From the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion to the modern day struggle for intersectional reproductive freedom, religious voices have been at the forefront of fights that matter for generations. We’re here to amplify essential voices, tell stories that often go unheard, and lift up the holy and healing work of faithfully pro-choice activists like you.
Episodes
Friday Apr 23, 2021
Friday Apr 23, 2021
Recorded before the announcement of the Chauvin verdicts, in this episode Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams talk about what true justice looks like in a nation that has so far still to go in achieving racial equity. From discussing parallels with Rodney King’s decades-old beating at the hands of police to a clear explanation of why racist police violence is a reproductive justice issue, this episode is so deep.
Links to discussed content:
- Accountability vs. Justice: www.wthr.com/article/news/local/chauvin-verdict-was-accountability-not-just[…]george-floyd-sentence/531-a383c68b-f34c-4157-bf31-806747d1450c
- Remembering Adam Toledo: https://nypost.com/2021/04/18/slain-13-year-old-adam-toledo-remembered-as-kind-and-loving/
- Ohio RCRC's Restorative & Transformative Justice Book Club: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUvd-2uqDIiH9cQc7VbwkAg1moYRccN5mmZ
- A Decade of Watching Black People Die: www.npr.org/2020/05/29/865261916/a-decade-of-watching-black-people-die
- Rodney King and the LA Riots: http://projects.scpr.org/timelines/la-riots-25-years-later/
- Why Racial & Reproductive Justice Can't Be Unlinked: www.teenvogue.com/story/racism-and-the-need-for-reproductive-justice
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Apr 09, 2021
Friday Apr 09, 2021
Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams talk about protests within a faith context, exploring their first protests & outlining why the freedom to challenge authority is a sacred right we must defend. In addition to discussing the new wave of anti-protest bills targeting Ohio activists, Kelley and Terry talk candidly about the need for protester support & the role faith communities can play in supporting the voices of oppressed communities.
Links to discussed content:
- UMC Protest at the 2019 Special General Conference: https://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/protest-at-methodists-gathering-in-st-louis/html_f8b0185f-53df-5033-9790-e31e75b7febe.html
- "Protect Ohio Repro Organizers" Legal Support Fundraiser: https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/protect-ohio-repro-organizers1
- "Protest While You Can" Rallies on April 10th: https://fb.me/e/VdmzgWc2
- Why I (Kelley Fox) Testified Against an Anti-Protest Bill: https://www.ohiorcrc.org/blog/why-i-testified-against-an-anti-protest-bill
- Statement of Solidarity to Protect Repro Organizers: https://www.ohiorcrc.org/blog/power-to-the-people-our-statement-of-solidarity-to-protect-repro-organizers
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Mar 26, 2021
Friday Mar 26, 2021
Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams discuss the roots of Christian sexual repression and anti-Asian racism that are at the heart of the 2021 Atlanta murders. Recorded on March 22, just hours before the 2021 Boulder mass shooting, this episode focuses on the violence in Atlanta, the toxic American hatred of Asian persons, and the complicity of the American Church in the terror of mass shootings.
Links to discussed content:
- Debunking the Model Minority Myth
- Christians must rethink purity culture that puts the blame on women
- Sex Work is Work
- The Stories of the Victims
- March 30 Restorative Justice Book Club on "Beyond Survival"
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Mar 12, 2021
Friday Mar 12, 2021
Special guest Kristin Hady from Capital Care (Volunteer) Clinic Escorts joins our Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams to talk about Toledo’s proposed Patient Safety Ordinance & how Ohio’s abortion clinics have become a battleground in the unholy war against reproductive freedom. Kristin doesn’t mince words about patient care, protecting the right to choose, defending informed consent, and much, much more!
Links to discussed content:
- Capital Care Escorts Facebook Page: https://m.facebook.com/CCCEscorts/
- TAKE ACTION: Tell the Toledo City Council to pass the Patient Safety Ordinance today!
- Toledo Patient Safety Ordinance Testimony from Rev. Terry Williams: www.ohiorcrc.org/blog/toledo-patients-deserve-dignity-and-respect
- Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Access_to_Clinic_Entrances_Act
- The Joliet, Tennessee, Clinic Blockade: https://fox17.com/news/local/trespassers-refuse-to-leave-mt-juliet-medical-center-others-asked-to-shelter-in-place-wilson-county-middle-tennessee-providence-medical-pavilion
- CHOICE Network Pro-Choice Adoption Agency: https://choicenetworkadoptions.com
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Feb 26, 2021
Friday Feb 26, 2021
Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams explore the roots of thriving community through Restorative & Transformative Justice by engaging the emergent strategy work of adrienne maree brown. They explain why building a healthy, faithful, justice-centered world without repeating harmful patterns of the past is no easy feat, and also why it’s absolutely what must be done by those who seek true liberation.
Links to discussed content:
- Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds & We Will Not Cancel Us, And Other Dreams of Transformative Justice, by adrienne maree brown
- Livestream video of the first Restorative & Transformative Justice Book Club session
- Toledo City Council introduces legislation to protect patients at abortion clinics
- TAKE ACTION: Support Toledo Abortion Patients
- RSVP for the Restorative Justice Book Club (March 30th, April 27th, May 25th at 3pm-4pm EST)
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Feb 12, 2021
Friday Feb 12, 2021
Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams are joined by Gaby Garcia-Vera, Domestic Program States Manager for Catholics for Choice, for this episode all about reproductive freedom in Catholic life. From the malalignment between Catholic leaders and Catholic laity to reflections on the January 22nd St. Joseph’s Cathedral protest, Gaby helps us explore the breadth and depth of life as a pro-choice advocate in the Roman Catholic church.
Links to discussed content:
- Our Statement of Support of the Pro-Abortion Direct Action at St. Joseph's Cathedral
- Terry William's Reflection on the Direct Action at St. Joseph's Cathedral
- Background on the ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) "Stop the Church" Direct Actions
- Restorative Justice Book Club starting Feb. 23
- Catholics for Choice
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Jan 29, 2021
Friday Jan 29, 2021
Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams do a deep dive into why protest is never polite as they discuss the recent interruption of an anti-abortion mass at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Columbus by reproductive rights advocates. Kelley and Terry discuss the theology of direct action movements and review the specific implications around this local action to bring accountability to the anti-abortion masses of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus.
Links to discussed content:
- Anti-Abortion Mass disrupted by protestors
- Capital Care Clinic in Toledo has a rock thrown through the window
- Shotgun blast fired at Planned Parenthood front door
- When Healthcare Comes With Harassment: Photographing Abortion Clinic Protests
- Martin Luther King Jr's Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Jan 15, 2021
Friday Jan 15, 2021
Our Executive Director Elaina Ramsey joins Faith Organizer Terry Williams to talk about the January 6th Epiphany Day coup attempt and where our nation goes from here. In addition to discussing the deep ties between anti-abortion extremists and the Capitol attackers, Elaina and Terry unpack some of the theology behind the terror & give us a look at what meaningful healing could look like.
Links to discussed content:
- What the Capitol Insurgency Reveals about White Supremacy and Law Enforcement
- Pro-Choice Ossoff and Warnock Winning Georgia Shows We Don't Need to Sacrifice Abortion Rights to Win
- Ohio's Black Maternal Health Caucus
- Long Before the Capitol Riot, Anti-Abortion Extremists Showed Us the Dangers of Inflammatory Propaganda
- Anti-Abortion Advocates Were All Over the Capitol Riots
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Jan 01, 2021
Friday Jan 01, 2021
Join our Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams for a look back at all that 2020 had to offer, some time thinking forward to what 2021 might bring, and a prayer to the secular saint of singing the blues while learning to thrive — Billie Holiday herself.
Links to discussed content:
- ROOTT (Restoring Our Own Through Transformation): www.roottrj.org
- 'Which One, O God? — A Lament for André Maurice Hill: www.ohiorcrc.org/blog/which-one-o-god-a-lament-for-andre-maurice-hill
- Justice for Casey Goodson Jr.: www.facebook.com/OhioRCRC/photos/10157761380626497
- Protesters Gather, Hang 'Columbus is Not Safe for Black People' Sign Outside City Hall: www.dispatch.com/story/news/2020/12/23/columbus-not-safe-black-people-sign-hung-outside-city-hall/4034259001/
- Saint Billie Candle: philosophersguild.com/products/billie-holiday-candle
- Support Ohio's 'Religious Voice for Choice': www.ohiorcrc.org/blog/support-ohios-religious-voice-for-choice
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Dec 18, 2020
Friday Dec 18, 2020
With special guest Alana Garrett-Ferguson, our Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams explore the power of storytelling amid injustice and state-sanctioned violence. At the intersections of the fight for reproductive freedom and continued police violence in Ohio, this episode lays out plainly the power of owning your own story and telling the truth — no matter who tries to silence you.
Links to discussed content:
- New Voices for Reproductive Justice: www.newvoicespittsburgh.org/cleveland?fbclid=IwAR2mBcQKmzzObiU53aEemIWgJcCNNJqgytGMb9XWlNRG1VLLBQ29ebUhKNE
- Ohio Women's Alliance: www.ohiowomensalliance.org/
- Arthur Keith: www.cleveland19.com/2020/11/14/father-year-old-killed-by-cmha-police-demanding-answers-after-witnesses-claim-his-son-was-shot-back/
- Justice for Casey Goodson Jr.: www.facebook.com/OhioRCRC/photos/a.10152615267366497/10157761380626497/
Music by Korbin Jones