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 Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ 

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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 Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ 

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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 Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ 

Support the show

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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 Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ 

Support the show

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

Email us: [email protected]
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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 Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ 

Support the show

Follow Us on Social:
Twitter: @rePROsFightBack
Instagram: @reprosfb
Facebook: rePROs Fight Back
Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.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 Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ 

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As an abortion care worker and doula, Hannah Matthews has seen a plethora of abortion journeys and responses. And while statistically nearly everyone knows someone who has or will access an abortion in their lifetime, one-note narratives bolster assumptions and we are awash in a sea of anti-abortion stigma. Hannah Matthews, abortion clinic worker, community care worker, doula, and author, sits down to talk with us about her new book, You or Someone You Love: Reflections from an Abortion Doula, and how to better support those accessing abortion.

Feelings on abortion can be varied. Hannah offers up a guide to the emotional and physical realities of providing true and flexible support to people accessing abortion. The book offers real abortion stories, highlighting a genuinely diverse landscape of abortion care across gender, race, and class lines. In addition, we talk about maintaining hope in the seemingly constant fight for abortion rights.

Links

You or Someone You Love: Reflections from an Abortion Doula

Hannah Matthews on Twitter

Birthing Advocacy Doula Trainings

Cornerstone

All Options

Exhale

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

Take Action

Follow Hannah on Twitter and her website stay up-to-date on her work.

Find You or Someone You Love: Reflections from an Abortion Doula on bookshop.org.

If you are interested in becoming an abortion doula, familiarize yourself with the reproductive justice needs in your community through being in contact with your local abortion fund and abortion clinics. Look into abortion doula trainings that may be connected to your local funds.

Birthing Advocacy Doula Trainings and Cornerstone feature helpful training and resources.

All Options and

For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ 

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The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade no doubt impacted countless people in the U.S. But there are even some far-reaching impacts in other countries. Bergen Cooper, Director of Policy research with Fòs Feminista, talks to us about a new organizational report that details Dobb’s ripple effects around the world. We also hear from Sharon Vilegwa, Daniel Arango, Dr. Souvik Pyne, and Ijeoma Egwuatu, global partners with Fòs Feminista, about how the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision has resulted in on-the-ground impacts in Colombia, Kenya, India, and Nigeria. 

After the Dobbs ruling, there has been an increase in misinformation and negative narratives surrounding abortion, as well as the review of safe abortion as a constitutional right in Kenya. In Colombia, anti-rights actors feel empowered by Roe’s overturning. Myths and stigma surrounding safe abortion continues to ramp up in India. Dobbs has been used to support arguments against safe abortion legal guidelines in Nigeria. While Dobbs does not have legal impacts abroad, its effects bolster the anti-abortion and anti-rights movement. 

LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE

Fòs Feminista on Twitter
Fòs Feminista on Facebook

The Global Impact of the Dobbs Decision on Abortion Laws, Policies, Legislation, Narratives, and Movements: Findings from Colombia, India, Kenya, and Nigeria
Plan C
Abortionfinder.org
Ineedana.com
Repro Legal Helpline
Repro Legal Defense Fund
Digital Defense Fund

Take Action: 

Make sure to follow Fòs Feminista on Twitter and Facebook and stay up-to-date on their work.

Dive deeper into the new report-- The Global Impact of the Dobbs Decision on Abortion Laws, Policies, Legislation, Narratives, and Movements: Findings from Colombia, India, Kenya, and Nigeria -- featuring reflections from Colombia, Kenya, India, and Nigeria. 

For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ 

Support the show

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

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

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Starting in the late 1970s, people have been serving as clinic escorts at abortion clinics, guarding and protecting patients from anti-abortion protestors. Since then, volunteer clinic escorts have devised several strategies for making sure patients access the care they need and continue to use their bodies as shields against anti-abortion protestors every day. Lauren Rankin, writer, consultant, and author of Bodies on the Line, sits down to talk with us about the history of clinic escorting and the continued need for such a vital community-based practice.

Anti-abortion protestors often camp out in front of abortion clinics, where they harass, threaten, and attempt to coerce those who are attending appointments. Clinic escorting has often involved walking the patient to the door, standing between a patient and a protestor, and calming a patient through conversation. 

Unfortunately, the federal government has shown time and time again that meaningful abortion protections will be challenging to pass. But there is hope—you can push local elected officials in your community to recognize the importance of abortion care. 

Find Lauren Rankin’s book at your local bookstore or on bookshop.org.

Links

Bodies on the Line

Lauren Rankin on Twitter

The Clinic Vest Project

Washington Area Clinic Defense Task Force

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

Take Action

Check out Lauren’s book, Bodies on the Line, here! You can also keep up with Lauren’s work but following her on Twitter.

Rally for abortion protections in your community. If you are interested in becoming a clinic escort and you live in a state where abortion is still legal, reach out to your local clinic and see if there is a pre-existing escort group. If not, make your own!

You can also contact the abortion fund near you and see if there is anything that they need. You can also donate here.

For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ 

Support the show

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Email us: [email protected]
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Love Podcasts? Love bodily autonomy? Want to get engaged in the fight for sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice? Then this is the podcast for you.  Each episode host Jennie Wetter has a guest on to do a deep dive into issues ranging from abortion, birth control, trans rights, abortion, child marriage, sex education, LGBTQ+ rights, and did we mention abortion. Join us to learn more about the fight for sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice and what you can do to fight back. 

For more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ 

Support the show

Follow Us on Social:
Twitter: @rePROsFightBack
Instagram: @reprosfb
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Email us: [email protected]
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Thanks for listening & keep fighting back!