5 Ways to Take Action in Support of Abortion Rights
Abortion is still legal in many U.S. states. To find more information on how to access abortion care, visit www.ineedana.com.
Written by Kési Felton
The United States Supreme Court decided on June 24, 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade, which federally protected the right to an abortion – as well as other health privacy and reproductive health care concerns – since 1974.
Advocates have been preparing for the official decision since the leak of the draft opinion in May of 2022. Many grassroots reproductive liberation organizers, organizations and workers have also been long aware of the ever-growing infrastructure growing in opposition to abortion and reproductive rights.
Now that Roe is overturned, decisions about abortion rights are solely under the power of state legislatures, and bans have already been implemented due to trigger laws that depended on Roe’s reversal.
This also impacts more recent abortion bans that have been making their way through state legislatures within the past couple of years.
In Georgia, for example, HB481 – otherwise known as the “Fetal Heartbeat Ban” – was passed in the Georgia state legislature in March 2019 and signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp in May of the same year.
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After being signed into law, HB481 was then taken to court by a group of Georgia-based reproductive rights organizations – including SisterSong, the Feminist Women’s Health Center, the ACLU of Georgia, the Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood Southeast, among others – and was successfully blocked in October 2019 from going into effect.
Georgia then filed an appeal in July 2020 in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the decision to block the law.
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The 11th Circuit decided to hold on taking action on the case to see if the Supreme Court would make a decision about Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which challenged Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban and was predicted to be one of the deciding cases for the overturning of Roe.
This was ultimately the case – with Roe being overturned in the Dobbs v. Jackson decision.
Read More: SisterSong v. Kemp – American Civil Liberties Union
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Not yet. Now that Roe has been overturned, this means that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals could now move forward with deciding whether to allow Georgia’s abortion ban law to go into effect.
According to 11Alive News, the court is allowing both parties in the original SisterSong v. Kemp case – including the reproductive health centers and those in opposition to the law – to make their argument with a 10-page brief by July 14 before they make a final decision.
Until then, however, abortion in Georgia is still legal up until 22 weeks of pregnancy.
Read More: Black Lawmakers Outline Plans to Protect Abortion Rights Following Overturn of Roe – Chauncey Alcorn, Capital B News Atlanta
For those in Georgia and elsewhere, here are 5 ways that you can learn more and take action in support of abortion rights and reproductive liberation more broadly.
Explore trusted, educational resources from trusted abortion and reproductive justice organizers on the ground to learn about what an abortion is and is not, and about what support is truly needed right now.
These resources will help you fill your toolbox to support folks getting an abortion or to support organizations and health clinics and abortion care networks who are helping folks get access to the care they need.
Read More: How to Use Abortion Pills fact sheet
Identify and support your local abortion fund by using this interactive map created by the National Network of Abortion Funds.
If you aren’t able to support abortion funds and clinics financially, Abortion Access Front’s Adopt-A-Clinic program “works with clinics across the country to keep track of urgently needed items like underwear, snacks, and gift cards for patients traveling for care.” Locate a clinic and see what they need that you might be able to provide!
Explore becoming an abortion clinic escort or an abortion doula.
A great place to start with the basics is this DIY Doula zine on Self-Care Before, During and After an Abortion created by The Doula Project. While geared towards those who are accessing care themselves, it can be a great tool to understand what specific care someone might need.
Read More: As a Former Abortion Doula, Here's How I'm Facing the Dawn of a Post-Roe World.
Expand your perspectives about abortion and open yourself up to challenging conversations.
A big part of the stigma around abortion is attributed to our collective difficulty with talking openly about abortion in a deeply personal way, rather than just a broad, political way.
In addition to exploring your personal values and beliefs about abortion beyond “it’s a human right,” this can mean learning about how restricted access to abortion and reproductive care impacts not just cis women, but trans men and non-binary and gender-expansive folks (check out TransLash Media’s resources for trans-affirming approaches to Roe v. Wade). Additionally, it can mean taking the time to understand how this issue has impacted Black folks and people of color, folks that are low-income, folks that are immigrants, etc.
Read More: Heart-to-Heart Abortion Conversation Cards - National Network of Abortion Funds
Finally, for folks in need of abortion care – or for those who want to hold onto this information just in case – check out the following resources:
ineedana.com – find information about local abortion clinics and other ways to access care locally
abortionondemand.com – order medication abortion pills online
carafem.org – order medication abortion pills online
plancpills.org – order medication abortion pills online
abortionhotline.org – peer-based, anonymous healthline support for folks having an abortion at home with pills
mahotline.org – hotline for folks self-managing a miscarriage or abortion, also provides resources on how to use abortion pills
ReproLegalHelpline.org – for folks with legal questions about abortion (this helpline is run by lawyers at If, When, How)
Many clinics, care providers, organizers and people seeking care are working to navigate this difficult reality and need support from folks who have done the reading and the work to unlearn harmful narratives and stigmas about abortion and reproductive rights. Additionally, equipping yourself with the facts can help ease unnecessary fear in an already scary time for ourselves individually and collectively.
If you have any further questions or need to be connected to additional resources, email americus@bettertospeak.org. I will try my best to answer your questions, provide you with those resources and/or connect you to the proper people/resource.
P.S. Read this thread from the Abortion Care Network for encouragement and for more information about other ways to stay connected to this vitally important work.
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