Difficult Dialogues: Abortion

We invite you to join the conversation on the topic of Abortion at our semi-annual Difficult Dialogue series on March 22, 2023. 

Register Here

What to Expect

The Center for the Humanities and the Arts and the University Libraries continue to host Difficult Dialogues — a series of panel conversations that bring together people from on and off campus to discuss challenging issues from their own perspectives.

In 2022, we witnessed the end to fifty years of legal protections for the right to abortion care as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The court concluded that the constitution does not protect a right to abortion and returned the right of states to regulate abortion. Months after the case, several states have invoked total or near-total bans on abortion, the devastating social, political, and economic impacts of which we are only beginning to understand. Millions of citizens have lost access to abortion care and those already facing discriminatory barriers are disproportionately disadvantaged by the loss of this fundamental right.

This panel features individuals discussing how talking about abortion can be difficult, and how the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade makes conversation about this topic even more fraught. This is not a debate about being pro-life or pro-choice; this difficult dialogue is simply to discuss the difficulty of talking about abortion. Register here for zoom link: colorado.edu/cha/ddabortionrsvp

University Libraries Book Resource Guide

Ground Rules

We are committed to fostering productive dialogues in the hope that minds and hearts might expand and that mutual respect, understanding, and perhaps self-examination can be fostered by meeting with and listening to each other respectfully. These dialogues are meant to allow us to see each other as human. If you are going to participate, the goal is to develop the capacity of talking about hard issues with as much care for self and others as possible.

Giveaway: Free Books!

The first 15 people to register* (Register Here) as well as attend the event will receive a free copy of the book "Tiny You: A Western History of the Anti-Abortion Movement" by Jennifer Holland.

Tiny You  tells the story of one of the most successful political movements of the 20th century: the grassroots campaign against legalized abortion. While Americans have rapidly changed their minds about sex education, pornography, arts funding, gay teachers, and ultimately gay marriage, opposition to legalized abortion has only grown. As other socially conservative movements have lost young activists, the pro-life movement has successfully recruited more young people to its cause. Holland explores why abortion dominates conservative politics like no other cultural issue. Looking at anti-abortion movements in 4 western states since the 1960s—turning to the fetal pins passed around church services, the graphic images exchanged between friends, and the fetus dolls given to children in school—she argues that activists made fetal life feel personal to many Americans.

*You are eligible to receive a free copy of "Tiny You" if you are one of the first 15 people to register for the event. You must attend the event for the majority of the time (45 minutes+). If you are eligible for a free copy, you may pick up your book at the Center for Humanities & the Arts (CHA) office in Macky Auditorium Room 201 (on CU Boulder's main campus). Office hours to pick up your copy are Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9am - 4pm. If you are unable to make that time, reach out to cu-cha@colorado.edu to schedule alternative times for pickup.

ADA Accommodation

We will work with ADA Compliance to attempt to fulfill any disability requests for ASL interpreting and/or real-time captioning for these events. Requests received less than 48 hours prior to the event cannot be guaranteed. To make a request, please email the Center for Humanities & the Arts (CHA) at cu-cha@colorado.edu.

Panelists

• Christie Burkhart, Clinical Operations and Clinical Compliance Director, Boulder Valley Women’s Health Center
• Amanda Linsenmeyer, Director of the Office of Intercultural Engagement, Center for Inclusion and Social Change, CU Boulder
• Amanda Jean Stevenson, Assistant Professor, Sociology Department, CU Boulder
• Moderator: Kate Kelly, Regional Lead Organizer, New Era Colorado