state, county, or zip code. Other searches can be performed by name, keyword, and other congressional organizations and agencies.

Progressive Government - good place to learn about how government works - including The Cabinet.

3. Be a Voice for Choice

Word of mouth is the most powerful way to spread ideas. Use your vocal power to stand up for women who choose abortion and the clinics who serve them.

Pro-choice people want to let individuals make their own decisions about the situations their lives. Without the government's involvement!

Pro-choice people are the majority. We stand for freedom. It's time to say so, strongly, without apology.

Wherever abortion is being discussed, whether in is the call-in talk-radio shows, chatrooms on the Internet, in your family living room, at a PTA or community meeting, share your thoughts and ideas. Don't be afraid of controversy. Sharing ideas will help others understand how important and central abortion is to women being able to live their own lives.

Share your own abortion experience with others. Telling the truth about women's lives helps strengthen our movement for freedom. One in three American women will have an abortion in her lifetime. We are not alone!

Write a letter to the editor to be printed in your local paper. Call a radio talk show. Speak out.

4. Join the Pro-Choice Movement.

Send a contribution. Donations go to provide abortion and expand options, for clinic security, to train physicians, to make choice accessible to women with limited resources, to support community education programs like this website, and to build support for women's freedom and health.

5. Pay for an abortion for a woman in need.

Abortion is legal, but out of the reach of many. Contribute to the Women In Need (WIN) Fund to make choice accessible to women with limited resources.

For a donation of $500, you can pay for a first trimester abortion. Most women have some resources, but cannot pay the full amount. Whatever size contribution you send, it will reduce the price for a woman in need making woman she can get the health care she deserves.

Did you know we could give AIDS drugs to everyone with AIDS in Africa for a fraction of the cost of the war in Iraq? Make your opinions known.

Feminist Women's Health Center