The O+G Advocates

Join The Advocates in a conversation with Jordan Zaslow, founder and Executive Director of Her Bold Move. The mission of Her Bold Move is to use media campaigns to elect unapologetically pro-choice women to political seats that have traditionally been dominated by anti-choice men. The COVID pandemic provided an opportunity to those in the media and entertainment industries to donate resources toward promoting progressive causes and what started as a volunteer project has become a national coalition of support for progressive women candidates. Her Bold Move plans to put progressive women in all the rooms where decisions are made - and we can join in that mission. 

Visit HerBoldMove.org to get involved and keep up with their work on their social media channels!

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It's been a minute, but the OG Advocates are back with a new episode! Friend of the pod, Becca Hart Holder, is back to break down the journey we have been on with Mifepristone...and what potentially comes next. It's important to remember that Mifepristone is incredibly safe and efforts to restrict access to it is in no way based in science. Take a listen, leave a comment, share with a friend!

Learn about Repro Equity Now and the incredible work they are doing

Read more about Mifepristone here and the impact restricting it could have

Read about the Mifepristone update from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Mife update

In the last episode of 2022, The O+G Advocates talk with Christine Clarke, a civil rights and constitutional lawyer currently at Reavis Page Jump LLP in New York City.  Until this past January, she worked at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, representing Planned Parenthood affiliates in litigation around the country fighting to preserve abortion access. 

In Mid-November 2022, several anti-abortion groups and four anti-choice physicians filed a lawsuit in Amarillo, Texas against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claiming that the FDA unlawfully fast tracked the approval of the abortion medication decades ago without properly studying its safety profile.  Although this statement is false and Mifepristone has been heavily vetted by the FDA and the scientific community, this lawsuit has the potential to remove access to Mifepristone throughout the United States.

Christine helps The Advocates break down the case and what is at stake.  

Plus, we wrap up 2022 sharing what we are all grateful for.  

Share your thoughts on the episode and what you are hoping to hear in 2023!

More than ever before, patients are seeking out OB/GYNs and requesting permanent contraception in huge numbers. There are Reddit lists and social media posts with lists of physicians who will help. So why are people asking for permanent contraception now? And what is the evidence to support the surgeons doing the procedures?

The Advocates are joined by Dr. Nikki Zite, an OB/GYN in Tennessee and formidable researcher on permanent contraception.  Follow Dr. Zite on Twitter @nikkizitemd and Join the conversation on our Instagram and Twitter pages!

Resources mentioned:

- CREST study

- ACOG Practice Bulletin #208 on Sterilization

- Medicaid Sterilization Form

Historical references:

- Eugencis and Involuntary Sterilization: 1907 - 2015

- The History of Forced Sterilization in the United States

- Unwanted Sterilization and Eugenics Programs in the United States

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month and our guest is an expert on this subject, both personally and professionally. Dr. Julie Bindeman, a reproductive psychologist and reproductive rights advocate, joins The Advocates in a discussion of abortion in the context of individual perspective, societal compassion, and making healthcare decisions out of love.

Find Dr. Bindeman on Twitter at @DrJulieB and @ITGWTherapy. You can read her abortion story here.

Links and resources mentioned in the show:

Pregnancy After Loss Support (PALS)

Exhale: After-abortion support 

WeTestify

Advocates For Youth

American Society of Reproductive Medicine (Mental Health Professional Group)

We are joined by Bea Soderholm, DO and Raiven Owusu, both in Indiana, to discuss about how learners are dealing with the impending abortion ban. As a chief resident and fourth year medical student, they are both at a decision point in their career. Hear how abortion impacts their next steps in their career and why staying involved in abortion care is so important.

Indiana implements a total abortion ban on September 15, which has exceptions only for "life of the mother" and rape or incest until 12 weeks gestation.

Follow Dr. Soderholm at @beatrice__rae (Twitter and Instagram) and Ms. Owusu at @raiven_owusu (Twitter).

Support pregnant Indiana people through support of the Midwest Access Coalition, which will help transport, lodge, and fund patients needing to leave their home state for abortion care. Follow them at https://www.midwestaccesscoalition.org/ or on their social channels (insta: https://www.instagram.com/midwest_access_coalition/, and twitter: https://twitter.com/MidwestAccess/)

Abortion existed before Roe and will certainly continue after the Dobbs decision. In this episode, the Advocates welcome The Bad Old Days Posse. This group of women had illegal abortions or helped friends get illegal abortions in the 1960s, worked to get Roe passed, and are still working to ensure access to abortion today.  

These stories from the past reflect the desperation of people seeking abortion care and the lengths they will go to control their own bodily autonomy.

Trigger warning: Some of the stories told in this episode include graphic descriptions of illegal abortion in the 1960s.

The Advocates share their reactions to SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, both in their own states and in our country.

Later in the episode, they are joined by Dr. Henry Klapholz, a professor emeritus OB/GYN who lived and worked through pre-Roe years. We discuss the dangers of the pre-Roe era, what complications we should worry about now that abortion is prohibited in many places, as well as what is different now that self-managed abortion is an option for patients.

There are so many things we can do, even if we are feeling hopeless and scared right now. Check out the resources below and also Katie McHugh’s twitter thread with some action items (click here).

Resources mentioned:

The O+G Advocates welcome Jennifer Villavicencio, MD, MPP to discuss the intersection of racism and the anti-abortion movement. As the country prepares for the SCOTUS decision on Dobbs v Jackson, which will likely overturn the federally protected right to abortion, Dr. Villvicencio discussed how we got here in history and why abortion restriction is born out of racism.

Tune in to hear the predictions of how bad it will be, and listen in to find community and hope in the advocacy still to be done.

Resources mentioned:

National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF): https://abortionfunds.org

Plan C: https://www.plancpills.org/

Aid Access: https://aidaccess.org/en/

Additional related resources:

CNN article about white supremacy and abortion: https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/18/us/abortion-ban-women-of-color/index.html

Margaret Sanger PP Accountability:  https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/our-history

Reproductive Justice book: https://bookshop.org/books/reproductive-justice-an-introductionvolume-1/9780520288201

The O+G Advocates react to the leaked SCOTUS Opinion, along with Drs. Caitlin Bernard, Luu Ireland, and Tracey Wilkinson. These abortion activists discuss the implication of overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion, and talk honestly about how frustrated and angry they are at this juncture.

We come together in community, not only to grieve this impact on our patients, but also to support each other and find a way forward. Tune in to this special reaction episode, where we curse, rage, and strategize how to get through this moment in history.

Follow our guests:

Dr. Caitlin Bernard: @DrCaitlinBernard

Dr. Luu Ireland: @LIrelandMD

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Planned Parenthood Regional Logistic Center: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-st-louis-region-southwest-missouri/patients/regional-logistics-center

National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF): https://abortionfunds.org/

Keep Our Clinics - supporting independent abortion clinics: https://keepourclinics.org/

Center for Reproductive Rights: https://reproductiverights.org/

Additional resources:

I Need an A: https://www.ineedana.com/

Abortion Pills information: http://abortionpills.org/