rePROs Fight Back

The anti-gender and anti-rights movement is a loosely connected set of groups and money, sometimes working in tandem with governments, who are looking to claw back LGBTQI+ rights and abortion rights that have been realized around the world. Bierne Roose-Snyder, Senior Policy Fellow for the Council for Global Equality, sits down to talk with us about how these movements came to be and the danger they pose to human rights and democratic systems. 

The anti-gender and anti-rights movement simultaneously works on a global and domestic scale. Misinformation and information flooding has contributed greatly to the anti-gender and anti-rights movement, undermining expertise and civil society, and creating a world in which no factual information can be trusted. From a domestic perspective, this can be very closely intertwined with authoritarian and anti-democratic movements. In a move to diminish civil society, the anti-gender movement will often target organizations that promote or support LGBTQI+ rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights, or other human rights—whether through formal complaints or targeted harassment and abuse. For example, in Uganda, the anti-gender government targeted Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), a Kampala-based LGBTQI+ human rights nonprofit. Similarly, Boston Children’s Hospital has faced an extreme increase of threats and harassment for providing gender-affirming healthcare. 

The sexual and reproductive health and rights movement and the LGBTQI+ movement are being out funded by the anti-gender, anti-rights movement at incredible rates. In addition, U.S. religious institutions are not required to report their funding activities. Between 2013 and 2017, LGBTQI movements worldwide received 1.2 billion dollars in funding, while the anti-gender movement received 3.7 billion in funding. 

Links

Council for Global Equality on Twitter

Council for Global Equality on Facebook

Power Over Rights – Center for Feminist Foreign Policy

Rights at Risk – Observatory on the Universality of Rights

Exporting Disinformation - Mozilla Foundation

Manufacturing Moral Panic – Global Philanthropy Project 

Take Action

Follow the Council for Global Equality on Twitter and Facebook to stay up-to-date on their important work. 

Early, loud, visible mobilization for solidarity is incredibly powerful against the anti-gender and anti-rights movements. Hope-based messaging—highlighting what we work for and the world we are building—allows for greater reach and momentum. 

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

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What was access to abortion like before Roe v. Wade, and what will access to abortion look like after its overturning? Becca Andrews, reporter at Reckon News, talks to us about her new book No Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right, including what communities will be hardest hit by the Supreme Court’s decision, as well as the inspiring, groundbreaking work that leaders, activists, and providers are doing around the country to ensure that patients are able to access essential abortion care.

The history of reproductive coercion has been and continues to be rampant in the United States, disproportionately targeted towards people of color and non-cisgendered folks. This unjust thread, foundational to the beginnings of the U.S., continues to weave through access to reproductive healthcare and modern medicine in general. The Janes, the Clergy Consultative Service on Abortion, and the Society for Humane Abortion were collectives that supported, counseled on, referred to, and facilitated access to abortion care before the Supreme Court’s 1973 implementation of Roe.

However, Roe’s legal protections were not around long before they started to be chipped away at; Roe had not even been in place for 50 years before its repeal. Throughout Roe’s standing, many white women’s reproductive health and rights advocacy did not extend to include all who have a right to care. This was made expressly evident through the application of (and lack of fight against) the Hyde amendment, which systematically prevents those receiving Medicaid coverage from accessing an abortion. In addition, the multi-layered barriers—such as a lack of access to childcare and transportation, inability to take time off of work, and lack of access to funds for the procedure and associated costs—coalesced overtime to make an unnavigable labyrinth to accessing care that was particularly felt by those with low-incomes, people of color, young people, LGBTQI+ folks, and immigrant communities. 

Links

No Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right

Becca Andrews at Reckon News

Becca Andrews on Twitter

Take Action Items

Support Becca by purchasing her book, No Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right!

Follow Becca on Twitter and Reckon News on Twitter and Facebook.

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

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Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) last week proposed a national abortion ban that would impact patient’s access to abortion care across the United States. Erin Matson, Co-founder and Executive Director of Reproaction, sits down to talk with us about this introduced 15-week abortion ban in the U.S. Senate this week and what this could mean for Americans.

The overturn of Roe v. Wade has fundamentally changed abortion access in the United States, with abortion bans in individual states preventing care and forcing patients to travel in order to access an abortion. These pieces of legislation—designed to control reproduction and bodily autonomy—are heavily influenced by white supremacy, enforced gender roles, and reproductive oppression. When the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision was leaked and eventually ruled, many anti-abortion voices argued that this move would simply “send the issue back to the states”; clearly, this isn’t the case. With Justice Clarence Thomas’ statements inviting challenges to birth control and same-sex marriage, this proposed national abortion ban points clearly to a future in which Republicans and other anti-abortion legislators would have no problem outlawing other basic human rights tied to bodily autonomy and personal decision making.

In addition, none of the language used in Senator Lindsey Graham’s bill is factual or based in science or medicine. Instead, this language is instituted for the purpose of stigmatizing and banning abortion and other forms of reproductive healthcare. 15 weeks does not allow for many people to discover they are pregnant, raise money to pay for the abortion, get time off work, arrange childcare or transportation, or account at all for changed circumstances during pregnancy. 

Links

Reproaction on Twitter

Reproaction on Facebook

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

Take Action
Follow Reproaction on Twitter and Facebook to stay up-to-date on their fantastic work.

Center the needs of the people in your community! Abortion funds are such wonderful pillars of support, and they often need donations and, in some cases, volunteering. 

Learn more about self-managed abortion and abortion pills. Educate yourself on how to use mifepristone and misoprostol (or just misoprostol alone) together to safely and effectively end an unwanted pregnancy.

Make your voice loud. Whether it’s donning a pro-abortion shirt or bumper sticker, going to town halls and asking questions, or knocking on doors, keep the conversation going.

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

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Trigger Warning: In this episode we talk about sexual violence against Native women. If you need help or to talk to someone here are some resources you can call or chat: the StrongHearts Native Helpline at https://strongheartshelpline.org/ 1-844-7NATIVE, National Domestic Violence Hotline at https://www.thehotline.org/ 1-800-799-SAFE or the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) at https://www.rainn.org/ 1-800-656-HOPE. 

1 in 2 Indigenous women have experienced sexual violence. Even with this staggeringly high statistic, it’s near impossible for Indigenous women to access the care and support needed. Juskwa Burnett, Indigenous Advocate, Moccasins of Hope, talks to us about her experience working with Indigenous sexual violence survivors and the ways in which sexual violence impacts her community. In addition, Tarah Demant, Interim National Director of Programs, Advocacy, and Government Affairs with Amnesty International USA, sits down to talk to us about healthcare and judicial barriers faced by Indigenous women as it relates to sexual violence and Amensty International USA’s new report detailing the barriers erected by the U.S. government when it comes to Alaska Native and American Indian women’s access to healthcare and support after experiencing disproportionate rates of sexual violence. 

 The United States’ response to this epidemic of sexual violence is confusing and maze-like, preventing Indigenous women from being able to access the healthcare they need or get justice for crimes committed. This complex system results in confusion and chaos, and further exacerbates the sexual violence epidemic faced by Indigenous women. The root of this problem is based in the US’s erosion of tribal authority, allowing for these extremely unfortunate circumstances to flourish, despite the fact that this country is obligated to protect Indigenous communities under the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People. 

When Indigenous women require healthcare and services after experiencing sexual violence, many simply can’t access it. Health centers are located far away from villages and reservations, and Indian Health Services (IHS) is federally underfunded to a point where it is an open question whether or not a rape kit will be available. The justice system in Indian country is also massively federally underfunded and complicated, leading to a lack of prosecution for sexual violence crimes.

Links

Amnesty International USA on Twitter

Amnesty International USA on Facebook

The never-ending maze: continued failure to protect indigenous women from sexual violence in the USA

StrongHearts Native Helpline

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

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With the landscape of abortion access changing almost daily in the United States, hundreds of thousands of people are not receiving the basic healthcare they need. Danika Severino Wynn, midwife and VP of Abortion Access with Planned Parenthood Federation of America, talks to us about the current state of abortion access in the U.S. and how different states and communities are disproportionately feeling the harm of restrictions and bans.

It may come as no surprise, but in states where abortion bans are already in place, abortion care is extremely difficult to access. Many are having to piece together information about how and where to receive care before driving or flying out-of-state. At the same time, purposeful misinformation is pushed by anti-abortion advocates and politicians in order to shame and confuse patients. In states where abortion hasn’t been banned, providers, clinics, and abortion funds are having to overextend their capacity to provide care and support for those traveling from out-of-state. This results in longer wait times for appointments, which is particularly troubling for time-sensitive abortion care. 

Other sexual and reproductive healthcare is being impacted by these bans, as well. In states where abortion is severely restricted or banned, Planned Parenthood is still on-the-ground and providing a range of sexual and reproductive health care, including birth control prescriptions, cancer screenings, STI testing/screening, and more. In states where abortion is still legal and are seeing increased volume of patients, there are some increased wait times for services, but don’t worry-- Planned Parenthood is still working diligently to ensure appointments are scheduled and kept. 

Links

Planned Parenthood Federation of America on Twitter

Planned Parenthood Federation of America on Facebook

Plan C

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

Take Action

Follow Planned Parenthood Federation of America on Twitter and Facebook.

Go to bansoff.org or text ACCESS to 22422 to learn more about how to fight back.

There is power in storytelling. Speak up using a hashtag on social media or share your story through Planned Parenthood. 

Donate to PPFA and to abortion funds!

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

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Abortion is still legal in more than half of U.S. states, but many people may not be able to access the care they need in the states they live in. As criminalization of pregnancy and abortion becomes increasingly normalized, there are a number of legal considerations to keep in mind when looking for care remembering that those already marginalized are most at risk for criminalization. Rafa Kidvai, Director of the Legal Defense Fund at If/When/How and Liz Ling, Senior Helpline Counsel at If/When/How, talk to us about the new landscape of abortion access in the U.S. and how someone can go about safely and reliably accessing an abortion.

If you’re pregnant and looking for abortion care, you can start with abortionfinder.org and Ineedana.com to find out what type of care is available closest to you. Regardless of where you are, be cognizant of your digital privacy—be aware of your search history, who you are sharing information with, and how often you are sharing information. Pregnancy and abortion criminalization may be bolstered by law enforcement obtaining copies of digital receipts. 

Once you are in front of a medical professional, ask as many questions as you may have. Again, be aware of the people around you at this time and those that may be trustworthy with information regarding your abortion care. Be aware of your digital footprint and turn off your location services on your phone when you go to a clinic. After an abortion, it’s again important to remember who you are sharing information with. If you are contacted or detained by law enforcement, call the Repro Legal Helpline and do not speak without a lawyer present. You can also contact the helpline if you are helping someone access care and need advice or guidance. 

If/When/How’s Repro Legal Helpline is a completely free and confidential resource for anyone who may have questions about reproductive justice—including what your rights are and what state laws are so that you feel fully informed in making a decision. You can receive information on what legal risks you may face based on if and how you choose to end a pregnancy, as well as options and legal barriers that you may specifically face in certain states if you are a young person. The Repro Legal Defense Fund raises bail for those who are criminalized for pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes and self-managed abortion. The defense fund, in addition, pays legal and attorney fees, engages a network of expert witnesses, and creates arguments against junk science that often underlies pregnancy and abortion criminalization. 

Links

If/When/How on Twitter

If/When/How on Facebook

Abortionfinder.org

Ineedana.com

Repro Legal Helpline

Repro Legal Defense Fund

Digital Defense Fund 

Take Action

If you have questions about your rights or the laws in your state, you can call If/When/How’s Repro Legal helpline.

Give financially to If/When/How and the Repro Legal Defense Fund, who are pooling, maintaining, and preparing funds for legal defense and education. 

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

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There has been a flurry of executive and Congressional action after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court case that overturned Roe v. Wade. Leila Abolfazli, Director of Federal Reproductive Rights at the National Women’s Law Center, sits down to talk with us about executive and Congressional measures being taken on abortion rights in the United States.

The executive order issued by the Biden administration is split into four main sections that: 1) directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on actions to take; 2) convenes private, pro-bono attorneys and Bar associations in an effort to represent patients, providers, and other third parties who lawfully seeking or providing reproductive health care; 3) asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to protect people’s online data when seeking information about or seeking abortion care; and 4) outlines other laws that HHS can support, including strengthening the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and creating an HHS-Gender Policy Council taskforce that coordinates federal agency response to abortion. You can find additional information about this executive order here.

Congress held five hearings after the release of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in the House Oversight Committee, House Energy and Commerce Committee, House Judiciary Committee, Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee. The House passed a bill called the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act, which would ensure protection of those crossing state lines to receive an abortion. In addition, the House passed the Women’s Health Protection Act which would cement a federal right to abortion. The Respect for Marriage Act passed in the House would protect same-sex marriage, while the Right to Contraception Act passed in the House would protect the right to birth control access. Lastly, the Senate voted on emergency funding for Title X clinics—family planning clinics across the United States that provides millions of people with basic healthcare. 

Links
National Women’s Law Center on Twitter

National Women’s Law Center on Facebook

Jennie in DC Abortion Resources Tweet Thread 

I Need An A 

Abortion Fund Donation Finder 

Plan C Pills 

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

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Television and film often allow people to make sense of the world. With abortion being center stage in many national conversations and with so many myths circulating about this type of care, it is especially important that TV and film represent abortion stories accurately. Steph Herold, researcher studying abortion in television and film at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), sits down to talk with us about abortion depictions onscreen and what Hollywood could include in storytelling to be more representative of those seeking abortion care. 

Television and films have been telling abortion stories for a very long time, but sometimes the depictions aren’t realistic. Often, abortion is portrayed as a risky or unsafe procedure (which is fundamentally untrue—it’s one of the safest medical procedures a person can receive). In addition, characters that receive abortions in television and film don’t often reflect those who receive abortions in real life; most abortion patients in real life are people of color, struggling to make ends meet, many of whom are already parents, yet the character onscreen who receives an abortion is often a young, white, single woman. In addition, characters don’t face barriers to the care they need, including waiting periods, traveling, financial concerns, and gestational bans. Lastly, medication abortion is largely underrepresented onscreen.

Still, over the last couple of years, TV and film have done a better job at telling compassionate and accurate abortion stories. 2020 saw the most abortion stories told on television in a year, and included Never, Rarely, Sometimes Always, Unpregnant, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Premature and St. Francis. Each showed a person accessing different types of abortion with the support of a friend or family member. More characters of color are accessing abortion on TV, including Olivia Pope on Scandal, a queer, Black character on the Bold Type, and Vic on Station 19. 

Links

ANSIRH on Twitter

ANSIRH on Facebook

Abortiononscreen.org

Take Action

Follow ANSIRH on Twitter and Facebook.

Visit abortiononscreen.org and find a list of over 500 TV shows and film that feature an abortion plotline. Watch these pieces of media and consider whether or not the abortion stories are representative—and have conversations about them! 

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

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After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the federal right to abortion was eliminated and sent back to individual states. The United States is now seeing a state-by-state patchwork of laws, court challenges, and disparate barriers to abortion access. Garnet Henderson, independent journalist and host and producer of ACCESS: A Podcast About Abortion, sits down to talk with us about the on-the-ground chaos after the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and myths around adoption as an alternative for abortion. 

Clinic staff and abortion providers have been working overtime to try and see as many patients as possible before the eventual overturning of Roe, with some clinics even opening their doors earlier in the day. Texas’s robust network, working to help many people get funds to cover their procedure and transportation out of state, was shut down on the day of the decision. At a clinic in Alabama, 100 patients who had already jumped through the state’s unnecessary barriers and were pre-approved to receive care that day had to be turned away as soon as the Supreme Court ruling was released. Trigger bans and pre-Roe bans are being passed and challenged around the country, contributing to further, fractured confusion and differing levels of accessibility.

A popular anti-abortion talking point is to say that adoption is a suitable alternative to abortion. This is fundamentally untrue; first and foremost, not very many people at all choose to place a child up for adoption after birth, even when the pregnancy was not planned. In general, pregnancy is incredibly difficult and dangerous, particularly for Black people and other people of color. Adoption is an alternative to parenting, not to pregnancy—adoption doesn’t account for the outcome of someone who simply doesn’t want to be pregnant not being pregnant. Adoption can also be a very emotional complex and painful experience for the birth parent and the child, meaning that adoption isn’t an easy or given alterative to a wanted abortion. 

 Links

ACCESS: A Podcast About Abortion

ACCESS on Twitter

ACCESS on Instagram

Garnet on Twitter

What This Later-Abortion Story Tells Us About a Post-Roe Future

INeedAnA.com

Abortion Fund Donation Finder

 Take Action

Find ACCESS: A Podcast About Abortion here and follow on Instagram and Twitter. You can also follow Garnet on Twitter here.

If you can, donate to your local abortion fund, always! Independent abortion clinics also need your support right now—whether through donations, clinic escorts, or volunteers.

Be wary of offering a spare room for those seeking abortions. While intentions are good, many anti-abortion activists may see these opportunities as a way to act as an individual “crisis pregnancy center,” convincing people staying in their house to not access the care they need. Instead, uplift organizations and abortion funds that already vet people who are offering their spare rooms. 

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

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The ways in which abortion is often publicly debated can result in the harmful depiction of the experience of ending a pregnancy in overly simplistic terms. Rev. Katey Zeh, CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and Author of A Complicated Choice: Making Space for Grief and Healing in the Pro-Choice Movement, talks to us about her new book, the myths and stigma that people must wade through when getting an abortion, and the vast amount of feelings and experiences many people may have when accessing care.

A Complicated Choice chronicles the complicated feelings that people have around their abortion experiences. Overall, the book highlights how people can make decisions surrounding abortion and have a lot of nuanced, complex feelings around it—but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t the right decision. In addition, many people experience internalized abortion stigma, due to far-reaching myths and rhetoric spread by those who are anti-abortion. This stigma can often display itself as a sense of isolation in one’s experience.

White Christian nationalism intertwines greatly with the stigmatization of and logistical attacks against abortion. Steeped in racism, sexism, classism, and Christian nationalism, these abortion attacks disproportionately harm Black people, Indigenous people, other people of color, the LGBTQ+ community young people, etc.  

Find Reverend Katey Zeh’s book at your local bookstore or on bookshop.org

Links

A Complicated Choice by Katey Zeh

Katey Zeh on Twitter

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice on Twitter

Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice on Facebook

The Kindreds Podcast

INeedAnA.com

Abortion Fund Donation Finder

AbortionsWelcome.org

Religion and Repro Learning Center

 Take Action

Follow the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice on Twitter and Facebook!

Support your local abortion fund. You can find those nearest you here.

If you are interested in the intersection of faith and abortion, you can visit AbortionsWelcome.org or go to the Religion and Repro Learning Center through the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.

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

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