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 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
Friday Jul 29, 2022
Friday Jul 29, 2022
CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussion of sexual assault and violence against children.
Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams tackle the topic of abortion reporting in the media and how pushing for details of patients’ lives often serves the anti-abortion agenda. Kelley and Terry discuss the societal desire to know intimate details about the lives of people involved in public tragedies from abortion stories to victims of gun violence and connect the dots as to why that desire is so inhumanely divorced from a future filled with human flourishing.
Links to discussed content:
- Neither side is happy with proposed Indiana abortion bill as hundreds sign up to testify: www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2022/07/25/indiana-abortion-bill-neither-side-is-happy-with-bill/65379463007/
- West Virginia delegates start considering abortion bill: https://wvmetronews.com/2022/07/25/west-virginia-delegates-start-considering-abortion-bill/
- The Ohio Abortion Report: https://odh.ohio.gov/explore-data-and-stats/published-reports/data-and-stats-abortion-reports
- Patients to Advocates: https://patientstoadvocates.com/
- I Consent: The Importance of Bodily Autonomy at Every Age ("R-Soul" Podcast with Dr. Sue Ellen Braunlin) https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/i-consent-the-importance-of-bodily-autonomy-at-every-age/
- Patients to Advocates tell their abortion stories (Part 1): https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/celebrating-roe-part-1-abortion-patients-share-their-stories/
- Patients to Advocates tell their abortion stories (Part 2): https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/celebrating-roe-part-2-abortion-patients-share-their-stories/
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Jul 15, 2022
Friday Jul 15, 2022
In this episode, Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams get cosmic, reflecting on the weeks since the fall of Roe in light of expansive new images from the James Webb Space Telescope. Using the light and darkness of astronomy as spiritual metaphor, Kelley and Terry address the bleak times for reproductive rights we’re living through & share how they’re finding light in the compassion of community care being expressed for abortion seekers post-Roe.
Links to discussed content:
- Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization SCOTUS Decision: www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/06/24/us/politics/supreme-court-dobbs-jackson-analysis-roe-wade.html
- James Webb Space Telescope: www.jwst.nasa.gov/
- @NASAWebb Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/NASAWebb
- God Who Stretched the Spangled Heavens:
- Volunteer with The Jubilee Fund: https://airtable.com/shrWlvAuhpgAu5TUy
- Congregational Sign-Up with The Jubilee Fund: https://airtable.com/shrq1Jc7gu62VbqCO
Music by Korbin Jones
Friday Jul 01, 2022
Friday Jul 01, 2022
Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams mark the fall of Roe v. Wade with lament, clarifying the current state of legal abortion rights in Ohio while naming the concrete actions we all can take today to ensure access in the future. Kelley and Terry talk about trainings, volunteer opportunities, and all the info you need to know about The Jubilee Fund for Abortion Justice in this episode packed with equal portions of grief and hope.
Links to discussed content:
- Roe is Over: Faith Leaders on What That Means for Christians: https://sojo.net/articles/roe-over-faith-leaders-what-means-christians
- The Jubilee Fund for Abortion Justice: www.faithchoiceohio.org/jubilee-abortion-fund
- We Shall Not Be Moved: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/we-shall-not-be-moved
- Keep the Faith: 6 Ways to Take Action for Abortion Justice: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/keep-the-faith-6-ways-to-take-action-for-abortion-access
Music by Korbin Jones