By Mary Butler
Camera Staff Writer

The star-power of feminist legend Gloria Steinem drew local abortion-rights supporters to open their wallets for the cause Wednesday at a Boulder home. There she headlined the Boulder Valley Women's Health Center's Third Annual "Lunch with ..." event.

Steinem said the need for such a fund-raiser was because of Colorado's "obstructionist governor," Bill Owens, who after taking office in 1999 cut off state funding to health organizations that perform abortions.

Owens' move upheld a 1984 state constitutional amendment blocking public funding of abortions. But it cost the Women's Health Center as much as $40,000 a year that it was eligible to receive for family planning services, such as annual exams, contraceptives and cancer screenings.

If more women voted, she said, fewer politicians who restrict women's rights might be in office.

"The big failure of the women's movement is that we still can't deliver the vote," she said, noting that more than 36 million American women aren't registered to vote.

Such inaction, she said, stunts women's ability to gain and maintain equal rights, particularly when it comes to reproductive freedom.

About 85 people paid between $170 and $350 to attend the luncheon, held at the north Boulder home of Renee and Jeffrey White. The Whites also held the previous two "Lunch with ..." fund-raisers, which featured move star-activist Jane Fonda and Gold Hill author Joan Borysenko.

Protecting reproductive rights, Renee White said, "is something we always have to vigilant about."

Among those attending were Boulder Democrat Sen. Alice Madden; Beth Strickland, wife of U.S. Senate candidate Tom Strickland; Maggie Fox, wife of U.S. Rep. Mark Udall; and Josie Heath, president of Boulder County's Community Foundation and wife of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rollie Heath.

The thousands of dollars raised will be used to offset the cost of abortions for low-income women.

Earlier Wednesday, the 68-year-old writer, editor and co-founder of Ms. magazine posed for photos and mingled with local women, business leaders and housewives alike, before giving a 20-minute talk.

While abortion, legalized under the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, is an option for women in the United States, it continues to be a "hot-button issue," she said. It seems, she said, that everybody except women are controlling how women reproduce.

Access to the controversial morning-after abortion pill continues to be limited. Several states impose parental-consent laws requiring women younger than 18 to gain permission for abortions.

May 30, 2002

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