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

Labor that Pays: Why Labor Rights are Essential to Reproductive Freedom

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams keep the Labor Day vibes rolling in this latest episode by discussing wages, benefits, and the connection between strong labor unions and reproductive freedom.

Discussing recent labor disputes playing out across multiple reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations, Kelley and Terry explore why building a just future for all takes faithful action from everybody.

Links to discussed content: 

• All* Above All Statement on Restructuring: https://allaboveall.org/updates/a-statement-from-the-all-above-all-executive-team-and-steering-commi...
• Anonymous Post on Anti-Blackness at All* Above All: https://medium.com/@allaboveallisantiblack/all-above-all-is-anti-black-part-1-9a6dda785258
• Kelley's blog post on "Relearning Self-Care": www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/relearning-self-care
• Conflict is Not Abuse: Overstating Harm, Community Responsibility, and the Duty of Repair: www.akpress.org/conflictisnotabuse.html
• Press Release on Planned Parenthood Federation of America Layoffs: www.1199seiu.org/media-center/mass-layoff-planned-parenthood-federation-america-sparks-uproar-amid-vague-restructuring-first-anniversary-overturning-roe-vs-wa#:~:text=Thirty%2Deight%20of%20the%20impacted
• National RCRC Disaffiliates from States: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/new-year-new-name

• Repro Worker Aid Fund: www.reprojobs.org/aid

• Resume Support for Repro Workers: www.reprojobs.org/blog/resume-support-for-repro-workers-from-reprojobs 

Music by Korbin Jones

Searching for Truth: How People of Faith are Confronting Anti-Abortion Misinformation in Ohio

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams address the latest foolishness of the Ohio Ballot Board, detailing how people of faith are organizing to overcome abortion misinformation and dirty tricks to ensure passage of the Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment in November.

Modeling a practice of disciplined re-examination and truthtelling, Kelley and Terry also discuss how reviewing soul-stirring works (like adrienne maree brown’s "Pleasure Activism") and honing previously-learned educational skills can provide much needed personal growth and lead to community transformation.

Links to discussed content:

• Ohio reproductive rights group sues state Ballot Board over abortion ballot language: www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/ohio-reproductive-rights-group-sues-ballot-board-abortion-ballot-langu-rcna102382
• Full text of the Right to Reproductive Freedom ballot amendment: www.readtheamendment.com/
• Support ACLU Ohio: www.acluohio.org/
• Pleasure Activism, by adrienne maree brown: www.akpress.org/pleasure-activism.html
• Join our Moral Messaging Training: www.faithchoiceohio.org/moral-messaging-training

Music by Korbin Jones

Majority Rules: Ohio’s August 8th Victory for Democracy and the Road Ahead

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams revel in the huge “Hell No!” defeat of Issue 1 with post-election analysis and issues-based insights about faith, repro, and the power of people to effect change in the Buckeye state.

Looking forward to the November 2023 election and the reproductive freedom constitutional amendment that Ohioans will get to vote on then, Kelley and Terry connect electoral fights with faith-rooted repro rights — making a clear case for sustained faith engagement in the nonpartisan revolution to secure abortion access and reproductive freedom across our region.

Links to discussed content:

• Center for Politics article on Issue 1 and what the August Special Election says about Ohio: https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/ohios-issue-1-smackdown/
• Inequity, Equality, Equity, and Justice graphic: www.bu.edu/diversity/resource-toolkit/inequity-equality-equity-and-justice/
• The "Right to Reproductive Freedom" ballot language: https://protectchoiceohio.com/petition_language
• Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights: https://ohioansunitedforreproductiverights.win/

Music by Korbin Jones

Fierce: The League of Women Voters of Ohio and the Nonpartisan Fight to Save Democracy

Faith Organizer Rev. Terry Williams welcomes special guest Jen Miller — executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio — for an in-depth discussion of the fiercely nonpartisan fight for democracy in Ohio’s August 8th Special Election. Jen and Terry explore why so many organizations throughout the state have endorsed a NO vote on Issue 1 in August, outlining what’s at stake if majority rule is eliminated in Ohio, and laying out the history of the more than 100-year-old right that Ohioans have to amend our constitution by majority vote at the ballot box — including how this right affects the faithfully pro-choice abortion justice work we love so much at Faith Choice Ohio!

Links to discussed content:

• League of Women Voters of Ohio: www.lwvohio.org
• Political, Not Partisan: Religious Organizations, Elections, and Abortion Justice: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/political-not-partisan-religious-organizations-elections-and-abortion-justice
• Proceedings of the 1912 Constitutional Convention in Ohio: www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/courts/judicial-system/supreme-court-of-ohio/mjc/interest/law-libr...
• 200+ organizations endorse a NO vote on August Issue 1 in Ohio: https://votenoinaugust.org/endorsements/
• Polling on August Issue 1 shows broad bipartisan opposition to the issue: www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2023/07/19/ohio-issue-1-poll-finds-most-ohio-voters-o...
• Richard Uihlein (billionaire from Illinois) is footing the bill for more than 80% of the Issue 1 campaign: www.cleveland.com/news/2023/07/whos-paying-for-the-campaigns-for-and-against-state-issue-1-n...
• Ex-GOP Ohio speaker, lobbyist guilty in $60M bribery scheme: https://apnews.com/article/larry-householder-corruption-verdict-bribery-trial-ohio-30763b21fc02e62464c20a77609a63ac

Music by Korbin Jones 

A Democracy If You Can Keep It: Why Ohioans Should Vote NO in August

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams let it fly in this episode about Ohio’s special election in August, addressing everything from the intentional voter suppression tactics of Ohio’s legislature to the pandemic of Christian anti-intellectualism that is currently plaguing our body politic.

Clearly outlining why the August 8th special election is primarily about abortion access, Kelley and Terry make it plain by drawing the links between the rise of White Christian Nationalism and assaults on reproductive freedom — like Issue 1 in August.

Listen in for an earful about the “Vote NO in August” campaign and what you can do to keep defending reproductive health, rights, and justice in the Buckeye state.

Links to discussed content: 

• Vote NO in August Campaign: https://votenoinaugust.org/
• Ohio banned August elections. Then the GOP planned one that could help preserve an abortion ban: www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/ohio-banned-august-elections-gop-planned-one-help-preserve-abortion-ba-rcna85635
• Tiny Minority of Ohio Chamber of Commerce Board vote for Issue 1 Endorsement: www.cleveland.com/opinion/2023/07/disgusting-issue-1-surrender-by-tiny-board-minority-at-ohi...
• Cost of the August 8th Special Election: https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/06/09/local-boards-of-election-stressed-by-lack-of-funding-in-st...
• Ohio voter ID requirements from ACLU Ohio: www.acluohio.org/en/how-vote-ohio
• An introduction to Christian Anti-Intellectualism: www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-wasting-of-the-evangelical-mind
• Faith Choice Ohio's Religion & Repro Training: www.faithchoiceohio.org/religion-and-repro-training

Music by Korbin Jones

One Year Since Dobbs: The Worst Part Is, Not Much Has Changed

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Rev. Terry Williams reflect on a year of wildness since the catastrophic Dobbs decision that destroyed the federal law protections of Roe v. Wade. Focusing on the continuing legal limbo experienced by anyone seeking abortion care in Ohio, Kelley and Terry draw attention to the large number of states that now outright ban abortion and address what life has been like in a destination state over the last year since Dobbs. They also share plenty of spicy takes on Ohio’s internal political hellscape, as well as a healthy dose of spirit-lifting pragmatism and unwavering faith in abortion seekers in the Buckeye state.

Links to discussed content: 

• This Far by Faith: One Year After Roe: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/this-far-by-faith-one-year-after-roe
• A Faith-Rooted Response to the Dobbs Anti-Versary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcAGyJlb9Hg
• Grounding Practices for the Journey (July 5th via Zoom): https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvduCsrT0iH9TnLEYNnVu3blwvWZUFf7DO#/registration
• August 8th Special Election: What You Need to Know: https://votenoinaugust.org/vote/
• Restorative & Transformative Justice Book Club: https://www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/building-safe-and-sustainable-communities-one-book-and-practice-at-a-time 
• Reproductive Justice Book Club:  https://www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/reproductive-justice-book-club-preparing-for-the-struggles-ahead 

Music by Korbin Jones

 

Necessary Medical Care: Why We Need Abortion Access on the Ballot

Faith Organizer Terry Williams talks with Dr. Lauren Beene — executive director of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights — about her whirlwind journey to joining the repro movement, encountering economic disparities in her pediatric practice, and why every day Ohioans like her are showing up for democracy building & reproductive freedom like never before.

Links to discussed content:

• Protect Choice Ohio: https://protectchoiceohio.com/join-us-ohio?utm_source=search&utm_medium=ohio&gclid=CjwKCAjwg-GjBhBnE...
• Ballot Initiative Text: https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23686428/abortion-amendment-summary-and-text.pdf
• August 8th Special Election: www.npr.org/2023/05/25/1177921697/ohio-august-special-election-constitution-abortion-amendment
• Vote No In August (nonpartisan campaign): https://votenoinaugust.org/
• 'It Destroys Democracy': www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/23/ohio-abortion-rights-republican-ballot-super-majority

Music by Korbin Jones

Building the Movement: Stepping Into Our Values in Faith and the Legal Field

Faith Organizer Kelley Fox is joined by If/When/How's Senior Movement Building Director Jeryl Hayes to discuss the important work of moving hearts and minds to a better future for reproductive justice. Together, they discuss the work of finding common ground, even in the midst of institutions that have historically harmed the most marginalized.

Links to discussed content: 

• If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice: www.ifwhenhow.org/ 
• Self Managed Abortion in Good Faith: www.faithchoiceohio.org/self-managed-abortion-in-good-faith-training
• Restorative & Transformative Justice Training: www.faithchoiceohio.org/restorative-and-transformative-justice-training 
• This is the Fight of Our Lives: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/this-is-the-fight-of-our-lives
• The First Birth Control Pill Used Puerto Rican Women as Guinea Pigs: https://www.history.com/news/birth-control-pill-history-puerto-rico-enovid  

Music by Korbin Jones. 

To Tell the Truth: Legislative Lies & Grassroots Hope in the Buckeye State

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams pull back the curtain on a proposed August special election, outlining how some Ohio legislators are plotting to enshrine permanent minority rule into the Ohio Constitution. Exploring the theological and social causes behind such anti-democratic behavior, Kelley and Terry share what hope in Ohio looks like for each of them in the midst of the struggle for peace, justice, and full liberation.

Links to discussed content:

• Text of Protect Choice Ohio's Abortion Ballot Initiative: https://protectchoiceohio.com/petition_language
• Info about HJR1/SJR2 (the effort to make it harder to amend Ohio’s Constitution): www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/22/abortion-ohio-constitution-amendment/
• Anti-HJR1 protest from May 3, 2023: www.dispatch.com/picture-gallery/news/2023/05/04/hjr-1-sjr-2-protest/11792819002/
• “The Mask You Live In” from the Representation Project: https://therepproject.org/films/the-mask-you-live-in/
• Episode 1 from Kelley’s independent podcast series about masculinity: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4VWZuXFXWRu7c8TQ7NQ3wB
• Restorative & Transformative Justice Training sign up: www.faithchoiceohio.org/restorative-and-transformative-justice-training 

Image credit: Noreen Willhelm

Music by Korbin Jones

The Future We All Deserve: Abolition, Afrofuturism, and the Power of Speaking Goodness into Existence

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams explore the real future that reproductive justice values call us to create. Guided by Kelley’s latest work in teaching restorative and transformative justice at a local congregation, Kelley and Terry lay out a hopeful vision in which abortion justice, police abolition, the death of the carceral system, and thriving LGBTQ+ freedoms coexist to form the future we all deserve.

Links to discussed content: 

• Afrofuturism and #blackspring by adrienne maree brown: https://adriennemareebrown.net/2015/05/02/afrofuturism-and-blackspring-new-school-afroturismtns/
• Watch Kelley's message at UU Cleveland from April 16th: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8ib2DqDklg
• Restorative & Transformative Justice Training: www.faithchoiceohio.org/restorative-and-transformative-justice-training
• Ralph Yarl: www.nytimes.com/2023/04/17/us/ralph-yarl-kansas-city-shooting.html

(Photo from Black Freedom Beyond Borders: Memories of Abolition Day)

Music by Korbin Jones