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There are more anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers than there are abortion clinics in the U.S., even in states like New York where abortion is legal. Fake clinics are feeding people disinformation, laws are criminalizing doctors and patients, and the climate of stigma and fear has only worsened since the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health in 2022. The Dobbs decision took away the constitutional right to abortion, abandoned almost fifty years of precedent, and paved the way for states to ban abortion entirely, as more than a dozen have. In this episode, Laura Flanders and co-host Adaku Utah explore the situation in a so-called safe haven (New York), and the frameworks for care that BIPOC reproductive justice activists — whose people have never been served well by the health system — are drawing on for strength and survival today. Our guests are Elizabeth Estrada, New York Field & Advocacy Manager at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice and Chelsea Williams-Diggs, Executive Director of the New York Abortion Access Fund. Join us to hear why community care and “chisme” are critical in this moment.
“The Supreme Court went against the will of the people. What we’re doing now is asking people to join in advocacy, join in the streets . . . Talk to your loved ones about why you support abortion access and try to do it with compassion, understanding, and a fierce heart because now is the time and we need everybody’s voice.” – Elizabeth Estrada
“. . . I feel both hope and heartbreak right now as we are speaking. Cops and courts are increasingly punishing and investigating people who are trying to seek basic healthcare as abortion. There is less access to gender affirming care. And of course, the genocides that are happening in Palestine, Sudan, and the Congo are stripping people of their lands and literally their lives.” – Adaku Utah
“The worst has already happened, and it happened under a democratic president. Let’s be very clear. Dobbs happened. Abortion is no longer a nationally protected right. There are people who are struggling to access care today. They can’t wait for November . . .” – Chelsea Williams-Diggs
Guests
- Elizabeth Estrada: NY Field & Advocacy Manager, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice
- Adaku Utah: Senior Manager of Movement Building Programs, Building Movement Project; Organizer, Grassroots Strategist, Politicized Healer
- Chelsea Williams-Diggs: Executive Director, New York Abortion Access Fund
Portions of this interview are featured in our episode, “Post Dobbs Crisis: Visions for Abortion Access & Radical Care”.
Recommended book:
“Radical Reproductive Justice: Foundation, Theory, Practice, Critique” edited by Loretta Ross, Lynn Roberts, Erika Derkas, Whitney Peoples and Pamela Bridgewater, Learn More Here
(*Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The LF Show is an affiliate of bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.)
Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:
• Linda Villarosa on the End of Roe: A Death Sentence for Women of Color? Watch / Listen-Download Podcast
•Texas Under Siege: Dobbs, Democracy & Bodily Autonomy in the Crosshairs Watch / Listen-Download Podcast
• 50 Years After Roe, Is Reporting on Abortion Still Too White? Watch / Listen-Download Podast
Related Articles and Resources:
• Solidarity Is This podcast, conduct transformative trainings and workshops, and develop resources and tools to catalyze strategic solidarity practices. Listen and Learn More
• National Network of Abortion Funds Learn More Here
• The Tools Trump Could Use to Curb Abortion Access if Elected by Shefali Luthra and Mel Leonor Barclay, The 19th and Teen Vogue, February 2, 2024, Read Here
• Warnings of the impact of fertility treatments in Alabama rush in after frozen embryo ruling by Kim Chandler, February 21, 2024, APNews, Read Here
Featured ‘Music in the Middle’ of the Podcast:
“Audacity of Free Thought” by Delasi featuring Noah Dreiblatt released on Brownswood Records. Listen / Learn More
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