The community asked and for June, we are continuing on with another reproductive justice topic because as birthworkers, we should be knowledgeable about how anti-abortion laws or policies can harm the birthing people in our communities. So, come join us for the next Birth Connection meetup so we can learn together and see how we can support our clients!
Who: Birthworkers
What: On the Brink (IMPACT x Nightline)
When: June 13th @ 5:30pm
Why: Join us for opportunities to connect within the Tucson birth community & dive deep into topics for Birthworkers related to all things reproduction, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, etc.
***Trigger Warning: Abortion, loss, fetal anomalies, incompatible with life, maternal morbidity, medical trauma, near death experience, sepsis, hemorrhage***
***Content Note: Cisnormative language, gendered language, not representative of LGBTQ+***
The documentary will be On the Brink by IMPACT x Nightline with Diane Sawyer and Rachel Scott (you can check it out on Hulu).
"ABC News' Diane Sawyer and Rachel Scott report on the dire impact of new healthcare restrictions on pregnant women. Severe penalties threaten physicians, while women face life-threatening delays (Hulu)."
This documentary is very difficult to watch, each person's story is absolutely heart-wrenching. I was fighting back tears almost the entire time but we cannot turn our backs on the harm that these anti-abortion laws are causing. It is important for birthworkers to make themselves aware of the laws and barriers birthing people in our respective communities face so we can help our clients have the knowledge and resources to navigate these policies and advocate for the care that they are entitled to. Unfortunately, Arizona is a pretty restrictive state when it comes to access to abortion. Recently we’ve had a bit of a rollercoaster ride when it comes to our state's abortion laws. Just last month (April 9th), the 1864 law that effectively banned all abortions, was ruled by the AZ State Supreme Court to be enforceable. The AZ State Legislature repealed it and Gov. Hobbs signed the repeal bill this month (May 2nd). The 1864 ban was originally set to go into effect by June 27th but the Arizona Attorney General's motion to push back the enforcement date to September 26th was just approved by the AZ Supreme Court yesterday (May 13th). The repeal will not go into effect until 90 days after the legislative session ends… which there is not a set date for…. The original enforcement date meant that at minimum, there would have been 90 days where the 1864 total ban would be in effect, significantly impacting birthing people's ability to access abortion during that time in the state of Arizona. However, now that it has been pushed back to Sept 26th, there is a chance the 1864 ban will never go into effect. Even with this encouraging news, there is still the state's problematic 15 week ban is still in effect, which has ZERO exceptions, not even for rape or incest. Some more good news is that the State AG has stated they will not enforce the 1864 total ban and we should also hopefully be seeing an initiative on our ballot this year so we can vote to protect our abortion rights.
You can also check out these additional resources*:
Local Tucson & Arizona Resources
Tucson Abortion Support Collective (TASC) or @abortionintucson
Desert Star Institute for Family Planning or @desertstarfp & @desertstartfp_clinic
Pregnancy Release - miscarriage & abortion support
StarLlight Services - personalized grief, miscarriage, abortion, loss support
Raising Flowers Birth Services
Traumatic Birth Processing
Bereavement & Termination Support, as well as Keepsakes
Pills**
Support Groups
Books
You're the Only One I've Told: The Stories Behind Abortion by Meera Shah
Choices: A Post-Roe Abortion Rights Manifesto by Merle Hoffman
The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having―or Being Denied―an Abortion by Diana Green Foster
Podcasts
Other Resources
National Abortion Federation or @nationalabortionfederation
Hotline: 1-800-772-9100
Repro Legal Helpline or @ifwhenhow
Repro Legal Helpline: 844-868-2812
Repro Legal Defense Fund: 866-463-RLDF
The Abortion Project @theabortionproject
Molly Dutton Kenny, CPM (resources)
*This is not an exhaustive list of resources. If you have additional resources, please reach out to me & I will update this page.
**If you need help getting access to abortion pills, please reach out.
I encourage everyone to try to look at one of the additional resources below to further our discussion for June's meetup. However, even if someone does not finish the documentary or get through the additional resources, you are still more than welcome to come. This is a fantastic way to connect with fellow Tucson birthworkers and learn from each other.
Reminder: Birth Connection is intended to be an inclusive & safe space where difficult topics may come up that push us and are inclusive of the entire birth community. Please be mindful of your words and actions and always be respectful of others.
***If you are interested in joining us, please RSVP by emailing me and I will send you my address.***
Note: None of the links in this blog are affiliate links.
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