Public Education
NAPW is committed to undoing decades of misinformation and political posturing about pregnancy and drug use. From traditional tools such as press releases, to producing blogs and original videos and delivering creative Power Point presentations, we are getting our message out. NAPW takes every opportunity to expose the propaganda behind destructive and dehumanizing stereotypes about pregnant women and drug users, and to challenge anti-abortion and drug war policies as divisive and diversionary tactics designed to distract Americans from common values and concerns.
Through speaking engagements and other public education efforts NAPW keeps its commitment to working at both the local and national levels, and to recognizing, learning from, and building on the ways that reproductive health, drug policy, and other social justice issues intersect.
Through this public education work, NAPW has been challenging prejudice against pregnant women, drug users and low income and families of color and exposing how abortion, fetal rights and drug war issues distract from significant public health and social justice problems. NAPW is quoted in, referred to, and appears in a diverse range of print, television, radio and on-line sources including the New York Times, Newsweek, Women'senews, The Village Voice, HR Reality Check, Huffington Post, ColorLines Magazine, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Deseret Morning News, Salt Lake City Tribune, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, CBS Early Show, MSNBC, C-SPAN, national and local NPR stations, and a variety of talk news radio stations across the country. We have also reached international audiences with appearances in such media as the Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Guardian (London), Bristol United Press, CBC and BBC Radio.
NAPW also authors and co-authors reports and a wide range of articles in everything from prestigious medical journals to traditional print source to on-line journals. Increasingly NAPW uses its resources to support local activists, helping them to write and publish commentary in state-based and local media.
Lynn Paltrow, ED, gives public lecture at Princeton University on April 24, 2013
NAPW Executive Director Lynn Paltrow gave a public lecture at Princeton University on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 entitled: "Forty Years After Roe v. Wade: Reproductive Justice in the Age of Mass Incarceration."
Lynn Paltrow, ED, and Emma Ketteringham lead a CLE at the Queens County Bar Association
On April 23, 2013, NAPW Executive Director, Lynn Paltrow, and Managing Attorney of Bronx Defenders Family Defense Practice, Emma Ketteringham, (also former NAPW Director of Legal Advocacy) conducted a CLE for the Queens County Bar Association. This program entitled "Considering the role of race and drug policy in child protective cases," is part of the child welfare court improvement project.
NAPW attends & sponsors 2013 CLPP Conference at Hampshire College
April 12-14, 2013, NAPW Executive Director, Lynn Paltrow, and Staff Attorney, Farah Diaz-Tello, traveled to Amherst, MA to participate in the 27th Annual Civil Liberties and Public Policy (CLPP) Conference at Hampshire College designed for community and student activists. The 2013 conference, for which NAPW was a sponsor, focused on "From Abortion Rights to Social Justice: Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom." Lynn Paltrow, Executive Director, appeared on a panel about "Making the Connections: Decriminalization and Reproductive Justice."
ED Lynn Paltrow Keynote Speaker at NJ Women's & Gender Studies Consortium Event on Friday, April 5, 2013
Lynn Paltrow, Executive Director, spoke as a keynote speaker on April 5, 2013 at the New Jersey Women's and Gender Studies Consortium event at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, New Jersey. This consortium works to maintain the strength, visibility, and development of interdisciplinary women's and gender studies at numerous New Jersey colleges and universities.
Download file
E.D. Lynn Paltrow speaks at various Universities in Indiana in March 2013
On Wednesday, March 27, 2013 at 7:00 pm, Executive Director Lynn Paltrow spoke at Butler University's Diversity Program Women's History Month lecture series. Her talk, "Indiana and the New Jane Crow: The Prosecution of the Bei Bei Shuai," was promoted and reported by local media The Indianapolis Star's Tim Evans and Diana Penner, respectively. Thursday, March 28, 2013 she was the keynote speaker at IPFW's Women's Studies Program's "Women's Reproductive Rights: A Historical and Global Perspective" event series for Women's History Month speaking on "Forty Years after Roe v. Wade: Reproductive Justice in the Age of Mass Incarceration." Her final event on Friday, March 29, 2013 at Indiana University's Mauer College of Law in Bloomington, IN was hosted by IU's Law Students for Reproductive Justice (LSRJ), Feminist Law Forum (FLF), and the American Constitution Society (ACS), entitled "Indiana and the New Jane Crow: Using the Prosecution of of Bei Bei Shuai to Create a System of Separate and Unequal Law for All Women."
NAPW Executive Director, Lynn Paltrow, plenary speaker at ACN Conference on March 17, 2013
The Abortion Care Network (ACN) hosted their annual conference from March 15-17, 2013. NAPW Executive Director, Lynn Paltrow, spoke on a panel with Ruth Arick and Susan Yanow on Sunday, March 17, 2013. Lynn Paltrow addressed the following: "If Insanity is Doing The Same Thing Over & Over & Expecting a Different Result, Then What is the Future of U.S. Movement for Reproductive Rights?"
Lynn Paltrow speaker at American University Washington College of Law - March 7, 2013
On Thursday, March 7, 2013, NAPW Executive Director, Lynn Paltrow, gave a lecture at American University Washington College of Law on "Roe v. Wade and the New Jane Crow: Reproductive Rights in the Age of Mass Incarceration." Download event flyer here
NAPW supports, attends, and speaks at 3rd Annual Take Root: Red State Perspectives on Reproductive Justice Conference in Oklahoma
NAPW continued to support the organization and planning of the Third Annual Take Root: Red State Perspectives on Reproductive Justice Conference.
The successful conference took place from February 15-16, 2013 in Norman, Oklahoma, with over 250 "red state" activists advocating for Reproductive Justice. NAPW attended and spoke at the conference and supported first-time "red state" advocates to also attend.
Read media about the event's success and impact. We look forward to next year's fourth annual - February 21-22, 2014!
NAPW Executive Director on Moyers & Company with NLIRH's Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas
On January 25, 2013, NAPW Executive Director, Lynn Paltrow, and National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) Executive Director, Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, appeared on Moyers & Company. Bill Moyers interviewed Lynn and Jessica after the 40th Anniversary of Roe v Wade to examine and discuss the issues behind the reproductive rights debate.
Executive Director, Lynn Paltrow, Speaker at Center for American Progress (CAP) Roe 2.0 Event, January 16, 2013
In advance of the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade on January 22, 2013, the Center for American Progress (CAP) held a lively debate on January 16, 2013 on the strategies reproductive rights activists can use over the next 40 years to secure the full promise of Roe. As our country’s demographics rapidly change, what does Roe mean to the rising electorate? What does the base of supporters look like now and in the future? How will the success in securing near-universal contraceptive coverage affect the landscape? What strategies can be employed—legal, policy, organizing, communications, and more—to engage new supporters and to ensure that Roe provides meaningful protections for all women?
Watch NAPW Executive Director in the discussion here:
Lynn Paltrow, ED, at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, Dec. 6, 2012
NAPW Executive Director, Lynn Paltrow, spoke at the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, Hungary on December 6, 2012 at 5:30pm.
Her talk focused on "Drug Policy and the Rights of Pregnant Women and Children" and engaged members of Open Society Foundation, CEU students and faculty, and local activists.
Lynn Paltrow does interview on NY Radio- WBAI: WakeUp Call
Felipe Luciano interviews Lynn and discusses mother's rights, racism, and the new war on reproduction. To listen to the show download here.
NAPW ally Megan McKenzie on BBC Newshour
Megan McKenzie is a strong, resilient woman who had the courage to fight back when the State of South Carolina charged her with both civil and criminal child abuse for giving birth to a healthy, beautiful baby. The state claimed her newborn tested positive for marijuana, and while Ms. McKenzie didn't test positive for marijuana and more importantly she was providing loving, excellent care for her daughter, the prosecution and so-called child protective services proceeded with their actions against her. NAPW was part of the team that helped Megan McKenzie fight back and, eventually, win. As a result of her experiences, Megan has become a fierce advocate on behalf of other women who are similarly experiencing punitive state interventions and, as demonstrated in this BBC interview, is increasingly becoming a national and international spokesperson on these issues. She is pictured above speaking at NAPW's recent 10th Anniversary celebration.
Click here to hear Lynn Paltrow on KSRO Newsradio - The Rights of Pregnant Women
Laura Pemberton Talk Now Available on Line
Laura Pemberton's description of her state detention and forced cesarean surgery is now available on NAPW's Vimeo Channel
New commentary by NAPW board member
Read the essay Killing for Life Returns by Dr. Carol Mason, author of the book Killing for Life and Oklahoma-based NAPW board member.
Obama, the Bishops and the "Right to Life"
Read Lynn Paltrow's latest commentary on The Huffington Post.
Materials from Drugs, Pregnancy and Parenting: What the Experts in Medicine, Social Work and the Law Have to Say
The continuing education program Drugs, Pregnancy and Parenting: What the Experts in Medicine, Social Work and the Law Have to Say was held on February 11, 2009 at the NYU School of Law. The program was co-sponsored by National Advocates for Pregnant Women, The NYU Silver School of Social Work and NYU School of Law. The following is a list of materials distributed during the program which may be useful for those who would like to learn more about issues covered in the program.
If you are interested in making a donation of $20 or more to NAPW you may indicate that the donation is for a copy of the CLE program book in the comments section and we will send you a complimentary copy of these materials.
NAPW to Present in New York City
The New York Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society and the New York University School of Law, Student Chapter present: Are a Woman's Rights Compromised Upon Becoming Pregnant? A Discussion on the Employment and Consent to Medical Treatment Rights of Pregnant Women
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
New York University Law School
Vanderbilt Hall
40 Washington Square South
Room 210
New York, New York