Southeastern Urban Initiative for Reproductive Health
Regional Summit
Atlanta, September 30-October 2, 2009
- Hosted by SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective
- Participating cities will include: Alexandria, VA; Asheville, NC; Atlanta, GA; Chapel Hill, NC; Charleston, WV; Durham, NC; Little Rock, AR; Louisville, KY; New Orleans, LA; Raleigh, NC; Jackson, MS; Miami, FL
Background
SisterSong and its partner organizations, Planned Parenthood of South Florida and the Treasure Coast (PPSF) in Miami, FL, and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Mississippi in Jackson, MS, will host a Regional Summit in Atlanta, GA in July 2009.
Approximately 15% of Fulton County, GA residents live in poverty and there has been an increase in infant mortality rates among black women despite the fact that the rates for white women have decreased. Additionally, the Atlanta community is combating one of the highest HIV rates in the country.
Florida is another extremely conservative state with a few progressive cities and counties facing significant reproductive health challenges. For example, Miami struggles to lower infant mortality rates and birth rates among teenage mothers, and has alarmingly high HIV infection rates.
Jackson, MS has the only reproductive health clinic for the entire state, although the state has the third highest unintended teenage pregnancy rate in the country and has some of the highest numbers of women of reproductive age living in poverty.