Of the 50 states,
New York and New Mexico do the best job of respecting
LGBT and reproductive rights, while South Dakota and
Ohio tie for doing the worst, according to a new Web
site. Those are among the findings on the interactive
map unveiled Wednesday and jointly developed by the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the international
reproductive health organization Ipas, and the SisterSong
Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective.
The "Mapping Our Rights" project ranks each of
the 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., on the basis of
more than 20 criteria related to LGBT and reproductive
rights, including whether same-sex couples can legally
adopt, whether there are antidiscrimination protections for
gays and lesbians, and whether health care providers
can deny services because of their personal beliefs.
Visitors to the Web site can click on each state to
see where it ranks and why.
"Historically, the United States has represented
ideals of liberty and equality for much of the world,"
Leila Hessini, senior policy adviser for Ipas, said in
a statement. "But as this project demonstrates, that
freedom often depends on the state you call home."
Added Jason
Cianciotto, research director of the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute: "The
relationship between reproductive rights and the
concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people
is clear. From the right to control our own bodies to
access to fertility technology to the application of
scientifically based approaches to HIV/AIDS, people of
every sexual orientation and gender identity share the
most basic human concerns and goals."
The Web site can be found at www.mappingourrights.org. (The
Advocate)
