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People Have Already Been Living Without Abortion Access for Years [1]

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Date: 2022-07-21

It’s been only a few weeks since the Supreme Court made the catastrophic decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and already we’re seeing the impact this verdict is having across the country.

Many people have tried to tackle the question: what happens next? But have failed to look to the folks who know best — reproductive justice activists and abortion care providers in states that had limited abortion access or no access at all, long before Roe fell.

That’s exactly what Kate Kelly and Jamia Wilson have done with their podcast, Ordinary Equality – a show dedicated to helping listeners navigate a post-Roe world. On each episode of Ordinary Equality, Kate and Jamia zoom into a specific state to highlight one facet of the ongoing fight for reproductive rights.

Kentucky, for example, is one state where receiving an abortion has been very difficult for residents for years. In Episode 1, “Hanging On to a Future,” Kate and Jamia speak to Erin Smith, executive director at the Kentucky Health Justice Network. The KHJN consists of a system of volunteers dedicated to helping the people of Kentucky gain access to abortion and other necessary reproductive care, with a focus on supporting transgender and non-binary people.

Throughout the episode Kate, Jamia, and Erin discuss several key parts of the conversation on reproductive justice that should be top of mind for anyone pushing for safe abortion access. First, Erin highlights the necessity to de-gender one’s language when talking about abortion access. Not everyone who has the capacity to produce children identifies as a woman, and not all people who identify as women have the capacity to produce children. In order to be inclusive of all the people that this issue affects, it’s important to use phrases like “birth giving people,” “people with uteruses,” etc. to denote who exactly you’re referring to.

Kate and Jamia also emphasize the importance of turning to existing networks and organizations, such as the KHJN, as you think about ways to take action. There are several organizations that have been doing the work of making abortion and reproductive healthcare accessible across the country for decades. These are the groups that will lead the way to tangible action that directly aids people seeking abortions, and they are who we should look to when we’re striving to provide assistance.

“We can’t rely on the government,” Wilson said. “We can’t rely on the court – so we have to rely on each other.”

For those searching for more answers and hope during this time, Ordinary Equality is here to help. Each episode will answer an important question brought up in the aftermath of the Roe v. Wade decision with the support of folks who have already been doing the work. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/21/2111778/-People-Have-Already-Been-Living-Without-Abortion-Access-for-Years

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