R-Soul: Reclaiming the Soul of Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice

Rev. jessica young chang shares her passion for faith and reproductive justice in this podcast interview with Rev. Terry Williams. A Minister and Reproductive Justice Chaplain, Rev. young chang reflects on her own history with Ohioans, shares what it’s like to be a religious leader deeply devoted to reproductive justice, and gives a hopeful word to all of us who are seeking reproductive freedom and collective liberation.

Links to discussed content:

• Chicago Women's Health Center: www.chicagowomenshealthcenter.org/

• Reproductive Chaplaincy with Faith Aloud: www.faithaloud.org/

• Spiritual Care & All-Options Counseling from Faith Choice Ohio: www.faithchoiceohio.org/counseling

• Reproductive Justice definition by SisterSong: www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justiceait

• Leonard Cohen's "Anthem" (There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.): www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8-BT6y_wYg

• Mini-Zines for Reproductive Justice from Faith Choice Ohio: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/10-new-mini-zines-to-advance-reproductive-justice

• Reproductive Justice and the Power of Self-Love: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/reproductive-justice-and-the-power-of-self-love

• Investigation continues into the death of Mississippi teen Nolan Wells: www.npr.org/2026/07/10/nx-s1-5887443/nolan-wells-mississippi-investigation-ben-crump

• Pregnancy, Brain Death, and the Right to Choose: Lessons from the Adriana Smith Case: www.thehastingscenter.org/pregnancy-brain-death-and-the-right-to-choose-lessons-from-the-adriana-smith-case/

• Does Georgia's fetal 'personhood' law mean a pregnant woman must stay on life support? www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/06/07/nx-s1-5425384/georgia-anti-abortion-fetal-personhood-law-pregnant-woman-life-support

Music by Korbin Jones

Billboards have been popping up across rural Ohio with hateful messages targeting the children of LGBTQ+ families. These advertisements are promoted by a well-funded organization dedicated to overturning same-sex marriage equality, banning in vitro fertilization, and making surrogacy a punishable crime.

Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams help listeners unravel the anti-reproductive justice roots of this campaign, exploring how politics that target LGBTQ+ families are interconnected with anti-abortion agendas that seek to control all of our bodies.

Links to discussed content: 

• Anti-LGBTQ+ billboards pop up in rural Ohio. Communities are immediately pushing back: https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2026/07/23/ohio-anti-lgbtq-billboards/
• Them Before Us: https://thembeforeus.com/
• Spoon Theory: https://lymphoma-action.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/documents/2020-05/Spoon%20theory%20by%20Christine%20Miserandino.pdf
• At the End of the Rainbow: Repro & PRIDE in Rural Ohio: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/at-the-end-of-the-rainbow-repro-and-pride-in-rural-ohio
• Lift Every Voice for Abortion & LGBTQ+ Justice: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/lift-every-voice-for-abortion-amp-lgbtq-justice
• Celebrate PRIDE and Rural Organizing with Faith Choice Ohio: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/celebrate-pride-and-rural-organizing
• LGBTQ+ Justice & Reproductive Justice Mini-Zine: www.faithchoiceohio.org/zines/p/lgbtq-justice-reproductive-justice

Music by Korbin Jones

Resource Coordinator Kelley Fox talks with Rev. Kearstin Bailey about the beauty of finding God in practices some religious people consider taboo. Delving into tarot, astrology, and religious history, Kelley and Kearstin uncover the divine that they've found through their spiritual practices. From how to begin exploring spirituality outside of the institutional comfort zone of faith to the ways that White Christian Patriarchy uses taboos to keep people of color, women, and queer people oppressed, this episode delves into the entangled nature of pagan spiritual practices and finding the divine in daily life.

Links to discussed content:

• Connect with Rev. Kearstin Bailey and heyKB: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/64d3dbb9789648d6051b0f11
• Rev. Kearstin's Instagram: www.instagram.com/thekearstinbailey/
• 2026 Resurrecting the Goddess: Liberating Christianity with the Divine Feminine (PART 1): https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/resurrecting-the-goddess-liberating-christianity-with-the-divine-feminine-part-1/
• 2026 Resurrecting the Goddess: Liberating Christianity with the Divine Feminine (PART 2): https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/resurrecting-the-goddess-liberating-christianity-with-the-divine-feminine-part-2/
• What is Paganism? www.pagangrimoire.com/what-is-paganism/
• Just What is Mysticism Anyway? https://mystiphora.com/just-what-is-mysticism-anyway-and-why-should-anyone-care/
• Find your birth chart: www.chani.com/chart
• Guide to the Planetary Days: www.chani.com/blogs/your-guide-to-planetary-days
• You Were Born for This (a tool for reading birth charts): https://chanishop.com/products/you-were-born-for-this-astrology-for-radical-self-acceptance
• Cosmic Guidance Oracle Deck: www.tarotstack.com/products/cosmic-guidance-oracle-deck?srsltid=AfmBOoobpiViuPOqnG4H0T00y_oFCyNXne8NkoMnUIGjIpHaqh4bdY_6
• Kelley's blogs about being "woo-woo":

• • A Reading for the New Year: Toiling and Growing: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/a-reading-for-the-new-year-toiling-and-growing
  • Why Holy Saturday Still Matters to Me as a ‘Spiritual but Not Religious’ Person: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/why-holy-saturday-still-matters-to-me-as-a-spiritual-but-not-religious-person
  • Unconfirmed Placebos: Embracing Affirmations During Saturn Return: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/unconfirmed-placebos-embracing-affirmations-during-saturn-return

Music by Korbin Jones

As the United States rounds the corner on its 250th year post-independence, Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams dig into what our national report card looks like at this point in a very complex history. Acknowledging the diversity of emotions this anniversary incites, Kelley and Terry discuss the political landscape of reproductive freedom and white Christian nationalism throughout U.S. history, as well as why raising gripes and grievances about our nation might just be the most patriotic way to celebrate a nation founded largely on a declaration of complaints.

Links to discussed content: 

• America 250 & White Christian Nationalism: www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/10/america-250-maga-christian-nationalism
• First Capital PRIDE Coalition: www.firstcapitalpride.org
• U.S. Declaration of Independence: www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
• Restorative and Transformative Justice Training: www.faithchoiceohio.org/restorative-and-transformative-justice-training
• Co-Op Games and Perspective: https://medium.com/@coltonlhchan/how-it-takes-two-builds-emotional-bonds-through-cooperative-game-design-51abbcf928fa
• Great American State Fair: www.cbsnews.com/boston/video/whats-happening-at-the-great-american-state-fair-in-washington-d-c/

Music by Korbin Jones

For PRIDE Month, join Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams for a discussion about LGBTQ+ liberation, reproductive freedom, and the power of personal storytelling! No matter who you are or what your life experiences have been — where, when, if, and how you share your story matters.

Comparing the similar ways that personal stories about reproductive experiences and human sexuality are treated in society, Kelley and Rev. Terry offer important tips for stewarding your own story, selecting your audience with care, and standing in the power of your own decision making when it comes to sharing personal reflections and history. Join us for this PRIDE-inspired, intersectional trip through the journey of narrative storytelling and personal empowerment

Links to discussed content: 

• Find us at PRIDE!: https://www.faithchoiceohio.org/events
  • Dayton PRIDE: https://www.faithchoiceohio.org/events/dayton-pride-2026
  • Canal Winchester PRIDE at David’s UCC: https://www.faithchoiceohio.org/events/canal-winchester-pride-2026
  • Cincinnati PRIDE: https://www.faithchoiceohio.org/events/cincinnati-pride-2026
  • Akron PRIDE: https://www.faithchoiceohio.org/events/akron-pride-2026
• Chrysalis by the Upper Room: https://www.upperroom.org/chrysalis
• "Spoon Theory," by Christine Miserandino: https://lymphoma-action.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/documents/2020-05/Spoon%20theory%20by%20Christine%20Miserandino.pdf 
• Abortion Care Package Program: https://www.faithchoiceohio.org/abortion-care-packages

Music by Korbin Jones

Ohio and West Virginia share a lot more than a border — common economic systems, cultural bonds, and legislative environments hostile to reproductive rights make for strong relationships between reproductive freedom advocates across both states. Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams take you inside a recent day-long training event where Faith Choice Ohio staff led our friends at WV FREE through multiple faith-in-action training sessions.

Exploring the trainings we offered in this Ohio-West Virginia partnership event, Kelley and Rev. Terry talk through the important aspects of trainings on Values Clarification; Reproductive Justice 101; and All-Options Spiritual Caregiving that are foundational to our work. This episode also explores the amazing new Reproductive Freedom Resource Center headed up by WV FREE called The CICADA Center — you won’t want to miss this!

Links to discussed content: 

• West Virginia FREE: wvfree.org
• CICADA Center: https://wvfree.org/cicada-center/
• Purple Period Pantry: www.thewvwa-ef.org/purple-period-pantry
• CICADA Center Opens at St John’s: www.wvgazettemail.com/news/health/cicada-center-opens-at-st-johns-to-offer-reproductive-counseling-supplies/article_a0521e2a-a9a0-4318-9256-142ab7670955.html
• St. John’s Episcopal Church (Charleston, WV): www.stjohnswv.org/
• Faith for Repro Training Center: www.faithchoiceohio.org/trainings
• Request a Speaker: www.faithchoiceohio.org/request-a-speaker
• Contact Us: www.faithchoiceohio.org/contact-us

Music by Korbin Jones

For the one millionth time (it feels like it!), nationwide access to Mifepristone is again under judicial threat. Join Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams for an update about the latest rulings, as well as a discussion of the past, present, and possible futures of this safe & effective medication that helps make most abortions in the U.S. possible.

Sometimes known by its older name of RU-486, mail-order Mifepristone has become the center of a strategy by anti-abortion zealots that aims to eliminate abortion access altogether. Kelley and Rev. Terry explain what a world of difference Mifepristone has made for abortion access and why the drug’s continued legal availability is a key part to creating safe futures for all people who choose abortion.

Links to discussed content: 

• Louisiana's 5th Circuit Mifepristone Decision blocked by Supreme Court: https://apnews.com/article/abortion-pills-mifepristone-supreme-court-louisiana-0533e83d67148fdfec53b...
• Supreme Court Temporarily Restores Access to Abortion Pill by Mail: www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/us/politics/supreme-court-abortion-pill.html
• What is Mifepristone?: www.heyjane.com/articles/what-is-mifepristone
• Self-Managed Abortion in Good Faith Training: www.faithchoiceohio.org/self-managed-abortion-in-good-faith-training
• Liver & Onions podcast episode: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/liver-and-onions-and-abortions/
• Repro Legal Helpline: https://reprolegalhelpline.org/
• Repro Legal Defense Fund: https://reprolegaldefensefund.org/

Music by Korbin Jones

It’s been nearly six years of reproductive health, rights, and justice through a faith lens here at the R-Soul podcast by Faith Choice Ohio!

Journey with Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams through some of the best previous episodes of R-Soul, complete with commentary on history repeating itself, powerful predictions that came to pass, and reflections on our hopes for the next 150 episodes.

• Links to discussed content:
  • (Episode 102) Deeply Rooted & Tightly Woven: Building Community with SACReD: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/deeply-rooted-tightly-woven-building-community-with-sacred/
    • SACReD Gathering in 2027: www.sacreddignity.org/gathering/
  • (Episode 103) Rage Runs Out: Sustainably Organizing for Reproductive Freedom: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/rage-runs-out-sustainably-organizing-for-reproductive-freedom/
  • (Episode 105) Healthy Shouldn’t Be Hard: How Health Equity Obstacles Are Failing Patients https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/healthy-shouldn-t-be-hard-how-health-equity-obstacles-are-fail...
  • (Episode 120) Winter Won’t Last Forever: Strategies for Thriving in Seasons of Strife: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/winter-won-t-last-forever-strategies-for-thriving-in-seasons-o...
  • (Episode 125) Progress, Not Perfection: Remembering Pope Francis: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/progress-not-perfection-remembering-pope-francis/
    • Catholics for Choice: www.catholicsforchoice.org/
  • (Episode 134) Running the Numbers: How Much Does an Abortion Really Cost?: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/running-the-numbers-how-much-does-an-abortion-really-cost/
    • Abortion Estimator Tool: https://www.ineedana.com/estimate-abortion-costs
  • (Episode 135) Resurrecting the Goddess: Liberating Christianity with the Divine Feminine (PART 1): faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/resurrecting-the-goddess-liberating-christianity-with-the-divi...
  • (Episode 138) Preaching Personhood: The Politics of Ignoring People in the Present: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/preaching-personhood-the-politics-of-ignoring-people-in-the-pr...
  • (Episode 139) SNAP Shutdown: Why Food Security Is Reproductive Justice: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/snap-shutdown-why-food-security-is-reproductive-justice/
  • (Episode 144) 2026 in The Cards: Spiritually Discerning the New Year with Tarot: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/2026-in-the-cards-spiritually-discerning-the-new-year-with-tar...
  • (Episode 146) Tears Are Welcome: The Power of Lament in Justice Work: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/tears-are-welcome-the-power-of-lament-in-justice-work/

• Guests since Episode 100
  • Kate, Faith Choice Ohio
  • Dr. Jamie Marich, Author: "You Lied to Me About God"
  • Jen Miller, League of Women Voters of Ohio
  • Mia Lewis, Common Cause Ohio
  • Nicole Morino, Catholics for Choice
  • Constance Dunlap, Faith Choice Ohio
  • Samantha, Faith Choice Ohio
  • Charity Woods Barnes, Reproductive Justice Resilience Project
  • Erin Duffy-Burke & Kathleen Joan, Co-creators of the Resurrecting the Goddess Summit
  • Sister Shannon, Roman Catholic Social Media Educator
  • Rev. Dr. Marian Stewart, Springfield Neighbors United

Music by Korbin Jones

Who has the right to determine how a pregnancy should be delivered? Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams tackle recent reporting that documents incidents in Florida where Black women have been forced into delivering their pregnancies via C-section against their will.

Putting these latest examples of government overreach into historical & social context, Kelley and Rev. Terry cover the ethics of bodily autonomy, analogous medical freedom situations, and the role racism plays in the policies of force that disparately affect pregnant people in the United States.

Links to discussed content:

• Court-ordered C-sections: www.propublica.org/article/florida-court-ordered-c-sections
  
• UltraViolet Petition Against Forced C-Sections:
   https://act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/no_forced_csections/
• Killing the Black Body, by Dorothy Roberts: https://archive.org/details/killingblackbody00robe
• Department of Rehabilitation & Corrections Pregnancy Outcomes Bill: www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb542
  
• Ohio Universal Pregnancy Registry Bill: www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb754
  
• Local Ohio Media on Universal Pregnancy Registry Bill: Bill: www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2026/03/17/ohio-bill-would-require-fetal-birth-death-certificates/89183531007/
  
• National Media on Ohio Universal Pregnancy Registry Bill: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/listen-velshi-ohio-gop-bill-track-every-pregnancy/
  
• 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-xiii
• Restorative & Transformative Justice Training:  https://www.faithchoiceohio.org/restorative-and-transformative-justice-training

Music by Korbin Jones

Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams tackle the topic of evolving spirituality, exploring options for how you can both outgrow the religious practices of your childhood and simultaneously grow into a deeply meaningful spirituality that doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful.

Through discussions of their own personal evolutions in spiritual practice, Kelley and Rev. Terry help listeners understand the compelling benefits of finding a spirituality that works for you, including the impact a healthy spiritual life can have on reproductive freedom advocacy and community building.

Links to discussed content: 

• Saturn Return: What is it? https://www.chani.com/astro-education/saturn-return
  
• Resurrecting the Goddess Interview Pt. 1: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/resurrecting-the-goddess-liberating-christianity-with-the-divine-feminine-part-1/
• Pagan Sabbats: https://www.learnreligions.com/eight-pagan-sabbats-2562833
• The Gospel According to Ricky Bobby: https://mbird.com/film/the-gospel-according-to-ricky-bobby/
• The Unexpected Joy of Being Bad at Something: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/possibilitizing/202502/the-unexpected-joy-of-being-bad-at-something
• Spirituality & Spring Cleaning: Practices to Help You Find Focus: https://www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/spirituality-and-spring-cleaning-practices-to-help-you-find-focus

Music by Korbin Jones