The Common Ground Network for Life and Choice Manual

Cohen and another group member to join him in a presentation on common ground at a national
Catholic pro-life directors’ meeting in Texas in the summer of 1997. The Wall Street Journal
and Harper’s have both published articles about the group and QCCG was featured in a Peter
Jennings’ report on ABC World News Tonight.
Being part of a national network. QCCG provided three members to the Network’s
national Steering Committee (one is pro-choice, one is pro-life, and one is the facilitator). At
Steering Committee meetings, they have interacted with representative of other local groups,
shared experience and advice, and helped plan and participate in activities like the Network’s
two national conferences. The Steering Committee provided the framework for Marilyn Cohen,
the Iowa City abortion clinic director, to connect with Karen Swallow Prior, a veteran of
Operation Rescue from Buffalo. In a discussion about new action projects, they developed the
idea of a joint paper on clinic activism. Their work, published by Syracuse University in 1998,
spotlights the common ground they share about not only non-violence, but also about the central
place of women’s dignity and real-life needs in the debate over abortion. The have had a series
of campus speaking engagements including one at Harvard.
The national staff not only provides support for QCCG but we also draw upon their
resources. We encourage them to speak to people who express interest in common ground but
want the endorsement of an activist with whom they can identify. They are asked to give advice
in starting groups. They travel to speak to other groups and to share the approaches they have
used, such as in developing an action initiative on adoption. We refer reporters to them, so that
the media can get in touch with community-level common grounders. They also consult with
our staff about the advisability or evenhandedness of a planned program or statement.
Having an impact. Quad Cities Common Ground provides its region with a strong force
for civility and respect. It is a forum for local people to talk about the abortion issue, and the
local conflict about the clinics, in a safe environment. They spread dialogue skills. They take
action on issues of mutual concern that should improve choices for women. Their members
contribute to the growth of similar groups across the country, providing advice and moral
support. Indeed, they model the partnerships between adversaries that we are trying to build. In
the process, they can be an inspiration to their neighbors – and to us.
(Summer 1999)