FM Weekly: Abortion Updates
17 March 2023
Dear all,
We are in an incredibly tense time while awaiting the decision out of Texas about access to mifepristone (a video highlighting that pending decision is below if you aren’t sure what I’m talking about). If you, like me, would enjoy wearing a shirt advertising the complete Mife + Miso abortion regimen, get yours now from Abortion On Our Own Terms! Below are some other ways to support abortion work, whether to 1) train in abortion care! and/or 2) keep the only solo Black woman-owned independent abortion clinics in Phoenix, AZ open! and/or 3) do crossword puzzles to fund abortion funds across the US!
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Midwest Access Project (MAP): Individual Clinical Training Program Applications are open!!
Midwest Access Project (MAP) is thrilled to announce that the Individual Clinical Training Program (ICT) is accepting new applicants for training! MAP’s ICT Program works to close the gaps in sexual and reproductive healthcare by coordinating individualized training rotations for a diverse array of healthcare professionals.
MAP is seeking applicants who are:
Highly motivated to provide comprehensive reproductive health care;
Committed to caring for under-served patient populations; and
Unable to access the clinical training to do so.
You can learn more about the ICT program and apply Monday March 13th to March 31st through Midwest Access Project’s website.
If you would like more information about the ICT program or would like to discuss if a MAP rotation is a good fit for you, please reach out to MAP’s Associate Director of Individual Clinical Training, Ramey Connelly, at ramey@midwestaccessproject.org.
If you are not a clinician nor a clinician-in-training but want to support those who are, please copy and paste all this info about MAP’s clinical training application into your email and send to all of your listservs / post on all your social medias!
Where to donate TODAY:
Desert Star Family Planning - needs $80k to stay open, fundraiser currently at $13.5k
Shared by Abortion Access Front is this fundraiser for Desert Star Family Planning. I’m in Arizona staying with my dad this week, and what better time to uplift this need in Phoenix. From their IG profile, this clinic is a “Black woman physician owned health justice clinic providing abortion, contraception, gender affirming, sexual health, and preventive health care.”
From Dr. DeShawn Taylor’s gofundme page:
I founded Desert Star Family Planning in 2013 to combat the stigma that surrounds reproductive health and bring services to a medically underserved and ethnically diverse community. Desert Star is the only solo Black woman-owned independent abortion clinic in the United States and one of less than 10 Black-owned clinics in the country.
It has been extremely difficult keeping the clinic operating with the legal battles on whether abortion care would be completely banned, or whether we would operate under a 15-week abortion ban here in Arizona. There are so many conflicting laws on the books that created confusion once Roe v Wade was overturned with the SCOTUS Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization decision in June 2022. Our clinic provided 2nd trimester abortion care and we would have to see 2-3 more patients for every one patient we saw to maintain the pre 15 week ban level of operations. This unfortunate circumstance layered on top of ongoing COVID staffing challenges has at times felt insurmountable. The reduction in the types of abortions we can do changes how the entire clinic operates and our ability to provide our other services too.
We have entered 2023 with our doors still open. We have been weakened, but not defeated. Now that we have clarity with the 12/30/2022 appeals court decision that we will be able to provide abortion care up to 15 weeks for the foreseeable future, I am now able to turn my attention to staffing the clinic to operate under this reality. Up to this point, I could not forecast or plan how to run my clinic. Shout out to the dedicated volunteers who have held us down and expanded our ability to show up consistently to serve the communities that need us.
I am asking for your support to raise 2 months of clinic expenses while I hire the staff necessary to see the number of patients necessary to keep the clinic open without fundraising.
In Solidarity and Gratitude
Dr. DeShawn Taylor, MD
Founder and CEO
Desert Star Family Planning
www.desertstarfp.com
Latest news:
5 Texas women denied abortions sue the state, saying the bans put them in danger by Sarah McCammon for NPR
Excerpt:
“Five women who were denied abortions under Texas law while facing medical crises are suing the state, asking a judge to clarify exceptions to the laws.
"[The women] have been denied necessary and potentially life-saving obstetrical care because medical professionals throughout the state fear liability under Texas's abortion bans," says the lawsuit, filed in state court by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of the five women and two doctors.
"Just because Roe v. Wade is no longer the law of the land does not mean that women and pregnant people are without constitutional and basic human rights," says Molly Duane, senior staff attorney with the center. "We're talking about people who are in medical emergencies, who need urgent medical care and whose physicians are too scared to provide that care because of the state's laws and because of the state's failure to provide any clarification around what its law means."
The suit names Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as a defendant. His office responded Tuesday by saying Paxton "will continue to defend and enforce the laws duly enacted by the Texas Legislature" and by forwarding a "guidance letter" on the state ban triggered by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization…”
From Amelia Bonow’s IG post linked above: Yesterday, Justyna Wydrzynska became the first person to be found guilty of “aiding an abortion” under Poland’s ultra-strict abortion laws. Justyna was sentenced to 8 months of “restriction of freedom” by performing 30 unpaid hrs a month of community service. To very loosely translate/paraphrase part of Justyna’s beautiful courtroom speech: yes, I did it. But I believe that helping another human when they are in desperation and fighting for freedom is a necessity, it is an element of humanity that I will not renounce, I will not be ashamed or consider it a crime. I would do it again—as a matter of fact I’ll do it again LATER TODAY. Then Justyna left the courthouse and was basically like “community service? I’ll show you community service,” and started taking phone calls on the @aborcjabezgranic_ hotline, helping people get abortions…”
Swag to support:
These Puzzles Fund Abortion Presale!!
These Puzzl3s Fund Abortion (TPFA3) is a pack of crossword puzzles created around the belief that everyone should have access to safe and affordable abortion care. Constructed by an all-star group of puzzlemakers and editors who are passionate about Reproductive Justice, TPFA3 contains 16 original, brand-new puzzles centered around social and reproductive justice themes.
TPFA3 is taking part in The National Abortion Access Fund-a-Thon, a nationwide fundraising event where community members come together to raise money for abortion funds.
Your donation brings us closer to a future where all people have access to abortion without shame or stigma
**PRESALE: Puzzles will be available on March 28, 2023**
of note: these puzzles and this initiative is led by a new ethics friend who I reference here often, Rachel Fabi, who also writes queer puzzles for autostraddle! so if you’re a puzzle nerd like me, here are some more puzzles for you (after you donate for TPFA of course!)
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In solidarity,
Stephanie (Feminist Midwife)