A Policy Agenda for Achieving Reproductive Justice

Reproductive justice is the human right to control our bodies, our sexuality, our gender, our work, and our reproduction. This right can only be achieved when everyone, especially those most marginalized, have the complete economic, social, and political power and resources to make healthy decisions about their bodies, families and communities. Bridgette Jackson, Director of Public Policy at In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, Kat Olivera, Director of Government Relations at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (NLIRJ), and Fajer Saeed Ebrahim, Senior Policy Manager at the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), sit down to talk with us about the reproductive justice policy agenda.

NAPAWF, NLIRJ, and In Our Own Voice lead the Intersections of Our Lives Collaborative, which developed the comprehensive policy framework for achieving reproductive justice. The agenda is structured around three key pillars: healthy body, healthy families and communities, and healthy democracy. The policies included are focused on accessible sex education, abortion and contraception equity, gender-affirming care, and resistance to the criminalization of bodies.

Links from this episode

2025 Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda
Intersections of Our Lives Collaborative
In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Justice Agenda
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum

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Transcript

Jennie: Welcome to rePROs Fight Back, a podcast on all things related to sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. [music intro]

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Jennie: Hi rePROs. How's everybody hanging in? I'm your host Jennie Wetter, and my pronouns are she/her. So y'all, I cannot believe that this is the 250th episode of rePROs Fight Back. What? It is shocking. I cannot believe we've been doing the podcast for that long. I, you know, and I talk about how this was something I was pushed into and I wasn't sure that this was necessarily my jam. And I'm so lucky to have so many people who pushed me to try. Most of all, my former boss, Bob, who I, if you have been listening for a while, have heard me talk about before 'cause he passed away late last year. His birthday was last week. And so, it feels a little extra special that the 250th episode falls right near his birthday 'cause he had so much faith in me and he really pushed me to do this podcast. And I'm so grateful he did because, you know, as I've talked about this, I love it. I love talking to so many amazing people about so many important issues. I love having this platform and being able to shine the light on the many brilliant people that I get to work with and lucky enough to work with. And I'm so grateful for our wonderful team. It also, you know, I talked about it being close, coming out close to Bob's birthday that a couple days before that was, it feels weird to call it an anniversary, but the two years since my dad died. So, I don't know, it just, it it all feels special and tied in together and I just am really grateful for all the support that I've had for the podcast and mostly from just some amazing colleagues who had faith in me before when I was still questioning if it was the right thing to do, who really pushed. And the amazing team that we have built. I'm so grateful for Rachel and Elena and all of their hard work. And for Meg, who does the great job editing us for Kathleen and her support to continue the podcast and everybody at Population Institute who has been so supportive. And yeah, it just, wow, 250 episodes. Y'all hard to believe. Also, this week has just been chaos. I just, I just feel so chaotic right now, y'all, I know that the chaos is the point with this administration. So, so much happening and trying to focus on so many things. Also, trying to get a report out. It's just, it's just been a lot. And I've been feeling a little overwhelmed and it's been hard to find the quiet to like, to, to not panic. I think that's what it is. But, but I have two really big trips coming this year.

Jennie: So, those have been a little beacons in the storm right now thinking about the fun for these trips I have coming up. I'm trying to buy plane tickets for the one I have in the fall. So, I, things that I have that are bright spots and letting me look forward to leaving the country for a little bit, honestly. And just, like, getting away from all the news and everything 'cause I fully intend to do that on both vacations is not pay attention to any of the chaos. So, I'm very much looking forward to that. But just have to not get too overwhelmed before I leave onmy first trip. Soyeah, lots happening. And this week we're actually also gonna take a bit of a break from the chaos. Instead of focusing on the new terrible things that have been happening under the new administration, we are going to talk about a report released by In Our Own Voice, NAPAWF, and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice to talk about the reproductive health policy agenda they put together. So, I'm really excited to just, like, take a break and focus on dreaming of a better world and that feels nice right now. So, I am very lucky to have three outstanding guests this week. First, we have Kat Olivera with the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, and then Fajer Saeed Ebrahim with NAPAWF and Bridgette Jackson with In Our Own Voice. I am so excited for y'all to listen to this interview. So, let's go to my interview with Kat, Fajer, and Bridgette.

Jennie: Hi Bridgette, Kat, and Fajer, thank you so much for being here today.

Fajer: Thank you for having us.

Kat: Thank you for having us.

Bridgette: Thank you.

Jennie: And immediately, cat right in my face.

Kat: [Laughs]

Jennie: Oh, she just wanted to make sure to say hi to everybody. Okay. Before we get started, would you like to introduce yourselves and include your pronouns? Let's start with Bridgette.

Bridgette: Thank you so much for having us on the podcast. My name is Bridgette Jackson, she/her pronouns. I serve as the Director of policy at In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda. And with that, I'll pass it over to Kat.

Kat: Hi everyone. Hi Jennie. Thank you for having us. I am Kat Olivera. I use she/ella pronouns, and I am the Director of Government Relations at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice. I'll pass it to Fajer.

Fajer: Hi everyone. My name is Fajer Saeed Ebrahim. Fajer rhymes with a ledger if that's helpful. I use she/her pronouns. I'm the Senior Policy Manager at NAPAWF, that's the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum.

Jennie: I am so excited to have y'all on. It's like in the midst of all of the chaos that is happening, and we're not gonna talk about it really. Like, we're gonna talk about some positive things which- like visioning forward, which is so much more exciting and just really the start I needed to this day. So, maybe let's start with a big picture. Like what is, what is the Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda?

Kat: Thanks, Jennie. I think yes, we have, and we'll be talking about the path forward, but I think before starting to discuss the Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda, we would quickly like to talk about our collective, the Intersections of Our Lives collaborative, if that's okay with you.

Jennie: Of course.

Kat: So, just previewing it's a collaborative effort between three leading women of color-led organizations, NAPAWF, In Our Own Voice, and Latina Institute. And we're dedicated to centering the lived experiences, needs and policy solutions of women of color and intentionally underserved communities and bringing this to the forefront. And we do so in a variety of ways. So, that includes working with the Hill, briefing them, conducting polling on issues that matter most to women of color to creating policy agendas such as the one that we will be discussing today. And again, just really wanted to iterate our thanks as Intersections, again, three women of color Reproductive Justice led organizations. And with that, I want to pass it to my colleague, Bridgette, so that she could quickly provide a preview or an introduction to some of your listeners who may be hearing Reproductive Justice for the first time.

Bridgette: Sure. Thank you so much, Kat. As a refresher for some and an introduction for others I can just provide a quick overview of the movement. So Reproductive Justice is the human right to control our bodies, our sexuality, our gender, our work, and our reproduction. And this right can only be achieved when everyone, especially those most marginalized, have the complete economic, social and political power and resources to make healthy decisions about their bodies, families, and communities. And 2024 actually marked the 30th anniversary of the Reproductive Justice movement, which began with Black women in Chicago after sharing their frustrations with the pro-choice movement and its failure to address disparities in attaining autonomy over one's life and wellbeing. This was especially so, or is especially so for Black people, people of color and low income folks. So, adopting a human rights framework, the founding mothers coined the term Reproductive Justice to create a grassroots based movement for social change. And at the core of Reproductive Justice is the belief in: the right to have children, the right not to have children, the right to create families and safe and healthy environments, and the right to sexual expression and pleasure. And essentially, the Reproductive Justice movement is about having the ability to make decisions over one's health, futures, and communities. And with that, I think that's a good place to orient us before we hop into the agenda. So Fajer, I can turn it over to you if that's okay.

Fajer: That's great. Thank you so much, Bridgette. So, the Intersections of Our Lives Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda, which I encourage all of your listeners to check out, it's a comprehensive framework developed by our three Reproductive Justice organizations. And I'm just gonna say RJ, henceforth since it's a mouthful. So, it is a comprehensive framework to address the multifaceted challenges faced by communities and women of color and gender expansive individuals of color, really emphasizing the critical importance of healthy body, healthy communities and families, and healthy democracy in achieving this vision of Reproductive Justice. For decades, communities of color have fought for reproductive freedom, racial justice, and a true democracy that reflects and serves all of us. So I just wanna emphasize these fights have always been necessary because the ability to control our bodies and build strong families and participate fully in society has never actually been guaranteed for our communities. But right now, we're at a critical turning point. The threats we face are more coordinated, they're more extreme, they're more dangerous than they have been in years. And what we're seeing today is not just a rollback of rights, it's an intentional restructuring of power to silence our communities and to strip us of the autonomy that we need and deserve over our bodies, our votes and our futures. And I know we said, we talk about, you know, positive things in this episode, but I just wanna quickly give listeners an overview of what we're up against to better contextualize the need for this RJ policy agenda. So, the federal government is waging an all-out war on reproductive freedom. We've seen recent executive orders and actions that have banned federal funding for abortion care under an expanded Hyde amendment eliminating protections for people who rely on Medicaid, Medicare, and military healthcare. We're seeing Title X funding be gutted, which has historically provided access to contraception and preventative care for low income communities. And then we're also seeing this really intense empowering of states to enforce extreme abortion bans, leaving millions without access to care, even in medical emergencies. And what we know is that restrictions have always, but especially now, disproportionately harm our communities, including immigrants, people of color, low income individuals, and folks living in rural areas, further entrenching existing disparities. So, you know, we see racial justice on the chopping block—efforts to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are accelerating and includes bans on DEI initiatives. It also includes attacks on affirmative action and race conscious policies. We're seeing cuts to funding for civil rights enforcement. And these rollbacks, again, aren't just about policy, they're about power. When we're denied resources, we're silenced in decision making spaces, and then we're pushed out of opportunities. We're left vulnerable to economic and political disempowerment, which impacts every aspect of our lives, including our health, including our reproductive autonomy. And then, you know, I don't wanna be an alarmist, but our democracy is in crisis, you know, at the same time as all these attacks, we're seeing our fundamental right to vote—that's one of the most powerful tools we have to shape our futures—it's directly under attack. And this administration's actively working to limit access to voting by mail, early voting, same day registration. We're seeing purging of voter rolls and implementation of restrictive voter ID laws. And then we're also seeing the Department of Justice be politicized. These are, again, deliberate strategies to really weaken the power of people who overwhelmingly support Reproductive Justice, support racial equity and support economic fairness. So the Intersections of Our Lives Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda, which is why we're here today, it's always been necessary. But today it really is an emergency response to an unprecedented crisis. We're not just fighting for incremental change here, we're fighting against a coordinated effort to erase our rights, to silence our voices, and to control our futures.

Fajer: And in response to all of that, our agenda is structured around three pivotal pillars that provide a clear path forward. So the first is Healthy Body. We need to restore and expand reproductive healthcare access, ensuring abortion, contraception, and gender affirming care is available to all, regardless of your income, your immigration status, or your zip code. And we have to end racial disparities in healthcare by holding providers accountable and demanding culturally competent care. A second pillar is healthy families and communities. So, we have to address the root causes of economic and racial inequities from paid family leave and maternal health protections to immigrant healthcare access. And we have to fight for meaningful economic justice so that all families can thrive. And then finally, the third pillar is healthy democracy. We have to protect voting rights and expand access to the ballot box, ensuring that every voice is heard, and we have to demand judicial accountability and ensure that our courts reflect the values of the people that they serve. So, it's not a moment to sit back, it's a moment to rise up and fight. And our communities have always, but especially in our leading this fight, and the policy agenda is a roadmap really to that kind of resistance and power and justice we wanna see.

Jennie: Well, y'all, that was such a great intro into what we're gonna talk about today and such a good, like, yeah, I'm really happy that you put so much thought into thinking about how to build the groundwork for this conversation. I always appreciate when we are making sure that we are bringing everybody on and assuming that people don't know all the things. So, it's really great to start with those basic things. Okay, so let's dig into the pillars and we'll start with the first one, Healthy Body and what are the things that we are talking about under that pillar?

Bridgette: Sure, I can kick us off with that. So, our Healthy Body policies are foundational for Reproductive Justice, which is predicated on the principle that every individual has the right to make informed and autonomous decisions about their body and reproductive health. Our policies are focused on the need to- the need for contraceptive equity, sexual education, accessible and affordable abortion care, gender affirming care and resistance to the criminalization of women's and gender expansive individual's body. A key pillar in these policies is ensuring that everyone can receive the access to reproductive healthcare, and this includes abortion care. Because we know that this is critical for women of color to have bodily autonomy and economic independence. One of the key policies under this pillar is the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance, also known as EACH. This ensures coverage for abortion for every pregnant person regardless of their income or type of insurance coverage. So each would actually repeal harmful policies like the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of federal funds like CHIP or Medicaid for abortion services. And we know that this is especially harmful because approximately 51% of women of reproductive age who are enrolled in Medicaid, are women of color. And 55% of these women live in states that restrict insurance coverage for abortion except in very limited circumstances. So, the purpose of this pillar and the policy agenda is not only to promote health equity, but also strive to dismantle systemic barriers that prevent individuals from achieving complete bodily autonomy, free from discrimination or coercion on par with those privileged by societal structures and supporting the broader social justice goals of empowerment and inclusivity. And so, a lot of the policies that we have include advocating for, like I said, comprehensive sexual education as well, and safe access to abortion care.

Fajer: I also just, if I may wanna add that for this pillar, one of the policy priorities that we're looking at is, and trying to think about structurally is how to change the conditions of care for pregnant folks who are in detention. So one of the bills that we are advocating for is called the Stop Shackling and Detaining of Pregnant Women Act. It's again, a bit of a mouthful, but the name kind of says it all. It's a house resolution and a senate bill, if you wanna look it up. Our policy agenda has details on that, but basically what the bill wants to do is to get pregnant women out of ice detention. It mandates their release which is a huge undertaking, but it also recognizes that some folks might still end up detained for various reasons. So for folks who are pregnant, birthing or postpartum and remain in ICE custody, the bill sets some minimum standards of care. And these standards are really important. So, one of the most crucial things it does is to ban the use of restraints like shackles during childbirth, which is a horrific practice. The bill would put an end to that. And beyond that, it also makes sure that folks have access to the necessary Medicare medical care, and that includes things like abortion care. So, it's not actually about just pregnancy itself, but the full spectrum of reproductive health.

Jennie: Yeah, I remember the first time I learned about shackling and just being so shocked that that was the thing that would, that was happening.

Fajer: Yeah, it's a barbaric practice. And the fact that folks are shackled, including during labor is awful.

Jennie: Okay. So the next pillar is Healthy Families and Communities. What are some of the policies and things under that pillar?

Kat: Yeah, I can tackle that one. So, this pillar of Healthy Families and Communities is very similar to one of the core tenets of the Reproductive Justice framework that Bridget previewed for us early on regarding raising healthy children and families in safe and dignified environments free from violence and discrimination. And so our Healthy Families and Communities pillar requires policies that address access to healthcare investment in the care economy, closing the wage gap to achieve pay equity, eliminating maternal health disparities and supporting individuals with access to reproductive health services, regardless of their immigration and or economic status. And so, in essence, by strengthening the social and economic underpinnings that support women of color and their families, we're able to foster environments where empowered reproductive choices are possible. So, we want to quickly start by addressing immigrant access to healthcare. And so, due to xenophobic and discriminatory policies and barriers, we know that immigrants have to rely on a patchwork of options to even try to obtain healthcare services. This plays out in different ways in day-to-day life. So we're looking at, you know, folks maxing out their credit cards when they're paying out of pocket for services to less to little, to no visits to the doctor regarding preventative healthcare. And what we also often see is due to not being insured, disproportionate rates to the emergency room once things have gotten really bad, right? Because preventative care wasn't ever given and or things were never addressed, and or there is an emergency that requires then a visit to the ER. And then this just keeps immigrants in this endless cycle of worsening health outcomes and an economic disarray. So, we want to also address the fact that this administration and the sociopolitical landscape at large is contributing to increased fear. And when we talk about how compounded issues such as mis and disinformation regarding access to sexual reproductive health services, access to abortion care—is it legal, is it not? What do the courts say? Where are we at now?—there's lots of confusion and fear instilled within immigrant communities that then make it so that they're not seeking healthcare and the care that they deserve. Our policy agenda addresses this reality and we wholeheartedly believe that healthcare should be a fundamental right with access to all individuals, again, regardless of immigration status or length of residence in the United States. And so, here we highlight policies and solutions like the Health Equity and Access under the Law, the Heal for Immigrant Families Act, which aims to eliminate a lot of these barriers. So, specifically HEAL would restore access to Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP for lawfully present residents. So, green card holders. It would also make it so that DACA beneficiaries are codified in their access and the ability to purchase from the ACA Marketplace, which we actually saw during the Biden administration this be a final rule. And we were so pleased to see this. And it also allows undocumented folks to be able to purchase from the ACA Marketplace too. And so again, this is just one of the policy solutions that the Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda provides in terms of immigrant access to healthcare. I just wanna acknowledge NAPAWF and the Latina Institute's leadership as co-chairs of the HEAL Coalition. So thanks, Fajer and your colleagues for all of your work as well. On this front. Very quickly on the economic justice front that we have in this pillar, really wanted to highlight polling that intersections has done throughout the years. So, I think, I believe it's been the past two years now that we've released polling regarding women of color needs and just sort of policy solutions and issues that matter most. We recently conducted polling earlier this year ahead—or sorry, earlier last year, time is a social construct [laughs]—where we pulled 850 Black women registered voters, 850 Latina women registered voters, and 850 AAPI women registered voters. And the issue that was most paramount for our communities was rising costs and concerns about the economy and economic justice at large. And this tracks because this encapsulates so many other issues, issues that are, that we've talked about already on this call, but that our policy agenda gets to even more, right regarding like cost of living, fair housing, closing the pay gap, affordability of healthcare. And so, it's no surprise that rising costs and concerns about the economy continues being the number one issue for women of color. I will say that in this poll what was actually very revealing and striking, and maybe not to us as Intersection staff and colleagues, but perhaps to your listeners, was the fact that when combined women’s rights and abortion care were just as important to rising costs and prices for women of color. So, 79% of Black women, 76% of AAPI women and 75% of Latina women agree that it isn't just enough to make abortion legal. Our communities really wanted to ensure that access was critically and equally addressed when talking about, you know, restoring Roe or ensuring rights to abortion. And again, this compounded with women's rights is just as equal to and important to addressing economic justice issues such as increased cost. And so, yeah, I wanna underscore the fact that all of this is laid out in nuance in our Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda and really underscoring the fact that our poll and our policy agenda also addresses paramount issues such as Black women and maternal death, right? Among women of color, among specifically Black women. And with that, I will pivot it to my colleague Bridgette, for us to take us even further on that front.

Bridgette: Thank you, Kat. And I want to underscore your point about really highlighting the, not just the agenda, but also our polling as well. And specifically when the polling came to maternal health and just economic issues more broadly, Black women report higher rates of wanting their elected officials to understand how their experiences and needs are different from those of white women. So, 92% found it very important in ensuring not just affordable housing, but also that Congress make progress on the next two years in creating good paying jobs. And the polling found that 91% of Black women found it most important for Congress to address high rates of maternal death amongst women of color. As many of you know, Black women are three to four times more likely to die in childbirth than that of their white cohorts. And this is regardless of region and where they live, it's regardless of their income, their education, or their economic status. And one of the key policy issues to address this would be the Momnibus, which is a comprehensive series of now 13 bills that address maternal morbidity, mortality and other disparities. These 13 bills aim to address America's maternal health crisis through research and through funding. They look at a myriad of things from bias within the medical profession social determinants of health and other ways to combat the United States high rate of maternal mortality. So, I think with that, I pretty much covered the status of Black women in maternal health and the Momnibus, which is the bills that would be used to address some of these disparities.

Fajer: I can take up the third pillar, Jennie, if you're ready for me.

Jennie: Sure. Let's talk about this last third pillar, which is healthy democracy, which honestly feels more important than ever right now.

Fajer: Yes, yes. Could not have put a better myself. So, I mean, when we talk about Reproductive Justice as Bridgette so beautifully talked about earlier, we're talking about the right to control our own bodies, build our families on our own terms, and live in communities where we're safe and supported. But none of that is possible without a functioning democracy, right? If we can't vote, if our voices are suppressed, and if the courts are stacked against us as they're right now, then our ability to fight for reproductive rights is severely weakened. That's why protecting democracy is a Reproductive Justice issue. Our communities, and here I'm talking about Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, Black folks, Latin folks, gender expansive folks, they're already the most impacted by restrictive policies on abortion, healthcare, and immigration. And the same politicians pushing these restrictions are also working to suppress our voting power. And I also wanna say, you know, I've gotten the question of why is voting a Reproductive Justice issue and is it distracting from Reproductive Justice issues? So, I just wanna answer that really directly for folks who may be wondering the same. It's because the people in power decide what healthcare we can access, right? When we vote, we're electing the lawmakers who then shape policies on abortion access, on birth control, on paid family leave, on immigrant healthcare. The politicians attacking reproductive rights, again, are the same ones passing voter ID laws, cutting early voting and gerrymandering districts to make it harder for communities of color to have any say in our democracy. Just some facts. If folks want to, you know, really drive the point home here—states with the strictest abortion bans, so places like Georgia, like Texas, like Florida, they also have some of the most restrictive voting laws, including voter ID requirements, again, gerrymandering and limits on mail-In voting. The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs case was made possible by decades of court stacking by anti-abortion politicians, many of whom were elected under voting maps that dilute the power of communities of color. And then the same lawmakers, again, attacking abortion, are also gutting voting rights laws, making it harder for us to hold them accountable. So, voting rights is not a distraction, it is a strategy. If we don't protect the ballot, we lose the ability to protect our bodies, our families, our futures. And women of color have always been the backbone of progressive change. We vote in high numbers. We organize our communities, we fight for policies that protect our families. That's why voter suppression is an RJ issue, because when we lose our right to vote, we lose the ability to advocate for the policies that then allow us to control our bodies and our futures. So, what are we gonna do about it? We're calling for support for three measures. The first is the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. This would restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965. So ensuring that states with a history of voter suppression can't change voting laws without federal oversight gets a little tricky with the current federal oversight, but that's a different conversation. There's the For the People Act, that's a bill that expands voter registration, it strengthens election security and stops partisan gerrymandering. So, ensuring that every vote counts no matter your race or your zip code. And then finally, judicial reform. We need the courts to reflect the people, not political agendas. That means expanding the Supreme Court, ensuring ethics, accountability, and reforming lower courts to include judges. We're gonna actually uphold democracy and human rights to not dismantle them.

Jennie: It was great getting to talk about this full agenda. It's so important that people understand that all of these issues are interrelated and interlinked, and if we're fighting on one, we need to care about all of them. So, so great to be able to talk about this full range today. I always love to make sure that we are not just ending with things that are bad or here are all these things. I always wanna make sure that our audience has something that they can do in ways that they can get, get engaged. So, what can the audience do to get involved around these issues?

Kat: Yeah, thanks for that, Jennie. I'm happy to kick us off on this front. So first off, invite all of your listeners to download and read the Reproductive Justice 2025 policy agenda. Annotate it, read it, do what you want with it. It's yours for your use. And I think what's so great about this is the fact that it can be transferable right? To people's day-to-day lives at the local or at the state level. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us. And with that, invite you all to follow the intersections of our Lives collaborative, as well as our three respective organizations In Our Own Voice, NAPAWF and Latina Institute. And with that, I'll kick it off to my colleagues because they have even more exciting calls to action and ways in which folks can engage.

Bridgette: I just wanna start off by saying that it's a heavy time. It really is. But now more than ever, we must remain civically engaged. And if our group says nothing else, it's that- or shows nothing else, it's that. We are stronger together than we are apart. And so with that, you know, when you take a look at this agenda, see who's on, who's endorsed these bills, who are sponsoring these bills, hold people accountable. Hold your policy makers accountable. Encourage them to sign on and support if they haven't already. And find ways to uplift these policies within your own communities and use your voice as well. We are powerful and our voices matter, and we must continue to march onward. It's critical in this moment.

Fajer: I'll just add that: stay informed. I know that's a basic one, but it's, it's, these are hard times. There's so much happening and I think I can absolutely understand the impulse to sort of retreat, but that's what they want us to do, right? And the less we know, the more harm they can do. So, as much as possible, stay informed knowing, again, bouncing that out with the fact that it's a long haul fight. And so, do what you need to do to take care of your mental health, your emotional health, your physical health. I would also just say, I know resources are at an all-time low for a lot of us, but donating to the causes you care about, to the folks who are on the front lines of these fights, and specifically I wanna note abortion funds. So, just making sure that we resource the centers that actually provide the direct resources to folks who need timely care right now. And then as Bridgette so powerfully noted, this fight isn't new, right? Women of color have always led the charge for Reproductive Justice and democracy. And I know right now we're facing some of the most extreme attacks we've ever seen. But the good news is that we have power. So, every time we vote, every time we organize, every time we advocate, we're pushing back against those who want to control us and our bodies and silence our voices. But we are here saying no, and we're doing it through policy advocacy and the Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda, which we again, encourage you to check out. But there are countless opportunities to plug in at the local level as well.

Jennie: I think I'll just add my usual flag for donating to organizations. If you are able, instead of giving like a hundred dollars or $50 or whatever your like one off is, if you could do that monthly, like that makes a huge difference to a lot of organizations to know that they can continually count on that money, especially for abortion funds as they're trying to plan which services they can provide or how much money they're playing with each month, it really does make a difference versus if you give like once, just having that consistency, even if it is, like, a smaller amount, I, I know that I am a monthly donor to a number of organizations just for that reason. Okay, well Fajer, Bridgette, Kat, thank you so much for being here today. It was wonderful to talk to you about some proactive things instead of just focusing on all of the stuff. So, I appreciate it.

Fajer: We appreciate you Jennie and thank you so much everyone for listening.

Bridgette: Thank you for holding this space, Jennie, we really appreciate you.

Kat: Thank you, Jennie, for having us. It's always a joy to be in your company and this time we get to be in your company and in your listeners and your folks who engage right in different ways. So, thank you for having us.

Jennie: Okay, y'all, I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Kat, Fajer, and Bridgette. It was nice not talking about all of the chaos we were dealing with on the day-to-day to talk about the RJ policy agenda. I appreciated the chance to take the step away from everything and I hope you did as well. And I will see everybody next week. [music outro] If you have any questions, comments, or topics you would like us to cover, always feel free to shoot me an email. You can reach me at jennie@reprosfightback.com or you can find us on social media. We're at @RePROsFightBack on Facebook and Twitter or @reprosfb on Instagram. If you love our podcast and wanna make sure more people find it, take the time to rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform. Or if you wanna make sure to support the podcast, you can also donate on our website at reprosfightback.com. Thanks all!