Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

Hoosier Abortion Fund

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

Kentucky Health Justice Network

Kentucky Religious Coalition for Reproductive Health

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

Jackson Women's Health Organization

Abortion Rights - ACLU Mississippi

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

Floridians for Reproductive Freedom

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

With anti-choice Governor Brian Kemp up for reelection in November, those registered to vote in Georgia should make their way to the polls and vote him out if we want to even begin to see progress.

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

Abortion Access in Georgia

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

One saving grace is that the state allows Alabamians to travel out of state to seek an abortion without the risk of facing prosecution. Please check out our list of in- and out-of-state resources below if you need any guidance.

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

Abortion Funds

Yellowhammer Fund

West Alabama Women's Center

Plan C

Aid Access

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

Post-Dobbs, people seeking abortions have lost four weeks of access due to reduced protections, plus a ban after 20 weeks and six days. There is also an age restriction in place for those not of the age of majority, however there is a judicial bypass route in place that will allow those seeking abortions to evade this restriction.

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

Carolina Abortion Fund

Judicial Bypass Procedure - text 'ABBY' to 844-997-2221

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 7526. If you already have an appointment and are concerned about anything you hear on the news, call your provider. They will have the most up-to-date information in a changing landscape.

Kansas Abortion Fund

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

Governor Kate Brown has announced the West Coast Offense along with Washington and California to ensure that the United States' western seaboard is a blue shield of abortion access. While she won't be able to run for re-election as she's met her term limits, a coalition of pro-choice organizations have endorsed Tina Kotek for election.

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

Pro Choice Oregon

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 75 26

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 75 26

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

It’s also forced the pro-choice movement to adapt and innovate.  Some states are even trying to pass laws enabling healthcare professionals to ship abortion pills directly to your address.  More and more acts of civil disobedience are reaching the media across the country.  Even a small population of pro-choice Republicans are starting to emerge from the woodwork.  Charbonneau and Fine are hopeful, noting that we just need to get a lot more comfortable living in ambiguity for a little while.  Voting season is right around the corner, and now is the best time to make a difference.  So listen in to today’s episode and be inspired to join this noble movement.  

The Finer Details of This Episode:

• The recent case involving a Nebraskan mother and daughter
• Facebook and the surveillance economy
• The future of private abortion care
• A totalitarian state aided by big tech
• The Republican pro-choice movement
• The importance of civil disobedience
• A new narrative around abortion access

Quotes: 

“I was here for about 18 months and then ran for Congress here in New York.  After that campaign, which I didn't win, but thoroughly enjoyed, I have been working with Plan C Pills since then.”

“Congress has kicked the can on creating a framework for regulating big tech and how it uses our data in a way that, say, the European Union has it right.”

“It's not a secret why Facebook has become the second largest lobbyist in DC, right?”

“The more you know about the world they want to create, the less you want to have anything to do with it.”

“The totalitarian state is being aided by big tech. By the surveillance economy they've created.”

“We have a chance to resurrect the pro choice Republican women that we need desperately on this issue.”

“Well, that's just it. I mean, one thing we have learned from SCOTUS is we have to stop underestimating them.”

“So we need to be hyper aware that everything we do online, Chris, is being watched, monitored, and sold.  We are the product.”

“It sounds like we all have to get a lot more comfortable with living in ambiguity around how we help people in these circumstances.”

“I think that the technology and the clarity give us an opportunity to create a new chapter that, in particular, the young people are going to create, Chris, they're just going to make it, right? Whenever I talk to them, I'm very, very hopeful.”

Links:

Fall of Roe Homepage  

Aid Access

Electronic Frontier Foundation

DuckDuckGo 

Honeybee Health

On today’s thoroughly enlightening episode of the Fall of Roe, Chris chats with activist, futurist, and author Allison Fine about the future of the surveillance economy and how it impacts abortion healthcare.  The pair begin by talking about the Nebraskan mother who was recently  criminalized for seeking abortion care for her teenage daughter after Facebook messages between the two were unearthed.  It begs questions about Facebook and the future of the surveillance economy.  How far will the government go to protect the pockets of corporate billionaires?  They’ve awakened a totalitarian side of American democracy, and big tech continues to infringe upon the freedom that Americans have historically championed and cherished. 

It’s also forced the pro-choice movement to adapt and innovate.  Some states are even trying to pass laws enabling healthcare professionals to ship abortion pills directly to your address.  More and more acts of civil disobedience are reaching the media across the country.  Even a small population of pro-choice Republicans are starting to emerge from the woodwork.  Charbonneau and Fine are hopeful, noting that we just need to get a lot more comfortable living in ambiguity for a little while.  Voting season is right around the corner, and now is the best time to make a difference.  So listen in to today’s episode and be inspired to join this noble movement.  

The Finer Details of This Episode:

• The recent case involving a Nebraskan mother and daughter
• Facebook and the surveillance economy
• The future of private abortion care
• A totalitarian state aided by big tech
• The Republican pro-choice movement
• The importance of civil disobedience
• A new narrative around abortion access

Quotes: 

“I was here for about 18 months and then ran for Congress here in New York.  After that campaign, which I didn't win, but thoroughly enjoyed, I have been working with Plan C Pills since then.”

“Congress has kicked the can on creating a framework for regulating big tech and how it uses our data in a way that, say, the European Union has it right.”

“It's not a secret why Facebook has become the second largest lobbyist in DC, right?”

“The more you know about the world they want to create, the less you want to have anything to do with it.”

“The totalitarian state is being aided by big tech. By the surveillance economy they've created.”

“We have a chance to resurrect the pro choice Republican women that we need desperately on this issue.”

“Well, that's just it. I mean, one thing we have learned from SCOTUS is we have to stop underestimating them.”

“So we need to be hyper aware that everything we do online, Chris, is being watched, monitored, and sold.  We are the product.”

“It sounds like we all have to get a lot more comfortable with living in ambiguity around how we help people in these circumstances.”

“I think that the technology and the clarity give us an opportunity to create a new chapter that, in particular, the young people are going to create, Chris, they're just going to make it, right? Whenever I talk to them, I'm very, very hopeful.”

Links:

Fall of Roe Homepage  

Aid Access

Electronic Frontier Foundation

DuckDuckGo 

Honeybee Health

Hey Jane

Activist and Expert Allison Fine: Roadmap for Post-Roe Philanthropy

Allison Fine Homepage

Planned Parenthood runs most of the abortion providers in Connecticut, which can be found on AbortionFinder.org. Through the Husky Program, abortion is funded for all low-income Connecticut residents.

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 75 26

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

If someone under the age of 17 is seeking an abortion, they will need either the consent of one of their parents or contact the clinic to initiate a judicial bypass procedure, though the latter is almost always granted. If you're in need of funding, check out Rhode Island's Women's Health & Education Fund, arrangements for which can be made through whichever health center you visit.

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

Women's Health & Education Fund of Rhode Island

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 75 26

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

As of 1994, Maine law has protected access to abortion in general, with the only requirement that abortion-seekers under the age of majority have the consent of a parent or older family member. Uniquely, Maine requires insurance companies to cover abortion through telemedicine, allowing access to abortive pills if needed.

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 75 26

Maine Family Planning Abortion Services

SafeMain.org

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

However do note that New Hampshire does have a parental notification law for abortion, meaning that a judge must determine if the underage abortion-seeker is "mature" enough to get an abortion. It is good to note, though, that there is a push for better access to contraceptives across the state.

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 75 26

The Reproductive Freedom Fund of New Hampshire

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

This coming November election, the Right to Personal Reproductive Autonomy Amendment—also known as Proposal 5—will be going on the ballot. The proposal aims to amend constitution to ensure every Vermonter has the right to reproductive liberty. Vote YES to help Vermont become a "super state" for safe and legal abortion.

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 75 26

Planned Parenthood Vermont Action Fund

Vermont Access to Reproductive Freedom

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 75 26

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

Medicaid covers abortion for New York residents and undocumented individuals, extending health care coverage for an individual up to a year after the termination of their pregnancy. The state also has non-extradition rules in place to ensure that abortion providers are not prosecuted for this key service.

If you live in New York, be sure to vote in 2024 in favor of a equality amendment to the constitution that includes the right to abortion.

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 75 26

New York Abortion Access Fund

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

Geography can actually be a prohibitive factor in getting an abortion in Montana, given the size of the state, though advances in telemedicine make it easier these days to arrange appointments. Even if Republicans in the state were to try and pass anti-abortion legislation, there are many legal and political hoops they would need to jump through first. Montana judges are also elected, with two up for reelection this November.

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 7526. If you already have an appointment and are concerned about anything you hear on the news, call your provider. They will have the most up-to-date information in a changing landscape.

Susan Wickland Fund

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

While it may take time for Illinois’ infrastructure to catch up with this sudden increase in demand, the state’s government and most of its electorate are pro-choice. These rights are further protected by Governor J.B. Pritzker, who wants to undergird the state’s already fairly progressive pro-choice laws.

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 7526. If you already have an appointment and are concerned about anything you hear on the news, call your provider. They will have the most up-to-date information in a changing landscape.

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

This August 2nd, a ballot initiative could determine if the Kansas legislature bans all legal abortion in the state. We urge as many Kansas listeners as possible to vote NO on "No State Constitutional Right to Abortion and Legislative Power to Regulate Abortion Amendment" to ensure that the legal precedent enshrining abortion in the state remains.

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 7526. If you already have an appointment and are concerned about anything you hear on the news, call your provider. They will have the most up-to-date information in a changing landscape.

Kansas Abortion Fund

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

The discussion then turns to the importance of taking action, especially voting, and Stacy gives details on some upcoming ballot initiatives to keep an eye on. She also highlights SCA 10, which has just been passed and makes explicit the fundamental constitutional right to abortion and contraceptives in California. In addition to voting, Stacy urges the need to normalize stories of the positive impact abortion has and discusses the long-term negative impact losing access to reproductive autonomy will have, narrowing the choices for those who can get pregnant and adding an extra burden onto lives that are already challenging. She and Chris also highlight the hypocrisy of pro-lifers, their disinterest in protecting children once they’re out of the womb, and their desire for power and control. Finally, Stacy closes the episode on a hopeful note, emphasizing that there are places to find safe, compassionate, and confidential care, California amongst them, and highlighting the response of young people who are ready to stand up and finish the fight for reproductive rights.

The Finer Details of This Episode:

• California’s response to the fall of Roe
• Dealing with confusion over what’s legal
• Getting the vote out
• The long-term impact of losing access to reproductive autonomy
• What gives Stacy hope

Quotes:

“There’s so much confusion and fear out there that even people from California and Nevada were calling our response center saying, ‘Are we still safe and legal in our states?’”

“People are going to do what it takes. Making abortion illegal doesn’t make it go away, it just makes it unsafe.”

“The biggest fear that we have is that people don’t know that they can look up Planned Parenthood, that they can go to an independent provider, that we are all uniting together to make sure that women and people seeking abortion have access, and that when they walk through our doors, they are met with love and compassion.”

“Our average patient, as you know, is nineteen to thirty-four, already has children, they just don’t think they can afford to care for another child to the capacity that they want to. So forcing a birth, how is that going to improve the lives of anyone? And this attack on women is an attack on families, which is an attack on our country.”

“We want people to disrupt, and by disrupt, we mean not only rally but also tell your story. One in four women in our country have had an abortion. We need to normalize this, we need to tell the stories of the positive impact by making a choice that involves your body.”

Links:

Fall of Roe Homepage

Abortion Finder

Dr. Shahine goes on to discuss just how worried she is about the future of reproductive healthcare. Not only will medical training not be as inclusive, but proper care will become even more inaccessible. By waging a war on abortion and embryos, the government has targeted women with miscarriage trauma and families struggling to get pregnant just as much. That’s why Dr. Shahine has founded Doctors for Fertility to try to help people understand how IVF is currently practiced, and to help keep it that way. The goal is to increase access and take the best care of their patients. Dr. Shahine and Charbonneau close out the episode by talking about a potential silver lining here: the fall of Roe V. Wade is an opportunity to strengthen women’s rights once and for all. Don’t forget that women aren’t even explicitly mentioned in the Constitution after all, and moments like this remind us of all the work yet to be done.

The Finer Details of This Episode:

• Trigger laws impacting IVF
• Mass exodus of doctors
• Targeting misoprostol
• The future of medical training
• The pandemic burnout
• Miscarriage trauma
• IVF expenses
• Doctors for Fertility
• Opportunities moving forward

Quotes:

“I think I can provide a really important perspective that people have not thought of yet how these trigger laws and laws that are focused on protecting life at every stage could impact people who are trying to build their family with IVF.”

“Defining life and protecting life at fertilization means protecting an embryo, and as an IVF Doctor, we are working with embryos every single day as a way to build a family. So what this could mean is if those personhood bills do go into effect, someone else gets to decide whether we're hurting embryos; it's basically giving rights to embryos, like people. And so someone else can decide that it's not okay to freeze embryos, someone else can decide it's not okay to do genetic screening on embryos.”

“All of these changes could only increase costs and increase limits to something that is already far too limited.”

“There's so few people graduating from this field. Where are they going to want to practice? They're going to want to practice in states where they're able to practice medicine, that's the best for their patients. And there's going to be a mass exodus of doctors from states that are really limiting them.”

“According to the World Health Organization, one of the wonder drugs of the last 40 years, they have a list of drugs that have been the most life saving on the planet…And misoprostol is one of those listed because of its life saving properties in the care of women.”

“I do really worry about the, you know, medical deserts, right?  Like places in the country where women just can't get reproductive care because nobody wants to practice there.”

“I can't tell you how many people picketing outside the clinic that then brought their daughters in. One guy said to me, ‘Well, she's only 14.' And I said, ‘Well, a lot of them are only 14, you]]>In this timely episode of the Fall of Roe podcast, Chris Charbonneau chats with Dr. Lora Shahine, a reproductive endocrinologist at Pacific NW Fertility and the host of the Baby or Bust podcast. As a doctor who deals with IVF treatments for those struggling to build families, Dr. Shahine is very familiar with the trigger laws that are making her practice all the more challenging, especially in red states. Misoprostol is the drug most commonly associated with abortion and is already being targeted by the government, despite being known as a wonder drug that solves a host of other reproductive issues. As a result of this political interference, the U.S. is currently seeing a mass exodus of doctors to blue states where they are able to work with embryos to the best of their capabilities.

Dr. Shahine goes on to discuss just how worried she is about the future of reproductive healthcare. Not only will medical training not be as inclusive, but proper care will become even more inaccessible. By waging a war on abortion and embryos, the government has targeted women with miscarriage trauma and families struggling to get pregnant just as much. That’s why Dr. Shahine has founded Doctors for Fertility to try to help people understand how IVF is currently practiced, and to help keep it that way. The goal is to increase access and take the best care of their patients. Dr. Shahine and Charbonneau close out the episode by talking about a potential silver lining here: the fall of Roe V. Wade is an opportunity to strengthen women’s rights once and for all. Don’t forget that women aren’t even explicitly mentioned in the Constitution after all, and moments like this remind us of all the work yet to be done.

The Finer Details of This Episode:

• Trigger laws impacting IVF
• Mass exodus of doctors
• Targeting misoprostol
• The future of medical training
• The pandemic burnout
• Miscarriage trauma
• IVF expenses
• Doctors for Fertility
• Opportunities moving forward

Quotes:

“I think I can provide a really important perspective that people have not thought of yet how these trigger laws and laws that are focused on protecting life at every stage could impact people who are trying to build their family with IVF.”

“Defining life and protecting life at fertilization means protecting an embryo, and as an IVF Doctor, we are working with embryos every single day as a way to build a family. So what this could mean is if those personhood bills do go into effect, someone else gets to decide whether we're hurting embryos; it's basically giving rights to embryos, like people. And so someone else can decide that it's not okay to freeze embryos, someone else can decide it's not okay to do genetic screening on embryos.”

“All of these changes could only increase costs and increase limits to something that is already far too limited.”

“There's so few people graduating from this field. Where are they going to want to practice? They're going to want to practice in states where they're able to practice medicine, that's the best for their patients. And there's going to be a mass exodus of doctors from states that are really limiting them.”

“According to the World Health Organization, one of the wonder drugs of the last 40 years, they have a list of drugs that have been the most life saving on the planet…And misoprostol is one of those listed because of its life saving properties in the care of women.”

“I do really worry about the, you know, medical deserts, right?  Like places in the country where women just can't get reproductive care because nobody wants to practice there.”

“I can't tell you how many people picketing outside the clinic that then brought their daughters in. One guy said to me, ‘Well, she's only 14.' And I said, ‘Well, a lot of them are only 14, you know.’… So people find ways to justify what they do.”

“People who are struggling with infertility and with recurrent miscarriages are already feeling marginalized.”

"We have a grassroots effort that is going to launch officially next week. It's called Doctors for Fertility, and it's some reproductive endocrinologists, just like me, trying to come together to form a pack, try to get ahead of this, and really support our colleagues in different states that are not protected like I am.”

“We were trying to get contraception covered. And I said, 'Well, now that you're covering Viagra, surely it's clear to you why you'd need to cover contraception as well.’ And they were like, ‘Well, Viagra solves a medical problem, and pregnancy is not a medical problem’.”

“This is going to wake us up and help us change with something more permanent.”

Links:

Fall of Roe Homepage

Dr. Lora Shahine's Homepage

Dr. Lora Shahine on Instagram

Dr. Lora Shahine on YouTube

Baby or Bust Podcast

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 75 26

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains

Seek abortion resources in nearby States on AbortionFinder.org

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has implemented protections for those seeking abortion care and people who help those seeking abortion care.

One problem New Mexicans may face is the availability of abortions, since both Texas and Oklahoma women are traveling there to get care on large numbers.

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 75 26

Geographically, surgical abortions are performed in Honolulu and in the town of Kahului on the Island of Maui.  People from the Big Island generally travel to either Honolulu or Kahului for care.  From Kauai most people travel to Honolulu, but there is a telemedicine project there to make medication abortion available to people on Kauai without having to fly.

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 7526

Hawaii locals needing funding can call Planned Parenthood at 800-769-0045 or the Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project www.wrrap.org

To find abortion care from any State: AbortionFinder.org

Anyone with appointments for care should stay in touch with their Planned Parenthood clinic (where most of the procedures in the State are done) for updates.

Get your long acting reversible contraceptives right away, as there is already a move afoot in the Idaho legislature to challenge legal contraceptives and Plan B morning after treatment.

At the time of this recording, abortion is currently legal in Idaho, but the state does have a trigger ban and abortion will be illegal in Idaho in late August/early September.  After that, those seeking care might need to travel to a neighboring State (Washington, Oregon and Nevada are good choices) to get services. There is a lawsuit challenging the implementation of this new draconian law by Planned Parenthood.  It challenges the law on the basis of the Idaho constitution, so the issues are separate from those that the Supreme Court considered.

Abortion will remain legal to save a woman’s life, if you can find a doctor courageous enough to take the chance to do it before it is actually too late for you.

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 7526

AbortionFinder.org

Anyone with appointments for care should stay in touch with their Planned Parenthood clinic (where most of the procedures in the State are done) for updates.

Get your long acting reversible contraceptives right away, as there is already a move afoot in the Idaho legislature to challenge legal contraceptives and Plan B morning after treatment.

Some States, as a result, have illegal abortions today: Kentucky, Louisiana and South Dakota. Some States will go through some machinations, albeit perhaps 30 days or less, then their States will join the others with total abortion bans. These are Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, North Dakota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama.

If you have an abortion scheduled in ANY State, reach out to your provider for information.

President Biden has promised to do what is in his power to ensure legal delivery of Abortion Medication (Mifeprex/Misoprostol) to all States for use. He also committed that the Department of Justice will protect the right of pregnant people to travel, and the rights of people to help them do so.

If you are NOT already scheduled for an abortion, use AbortionFinder.org. Services at this site are vetted to be real providers who follow quality standards. NEVER call or visit any organization calling itself any version of a “Crisis Pregnancy Center.”

What you can do:

Advise the women and people with uteruses in their lives, to get long acting reversible contraceptive methods. This could save your life. Also, the Supreme Court seems poised to entertain challenges to Griswold v. Connecticut, which protects contraception. While undoing Griswold could take some time, this could get complex in Red States where their right-wing activists are feeling their oats.

Lay in supplies of early pregnancy tests and Plan B. We don’t want potentially pregnant people to be buying these, as we careen into the surveillance State.

Also order a supply of Abortifacients from Aid Access—these can be sent to non pregnant people for prophylactic use….then you have it and would have gotten it while it was legal to do so, with a few State exceptions.

Funding: give money to your local Abortion Access Fund. They pop up first on a Google search. Once again, avoid accidentally contributing to a Crisis Pregnancy Center.

Support health centers in Red States—we need for folks to have safe places to go in this tumultuous time—even for advice.

Let the young people in your life know that you are a resource to help.

Blue States: advocate for Shield laws to protect out-of-Staters who get abortions in your State, and for people in your State who help them. Above all protect the providers—they are rare and precious, be they MDs, DOs, Physicians Assistants or Nurse Practitioners.

Be prepared to collect stories of the mayhem—everyone needs to know how bad this gets lest people believe this does not need to be corrected. We need to hold the guilty accountable.

Corporations: make Red States pay with the loss of your Headquarters. Challenge the smug Governors to explain how this is good for your business. Do what the corporate leaders did in fighting LGBTQ hate.

Tell everyone how pro-choice you are. Do not allow the other side to silence us with renewed stigma. It is they who should be hiding in shame.

Vote. Vote. Vote. No Republican can be elected to office or we stand to lose abortion access in EVERY State.

Today the Court did the most Un-American thing possible: they took a religious view from one Church and shoved it down the throats of all Americans. They took our freedom. This will not stand.

Monica begins by recounting the historical role of the clergy and their spouses in the pre-Roe era, the founding of what would become the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and a particularly hopeful note from this history which may apply to the current movement forward. She and Chris go on to discuss such key players as Reverend Tom Davis and Minister Daniel Kanter, bemoan the level of religious illiteracy these day, and Monica shares a breakdown of the various religious organizations which hold pro-choice tenets. Monica also shares details about the interfaith table she has assembled, Chris offers her insights into the policies of Catholic hospitals, and together they send forth a call to action with the steps we all need to take at this crucial moment in history, bolstered by a vision of people of all faiths getting organized and working together. 

The Finer Details of This Episode:

• The historical role of clergy pre-Roe
• The story of the founding of what became the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
• A note from this history that is very interesting as we go forward these days
• Reverend Tom Davis
• The current state of religious illiteracy in society
• The pro-choice religious tenets that are currently in many organized religions
• Monica’s interfaith table
• Minister Daniel Kanter and his inspirational actions
• Catholic hospitals
• Steps we all need to take
• People of all faiths organizing and working together
• A call to action

Quotes:

“We are not a theocracy. I am a religious leader. I take care of people. That's part of what I do, is my call as clergy.”

“There is no tension in that we are going to do this because we are saving lives and God trusts women. And in trusting these women who are making these decisions.”

“We have to educate people on what Christianity is.”

“I'm trying to figure out how to not scare us, but I think we need to scare everybody.”

“I really do think it's doing a little wake up call, literally a wake up call, to our sisters, brothers and siblings and saying, ‘We need to get to work.’”

“The power of the purse is great and Medicaid should not be paying people who don't follow certain kinds of rules in terms of quality of care and expectation of the community.”

“ There are lines that can't be crossed here. And I think it's incredibly important that we understand the limitations of who gets to put what ideology down anyone else's throat.”

“The United States is this wonderful place of - I like to say it's a rainbow coalition in every definition of the rainbow, like where people come from, who they love, what they do, what religion they are, brown black, white, everything in between and beyond.”

“I kind of feel like we are this great democracy, so we have some responsibilities to keep it so.”

Links: 

Fall of Roe Homepage

Today, Reverend Monica Corsaro, Planned Parenthood's first affiliate-based Chaplain, joins Chris to discuss the historical role of the clergy in the abortion field. Brought into the Planned Parenthood fold to provide a particular level of counseling to people who were in various stages of crisis in their reproductive health decision making, Monica has gone on to be a Chaplain for various universities and other church concerns. In this episode, she shares some history of the clergy and their spiritual and practical role in ensuring the safety and health of women, and also offers her perspective on what needs to happen now that we find ourselves in this current crisis involving the fall of Roe.

Monica begins by recounting the historical role of the clergy and their spouses in the pre-Roe era, the founding of what would become the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and a particularly hopeful note from this history which may apply to the current movement forward. She and Chris go on to discuss such key players as Reverend Tom Davis and Minister Daniel Kanter, bemoan the level of religious illiteracy these day, and Monica shares a breakdown of the various religious organizations which hold pro-choice tenets. Monica also shares details about the interfaith table she has assembled, Chris offers her insights into the policies of Catholic hospitals, and together they send forth a call to action with the steps we all need to take at this crucial moment in history, bolstered by a vision of people of all faiths getting organized and working together. 

The Finer Details of This Episode:

• The historical role of clergy pre-Roe
• The story of the founding of what became the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
• A note from this history that is very interesting as we go forward these days
• Reverend Tom Davis
• The current state of religious illiteracy in society
• The pro-choice religious tenets that are currently in many organized religions
• Monica’s interfaith table
• Minister Daniel Kanter and his inspirational actions
• Catholic hospitals
• Steps we all need to take
• People of all faiths organizing and working together
• A call to action

Fall of Roe Homepage

Reverend Corsaro on LinkedIn

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

For information and services, call Planned Parenthood at 1 800 240 7526

If you need an abortion in Alaska, your insurance is likely to cover the costs. If you are a recipient of Alaska Medicaid, or the Affordable Care Act plan, or are covered as a Native Alaskan, your abortion is also covered.

Further, if you need to travel to Fairbanks, Anchorage, Juneau or out of State for care, your plan should cover travel and hotel costs for you and a travel companion to support you.

If you are not covered by any of these plans, contact the Northwest Abortion Access Fund at https://nwaafund.org

Resources:

Fall of Roe Homepage

Status: Washington State is safe, a “Haven” state

Political Climate: Friendly, Governor Jay Inslee is committed to defending Reproductive Choice.

Providers: Many, and well qualified.

For Planned Parenthood sites, go to PlannedParenthood.org or call 1 800 240 PLAN

For other well qualified Providers consult Ineedana.com

Funding: Insurance companies cover abortion in Washington State policies.

Those covered by Apple Care plans and Medicare are also covered.

For those without coverage, contact the Northwest Abortion Access Fund at https://nwaafund.org, or the provider of your choice for assistance.

Always remember, you are not alone.

Together, she and Chris go on to discuss the polarization and isolation of far right and fundamentalist groups. This debate about abortion, however, ultimately begs questions we’ve been asking for centuries about definitions of personhood and the inherent value of human DNA. After all, the fight for control over women has existed since the Iron Age. Valerie closes out the episode on a hopeful note by thanking the generations of women before her that fought the good fight for the sake of progress.

The Finer Details of This Episode:

• The blame game
• Pro-life hypocrisy
• Abortion in the Bible
• Spontaneous abortions
• Moral Evangelical contradictions
• Traditional examples of female fights for control
• Ostracism
• Pinning hopes on human DNA
• Attributes of personhood
• Other political fights for control (gun laws, COVID mask mandates, etc.)

Quotes:

“So my background, as you pointed out, is in Evangelical Fundamentalism. I attended Billy Graham's alma mater, Wheaton College, by choice and actually found it to be more theologically diverse and liberal than the church I grew up in. I also went on to get a PhD in counseling psychology. So the intersection of those two things leave me not at all surprised about the way that people are able to compartmentalize different aspects of who they are and their values and make exceptions for themselves that they don't make for other people.”

“You know, there are people who get married on a whim in Las Vegas, right? There probably are people who have abortions on a whim, but that is not the majority case.”

“Can you honest to God call yourself pro-life if you just threaten the life of a walking around living person?”

“In the United States, something like 70% of women who have abortions, they self identify as Christian. But within that, a significant percent belong to mainline Christian denominations, not evangelicals, not Catholics.”

“I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior probably several times during childhood just to be safe, because Hell was a scary place. By my own choice. I went to Wheaton College of Billy Graham fame. But even while I was there, I was struggling to hold together the rational and moral contradictions within evangelicalism.”

“It all just sounded like so many rationalizations and justifications; they were making excuses for God. I finally got to the point where I said, ‘I'm not making excuses for you anymore.’”

“They are convinced they're being compassionate towards women, because they only hear the stories of abortion regret.”

"The Bible that talks about sexual intimacy and pleasure as one of humanity's most treasured cherished experiences right, apart from this question of procreation. And so… when you talk about people being able to live their best lives, that very often gets left out of the equation and or cheapened.”

“When young evangelicals are having sex, they're more likely to not think about it ahead of time, because they feel guilty. It's better to kind of commit spontaneous unexpected sin than premeditated sin.”

“Because of that, just like in small cults, the smaller, the more...]]>Today on the Fall of Roe podcast, Chris meets with Valerie Tarico, a reformed fundamentalist and author, to talk about right-wing hypocrisy in the fight for the right to an abortion. As an ex-member of the Evangelical church, Valerie is very familiar with the blame game, in that people are quick to judge others but make exceptions for themselves. Republicans fight for less gun control and fewer mask mandates, but when it comes to female rights to an abortion, it’s no longer acceptable. From the notion of abortion being explicitly mentioned in the Bible to information about spontaneous abortions, Valerie provides examples of moral Evangelical contradictions here today.

Together, she and Chris go on to discuss the polarization and isolation of far right and fundamentalist groups. This debate about abortion, however, ultimately begs questions we’ve been asking for centuries about definitions of personhood and the inherent value of human DNA. After all, the fight for control over women has existed since the Iron Age. Valerie closes out the episode on a hopeful note by thanking the generations of women before her that fought the good fight for the sake of progress.

The Finer Details of This Episode:

• The blame game
• Pro-life hypocrisy
• Abortion in the Bible
• Spontaneous abortions
• Moral Evangelical contradictions
• Traditional examples of female fights for control
• Ostracism
• Pinning hopes on human DNA
• Attributes of personhood
• Other political fights for control (gun laws, COVID mask mandates, etc.)

Quotes:

“So my background, as you pointed out, is in Evangelical Fundamentalism. I attended Billy Graham's alma mater, Wheaton College, by choice and actually found it to be more theologically diverse and liberal than the church I grew up in. I also went on to get a PhD in counseling psychology. So the intersection of those two things leave me not at all surprised about the way that people are able to compartmentalize different aspects of who they are and their values and make exceptions for themselves that they don't make for other people.”

“You know, there are people who get married on a whim in Las Vegas, right? There probably are people who have abortions on a whim, but that is not the majority case.”

“Can you honest to God call yourself pro-life if you just threaten the life of a walking around living person?”

“In the United States, something like 70% of women who have abortions, they self identify as Christian. But within that, a significant percent belong to mainline Christian denominations, not evangelicals, not Catholics.”

“I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior probably several times during childhood just to be safe, because Hell was a scary place. By my own choice. I went to Wheaton College of Billy Graham fame. But even while I was there, I was struggling to hold together the rational and moral contradictions within evangelicalism.”

“It all just sounded like so many rationalizations and justifications; they were making excuses for God. I finally got to the point where I said, ‘I'm not making excuses for you anymore.’”

“They are convinced they're being compassionate towards women, because they only hear the stories of abortion regret.”

"The Bible that talks about sexual intimacy and pleasure as one of humanity's most treasured cherished experiences right, apart from this question of procreation. And so… when you talk about people being able to live their best lives, that very often gets left out of the equation and or cheapened.”

“When young evangelicals are having sex, they're more likely to not think about it ahead of time, because they feel guilty. It's better to kind of commit spontaneous unexpected sin than premeditated sin.”

“Because of that, just like in small cults, the smaller, the more countercultural it is, the more they have to come up with these ways of structuring their own society, kind of being standoffish, creating a set of rules that keep people apart from the world outside, and one of those is getting married young.”

“The Bible has human handprints all over it. You can see kind of how it was formulated if you look closely, and it is clearly man making God in the image of man.”

"We can do way better. We just know a lot more. We've got the privilege of kind of having had generations of folks kind of participating in this struggle before us.”

Links: 

Fall of Roe Homepage

Valerie Tarico Homepage

We see that this couldn’t be further from the truth in the wake of the tragic Uvalde school shooting.  Politicians care for these Kindergarten children no more than what it takes to share a few thoughts and prayers.  Much less do they care for the BIPOC who will be most affected by the decision to deny women the right to abortion. That’s what makes this fight so important, but burnout is very real, and after fighting the same fight for decades, it’s no surprise that even the brightest of trailblazers fizzle out.  Chris and Sarah draw this episode to a close by talking about the value of stories and testimonials since abortion doesn’t just affect the woman having one. It affects her friends, her family, her partner, etc., so the more we share our truths, the more powerful the movement gets and the less likely we are to suffer from burnout.  This becomes all the more vital, especially, as you will hear today, when the other side spreads nothing but lies and propaganda.

The Finer Details of This Episode: 

• The invalidation of Roe
• The search for long lasting contraceptives
• Why Roe isn’t all encompassing
• Working in Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska
• The adoption myth
• The tragic irony of the Uvalde school shooting
• Life after Roe for BIPOC
• Fighting for control
• Burnout
• The value of stories
• Spreading lies 

Quotes: 

“The low income folks and people of color are people who already have been discriminated against in the health care system in one way or the other. It impacts absolutely everybody and if anyone thinks they're sitting in a safe chair with this, they are dead wrong.”

“There was a legislator there who actually said that treating a woman with a tubal pregnancy would be the same as killing a baby.”

“In Nebraska, the governor has vowed to call a special session to ban abortion should Roe fall by the Supreme Court.”

“We are going to do everything possible to help women travel from unsafe parts of the country to safe parts of the country.”

“It's so cruel, because they actually do damage to people. It doesn't stop a woman from having an abortion that she needs, but it can damage her. It's traumatizing for her, not to mention her children.”

“There are 19 Kids in an elementary school that were alive yesterday that are dead today. And, and we get nothing but thoughts and prayers from those folks that, if they cared about children, they would care about the ones in kindergarten too.”

“The fall of Roe will drive up the birth rate among BIPOC people who are already disadvantaged economically and will have an even harder time getting abortions.”

“One story was: I was pregnant. I came to Planned Parenthood, you know, thinking that I needed counseling about abortion. And the more...]]>Today Chris Charbonneau is joined by Sarah Stoesz, a longtime friend and a brilliant strategist for Planned Parenthood.  The pair open up today’s episode by talking about the invalidation of the Roe V. Wade case that’s taking place in front of our very eyes.  As this fight continues and more and more women are getting discouraged by the future of abortion, the search for long term contraceptives at an all time high.  And while, yes, Roe V. Wade doesn’t exactly promise healthcare everywhere in the U.S., the reality of a country without it is frightening.  Republicans spread lies about the realities of life both with and without abortion.  Sarah goes on to talk about her work in Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska as a strategist at Planned Parenthood as well as her experience with the Republican adoption myth: that adoption is a better option than abortion.  

We see that this couldn’t be further from the truth in the wake of the tragic Uvalde school shooting.  Politicians care for these Kindergarten children no more than what it takes to share a few thoughts and prayers.  Much less do they care for the BIPOC who will be most affected by the decision to deny women the right to abortion. That’s what makes this fight so important, but burnout is very real, and after fighting the same fight for decades, it’s no surprise that even the brightest of trailblazers fizzle out.  Chris and Sarah draw this episode to a close by talking about the value of stories and testimonials since abortion doesn’t just affect the woman having one. It affects her friends, her family, her partner, etc., so the more we share our truths, the more powerful the movement gets and the less likely we are to suffer from burnout.  This becomes all the more vital, especially, as you will hear today, when the other side spreads nothing but lies and propaganda.

The Finer Details of This Episode: 

• The invalidation of Roe
• The search for long lasting contraceptives
• Why Roe isn’t all encompassing
• Working in Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska
• The adoption myth
• The tragic irony of the Uvalde school shooting
• Life after Roe for BIPOC
• Fighting for control
• Burnout
• The value of stories
• Spreading lies 

Quotes: 

“The low income folks and people of color are people who already have been discriminated against in the health care system in one way or the other. It impacts absolutely everybody and if anyone thinks they're sitting in a safe chair with this, they are dead wrong.”

“There was a legislator there who actually said that treating a woman with a tubal pregnancy would be the same as killing a baby.”

“In Nebraska, the governor has vowed to call a special session to ban abortion should Roe fall by the Supreme Court.”

“We are going to do everything possible to help women travel from unsafe parts of the country to safe parts of the country.”

“It's so cruel, because they actually do damage to people. It doesn't stop a woman from having an abortion that she needs, but it can damage her. It's traumatizing for her, not to mention her children.”

“There are 19 Kids in an elementary school that were alive yesterday that are dead today. And, and we get nothing but thoughts and prayers from those folks that, if they cared about children, they would care about the ones in kindergarten too.”

“The fall of Roe will drive up the birth rate among BIPOC people who are already disadvantaged economically and will have an even harder time getting abortions.”

“One story was: I was pregnant. I came to Planned Parenthood, you know, thinking that I needed counseling about abortion. And the more that they talked to me about all of my options, the more I thought, ‘Well, maybe I might want to keep this baby.’ And you all encouraged me to do what was right for me. And I did. I kept the baby.”

“Abortion stories aren't just the stories of the people having the abortion. They are the stories of everybody around them, too.”

“I don't see how they make us all feel shame about something that we all know is such an unmitigated good.”

Links: 

Fall of Roe Homepage

Planned Parenthood

Take the Green Wave for example, where women across Latin America are bravely standing up for their right to choose.  And here in the U.S., women are obviously doing the same.  With more and more Republicans secretly adhering to the Replacement theory, it makes it all the more important to do so.  Alexander goes on to talk about his grandmother and the exceptional work she did as an activist for birth control and founding Planned Parenthood.  The pair closes out the episode by talking about the importance of birth control and reversible contraceptive methods, summing up with the warning that, if our country isn’t going to protect young women, then young women need to start protecting themselves. 

The Finer Details of This Episode: 

• New York before Roe V. Wade
• Bipartisan stance for therapeutic abortion pre-1970
• Abortion as organized crime
• The Green Wave 
• The arc towards justice
• Romania’s abortion and contraceptive ban
• Replacement theory
• The legacy of Margaret Sanger
• The importance of reversible contraception

Quotes:

“Alex is a longtime colleague of mine in the reproductive health and rights movement, and has a family legacy: grandmother, Margaret, who was one of the founders of Planned Parenthood.”

“New York before 1970 permitted therapeutic abortion. There was a system in New York that if you got doctors to certify that the mental, physical health, or emotional health of the woman would be adversely impacted by pregnancy and giving birth, then a legal abortion could be done.”

“Abortion was about the third or fourth top money earner for organized crime back then.”

“They emulate our movies and our music.  One would hope it would stop there. Maybe they would emulate the good parts of our democracy, not the bad parts. We are worried about a ripple effect.”

“Martin Luther King says the arc is towards justice. Well, it is; it's toward the rights of women, autonomy of women, and the government keeping out of our most private and intimate decisions. So it will come back… As we know prohibition never works.”

“While everyone knew racism was wrong, I think your grandmother actually tried to do a fair amount of work that was inclusive, regardless of who all she met with and what standards they held.”

“She went into the eugenics world because she back then was looking for credibility. Birth control was illegal, and she was trying to get support from the establishment to decriminalize birth control.”

“She believed every woman had the right to have access to birth control and education, and to have it be publicly funded. That was her split from the New Deal, because Roosevelt wouldn't put birth control in the New Deal as part of health funding.”

“I think we all understand around the globe that at a certain age people become sexual beings. And without contraception, they become parents.”

“Everyone of childbearing age, get yourself a really good effective long acting, reversible contraceptive method. Make sure you're not a statistic.  Make sure you're opening up space in clinics for people who have dire things going on to...]]>Alexander Sanger joins Chris Charbonneau on yet another episode of the Fall of Roe podcast.  The grandson of Margaret Sanger, founder of the birth control movement and Planned Parenthood, he illustrates what New York looked like before abortion became legalized. He remembers there being a rather bipartisan stance on abortion before 1970, how therapeutic abortion was legalized in New York and, and the conditions under which abortion became one of the main forms of organized crime.  Chris and Alexander both come to the conclusion, however, that, despite how frightening a future without legalized abortion is, there is an arc towards justice.  

Take the Green Wave for example, where women across Latin America are bravely standing up for their right to choose.  And here in the U.S., women are obviously doing the same.  With more and more Republicans secretly adhering to the Replacement theory, it makes it all the more important to do so.  Alexander goes on to talk about his grandmother and the exceptional work she did as an activist for birth control and founding Planned Parenthood.  The pair closes out the episode by talking about the importance of birth control and reversible contraceptive methods, summing up with the warning that, if our country isn’t going to protect young women, then young women need to start protecting themselves. 

The Finer Details of This Episode: 

• New York before Roe V. Wade
• Bipartisan stance for therapeutic abortion pre-1970
• Abortion as organized crime
• The Green Wave 
• The arc towards justice
• Romania’s abortion and contraceptive ban
• Replacement theory
• The legacy of Margaret Sanger
• The importance of reversible contraception

Quotes:

“Alex is a longtime colleague of mine in the reproductive health and rights movement, and has a family legacy: grandmother, Margaret, who was one of the founders of Planned Parenthood.”

“New York before 1970 permitted therapeutic abortion. There was a system in New York that if you got doctors to certify that the mental, physical health, or emotional health of the woman would be adversely impacted by pregnancy and giving birth, then a legal abortion could be done.”

“Abortion was about the third or fourth top money earner for organized crime back then.”

“They emulate our movies and our music.  One would hope it would stop there. Maybe they would emulate the good parts of our democracy, not the bad parts. We are worried about a ripple effect.”

“Martin Luther King says the arc is towards justice. Well, it is; it's toward the rights of women, autonomy of women, and the government keeping out of our most private and intimate decisions. So it will come back… As we know prohibition never works.”

“While everyone knew racism was wrong, I think your grandmother actually tried to do a fair amount of work that was inclusive, regardless of who all she met with and what standards they held.”

“She went into the eugenics world because she back then was looking for credibility. Birth control was illegal, and she was trying to get support from the establishment to decriminalize birth control.”

“She believed every woman had the right to have access to birth control and education, and to have it be publicly funded. That was her split from the New Deal, because Roosevelt wouldn't put birth control in the New Deal as part of health funding.”

“I think we all understand around the globe that at a certain age people become sexual beings. And without contraception, they become parents.”

“Everyone of childbearing age, get yourself a really good effective long acting, reversible contraceptive method. Make sure you're not a statistic.  Make sure you're opening up space in clinics for people who have dire things going on to be cared for and aid access.”

Links: 

Fall of Roe Homepage

Alexander Sanger's Website

Alexander Sanger on Twitter

Roberta and Chris go on to to discuss the lack of sexual regulation for men and the realities of adoption.  More often than not, women face a lot of stigma when giving up children for adoption, so forcing women into that decision would be rather inhumane.  The pair of women attribute a lot of misinformation campaigns and drive for a national abortion ban to religious influences, and that nowadays that influence may be more Evangelical than the traditional Catholicism. Above all else, and as a fitting conclusion to this episode, Roberta brings up the importance of women running for office.  We’ve come to a point in this country when we, at the very least, need public officials that value reproductive health and family planning.  

The Finer Details of This Episode: 

• Fundamentalism in the U.S.
• Why banning abortion is an attack on women
• Travel bans and vigilantes preventing cross border travel
• Remembering that native Americans tend to lack access
• Why abortion is a state decision
• The Federal Equal Rights Amendment
• The lack of sexual regulation for men
• Attacking the provision of abortion medication
• The stigma around giving children up for adoption
• Griswold V. Connecticut
• Religious influences
• Dealing with misinformation campaigns
• Women running for public office

Quotes: 

“Why isn’t it sex discrimination for insurance companies to refuse to cover birth control when they cover everything else that men might need.”

“Back when the Constitution was enacted, women couldn't hold jobs, they couldn't have bank accounts, they couldn't own property. And they were not fully human.”

“The three justices who kind of cemented this ultra conservative originalist majority were appointed by a president who lost the general election, and they were confirmed by a bunch of US senators who represent far, far, far less than half of all Americans.”

“It's time for women to start running for office, start running for county, state and federal office in droves. And we've already had large, large influxes of women doing that in recent elections, but we need even more, and we need to get people elected who are going to stand up for women and their rights.”

“One guy said to us, you know, ‘Don't tell my wife I sponsored this thing because like, I won't get fed any Thanksgiving dinner’.”

“I'm making the strong case that contraception and family planning are essential to women's health. And without contraception, the average woman's going to get pregnant 12 to 15 times in her life.”

“If you were deciding to give that child up, you know, that would be the single most profound moment of your life.”

“I actually think we're seeing a bit of ascendancy in non-Catholicism dominating the discussion around reproductive health, but evangelical Christianity–more of the fascist side of the evangelical Christian movement -  sort of deciding what is acceptable for the public.”

“Griswold V. Connecticut was decided in the early 1960s, in which the Supreme Court held that married couples have a right to use birth control and privacy.”

“The Catholic Church owns a huge amount of medical facilities and hospitals in our...]]>Chris Charbonneau welcomes lawyer and activist, Roberta Riley, to yet another episode of the Fall of Roe podcast.  The pair open up the conversation by talking about the rise of fundamentalism in the U.S., and how banning abortions is their means to attack women and their autonomy.  Even though abortion is not yet nationally banned, travel bans and vigilante groups try to prevent women from crossing borders to receive prenatal health care.  Similarly, minorities and disadvantaged groups like Native Americans tend to lack access to nearby facilities.  

Roberta and Chris go on to to discuss the lack of sexual regulation for men and the realities of adoption.  More often than not, women face a lot of stigma when giving up children for adoption, so forcing women into that decision would be rather inhumane.  The pair of women attribute a lot of misinformation campaigns and drive for a national abortion ban to religious influences, and that nowadays that influence may be more Evangelical than the traditional Catholicism. Above all else, and as a fitting conclusion to this episode, Roberta brings up the importance of women running for office.  We’ve come to a point in this country when we, at the very least, need public officials that value reproductive health and family planning.  

The Finer Details of This Episode: 

• Fundamentalism in the U.S.
• Why banning abortion is an attack on women
• Travel bans and vigilantes preventing cross border travel
• Remembering that native Americans tend to lack access
• Why abortion is a state decision
• The Federal Equal Rights Amendment
• The lack of sexual regulation for men
• Attacking the provision of abortion medication
• The stigma around giving children up for adoption
• Griswold V. Connecticut
• Religious influences
• Dealing with misinformation campaigns
• Women running for public office

Quotes: 

“Why isn’t it sex discrimination for insurance companies to refuse to cover birth control when they cover everything else that men might need.”

“Back when the Constitution was enacted, women couldn't hold jobs, they couldn't have bank accounts, they couldn't own property. And they were not fully human.”

“The three justices who kind of cemented this ultra conservative originalist majority were appointed by a president who lost the general election, and they were confirmed by a bunch of US senators who represent far, far, far less than half of all Americans.”

“It's time for women to start running for office, start running for county, state and federal office in droves. And we've already had large, large influxes of women doing that in recent elections, but we need even more, and we need to get people elected who are going to stand up for women and their rights.”

“One guy said to us, you know, ‘Don't tell my wife I sponsored this thing because like, I won't get fed any Thanksgiving dinner’.”

“I'm making the strong case that contraception and family planning are essential to women's health. And without contraception, the average woman's going to get pregnant 12 to 15 times in her life.”

“If you were deciding to give that child up, you know, that would be the single most profound moment of your life.”

“I actually think we're seeing a bit of ascendancy in non-Catholicism dominating the discussion around reproductive health, but evangelical Christianity–more of the fascist side of the evangelical Christian movement -  sort of deciding what is acceptable for the public.”

“Griswold V. Connecticut was decided in the early 1960s, in which the Supreme Court held that married couples have a right to use birth control and privacy.”

“The Catholic Church owns a huge amount of medical facilities and hospitals in our country and throughout the world. And as long as the Catholic health directives forbid birth control, sterilization, and abortion, there will be cruelties that will be inflicted on women.”

Links: 

Fall of Roe Homepage

​​Roberta Riley on MomsRising

The pair go on to discuss the possibility of a nationwide ban on abortions and how the Republicans are lying to the American public to make that happen.  To ensure a safer future with legal abortions, Cecile urges the younger audience to start taking part in the fight; they’re the strongest and most passionate force we have.  She also notes that it’s important to share abortion stories and awaken others to the importance of abortion and prenatal healthcare. Above all else, though, she believes in the power of the ballot. That’s why she’s working with Beto O’Rourke in Texas to help secure his bid and a future for safe, legal abortion in the state of Texas.  

The Finer Details of This Episode: 

• What it looks like when you don’t have control over your pregnancy
• The isolation of women by the Supreme Court
• Fallout across the Mexican border
• Republicans lying to the American public
• The possibility of a future nationwide ban on abortions
• The importance of sharing stories
• The power of young people 
• The state of affairs in Texas (Abbott v. Beto)
• Abortion will always take place

Quotes:

“Millions of people have never lived in a country where abortion was illegal completely.”

“I think that what is the dynamic we're looking at here is people who really never thought about this issue, because they didn't have to, are now grappling with what this means for themselves, their community, their students, their daughters, their sons, their, you know, you name it. And that is an unpredictable element in these midterm elections.”

“It's not just that travel is a challenge for many people. It's an impossibility.”

“And now we're seeing American corporations beginning to talk about how they're going to exfiltrate their key employees into Safe States for health care. It's like, really America, are we going to have this conversation about exfiltrating people without having the conversation about how this should not become policy?”

“Keep in mind, everybody, women are not mentioned in the Constitution.  Nothing that we need is in the Constitution. That wasn't who was writing the Constitution at the time. And so, you know, this is dangerous on so many levels.”

“I think if Cecile and I can illustrate anything, it’s like: be afraid right now and do everything in your power to prevent where we are.”

“I think, for older women, like myself, this is an issue that I've fought on my whole life, but where the energy and the leadership is going to come from is young people who just lost a right that they never even knew could be taken from them.”

“Your state legislatures need to know that they don't get to do this where you live without hearing from you.”

“The people, of course, that are bearing the brunt of this right now in the state of Texas are women with low incomes, women who live in rural small town Texas who don't have the resources and the access to patient navigators, black women, brown women, and women who have...]]>On this second episode of the Fall of Roe, Chris Charbonneau is joined by Cecile Richards, former president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, present community organizer, proud supporter of Beto O’Rourke, and a former First Daughter of Texas.  The pair open the conversation talking about what it may look like when one has no control over their own pregnancy.  Women are not only isolated and left with little to no hope, but they are also forced to resort to unsafe abortion methods.  After all, abortion doesn’t stop just because it’s deemed illegal, it merely becomes more dangerous.  We already see this taking place in Texas: a state that is already experiencing fallout across the Mexican border from individuals seeking cheaper, more accessible healthcare.  

The pair go on to discuss the possibility of a nationwide ban on abortions and how the Republicans are lying to the American public to make that happen.  To ensure a safer future with legal abortions, Cecile urges the younger audience to start taking part in the fight; they’re the strongest and most passionate force we have.  She also notes that it’s important to share abortion stories and awaken others to the importance of abortion and prenatal healthcare. Above all else, though, she believes in the power of the ballot. That’s why she’s working with Beto O’Rourke in Texas to help secure his bid and a future for safe, legal abortion in the state of Texas.  

The Finer Details of This Episode: 

• What it looks like when you don’t have control over your pregnancy
• The isolation of women by the Supreme Court
• Fallout across the Mexican border
• Republicans lying to the American public
• The possibility of a future nationwide ban on abortions
• The importance of sharing stories
• The power of young people 
• The state of affairs in Texas (Abbott v. Beto)
• Abortion will always take place

Quotes:

“Millions of people have never lived in a country where abortion was illegal completely.”

“I think that what is the dynamic we're looking at here is people who really never thought about this issue, because they didn't have to, are now grappling with what this means for themselves, their community, their students, their daughters, their sons, their, you know, you name it. And that is an unpredictable element in these midterm elections.”

“It's not just that travel is a challenge for many people. It's an impossibility.”

“And now we're seeing American corporations beginning to talk about how they're going to exfiltrate their key employees into Safe States for health care. It's like, really America, are we going to have this conversation about exfiltrating people without having the conversation about how this should not become policy?”

“Keep in mind, everybody, women are not mentioned in the Constitution.  Nothing that we need is in the Constitution. That wasn't who was writing the Constitution at the time. And so, you know, this is dangerous on so many levels.”

“I think if Cecile and I can illustrate anything, it’s like: be afraid right now and do everything in your power to prevent where we are.”

“I think, for older women, like myself, this is an issue that I've fought on my whole life, but where the energy and the leadership is going to come from is young people who just lost a right that they never even knew could be taken from them.”

“Your state legislatures need to know that they don't get to do this where you live without hearing from you.”

“The people, of course, that are bearing the brunt of this right now in the state of Texas are women with low incomes, women who live in rural small town Texas who don't have the resources and the access to patient navigators, black women, brown women, and women who have least access to healthcare in the state of Texas.”

‘Mississippi is the poorest state in the country, and their maternal mortality rate is twice the national average.”

“So don’t tell me these folks care about babies, care about women. They don’t. They care about politics and that’s all this is about. We have to do more to point out that the same people who are voting to ban abortion have done everything in their power to keep people from having affordable healthcare access, to addressing maternal mortality rates, to addressing programs that help alleviate poverty among children and families. So they just can’t have it both ways.”

Links: 

Fall of Roe Homepage

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Cecile Richards on Twitter

Despite the fact that abortions had been deemed unlawful, they, of course, still took place, just in a far more dangerous manner. Women in states where abortion was illegal would hop on charter buses to states where it wasn’t.  Abortions at this time were hardly accessible costing a steep $2000.  Charbonneau states that even those living in rural areas when Roe was upheld didn’t even have clinics within driving distance.  Given a similar fate that awaits us, she deems birth control and the use of contraceptives extremely important, and she draws this episode to a close by urging the audience to hold politicians accountable and by fighting for more ‘blue’.  After all, it’s the Republican majority that intentionally got us into this mess in the first place. Join Chris today for a powerful premier episode of this vitally important podcast.

The Finer Details of This Episode: 

• Women getting the right vote in Switzerland in 1971
• Dangerous procedures taking place when abortion was illegal
• Chartering women to states with legal abortion
• Abortions will always happen
• Lack of rural access
• The importance of birth control and contraceptives
• Accountability 
• Voting blue

Quotes: 

“I realized that women had a lot of work to do to make sure that our place in society was secure.”

“There are a variety of states that claim fame, and rightly so, by having been out front before Roe to change these laws, because these laws were horrific and had absolutely horrific consequences.”

“Many ended up in situations where they could never have children again, many were in pain for the rest of their lives, and many died.”

“A great many people had abortions, and they probably turned out fine because nobody ever knew about it, but it's estimated that some 50,000 women died from illegal abortions over time in the United States.”

“In order to end a pregnancy, people famously used coat hangers, they famously used knitting needles. You know, not a lot of people know enough about their anatomy to do that kind of thing successfully.”

“The American public is outrageously pro choice. They don't want changes made to Roe. A good 75% of them say so over and over again when asked.”

“We discovered that in many rural places, access had become so bad that we actually had a fair number of woman that felt that they had no other choice but to do their own abortion.”

“We need to ensure that the people who have created this situation ultimately get defeated at the polls.”

“You aren't going to be able to recruit talent into these [red] states. because either they are executives who fear for their own reproductive health, or they're people who have children that they fear for.”

“But when the Supreme Court goes down, it means that we no longer have the courts to rely on to protect us. It's going to have to be state by state and our politics.”

“So be thinking about who needs to be elected, where and what we are all going to do to make that happen, because we cannot afford to have a right wing Congress overturn the last remnants of safety everywhere in the...]]>On the introductory episode of The Fall of Roe podcast, Chris Charbonneau compares and contrasts life before and after Roe and paints a vivid picture of what a future without legal abortion might look like.  She opens up the episode by recalling the first time she was confronted by women’s lack of equality, and recounting her experience at a Pro Choice march in the ‘90s where doctors walking alongside her educated her on the horror show that were hospitals before Roe V. Wade. They explained exactly why that decision made young women’s lives safer and more fair, detailing dangerous procedures taking place when abortions were illegal.  

Despite the fact that abortions had been deemed unlawful, they, of course, still took place, just in a far more dangerous manner. Women in states where abortion was illegal would hop on charter buses to states where it wasn’t.  Abortions at this time were hardly accessible costing a steep $2000.  Charbonneau states that even those living in rural areas when Roe was upheld didn’t even have clinics within driving distance.  Given a similar fate that awaits us, she deems birth control and the use of contraceptives extremely important, and she draws this episode to a close by urging the audience to hold politicians accountable and by fighting for more ‘blue’.  After all, it’s the Republican majority that intentionally got us into this mess in the first place. Join Chris today for a powerful premier episode of this vitally important podcast.

The Finer Details of This Episode: 

• Women getting the right vote in Switzerland in 1971
• Dangerous procedures taking place when abortion was illegal
• Chartering women to states with legal abortion
• Abortions will always happen
• Lack of rural access
• The importance of birth control and contraceptives
• Accountability 
• Voting blue

Quotes: 

“I realized that women had a lot of work to do to make sure that our place in society was secure.”

“There are a variety of states that claim fame, and rightly so, by having been out front before Roe to change these laws, because these laws were horrific and had absolutely horrific consequences.”

“Many ended up in situations where they could never have children again, many were in pain for the rest of their lives, and many died.”

“A great many people had abortions, and they probably turned out fine because nobody ever knew about it, but it's estimated that some 50,000 women died from illegal abortions over time in the United States.”

“In order to end a pregnancy, people famously used coat hangers, they famously used knitting needles. You know, not a lot of people know enough about their anatomy to do that kind of thing successfully.”

“The American public is outrageously pro choice. They don't want changes made to Roe. A good 75% of them say so over and over again when asked.”

“We discovered that in many rural places, access had become so bad that we actually had a fair number of woman that felt that they had no other choice but to do their own abortion.”

“We need to ensure that the people who have created this situation ultimately get defeated at the polls.”

“You aren't going to be able to recruit talent into these [red] states. because either they are executives who fear for their own reproductive health, or they're people who have children that they fear for.”

“But when the Supreme Court goes down, it means that we no longer have the courts to rely on to protect us. It's going to have to be state by state and our politics.”

“So be thinking about who needs to be elected, where and what we are all going to do to make that happen, because we cannot afford to have a right wing Congress overturn the last remnants of safety everywhere in the country.”

Links: 

Fall of Roe Homepage