ATTW Statement on Reproductive Justice
As our annual conference wraps up its first week, we are grappling with the stripping away of our rights. The Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, denying people with a uterus the right to exercise autonomy over their own bodies and health, has implications for us all. And it places other landmark decisions by the Court in jeopardy. This is especially true given Thomas’s concurring opinion about other rights that should be reconsidered (including the Obergefell, Lawrence, and Griswold rulings). Black, Indigenous, and People of Color already face disproportionate challenges and oppressions when accessing healthcare. Through this reversal, we see firsthand how power concentrated among the few does not protect the masses. We see how this ruling is connected to not only reproductive rights, but also abolition, voting rights, LGBTQ rights, and economic disempowerment. We acknowledge the fullness of emotions regarding the clear and present danger that this ruling presents to human rights–anger, fear, frustration, hope, sadness, numbness, determination, and every other righteous and visceral response. Further, as a conference and community focused on action, we know many of you want to do something, need to do something.
Below, we have collected suggestions for resistance-oriented actions from liberation activists, abolitionists, reproductive rights organizations, and community groups. To this end, we recognize that resistance comes in many forms (from the mundane to the grand) and our different positionalities and privileges means that the ways that we can resist (or feel comfortable resisting) vary widely-from protests, to boycotts, to voting, to monetary contributions, to volunteering, to amplifying others, to art, to teaching, and so on. Please engage in the way that you feel is best for you, but please do engage!
This list is not comprehensive and we know there are so many things that we will miss and overlook. So, we are calling on our ATTW community to add to these resources during our ATTW Social Hour (Friday, June 24th at 5pm ET). After the ATTW Social Hour we will make this resource available on the ATTW.org website. Here’s to hope and here’s to action!
Please note that these are resources suggested by ATTW members and not resources that have been formally vetted.
Donate
Repro Legal Defense Fund @reprolegalfund and ReproLegalDefenseFund.org
National Network of Abortion Funds @AbortionFunds and https://abortionfunds.org/
Give to your local and state reproduction rights organizations
Donate to abortion travel funds in states that have trigger laws that are affecting pregnant people now. For a listing of these states: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/24/abortion-state-laws-criminalization-roe/
Read/Watch
Roe v. Wade: What Can You Do (Google Doc Resource) https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRqbxh96ynlqdYUInUZB5GWrE2GIcW3FEXdtxO_n2BXMAd2HOkNssn3aP77zSXBN43TIJ3Xab2ih9vE/pub
Haymarket Books haymarketbooks.org
The New Abortion Strategies https://youtu.be/lp5TlDvxQKQ
Suggestions for Creating a Personal Abortion Safety Plan: https://www.lizartistry.com
Podcast on history of Roe V Wade: https://slate.com/podcasts/slow-burn/s7/roe-v-wade
Resist/Amplify/Assist
National Lawyers Guild Protest Tips on Insta @nationallawyersguild or on Twitter @NLGNYC
Repro Legal Fund Helpline https://www.reprolegalhelpline.org/
National Network of Abortion Funds @AbortionFunds and abortionfunds.org
ResistBot (VERY EASY) petitions: https://resist.bot/petitions/PRHEGI, OR text PRHEGI to 50409
Listen to/Follow
Mariame Kaba @prisonculture
Derecka Purnell @dereckapurnell
Hoochies of Houston @HoustonHoochies
Repro Legal Defense Fund @reprolegalfund
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor @KeeangaYamahtta
SisterSong: The National Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective @SisterSong_WOC
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice @LatinaInstitute
URGE @URGE_org
Technical Communication Guides on Managing (in)Fertility
There are a number of examples of technical communication guides regarding issues related to (in)fertility:
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- Plan C info: https://www.plancpills.org/
- Considerations and information re using pills for abortion from Jewish Currents: https://jewishcurrents.org/how-to-give-yourself-an-abortion
- Legal support re Plan C: https://www.plancpills.org/support-resources#support-legal
- Read an illustrated, first-person narrative of self managing an abortion from Reproductive Health Access Project (RHAP): https://www.reproductiveaccess.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019-04-Sams-Med-Ab_color.pdf
- Comprehensive instructions and information on how to use abortion pills from https://howtouseabortionpill.org/
- Abortion Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/abortion/