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

The Be-All End-All: Why Immediate Support & Strategic Advocacy Are Both Necessary for Collective Liberation

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams dive into the long-standing tension in the repro freedom movement between immediate structural support and long-term advocacy. As abortion funding and mutual aid priorities are advanced alongside litigation and culture change strategies, finding the balance between various essential elements of repro freedom work can seem daunting.

Come along as Kelley and Terry make sense of a sustainable balance between the immediate and the strategic, addressing specifically the recent rift between abortion support organizations and big national campaigns — all while seeing future possibilities through spiritual, literary, and liberationist lenses.

Links to discussed content:

• National Abortion Rights Groups Have the Wrong Priorities for Our Movement: www.thenation.com/article/activism/abortion-funds-movement-crisis/tnamp/ 
• Following National Funding Cuts, ‘July Was Pure Hell’ for Abortion Funds: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/2024/08/13/following-national-funding-cuts-july-was-pure-hell-for-abortion-funds/ 
• Inside the $100 million plan to restore abortion rights in America: www.politico.com/news/2024/06/24/abortion-rights-advocates-launch-100-million-campaign-00164528
• Why a Big Abortion Hotline Is Cutting Patient Support: www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-06-26/abortion-hotline-cuts-services-due-to-lack-of-funds
• Manhattan Planned Parenthood Will Stop Offering Abortions After 20 Weeks: www.nytimes.com/2024/08/07/nyregion/planned-parenthood-abortions-manhattan.html 
• ‘Be-All and End-All’ Origin & Meaning: https://nosweatshakespeare.com/quotes/famous/be-all-and-end-all/
• Macbeth - Act 1, Scene 7: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/macbeth/read/1/7/

Music by Korbin Jones

Four-Year Flood: Navigating Election Years Effectively

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams lay out the good, the bad, and the truly wild about election years in the U.S. With particular attention given to how major elections affect nonprofit organizations and the people we serve, Kelley and Terry give listeners a preview of things to come over the next few months by offering practical wisdom about volunteering, capacity management, setting realistic expectations, and discussing ways to keep perspective on elections as important but not all-inclusive elements of our collective struggle for justice and liberation.

Links to discussed content:

• Context on JD Vance's "childless cat lady" comment: www.npr.org/2024/07/29/nx-s1-5055616/jd-vance-childless-cat-lady-history
• If/When/How: https://ifwhenhow.org/
• Killing the Black Body, by Dorothy Roberts: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/155575/killing-the-black-body-by-dorothy-roberts/
• Buy our exclusive "Childless by Choice"merch: www.bonfire.com/store/faith4repro/

Music by Korbin Jones

Willing & Able to Be Angry: Processing Violence in the U.S.

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams address the attempted assassination of former President Trump amid the context of reproductive criminalization and ongoing violence directed at abortion clinics.

Kelley and Terry cut through the hot takes and knee-jerk reactions with some real talk about nonviolence, white male privilege, and what holistic justice should look like beyond individual instances of trauma and politically-inflated moments of national reckoning.

Links to discussed content:

• Overturning of Roe v. Wade as context: www.npr.org/2022/06/24/1102305878/supreme-court-abortion-roe-v-wade-decision-overturn

• Remembering Dr. George Tiller: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/worth-it-all

• Tiller Observance Resources: https://t.co/7AQn0ZBPwd

• 1994-2004 Federal Assault Weapons Ban: www.npr.org/2023/04/01/1167467835/school-shooting-assault-weapons-ban-history

• How Being Silently Pissed-Off is Fueling Autoimmune Disorders in Women of Color: https://fiercebymitu.com/wellness/science-women-of-color-anger-and-autoimmune-diseases/#:~:text=For%20Dr.%20Gabor%20Mate%2C%20a,autoimmune%20responses%20in%20the%20body 

• The Agnes Jackson Reynolds Fund:  www.aggiefund.org

• "Self-Managed Abortion in Good Faith" trainings: www.faithchoiceohio.org/self-managed-abortion-in-good-faith-training

• The Mask You Live In documentary: https://therepproject.org/films/the-mask-you-live-in/

• "Feminist Buzzkills" podcast: https://www.aafront.org/fbklive/

• Relearning Self-Care info: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/relearning-self-care

Music by Korbin Jones

Healthy Shouldn’t Be Hard: How Health Equity Obstacles Are Failing Patients

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams explore health equity in Ohio through the lens of a very special case study — Kelley’s own recent experience seeking medical treatment for ongoing pain and illness symptoms.

After eventually finding out that their symptoms were actually side effects of a hormonal IUD, Kelley shares boldly about their struggle to be heard by medical professionals, the obstacles to accessing critical health information as a patient, and even the role the popular online forum Reddit played in helping unmask underlying problems.

Links to discussed content:

• What is an IUD?: www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/iud

• The Many Options for Birth Control: www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control
  
  
• Racial Bias in Pain Assessment and Treatment Recommendations: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4843483/
  
  

• Black Women’s Mistreatment In Health Care: https://garfield-hylton.medium.com/black-womens-treatment-in-health-care-e3409ca0411b

• Reddit Healthcare Thread: www.reddit.com/r/healthcare/

• Healthcare for All Ohioans: https://spanohio.org/

Music by Korbin Jones

You Lied To Me About God: A Conversation with Dr. Jamie Marich

Faith Organizer Rev. Terry Williams and guest Dr. Jamie Marich talk about Dr. Marich’s forthcoming book and how her own understanding of reproductive freedom shaped a journey out of religious fundamentalism and into a life of transformed healing.

“You Lied To Me About God: A Memoir” details Dr. Marich’s personal history with restrictive religious systems, anti-choice social teachings, and finding internal strength to break free of hurtful systems in favor of a living faith that honors human dignity and bodily autonomy.

Links to discussed content: 

• Learn more about Jamie Marich: https://jamiemarich.com/
• You Lied to Me About God: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/760810/you-lied-to-me-about-god-by-jamie-marich-phd
• Ohio Passes Issue1: https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/11/07/ohio-voters-pass-issue-1-constitutional-amendment-to-protect-abortion-and-reproductive-rights/
• Check out the Faith4Repro store with our “Abortion Is A Blessing” merch: www.bonfire.com/store/faith4repro/

Music by Korbin Jones

Rage Runs Out: Sustainably Organizing for Reproductive Freedom

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams explore what motivates people to stay engaged in the struggle for reproductive health, rights, and justice — especially when the constant rage we have all consistently felt starts to wear us all out.

Talking sustainability, activism fatigue, and sacred self-care, Kelley and Terry give voice to how the work of repro organizing shifts when movement energies ebb and flow, giving perspective to our current moment and providing strategies for folks in all settings to keep moving forward in the work of collective liberation no matter the tide or season.

Links to discussed content:

• Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights, draft opinion shows: www.politico.com/news/2022/05/02/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-00029473  
• Ohio Passes Issue 1: https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/11/07/ohio-voters-pass-issue-1-constitutional-amendment-to-protect-abortion-and-reproductive-rights/
• Abortion Apathy: Sustaining the Movement After Issue 1: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/abortion-apathy-sustaining-the-movement-after-issue-1/
• Radical Rebellion: Why Self-Care Will Always Nuture Reproductive Freedom: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/radical-rebellion-why-self-care-will-always-nurture-reproductive-freedom?rq=care%20
• Why Self-Care Matters – Even as the World Burns: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/why-self-care-matters-even-as-the-world-burns
• The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel Van Der Folk: www.besselvanderkolk.com/resources/the-body-keeps-the-score

Music by Korbin Jones

Photo: "raged, street art, wall, graffiti" by burdakov.dmitry, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Deeply Rooted & Tightly Woven: Building Community with SACReD

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams are on location at the 2024 SACReD Gathering in New Orleans. A multireligious organization of faith-rooted reproductive freedom advocates, SACReD (Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity) builds connections across geographies and theologies to support abortion justice and reproductive justice.

Listen is as Kelley and Terry talk about the Gathering and reflect on the need to build robust, interconnected relationships to advance collective liberation in the face of ongoing societal stigma and oppression.

Links to discussed content:

• SACReD (Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity): www.sacreddignity.org/
• Why We Need Restorative & Transformative Justice: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/why-we-need-restorative-and-transformative-justice?rq=transformative%20justice
• "What Is/Isn't Transformative Justice" by adrienne maree brown: https://adriennemareebrown.net/2015/07/09/what-isisnt-transformative-justice/
• Womanism Definition from In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: https://blackfeministcollective.com/2020/11/14/alice-walker-womanist-movement/
• Dallas Congregation Supports People Seeking Abortions: www.uuworld.org/articles/dallas-cong-abortion
• Faith Roots Reproductive Action (formerly known as New Mexico RCRC): www.faithrootsrepro.org/
• Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals, by Alexis Pauline Gumbs: www.akpress.org/undrowned.html
• Emergent Strategy, by adrienne maree brown: www.akpress.org/emergent-strategy-e-book.html

Music by Korbin Jones

Abortion Apathy: Sustaining the Movement After Issue 1

Faith Organizer Kelley Fox sits down with Kate Moralde, our Volunteer & Intake Coordinator with The Jubilee Fund, to explore Kate's story and get real about the ongoing struggle to keep Ohio moving forward after the passage of Issue 1. Kelley and Kate discuss the barriers to entry for social justice work, how often the burden of justice is placed on people of color, and how they keep going while balancing self-care amidst the constantly overwhelming political landscape.

We'd love to hear from you! Please fill out our feedback form: https://forms.gle/WLnBtgVPgSa8gdqZ9 

Links to discussed content:

• OPAWL – Building AAPI Feminist Leadership: www.opawl.org/ 
• The Jubilee Fund: www.faithchoiceohio.org/jubileefund 
• Volunteer with The Jubilee Fund: https://airtable.com/appPMprdtIZbOJ7go/shrWlvAuhpgAu5TUy 
• SMA In Good Faith Training: https://www.faithchoiceohio.org/self-managed-abortion-in-good-faith-training 
• Religion and Repro Training: https://www.faithchoiceohio.org/religion-and-repro-training
• Ohio Passes Issue 1: https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/11/07/ohio-voters-pass-issue-1-constitutional-amendment-to-protect-abortion-and-reproductive-rights/

Music by Korbin Jones

100 Episodes in Review: The Highs and Lows of the R-Soul Podcast

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams look back at nearly 4 years of hosting the R-Soul podcast! Listen in as they reflect on the joys of producing this faithfully pro-choice podcast, celebrate how it all began, marvel at all the guests they've interviewed, and share the lessons they've learned along the way.

Links to discussed content: 

• Kelley's College Podcast (de/masc/ed): https://open.spotify.com/show/7yoVZMfA2HT4E38kS79Z7w?si=e209f9f3bee643e2
• RTJ Training: www.faithchoiceohio.org/restorative-and-transformative-justice-training
• Liver and Onions: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/liver-and-onions-and-abortions/
• That Man Said WHAT?!: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/that-man-said-what/
• One Man Was NEVER A Good Plan: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/one-man-is-never-a-good-plan/
• Making Real Peace: The Struggle for Real Peace from Ohio to Palestine: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/making-real-peace-the-struggle-for-reproductive-freedom-from-ohio-to-palestine
• All our podcast guests:
  • Kellie Copeland, Pro-Choice Ohio: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/one-man-is-never-a-good-plan/
  • Mason Hickman, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/sign-up-here-for-the-revolution/
  • Elaina Ramsey, Faith Choice Ohio
    • On Coups and Accountability: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/on-coups-and-accountability-why-we-stand-firm-against-white-christian-supremacy/
    • Take Your Time Off! : https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/take-your-time-off-self-care-and-breaking-from-toxic-american-work-culture/
    • 2023 & Epiphany: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/2023-and-epiphany-reflecting-on-the-journey-through-the-fall-of-roe-beyond/
    • Sustained by Sabbatical: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/sustained-by-sabbatical-how-time-away-from-work-enriches-the-world/
    • Coming Down from the Mountaintop: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/coming-down-from-the-mountaintop-moving-sustainably-into-2024/
  • Alana Garrett-Ferguson, New Voices for Reproductive Justice https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/tell-it-like-it-is-casey-goodson-arthur-keith-and-the-power-of-story-to-fight-state-sanctioned-violence/
  • Gaby Garcia-Vera, Catholics for Choice: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/abortion-in-good-faith-the-pro-choice-catholic-revolution/
  • Kristin Hady, Capital Care Clinic Escorts: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/wap-what-amazing-protectors-clinic-escorting-and-the-fight-for-abortion-patient-safety/
  • Stephanie Craddock Sherwood, Women Have Options Ohio https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/fund-abortions-not-cops-the-fight-for-abolition-and-greater-abortion-access/
  • Blyth Barnow, Faith in Public Life: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/the-water-were-swimming-in-harm-reduction-abolition-reproductive-justice/
  • Dr. Sue Ellen Braunlin, Indiana Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/i-consent-the-importance-of-bodily-autonomy-at-every-age/
  • Dr. Yvonne Zimmerman, The Methodist Theological School of Ohio: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/safe-legal-and-free-the-importance-of-agency-for-survivors-of-human-trafficking-and-for-reproductive-freedom/
  • Catrina Otonoga, Preterm: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/faith-in-preterm-the-prayerfully-pro-choice-values-at-the-heart-of-ohio-s-largest-independent-abortion-clinic/
  • Rachel and Kathy, Patients to Advocates: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/celebrating-roe-part-1-abortion-patients-share-their-stories/
  • Kierre and Chrissy, Patients to Advocates: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/celebrating-roe-part-2-abortion-patients-share-their-stories/
  • Rev. Dr. Kyle Brooks, The Methodist Theological School of Ohio: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/deep-rooted-causes-how-racism-reactivity-keep-us-stuck-in-superficial-cycles/
  • Jeryl Hayes, If/When/How Lawyering for Reproductive Justice: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/building-the-movement-stepping-into-our-values-in-faith-and-the-legal-field/
  • Dr. Lauren Beene, Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/necessary-medical-care-why-we-need-abortion-access-on-the-ballot/
  • Jen Miller, League of Women Voters of Ohio: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/fierce-the-league-of-women-voters-of-ohio-and-the-nonpartisan-fight-to-save-democracy/
  • Samantha Allen, Faith Choice Ohio: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/telling-our-stories-samantha-s-journey-to-abortion-advocacy/
  • Nicole Morino, Catholics for Choice: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/we-are-the-majority-%e2%80%94-how-pro-choice-catholics-and-other-people-of-faith-are-making-their-voices-heard/
  • Rev. Lyndsey Poglitsch-Godwin, Spritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/sacred-story-a-repro-heart-to-heart-with-rev-lyndsey-poglitsch-godwin/
  • Siobhan Boyd-Nelson, Equality Ohio: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/know-your-history-shape-the-future-reflections-on-justice-making-with-siobhan-boyd-nelson/

Music by Korbin Jones

Know Your History, Shape the Future: Reflections on Justice Making with Siobhan Boyd-Nelson

Faith Organizer Rev. Terry Williams welcomes special guest Siobhan Boyd-Nelson — Interim Executive Director with Equality Ohio — to talk about progress, persistence, and perspective in Ohio’s intersectional fight for collective liberation. Focusing on the connections between LGBTQ+ advocacy and reproductive freedom, Siobhan and Terry offer a hope-filled vision for the future of Ohio, including practical steps you can take to stay grounded and energized in the work of change making in the days ahead.

Links to discussed content:

• Equality Ohio: https://equalityohio.org/

• "Our Whole Lives" Comprehensive Sexuality Education:  www.uua.org/re/owl

• Movement Ecology & the Power of Intersectional Activism:  www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2022/10/13/access-abortion-activism

• Ban on Gender Affirming Care & Ohio Trans Athletes (HB68): www.kycohio.org/hb68.html

• HB68 Legal Challenge Moves Forward: www.aclu.org/press-releases/ohio-families-file-lawsuit-challenging-ban-on-gender-affirming-healthcare-for-transgender-youth

Music by Korbin Jones