rePROs Fight Back

The needs of LGBTQI+ people to live safe, healthy, and fulfilling lives are as important as the are universally necessary. Vivian Topping, Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement at the Equality Federation sits down to talks with us about achieving LGBTQI+ justice, what a just world for LGBTQI+ folks looks like, and some hopes for the new year.

To support and enhance the lives of those in the LGBTQI+ community, people need access to healthcare, job training, stable housing, and more. Unfortunately, constant legislative attacks to LGBTQI+ people’s rights and safety means that the much-needed progress on these core areas is put on the backburner while acute and dangerous fires are put out. Anti-LGBTQI+ and anti-trans ideology and messaging from far-right groups can be so severe that it seeps into a variety of political and advocacy circles across the spectrum of issue areas. 

The good news? Over the past year, many states have passed transgender sanctuary laws, while 491 anti-trans bills have also been defeated. As we head into 2024, be on the lookout for continued extremism and misinformation, and also note that loud and out-spoken community resistance. 

Links

Equality Federation on Twitter

Equality Federation on Facebook

Take Action Items

Follow the Equality Federation on Twitter and Facebook and stay up-to-date on their work.

Find your local Equality Federation partner, nearby events, and other ways to get involved here! When state equality groups and LGBTQI+ communities are asking you to show up—whether at protests, voting, calling representatives, etc., be there.

If you can, you can also give to your local LGBTQI+ organizations, especially through a reoccurring donation.

rePROs Fight Back has been named a finalist in two categories in the 3rd Annual Anthem Awards. The winners of these awards are chosen by support from our community. You can “celebrate” or vote for rePROs Fight Back here: Human and Civil Rights Awareness and Media Awards and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awareness and Media. Finalists can be celebrated online from December 5th to December 21st at Celebrate.Anthemawards.com. 

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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Even years before the overturning of Roe v. Wade, reproductive health and rights organizations were noticing that their abortion content posts were being removed, suspended, shadow banned, flagged, and subject to advertising suspension. Jane Eklund, Tech and Reproductive Rights Fellow at Amnesty International USA, sits down to talk with us about abortion content digital suppression on social media platforms.

Across social media platforms, abortion-related content is often removed or interfered with in some way even though it does not violate the social media platform’s community guidelines. This can lead to decreased engagement, reach, and visibility for content related to abortion and that is often posted by sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations. Digital platforms have also become spaces were criminalization has increased; police have seized Facebook messages and Google searches to prosecute people for searching for and obtaining  abortion care.

Links

Amnesty International USA on Facebook

Amnesty International USA on Twitter

 Digital Defense Fund

Take Action

First and foremost, follow Amnesty International on Facebook and Twitter. 

Follow reproductive health and rights on social media, including their back up accounts. Plan C, Women on Web, and Shout Your Abortion have very helpful information. Like, share, and interact with their content to increase their reach. Support digital campaigns from reproductive health and rights organizations, as well. 

Make sure you talk about this issue—both abortion and abortion content suppression online. Suppression is silence, which makes space for stigmatization.

rePROs Fight Back has been named a finalist in two categories in the 3rdAnnual Anthem Awards. The winners of these awards are chosen by support from our community. You can “celebrate” or vote for rePROs Fight Back here: Human and Civil Rights Awareness and Media Awards and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awareness and Media. Finalists can be celebrated online from December 5th to December 21st at Celebrate.Anthemawards.com. 

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

Support the show

Follow Us on Social:
Twitter: @rePROsFightBack
Instagram: @reprosfb
Facebook: rePROs Fight Back
Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social

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Email us: [email protected]
Rate and Review on Apple Podcast

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As the holiday season continues and people sit down with their family and friends around dinner tables and fireplaces, personal question and general conversations about current events—some related to sexual and reproductive health and rights and transgender health and rights—may arise. Erin Matson, Co-founder, President, and CEO of Reproaction, sits down to talk with us about how to have difficult conversations, when to engage, and how to build up your boundaries during conversations, confrontations, and questions. 

Links

Reproaction on Twitter

Reproaction on Facebook

Erin Matson on Twitter

Plan C
Abortionfinder.org
Ineedana.com
Repro Legal Helpline
Repro Legal Defense Fund
Digital Defense Fund

Take Action

Follow Reproaction on Twitter and Facebook and stay up-to-date on their work. You can also find Erin Matson on Twitter here.

If you want to show that you are an ally or help challenge stigma, you can get some merchandise like this on Bonfire and show your support!  

Remember, engage in conversations to your own comfortability. Sometimes, we must protect our own mental and emotional wellbeing, safety, and security. 

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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From the history of how the rePROs Fight Back podcast began to some behind-the-scenes sneak peaks, Tarah Demant, Interim National Director of Programs, Advocacy, and Government Affairs at Amnesty International USA, asks host Jennie Wetter a collection of ask me anything (AMA) questions.

Links

Amnesty International USA on Twitter
Amnesty International USA on Facebook
Tarah Demant on Twitter
Jennie Wetter on Twitter
Plan C
Abortionfinder.org
Ineedana.com
Repro Legal Helpline
Repro Legal Defense Fund
Digital Defense Fund

Take Action

If you need an abortion, check out this website to find the clinic closest to you.

Support your local abortion fund! Find your local abortion fund via the National Network of Abortion Funds. 

Follow Tarah Demant on Twitter and follow Amnesty International USA on Twitter and Facebook

As the holidays approach, remember to have conversations with your family members to your own comfortability. Feel free to push back in a big or small way. You can also wear abortion fund merchandise, like this, to break the stigma!

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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November 15, 2023, is #ThxBirthControl Day! Everyone deserves access to an array of birth control methods that works best for their body, their life, and their goals. Rachel Fey, Vice President of Policy and Strategic Partnerships at Power to Decide, sits down to talk with us about the importance of accessible contraception and why we should keep ab eye out for attacks to birth control.

Misinformation and disinformation about birth control has been circulating for a long time and continues to spread—particularly since the Dobbs decision. Supreme Court justices and Congresspeople have recently questioned the constitutionality and need for affordable and accessible birth control, which means now, more than ever, is the time to rally in support for this basic, necessary health care. Join us with Power to Decide in saying #ThxBirthControl!

Links

Power to Decide on Twitter

Power to Decide on Facebook

#ThxBirthControl Merchandise

#ThxBirthControl Toolkit

Power to Decide’s Take Action Center

Contraceptive Deserts

Advancing Contraceptive Access Toolkit

The Right to Contraception: State and Federal Actions, Misinformation, and the Courts

Take Action

Follow Power to Decide on Twitter and Facebook.

Join in on #ThxBirthControl Day! Find social media toolkits, merchandise, and more information on this day here. You can find Power to Decide’s take action center here—sign up to stay informed about their work and urge Congress to support related legislation.

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

Support the show

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Gun violence prevention and domestic violence are inextricably linked. And today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case, U.S. v Rahimi, that could potentially determine the constitutionality of a gun violence prevention law that has saved millions of lives. Sabrina Talukder, Director of the Women’s Initiative at the Center for American Progress, sits down to talk with us about this upcoming Supreme Court case and its implications for those experiencing domestic violence.  

When there is a firearm in the home during a domestic violence incident, the risk of death increases by 500 percent. And in 2017, over 5.9 million women reported being shot by a gun by an intimate partner at some point in their life. A 1996 law prevented those with domestic violence records from attaining a firearm—and the law has been incredibly effective. But adherence to originalism in the Supreme Court may discard that law and put the health and lives of domestic abuse survivors at risk.

Links

Center for American Progress Women on Twitter (they will be live Tweeting the case today)

Center for American Progress on Twitter

Center for American Progress on Facebook

The Supreme Court Case United States v. Rahimi Underscores the Ugly Truth About Originalism and Women

Take Action

Make space for survivors who are telling their stories and listen to their experiences. 

You can follow Center for American progress on Twitter and Facebook to keep up-to-date on their gun violence prevention work.

Read more about the concept of Originalism here.

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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In the wake of the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion access has become dependent on one’s location. Accessing an abortion involves considerations like employer-sponsored healthcare coverage and taking time off of work. Barbara Camens, union side labor attorney, sits down to talk with us about the importance of access to affordable, comprehensive reproductive health care as part of the collective bargaining process. 

25 million women if reproductive age now live in a state that bans or severely restricts abortion. In order to access abortion care, people need to travel to other states, which includes taking time off of work, possibly taking time off of work on short notice, incurring significantly higher medical costs under employer healthcare coverage, and more. As terms and conditions of employment, this means employers should be required to bargain in good faith with unions. 

Links

Why & How to Form a Union

Abortion Model Collective Bargaining Agreement Language

Plan C
Abortionfinder.org
Ineedana.com
Repro Legal Helpline
Repro Legal Defense Fund
Digital Defense Fund
Abortionfinder.org
Ineedana.com
Repro Legal Helpline
Repro Legal Defense Fund
Digital Defense Fund

Take Action

If you are a member of a union, hold your union accountable for safeguarding legal, accessible abortion access and ensure that the issue is taken up in the collective bargaining process.

If you are not a member of a union, think about unions as obvious allies in the fight for progressive change. Alliances can be made between the labor movement and the reproductive rights movement, and tapping into that power can result in powerful change. Call on friends in the labor movement or reach out to people in the labor movement to have these discussions.

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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The culture of fear that the anti-abortion movement uses also underlines the anti-queer and anti-transgender movement. Garnet Henderson, Senior Multiplatform Reporter for Rewire News Group and host and producer of ACCESS: A Podcast About Abortion, sits down to talk with us about how these two movements are connected and how anti-rights actors may influence access to gender-affirming care in the near future. 

A year since the dismantling of Roe v. Wade, 25 million women of reproductive age now  and more nonbinary and transgender people live in states where the law increases barriers to abortion care. And, across the U.S. this year alone, 583 bills have been introduced in 49 states which are designed to block trans people from receiving healthcare, education, and other basic rights. Harassment and threats against healthcare providers, misinformation and disinformation, and fear-laden rhetoric are all increasingly overlapping elements of the anti-abortion and anti-trans movement. Using these tools, a collection of anti-rights actors are able to influence legislation, spread false information, and impact people’s access to basic healthcare.

Links

Garnet Henderson on Twitter
Garnet Henderson for Rewire News Group
ACCESS: A Podcast About Abortion

Anti-Trans Activists Are Trying to Scare Gender Care Providers Away

Will Conservatives Use the ‘Crisis Pregnancy Center’ Playbook to Attack Trans People?

New Human Rights Campaign Foundation Report: Online Hate & Real World Violence Are Inextricably Linked

Open Letter by New York Times contributors to New York Times on their coverage of transgender issues

Take Action

Combat misinformation about transgender individuals and abortion care in your inner circles. If you hear people spreading stigma, fear, and mis- and disinformation about people and healthcare, challenge them. 

Donate to mutual aid funds or any individual’s personal GoFundMe for gender affirming care.

If you live in a state that is challenging gender affirming care, show up to testify in person or reach out to your local legislature to combat any harmful legislation.

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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The Green Wave movement has swept through Latin America and has increased the liberalization of abortion law. Still, criminalization, and medical privacy and medical secrecy concerns can impact someone’s access to care or have patients and professionals facing prison sentences. Gloria Orrego-Hoyos, fellow with the Health and Human Rights initiative at Georgetown Law’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, sits down to talk with us about the status of criminalization, medical privacy and medical secrecy when it comes to abortion across Latin America.

Some Latin American regions criminalize abortion to the extreme. In El Salvador, abortion carries a charge of “aggravated homicide” and can punished by up to 30 years in prison, while in Nicaragua, those who access an abortion face a sentence of up to two years in prison, with medical professionals facing sentences of up to six years in prison for administering care. Some medical professionals feel pressure to, and do end up, reporting abortions to the police. Many doctors are also afraid to provide care until the most dangerous point, due to the shadow of the criminal system. 

Links

Gloria Orrego-Hoyos on Twitter

Plan C
Abortionfinder.org
Ineedana.com
Repro Legal Helpline
Repro Legal Defense Fund
Digital Defense Fund

Take Action

Follow Gloria on Twitter to stay up-to-date on her incredible work. You can also follow the O’Neill Institute here.

If you ever find yourself on the other end of criminalization for accessing abortion care, you can contact the Repro Legal Helpline and the If/When/How’s Repro Legal Defense Fund. 

Try to have conversations in your homes, in your places of work, and with your friends about abortion and access to basic healthcare in an effort to break stigma. 

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

Support the show

Follow Us on Social:
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Abortions later in pregnancy can occur for a variety of reasons, and the later in pregnancy an abortion is needed, the more barriers patients face in accessing care. Many people in the U.S. who are seeking an abortion are also struggling to piece together resources to pay for care which pushes the timeline for access back farther each week. Dr. Diane Horvath, OBGYN, and Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer at Partners in Abortion Care, sits down to talk with us about the truths and misconceptions about abortions later in pregnancy.

Gestational bans and “exceptions” within abortion law are common barriers that prevent people who are early in their pregnancy from accessing care and increase stigma. These barriers disproportionately impact those who are already most marginalized in accessing abortion care—including BIPOC, LGBTQI+ folks, young people, people with disabilities, and more. No matter what, abortion is healthcare and should be accessible when it is required. No one other than the pregnant person should be able to make a decision about when they access an abortion, especially if external factors have proved difficult to hurdle. 

Links

Dr. Diane Horvath on Twitter

Partners in Abortion Care

Partners in Abortion Care Merchandise 

Brigid Alliance

Midwest Access Coalition

Who Not When

Take Action

Follow Dr. Horvath on Twitter and stay up-to-date on her work.

Buy super cute swag that supports Partners in Abortion Care. 

If you can, give money to abortion funds. They are facilitating not only abortion care, but support in accessing that care. You can also fundraise for your local funds, too!

Hold your local elected officials accountable. Reproductive health, rights, and justice is directly intertwined with a plethora of issue areas, many of which elected officials vote on. 

For more information, check out Relationscapes: https://www.relationscapes.org/

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Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!