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
Thursday Dec 15, 2022
Thursday Dec 15, 2022
Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams put the whole year in perspective with a look back at all the exciting new work Faith Choice Ohio has been up to in 2022. From implementing an organizational name change, hosting our first Reproductive Justice Book Club, and offering 5 new trainings, to launching Ohio’s first faith-based abortion fund and adding a whole new staff member, this year has been filled with lots of BIG changes for Ohio’s faith voice for reproductive choice!
Links to discussed content:
- New Year, New Name: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/new-year-new-name
- The Jubilee Fund Website: www.faithchoiceohio.org/jubileefund
- The Jubilee Fund: Faithful & Practical Support For Abortion Access: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/the-jubilee-fund-faithful-and-practical-support-for-abortion-access
- Reproductive Justice Book Club: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/reproductive-justice-book-club-preparing-for-the-struggles-ahead
- Faith Choice Ohio Trainings: www.faithchoiceohio.org/trainings
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Dec 02, 2022
Friday Dec 02, 2022
Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams struggle with how the practice of restorative and transformative justice gets lived out in a flawed and systemically-unjust world. Confronting very real desires for retribution and vengeance, Kelley and Terry go deep on the theory, practice, and spiritual necessity behind letting go of violence in order to embrace thriving, aiming for a world where everyone can succeed together at the very same time.
Links to discussed content:
- Oath Keepers leader convicted of seditious conspiracy: www.nytimes.com/2022/11/29/us/politics/oath-keepers-trial-verdict-jan-6.html
- "We Will Not Cancel Us" - adrienne maree brown: www.akpress.org/we-will-not-cancel-us.html
- "Emergent Strategy" - adrienne maree brown: www.akpress.org/emergentstrategy.html
- Restorative & Transformative Justice Training: www.faithchoiceohio.org/restorative-and-transformative-justice-training
- Faith Choice Ohio's Festival of Giving: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/festival-of-giving-for-abortion-access
Music by Korbin Jones
Art by Ashley Lukashevsky
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Friday Nov 18, 2022
Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams discuss the election aftermath and the calculus of fighting for justice through multiple strategies.
Diving into what Ohio’s election outcomes mean for abortion justice in the Buckeye state, Kelley and Terry dig deep into the limitations of elections to bring about social change, the need for deeper community engagement from all sides of the political spectrum, and how faithfully pro-choice abortion advocates can keep taking action for a more just future.
Links to discussed content:
- Faith Choice Ohio is featured in Slate: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/11/after-dobbs-abortion-bans-pro-choice-religious-groups-and-clergy-are-politically-active.html
- Restorative and Transformative Justice: www.faithchoiceohio.org/restorative-and-transformative-justice-training
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Nov 04, 2022
Friday Nov 04, 2022
Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams talk about ballot boxes & values voters in this pre-election episode centered on faith, repro, and creating a future we all want to inhabit. Discussing both the importance and also the severe limitations of voting as a vehicle for social change, Kelley and Terry explore the balance between electoral change theories, community-centered organizing, and mutual aid in the movement for reproductive health, rights, and justice.
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Oct 21, 2022
Friday Oct 21, 2022
Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams explain why restoring the reproductive rights protections of Roe v. Wade is about as useful as reinstituting the 1973 minimum wage: woefully insufficient and downright ridiculous. Using the modern experience of inflation and stagnant wages, Kelley and Terry talk about what a truly thriving future looks like for Ohioans — both in their pocketbooks and their reproductive health experiences. Listen along as everything from BIPOC health equity to Appalachian Abortion access get explored through the lens what a flourishing future could and should look like if our politics weren’t mired in fighting for merely a return to 50-year-old standards of reproductive health, rights, and justice.
Links to discussed content:
- Biden pledges to push bill codifying abortion rights if Democrats expand ranks: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/18/biden-abortion-midterm-elections-dnc/
- Inflation Has Turned $15 an Hour Wages Into a Setback: www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-09-17/inflation-has-turned-15-an-hour-wages-into-a-setback
- Cunt: A Declaration of Independence by Inga Muscio: www.sealpress.com/titles/inga-muscio/cunt-20th-anniversary-edition/9781580058391/
- Genesis 3: The story of God cursing Eve: https://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Genesis+3
- Dow Falls 300 Points Despite Strong Jobs Report As Rates Surge On Recession Fears: www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2022/06/03/stocks-fall-despite-strong-jobs-report-as-rates-surge-on-recession-fears/?sh=75f6bf1f21a4
Music by Korbin Jones
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Wednesday Oct 05, 2022
Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams work to make sense of abortion access in Ohio and the greater Midwest in this episode dedicated to accurate news and trustworthy sources. Giving particular attention to the role faith-rooted organizing plays in supporting abortion access, Kelley and Terry give listeners a clear picture of what future possibilities lie ahead for reproductive freedom in the Buckeye state.
Links to discussed content:
- If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice: www.ifwhenhow.org/
- I Need An A: www.ineedana.com/
- Church Clarity: www.churchclarity.org/
- SACReD Dignity: www.sacreddignity.org/
- Clergy for Choice: www.faithchoiceohio.org/clergy-for-choice
- Kelley's Faith Journey Blog "Finding the Divine as an Afrofuturist in a Christian Supremacist World": www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/finding-the-divine-as-an-afrofuturist-in-a-christian-supremacist-world
- Guttmacher's Abortion Map: www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/overview-abortion-laws?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI87rU-vnG-gIVDS-tBh1DSgHHEAAYASABEgIYxPD_BwE
- NY Times Abortion Access Map: www.nytimes.com/2022/06/28/podcasts/the-daily/abortion-access-roe-v-wade.html
- Rev. Loey Powell’s story: www.npr.org/2017/05/19/529175737/50-years-ago-a-network-of-clergy-helped-women-seeking-abortion
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Sep 23, 2022
Friday Sep 23, 2022
Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams dive into the ever-evolving status of legal abortion in Ohio, discussing how confusion and constantly changing legal standards are not just a coincidence in a state under assault by anti-abortion religious extremists. Addressing the real motives of forced birthers who author legislative confusion, Kelley and Terry take a look at the religious underpinnings of this extreme agenda and offer some alternative ways for pro-choice religious voices to reclaim the power, witness, and integrity of their religious traditions in support of abortion seekers.
Links to discussed content:
- Hamilton County judge temporarily blocks 6-week ban: www.npr.org/2022/09/14/1123054970/ohio-abortion-ban-law-blocked-judge
- Abortion clinics overwhelmed by calls after 6-week ban blocked: https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2022/09/19/ohio-clinics-say-phones-ringing-constantly-after-abortion-ban-blocked-by-judge/
- Christian Anti-Intellectualism: www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-wasting-of-the-evangelical-mind
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Sep 16, 2022
Friday Sep 16, 2022
Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams talk about the role of self-preservation in the struggle for communal liberation, addressing self-care, work-life balance, and the necessity for sometimes just simply taking a break.
Connecting concepts of mental health capacity theory with the reproductive freedom movement, Kelley and Terry mix equal parts theory and personal experience in this episode centered on care for comrades & cultivating a sustainable struggle for justice, peace, and liberation.
Links to discussed content:
- Spoon Theory by Christine Miserandino: https://butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/
- About "Spoon Theory" from The Cleveland Clinic: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/spoon-theory-chronic-illness/
- Lucy & Ethel at the chocolate factory: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkQ58I53mjk
- More about the killing of Donovan Lewis: www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/10/columbus-police-overnight-warrants-after-donovan-lewis-shooting/8048604001/
- More about the killing of Jayland Walker: www.npr.org/2022/07/15/1111760958/jayland-walker-autopsy-shot-akron
- Queen Elizabeth II and colonization: www.npr.org/2022/09/12/1122238140/queen-elizabeth-ii-death-commonwealth-countries-colonial-history
- Books by Jayne Allen (Black Girls Must Die Exhausted & Black Girls Must Be Magic): https://jayneallen.com/books/
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Aug 26, 2022
Friday Aug 26, 2022
In this episode, Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams address the Columbus teacher’s strike and discuss the intersections between a thriving labor movement and reproductive freedom.
Tying in our recent Reproductive Justice Book Club content from author Aja Monet, Kelley and Terry make the case for work-life balance and a healthy respect for rest & renewal as values of the repro movement, underscoring how those values are embraced practically in movement spaces.
Links to discussed content:
- Columbus Education Association Votes to Authorize 10-Day Strike Notice: www.ceaohio.org/cea-votes-to-authorize-10-day-strike-notice/
- Policy Matters Ohio Article on Tax Abatements: www.policymattersohio.org/research-policy/quality-ohio/revenue-budget/tax-policy/columbus-property-tax-abatements-transparency-and-accountability-to-schools-and-community
- Columbus Teachers Reach Tentative Agreement: www.dispatch.com/story/news/education/2022/08/25/whats-in-columbus-city-schools-cea-teachers-contract-agreement-end-strike/65419513007/
- Labor rights are inextricably linked to fights for reproductive rights: https://inthesetimes.com/article/abortion-rights-union-labor-roe-wade-supreme-court
- Reproductive Justice Book Club: Preparing for the Struggles Ahead: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/reproductive-justice-book-club-preparing-for-the-struggles-ahead
- My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter, by Aja Monet: www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1067-my-mother-was-a-freedom-fighter
- The Nap Ministry (Rest as Resistance): https://thenapministry.wordpress.com/
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Aug 12, 2022
Friday Aug 12, 2022
CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussion of miscarriages and pregnancy loss.
Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams address the particulars of Ohio's current six-week abortion ban, discussing how pregnancy durations are calculated and what best practices can help keep self-managed abortion decisions private. Kelley and Terry spend time diving into a recent study from friends at If/When/How examining the last two decades of abortion criminalization in the U.S., with an eye toward what past lessons can teach us about the future of abortion access.
Links to discussed content:
- 6 Ways to Know If You’re Pregnant Within 6 Weeks of Conception: www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sex/how-to-tell-if-pregnant-before-six-weeks#why-it-matters
- "Self-Managed Abortion Is Not Illegal in Most of the Country, but Criminalization Happens Anyway," by Laura Huss from If/When/How: www.ifwhenhow.org/abortion-criminalization-new-research/
- Decriminalizing Self-Managed and Supported Non-Clinical Abortion Research from If/When/How: www.ifwhenhow.org/resources/self-care-criminalized-preliminary-findings/
- Abortion Bans are Against My Religion and other Pro-Faith/Pro-Choice swag: abortionbansareagainstmyreligion.com
- Self-Managed Abortion in Good Faith trainings: www.faithchoiceohio.org/self-managed-abortion-in-good-faith-training
Music by Korbin Jones