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

Celebrating Roe (Part 2): Abortion Patients Share Their Stories

In commemoration of the 49th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision at the U.S. Supreme Court, we bring you this second installment of a two-part special series called “Celebrating Roe.” Intended to center abortion patients and hold space for their stories, hear from actual patients about their abortion experiences & how abortion has blessed their lives. This week, Kierre and Chrissy from Patients to Advocates share their abortion stories with our Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams. Listen to last week’s episode for more abortion stories from the other half of this two-part special!

Links to discussed content:

• Patients to Advocates: www.patientstoadvocates.org/

• Sister Song's Definition of Reproductive Justice: www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justice
  
  
• Termination for Medical Reasons: Moms Share Their Stories of Pregnancy Loss: www.today.com/parents/termination-medical-reasons-moms-share-tfmr-stories-t187536

• Judicial Bypass Procedures: Undue Burdens for Young People Seeking Safe Abortion Care: www.advocatesforyouth.org/resources/policy-advocacy/judicial-bypass-procedures/
  
  
• Ohio Law Around Judicial Bypass: https://judicialbypasswiki.ifwhenhow.org/wiki/ohio/
  
  
• As the Supreme Court Considers Roe v. Wade, A Look at How Abortion Became Legal: www.npr.org/2021/11/29/1056129045/as-the-supreme-court-considers-roe-v-wade-a-look-at-how-abortion-became-legal

Music by Korbin Jones

 

Celebrating Roe (Part 1): Abortion Patients Share Their Stories

In commemoration of the 49th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision at the U.S. Supreme Court, we bring you this two-part special series called “Celebrating Roe.” Intended to center abortion patients and hold space for their stories, hear from actual patients about their abortion experiences & how abortion has blessed their lives. This week, Rachel and Kathy from Patients to Advocates share their abortion stories with our Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams. Listen in next week for more abortion stories for the second half of this two-part series!

Links to discussed content:

• Patients to Advocates: www.patientstoadvocates.org/
• Abortion is Legal in Ohio: A Resource for Those Seeking Abortion (Not CPCs): www.abortionislegalinohio.com/
• All the Bullshit Ways Those "Crisis Pregnancy Centers" Keep Women From Getting Abortions: www.allure.com/story/how-crisis-pregnancy-centers-deceive-women-on-abortion
• Expose Fake Clinics: www.exposefakeclinics.com/
• Learn More about Self-Managed Abortion: www.faithchoiceohio.org/trainings
• The Hidden Link Between Domestic Violence and Abortion: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/article/2019/10/24/the-hidden-link-between-domestic-violence-and-abortion/
• As the Supreme Court Considers Roe v. Wade, A Look at How Abortion Became Legal: www.npr.org/2021/11/29/1056129045/as-the-supreme-court-considers-roe-v-wade-a-look-at-how-abortion-became-legal

Music by Korbin Jones

New Year, New Name: Introducing Faith Choice Ohio!

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams talk about our new name, what that change means for our work, and all the new trainings, opportunities, and work awaiting our Faith Choice Ohio team in the new year. (SPOILER ALERT: Faith Choice Ohio is still local, still faithful, and still hella pro-abortion in 2022!)

Links for discussed content:

• If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice: www.ifwhenhow.org/

• Catholics for Choice: www.catholicsforchoice.org/

• New Year, New Name: Why We Changed Our Name to Faith Choice Ohio: www.faithchoiceohio.org/blog/new-year-new-name

• Upcoming FCO Trainings: www.faithchoiceohio.org/trainings

• Planning for Post-Roe America: How Marginalized Communities Continue to Lead the Way: https://faithchoiceohio.podbean.com/e/planning-for-post-roe-america-how-marginalized-communities-continue-to-lead-the-way/

Music by Korbin Jones

Faith in Preterm: The Prayerfully Pro-Choice Values at the Heart of Ohio’s Largest Independent Abortion Clinic

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams are joined by Catrina Otonoga, Policy and Legal Strategies Director for Preterm. Catrina walks us through the faith-rooted origins of Preterm, how their Cleveland location has regional & global impact, and how values of patient-centered care and community-focused leadership guide the clinic that provides 1 in every 4 abortions performed in the state of Ohio.

Links to discussed content: 

• Support Preterm, Ohio's only nonprofit abortion clinic: www.preterm.org/
• "How Clergy Set the Standard for Abortion Care," Clergy Consultation Service: https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/484517/
• Parents Have Abortions, "The Mother Majority": https://slate.com/human-interest/2011/10/most-surprising-abortion-statistic-the-majority-of-women-who-terminate-pregnancies-are-already-mothers.amp 

Music by Korbin Jones

Rest & Rigor: How To Keep Moving Towards Justice without Burning Out

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams address the paradox of seeking rest while never giving up the struggle for justice in this episode that gets real about the anxious pain that waiting can inflict on people who long for real reproductive liberation.

Kelley and Terry specifically explore the paradox of needing rest in order to continue a seemingly endless struggle, giving strategies for managing polarities of self-care and revolutionary activism to meet this historical moment in the life of our nation.

Links to discussed content: 

• Abortion is Legal in Ohio: www.abortionislegalinohio.com/
• America’s deep political divisions play out on courthouse steps as justices hear abortion case: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/01/abortion-political-divisions-play-out-supreme-court 
• #NoNeglectNovember: "Art as Self Care with Paisha Thomas" https://fb.watch/9F5mPhqD4U/ 
• #NoNeglectNovember: "Music as Self Care with Amber Knicole" https://fb.watch/9F5oac47YQ/ 
• Kelley leads a meditation for visualizing your Happy Place: https://fb.watch/9F5kcJlwzm/ 

Music by Korbin Jones

Safe, Legal, and Free: The Importance of Agency for Survivors of Human Trafficking and for Reproductive Freedom

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams talk about moral agency & freedom with Dr. Yvonne Zimmerman, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Associate Dean at Methodist Theological School in Ohio. While drawing out the explicit connections between bodily autonomy in the experience of human trafficking survivors and the struggle for reproductive freedom, this episode touches on the damaging aspects of Christian purity culture and how infantilizing survivors of violence does real harm.

Links to discussed content:

• Bio for Dr. Yvonne Zimmerman: www.mtso.edu/about-mtso/faculty-directory/yvonne-zimmerman/
• Book by Dr. Zimmerman: "Other Dreams of Freedom: Religion, Sex, and Human Trafficking"

Music by Korbin Jones

I Consent: The Importance of Bodily Autonomy at Every Age

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams sit down with Dr. Sue Ellen Braunlin, a medical doctor and comprehensive sexuality educator, to talk about consent, sex education, and what the future holds for reproductive freedom from a public health perspective.

Sue Ellen gives listeners a great overview of the importance of sexuality education in the lives of children, outlining how important healthy ideas of consent and bodily autonomy are for the development of children, youth, and adults.

Links to discussed content: 

• Indiana RCRC: https://twitter.com/ircrc
• Our Whole Lives Training: www.uua.org/re/owl
• "Keep Mary's Name Outta Your Mouth,"
  a blog article/video sermon on Mary and consent, by our Executive Director Elaina Ramsey: www.ohiorcrc.org/blog/keep-marys-name-outta-your-mouth?rq=mary
• "Mary had a baby (by choice)" shirts in our Bonfire store: www.bonfire.com/pro-choice-mary-white-text/
• "Consent is Holy: Why Consent Shouldn't Just Be Expected But Celebrated," a blog article by our Faith Organizer Kelley Fox: www.ohiorcrc.org/blog/consent-is-holy-why-consent-shouldnt-just-be-expected-but-celebrated 

Music by Korbin Jones

Too Stressed to be Blessed? How Your Trauma Can Steal Your Power

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams explore how personal and societal trauma rooted in constant anti-abortion assaults on reproductive freedom can drive unhealthy behaviors within social justice systems. Using the recent case of Francine Coeytaux as a case study, Kelley & Terry give concrete strategies for tending to your own trauma, maintaining behaviors that are in alignment with your values, and making amends when you’ve done something harmful — whether you intended to harm others or not.

Links to discussed content: 

• The Atlantic Article: "The Abortion Backup Plan No One Is Talking About," by Olga Khazan: www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/10/plan-c-secret-option-mail-order-abortion/620324...
• Kelley's blog post on self-care in the midst of state oppression: www.ohiorcrc.org/blog/resisting-burnout-and-harm-in-the-midst-of-state-oppression
• Sign up for our "Self Managed Abortion in Good Faith" training: www.ohiorcrc.org/trainings

Music by Korbin Jones

Triggered: The Manipulative Truth Behind Ohio’s Extremist Abortion Bans

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams tackle the latest abortion ban proposed in the Ohio General Assembly and give a rundown of the real reasons that extremist politicians keep putting forward bills that try to ban abortion in Ohio. With special attention to Senate Bill 123 (the so-called “Trigger Ban”), Kelley and Terry talk about class solidarity, the legislature’s stigmatizing assault on reproductive freedom, and the cult-like religious roots of this harmful, anti-Ohioan crusade against abortion.

Links to discussed content:

• Abortion Bans are Against My Religion! – Sign on to the faith community letter opposing abortion bans today: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/abortion-bans-are-against-my-religion
  
  

• Senate Bill 123 (Trigger Ban) text as introduced in the Ohio General Assembly: www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/legislation-documents?id=GA134-SB-123
  
  

• Abortion is Still Legal in Ohio – Find clinics and other information here: www.abortionislegalinohio.com/
  
  

• Liver & Onions (and Abortion) – R-Soul podcast from August 2020: https://ohiorcrc.podbean.com/e/liver-onions-and-abortions/
  
  

• A Record 106 Abortion Restrictions Have Already Passed in 2021: https://www.thecut.com/2021/10/states-passed-a-record-106-abortion-restrictions-in-2021.html
  
  

• Senate Bill 23 (the Six-Week Abortion Ban) that was passed in Ohio in 2019 but isn’t in effect due to legal challenges & the law’s unconstitutionality: www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/legislation-documents?id=GA133-SB-23
  
  

• 2019 testimony against the Six-Week Abortion Ban by Elaina Ramsey, our Executive Director: https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/cm_pub_api/api/unwrap/chamber/133rd_ga/ready_for_publication/committee_docs/cmte_s_health_1/testimony/cmte_s_health_1_2019-02-26-0930_141/sb23ramsey.docx

• Current gerrymandered maps for the Ohio House, Ohio Senate, and Ohio Federal Congressional districts: https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/ohio-candidates/district-maps/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=pmd_mmYXezrgatF56OEqaU2nIDKNyky5B2tnBYjyGWLNXYE-1633703283-0-gqNtZGzNAmWjcnBszQjl
  
  

• Newly proposed gerrymandered maps for the Ohio House and Ohio Senate districts: www.redistricting.ohio.gov/maps
  
  

• Kristina Roegner’s gerrymandered district that helps her advance extremist anti-abortion views: https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/SLD_RefMap/upper/st39_oh/sldu39027/DC10SLDU39027_001.pdf
  
  

• Fair maps vote in 2018. The vast majority of Ohioans want fair maps: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/386839-ohio-voters-pass-redistricting-reform-initiative
  
  

• “Slay the Dragon," a film about ending gerrymandering: www.slaythedragonfilm.com/

Music by Korbin Jones

Planning for Post-Roe America: How Marginalized Communities Continue to Lead the Way

Faith Organizers Kelley Fox and Terry Williams cover lots of ground in this episode as they explain why planning for life in the United States without Roe v. Wade's guarantee of abortion access isn’t something new and actually has been anticipated for decades by communities on the margins. From what abortion funds could look like post-Roe to how you can best get involved now to support abortion access in Ohio, Kelley and Terry lay it all out about where we could be headed in a few short months.

Links to discussed content:

• Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Abortion Rights: www.npr.org/2021/09/20/1038972266/supreme-court-date-roe-wade-dobbs-jackson-womens
• Texas—and Ohio—Doesn't Need A White Savior: www.ohiorcrc.org/blog/texas-and-ohio-doesnt-need-a-white-savior
• TRAINING: Self-Managed Abortion in Good Faith: www.ohiorcrc.org/trainings
• Remember to #MarchAND donate to Women Have Options Ohio: www.womenhaveoptions.org/donate

Music by Korbin Jones