How the Overturning of Roe has Impacted the Latina Community

New research from the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice shows that the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has devastated Latinas the most among people of color. In fact, nearly 6.5 million Latinas—42% of all Latinas ages 15-49—living in the 26 states that have banned or are likely to ban abortion. Elizabeth Estrada, New York Field and Advocacy Manager for NLIRJ, sits down with us to talk about what abortion access looked like for Latinas, immigrant communities, young people, and those in rural areas before and after the fall of Roe.

Before the Dobbs decision even came down, abortion was not inherently accessible for Latinas in the U.S. In April of 2022, Lizelle Herrera, a woman in the Rio Grande Valley, experienced criminalization and incarceration for a self-managed abortion. Additionally, Texas’s six-week abortion ban, S.B. 8, has been hugely restrictive for many in the American southwest. These extremes have been a reality for marginalized communities already facing barriers to care long before Roe v. Wade was overturned.

With the Dobbs decision now in effect, many states do not offer abortion care, forcing people to travel out-of-state if they can find an appointment. States, in response, are seeking to criminalize that travel. For those who are undocumented or are perhaps living in border towns in the United States, there are already a host of challenges getting to a clinic in one’s own state, let alone traveling far and wide within the country. Already facing increased surveillance, the presence of police and border control can often result in reproductive healthcare access being unrealized.

Despite abortion being a widely popular issue among Latinx people, there is, unfortunately, a mass of mis- and disinformation targeted at the community. Content on social media sites can be targeted based on demographics in an effort to intentionally mislead people, often into using crisis pregnancy centers—brick-and-mortar organizations that frame themselves as medical providers but actually do not offer abortion care, instead often coercing and shaming patients into keeping pregnancies. That’s why it’s important to talk openly with our loved ones, share personal stories that dispel myths (if you feel comfortable and safe), become involved in grassroots work, and lobby our elected officials.

Links from this episode

National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice on Twitter
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice on Facebook
Impact of Roe Overturning on Latinas from NLIRJ and National Partnership for Women and Families
More information on the HEAL for Immigrant Families Act
New York Abortion Access Fund
Keep Our Clinics
Plan C
Abortionfinder.org
Ineedana.com
Repro Legal Helpline
Repro Legal Defense Fund
Digital Defense Fund

Transcript

Jennie: Welcome to rePROs Fight Back, a podcast where we explore all things reproductive health, rights and justice. I'm your host, Jennie Wetter, and I'll be helping you stay informed around issues like birth control, abortion, sex education and LGBTQ issues and much, much more-- giving you the tools you need to take action and fight back. Okay, let's dive in.

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Jennie: Welcome to this week's episode of rePROs Fight Back. I'm your host, Jennie Wetter, and my pronouns are she/her. So happy New Year, y'all. I hope everybody had a wonderful holiday season. I was home in Wisconsin with my family and it was lovely. We didn't really do much cuz it was cold, y'all, it was cold. It like with the windchill, it was at least 20 below most of the time I was home, so that meant we went nowhere and did nothing. And you know what? It was kind of delightful. I think I had mentioned, uh, in previous podcasts, I was just home earlier in December, um, for a family emergency. Both of my parents were having some health-related issues and it was really stressful and it was really nice to go home now for the holidays and see how much they have recovered and see how they are doing. Um, and it just took a lot of that background stress off my shoulders to see them, um, onto recovery. And I'm just feeling so grateful for, for everything that they're doing so much better. So, yeah, it was a really nice Christmas. We watched movies and ate good food and yeah, mostly it was just like really quiet and I enjoyed that. Um, I did reading, which was a lot of fun. I had a bunch of fun holiday romances on my iPad that I read, um, that were just delightful. Um, I read the Sun Bearer Trials by Aiden Thomas, which was delightful. I really loved their writing and it's delightfully and just wonderful. I I really loved, uh, the Sun Bearer Trials and I cannot wait for the next book in this series. And also really loved, um, the second book in the Legend Born cycle, which is a wonderful series by Tracy Deeon that I love. So I did a lot of reading over the holidays and again, it's my happy place. So it was really nice to be able to do that and just like decompress. Um, and then I came back to DC and continued with my like delightful reading spree and had some quiet time before going back to work and did some baking. I hadn't, between like being home in Wisconsin earlier in the month and then, you know, not having time to bake before I was going back to Wisconsin again, I went like an entire month without making any sort of bread related thing. So it was really nice to make bagels last weekend. And, um, it, yeah, it was just really nice to get back in the swing of my Sunday bakes and to have bagels for breakfast all week. It was very nice. Let's see here.

Jennie: Anything else exciting? I think the next really big exciting thing personally, it was, so before the pandemic, I normally have a pixie cut and I dyed my normally red hair. We bleached it blonde and then dyed it bubble gum pink. And it was super fun. And then the pandemic hit and I just let my hair go. And so it was one, it was the, my natural hair color for the first time since I was like, I don't know, maybe a freshman in high school. Um, between like always having like highlights or like dye my hair blonde or red or, or whatever. Like I, I hadn't had my hair, my natural color since probably I was a freshman in high school. Yeah, so I just let my hair go for the whole pandemic and it was my natural color, which was a much darker brown than I thought it was. And it was so long, y'all, it was so long. I can't tell you last time my hair was that long. And so right before I went home for the holidays, I finally got it cut. I chopped, I don't know, probably at least a foot off. And it is now a cute short bob that I really love. I'm so grateful to have my hair short again, um, with, um, some fun blonde highlights and it's really fun and I am just, yeah, so happy to have it short again. I'll probably go back to my red pixie at some point, I just, it it's kind of high maintenance and I'm still working from home and not like seeing people a ton. So it seems like a lot of money and effort to get my hair cut and colored every six weeks with the pixie for and just seems like spending a lot of unnecessary money. So I'm happy to have it on a more low maintenance cut and style, uh, for the next while. Those are my big personal things. The other really big news as the Biden administration took some action to protect abortion access, uh, and we will do a much, much deeper dive in our next episode. I will have somebody on who will talk through all of this and what all it means. So we'll just do this like really quick right now. Uh, the FDA finalized the rules around, uh, Mifepristone, they were changing the REM classification on it that it and again, we will go into all of this much more detailed in a further episode if you want some like earlier background about it. They announced that they were considering this change and were working towards this change last year and we did an episode talking about what this might mean. So we'll link to that in the show notes if you want that as a, to tide you over until we do the, the new one. So previously you had to go and get the first drug in the medication abortion cocktail from your provider. And you used to have to get it in person with the pandemic. They had changed that. Um, now that in-person requirement is permanently gone, which is great news. But now pharmacies will be able to fill your prescription. You won't have to go to a provider to have them physically hand it to you, which is great. It will expand access. However, this is only relevant in states where that is legal. So that means states where abortion is banned, this is not going to help them. So it is really good news and it is going to expand abortion access and make it easier for people to get abortions.

Jennie: But it is not going to do that everywhere, right? So it is not going to help in the way, in many ways that we need it to and states where abortion is already banned. So good news, but it's, it is not a silver bullet. We are still in the middle of a human rights crisis around abortion. The next step that the administration took is the DOJ clarified that it is not illegal to send medication abortion to people in states where abortion is illegal. That will help expand access. But again, it is not going to solve all of the problems. But it is important. It means if you're sending things, you cannot be arrested for sending medication abortion to somebody in another state where abortion is illegal. Again, it will expand access, but it is not a silver bullet and, and is not going to solve all of the problems. So some good news coming out of the administration, there is so much work to be done to fight to ensure that everybody who needs an abortion wants an abortion is able to easily get one. So a long fight ahead. But this is some good news in that fight. And we will talk about all of this and all of its implications much more in our next episode. But I just wanted to make sure we were talking about taking a second to celebrate the good news. Cause it is good. It's just not all the things we need, right? There are so many more things we need to make sure that people are able to access care, but we still need to celebrate the wins when we get them. Okay, with that, let's turn to this week's episode. I am so excited to have on Elizabeth Estrada with the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice to talk about Latina access to reproductive healthcare and abortion and misinformation in the Latina community. I, we had a wonderful conversation and yeah, let's turn to my interview with, uh, Elizabeth.

Jennie: Hi Elizabeth. Thank you so much for being here.

Elizabeth: Hi, thank you so much. I'm super excited to be here. My name is name Elizabeth Estrada, pronouns are she/her, and I am the New York Field and Advocacy Manager for the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice.

Jennie: I'm so excited to talk to you today. Uh, we just actually did an episode, uh, a little while ago on the green wave, so it's like really exciting to talk about then access for Latinas in, in the US as well. And I know that's changed a little bit, so maybe we should start at the beginning and go what was abortion access like before the Dobbs decision?

Elizabeth: Well, thank you for that question and also thank you for mentioning the green wave; I feel so deeply inspired by that movement. I have colleagues and friends and family and friends in Mexico and it started in Argentina, and spread like wildfire so, so we hoped that we're living in their goals as well and that can use some of the strategies from Latin America here in the United States. I’ll say that, that's actually really good segue, like you said. Cause you know, um, many of us in the reproductive justice movement have seen, um, what a post-Roe world has been for quite some time. You know, I live and work in New York, but the Latina Institute has activist networks in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, in Miami, Florida, and in Northern Virginia. And so we have all seen, um, Texas be a hugely restrictive state, uh, specifically with Senate Bill 8 that passed in September of last year. And during that time, and well before, you know, there has been huge attacks on, uh, our reproductive rights and access. Most notably, you can think or read back on the issue with the criminalization of abortion with Lizelle Herrera who is a woman living in the Rio Grande Valley whose, um, self-managed abortion was criminalized and she was incarcerated. She's since been freed. But that has been the world even prior to, uh, Roe ending um, for many immigrant people, for many people living in rural areas, for many young people, abortion care access continues to threaten communities that are under resourced. And so, while the fall of Roe is a huge, huge strike against our reproductive freedoms, many of us with the identities that I mentioned, you know, specifically immigrant people, have been facing, um, barriers to access even before Roe has fallen. However, the fall of Roe is a devastating hit to our movement, to access, to reproductive freedom and it goes against the will of the people of the United States. We have many examples of how popular abortion is, most notably with the recent elections and defeats of any restrictions in certain states. We saw Kentucky, uh, advance, um, reproductive freedoms for their residents. Uh, but I’ll say that while we are living in a post-Roe world now, um, many of us have been trying to figure out how to get access. Whether it's do I have the money to go because, you know, you and I both know that, um, abortion access isn’t only about being able to necessarily pay for the abortion, but also being able to get to the abortion. Do you have transportation? Do you have somebody that might accompany you? Um, do you have childcare? Cause as you and I know, the majority of people having abortions are already parents. So that is also a barrier. Language access continues to be a barrier, especially for, um, the AAPI community. I would say in New York we have a lot of resources in Spanish, but you know, Mandarin or uh, Bengali or other, um, Asian community languages are really hard to come by. So while these are just high level glimpses of what it was prior to the fall of Roe, it may reflect for some communities what it's like post Roe. Um, but I don't want that to, I don't want convey to your audience that this isn't a devastating hit, but rather that some of us, women of color, marginalized identities, Black people, um, working class, under-resource people, uh, non-English speaking people have been living in a post Roe world in of sorts already for many years.

Jennie: Yeah, all really wonderful points. And one of the things I was really thinking about was something that has become even more important now with abortion being banned in several states, is the ability to travel to access care and how that really can impact undocumented people or people who live within the border zone. Um, and that has an added layer of complexity when trying to access care. Do you may wanna talk about that a little bit?

Elizabeth: Some states are enacting or have enacted, uh, criminalization if, if wanting to leave the state for care. You know, you think about Texas where it has like kinda like a vigilante component to their laws. But you know, many of us, uh, who like you mentioned who are undocumented and living in perhaps border towns or border cities in the United States, already face challenges driving to a clinic. If you think about the Rio Grande Valley, um, McAllan being the last city in the Rio Grande Valley, that's like comprised of four big cities, lost their only reproductive health clinic recently. And travel continues to be a barrier for those without documentation status. And for many immigrant communities, our families are comprised of mixed-status people. So maybe your, your abuela, your granny or your, auntie um, are not documented, but maybe the younger generations who, who was born here. So travel continues to be and always has been really a huge barrier to access, especially for undocumented folks. Um, we already face a lot of surveillance, so I think that that is just an added… so when I know that I'm continue to bring up Texas, but even in more “liberal” states like New York, transportation continues to be a barrier as well. Cause you increase with the mayor of police, and, um, the presence of police, so we may have a right on paper, but if you’re too afraid to leave your home to run into the police on the subway or on the streets, then is that access really coming to fruition? Is it really materializing if you're unsafe to be just riding the subway to, you know, get, uh, an appointment?

Jennie: Yeah. Uh, so many layers of like, just so many things that are just making it so much more difficult to access basic healthcare. It's just like layer upon layer of complication. And I know one that has, um, a real part of the reason we're talking today is misinformation, um, and misinformation in the Latina and Latinx community. Do you, we wanna talk a little bit about what you're seeing?

Elizabeth: Well, you know, I think that oftentimes our communities are targeted simply cause we don't speak English. But I think anyone can relate to seeing “fake news” or ads during election season. I mean, I know that Facebook or Meta is, you know, getting a lot of, um, blowback given their refusal to mandate that on their platforms. And so I think anyone can relate, especially in the Latinx community, receiving perhaps like a WhatsApp message, you know, from your auntie back home, um, spreading misinformation about what abortion is or what can come after abortion. Perhaps we've all been confronted with misinformation like “abortion causes all types of medical conditions” which have no basis in medical science. Um, but as a Latina or as a, you know, in mixed-status families or first generation or, or you know, children of immigrants, we are often, you know, the feminist women in the communities having to kind of dispel some of the misinformation. And that goes with everything. However, you know, we often, some of us are not as proficient technologically. So while I may be going on Google and searching my nearest abortion clinic, Google has had an effort in trying to, uh, distinguish which centers might have, uh, services that you're looking for and which do not. Now it has like an advertisement or like a little, um, message that says does not provide abortion care, which is really, really key to our communities because even if I'm searching for a loved one, it's important for me to know and not waste time going, for example, being lured or detoured into anti-abortion centers. Um, they're also known as crisis pregnancy centers or fake clinics. These centers are literally places that spread misinformation and claim to provide resources for folks seeking abortion but do not provide abortion care at all. And we see that in my own community here in the Bronx where folks, where there is an anti-abortion center located across the street from our main Planned Parenthood clinic and then down the street from a public hospital, Lincoln Hospital in a predominantly Spanish speaking and uh, Black American area. That to me is very obvious that, um, these antiabortion centers, centers are targeting us much like, you know, the ads on, uh, Facebook or graphics and memes that are spread through WhatsApp that perhaps your family is sending along. And you'll see that those little are shared like thousands of times. Cause at the bottom of the image it tells you how many times it's been shared. So we are targeted given, you know, um, all these presumptions about how we lean in terms of our ideals or values or political parties, but it's clear, you know, that abortion is a winning issue. And I think this latest election has been kind of an illuminator for many of us, uh, where the Republican party really tried to, um, push what they were calling like a red wave through a lot of fear mongering, um, especially around abortion. And then you know, around the idea of crime, increasing crime, right? What we know to be true, uh, at the Latina Institute is that, you know, providing care, support, resources to our communities is going to lower crime, not police. But again, you know, Latina, Latinx people, vote on issues of abortion similarly to the rest of the United States. It's a wide and popular issue. And in lots of exit polls they were indicating that, um, Latinos, uh, found it to be a priority next to the economy. And those two things cannot be separate. The economy is a matter of reproductive justice. Abortion is a matter of the economy. Cause we know studies prove that, you know, if you aren't able to access abortion, you're likely to plummet further poverty. So, um, in races across the country we're seeing Latinos, you know, are telling lawmakers that we must make decisions about our bodies and that is a popular stance that Latinos agree with. So while we are targeted by misinformation, I'm lucky to say that, you know, um, in our community and at the Latina Institute, we're working to dispel some of the myths surrounding abortion so that we don't make it so easy for that targeting of our communities.

Jennie: Antiabortion centers are, they're just…

Elizabeth: They're insidious…

Jennie: …They're just terrible. Yeah. Insidious, that's the word I was trying to think of. Like, and their language is made to confuse you so that you don't know you're going to one, right? Like they name themselves something very similar to the clinic you're looking for, or so you think you're going somewhere where the do provide a full range of services. And so as, as somebody who knows this stuff, like I know what to look for, but you shouldn't have to be like steeped in this stuff to know that that clinic you're looking at is not a clinic. It's an, it's an anti-abortion center, and I can't imagine needing to do that level of analysis and maybe not my first language. Right?

Elizabeth: Right.

Jennie: Like there's just so many ways that it's, it, you can see where that misinformation or misunderstanding of like what these places are can, can be really extra harmful.

Elizabeth: It is, and the tactic, the main tactic is delay. You know, I would say that, and you might agree, that many of us, even those who speak the language, have trouble navigating the healthcare system. You know, what's a copay? How much is coverage?

Jennie: Yeah, for sure.

Elizabeth: What is in network? What is out PPO, HPO, what's the difference? And so that added layer of not knowing and understanding the language makes us really susceptible to being lured into an antiabortion center. Especially when you see pictures in the advertising, um, in windows that are, that look like us, you know, Black and brown folks in the pictures, pregnant bellies, offering free services, and when you go inside, and my experience in the Bronx, it has been the opposite. There aren't any free pregnancy tests, there aren't any free ultrasounds, just religious rhetoric that is thrown at you to make you feel shame and guilt when what people are looking for is support and compassion and access to healthcare in a dignified manner. Something we all deserve. I think we can all agree.

Jennie: Absolutely. I, this whole like, it just makes me so angry. Like I, I just trying to find basic healthcare should not be this complicated and it just makes me so mad that it is for everybody, but even more so for some people.

Elizabeth: And I, I feel like you saying that reminds me of the new research that the Latina Institute was lucky enough to do with the National Partnership for Women and Families confirms that the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has devastated Latinas the most. So we see nearly 6.5 million Latinas, 42% of all Latinas from 15 to 49 live in the 26 states that banned or are likely to ban abortion. And they represent the largest group of women of color impacted by these bans or likely state bans that we know are coming so nearly half of folks who live in these 26 states are already parents, like I mentioned before. So what an impact, you know, just furthering your closeness or proximity to not having money, you know? And so I think nearly 3 million Latinas living in these states are already economically insecure and close to half of all Latina veterans in the US live in the states that have or are likely to ban abortion after Dobbs. So when you say, the impact that is already what we're seeing and we know to be true is that “the impact”, that is already what we’re seeing and weknow it to be true that the impact lands hardest on women of color, uh, Latinas, Black women, rural folks, you know, young people.

Jennie: I think you brought up a really good point actually a couple times now and I think it's really worth like pulling it out a little bit cuz I think it's one of those things that, like whatever, in like the broader political conversation seems to get lost a lot and that is abortion is an economic issue. They keep wanting to talk about it as like a social issue off to the side and not quite realizing, no, it, it has huge economic security implications and that we need to be talking about it as a reproductive justice, economic justice [issue]. Like all of it needs to be talked about together.

Elizabeth: I couldn't agree more. Um, I would say that at the Latina Institute and generally in the reproductive justice movement, we cannot separate the two things. It is a specific intersection for the reasons that I just mentioned. The impact of not having access, but also, workers have abortions and many of us, the world is comprised of workers, not many of us can afford not to work and, you know, be able to have insurance or many of the states don't with, uh, don't even cover insurance on their private plans. New York is that we a state that private plans cover insurance, but if you don't, you’re outta pocket, and so access to abortion should not depend on how much money you have in your pocket. It should be accessible, it should be dignified, and it should be available anywhere for any reason at any time in your pregnancy.

Jennie: Okay. So what do we need to do to address these issues?

Elizabeth: We need to do what we're doing right now. Now we need to talk, we need to talk about, um, why we support abortion access with our loved ones. I recognize that not everybody can be in the streets marching. Um, like I always say in Spanish, being a professional, uh, feminista, oftentimes we do play that role within our families. Um, often dispelling myths. But we need to talk about why we support abortion access and maybe use the stories or tell our own stories if you feel safe. We need to, for those that are be able to be out in the streets, we need to stay organized and connect with organizations in your community that are doing this work because, um, alone we can do a lot but organized and together we can do a lot more. We need to. You know, lobby our elected officials. There are probably, you know, proactive policy solutions that are happening in your state. I know in New York we're working with, uh, Senator Carey and Assembly Member Jessica Gonzalez Roja on a Reproductive Freedom and Equity Fund so that New York can truly be that leader in the abortion access front given that we have rapidly become a destination for folks coming from restrictive states. So we need to talk, we need to organize, we need to, you know, lobby our elected officials, and we need to share our stories. I think culture shift is a component of the work that, not to me but perhaps is like kinda an underestimated tool. But talking to your loved ones, sharing stories is what helps change heart and minds. Just at the dinner table, you don't have to go to a lobby session, you don't have to attend a workshop. You can talk to your family and your loved ones about why you support abortion access or you can share your own story. You know, I'm a 38-year-old immigrant Latina from Mexico and I've had two abortions in my life. One in a restrictive state of Georgia when I was 21 and one in a less restrictive state New York when I was 32. And they were both drastically different experiences. So, for those of you who are listening now, use my story to talk to your loved ones about why you support abortion access. Cause you can do that tonight at dinner.

Jennie: Yeah, I, the culture change is such a big, key part that I think sometimes gets undervalued and there are many, there are groups doing great work. I mean, We Testify is doing amazing work making sure that we are working to shift culture. But it is definitely something that came up in my conversation about the green wave is like, that was a big part of what they were doing is trying to get rid of that stigma.

Elizabeth: Stigma impacts us in ways we don't even recognize. You know, I think that as, uh, women and femme-identified people we're told to be a certain way and we internalize a lot of messages that we have to fight against every single day. And those messages often include, uh, bodily autonomy and self-determination how others often self-determine or determine our futures. But if we shift a culture, and let me just be like, uh, say it plain and simple: all of these systems that are seeking to restrict abortion and limit our sexual, I'm sorry, our bodily autonomy, are tools of the patriarchy. And maybe our movement doesn't call it that, but that's what it's, and it's patriarchal violence and that continues to be at the center of the feminist movement. And we aren't just the reproductive justice movement, we are a global movement for feminism. And culture shift asks us to say that we will no longer be silenced by shame and we'll talk about our stories with pride, um, but we have to work on that, right? We, everyone has a journey. And on the other side is a movement waiting to hear your story and people waiting to be moved and compelled by it.

Jennie: It's so funny, uh, I feel like you're right. Like in the movement, we don't necessarily talk about the patriarchy a lot, but like in individual instances, right? Like in one-on-one conversations or, but like in the broader movement spaces, it's not something that, that we talk about a lot. And uh, but uh, it's funnily enough, I've been recording some stuff for, um, coming out right after Thanksgiving and somebody else mentioned it and it was, it's always kind of like, “oh, I mean, I guess the patriarchy” and it's, it's just so funny. Uh, cuz yes, it's the patriarchy.

Elizabeth: That's right! Yeah. I think sometimes, um, the messages of the patriarchy aim to de-legitimize our experiences. And the, one of the ways that they've done or tried to do that is by us having to use jargon that is perhaps academic or that doesn't act accurately define our lives. But if we're talking about it between us and we can kiki about it, you know, then we most certainly should add it to our talking points. Cause at the end of the day, we must know what the end goal is and that is too, like be said, you know, end the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy. And I live by that and that is what guides me.

Jennie: Oh man, that feels like the perfect spot to end. But we do need to do the last bit of what actions can our audience take right now? I feel like we kind of already hit on a bunch of it, but… Elizabeth: Well to reiterate, let's share our stories. Let's talk about the issues that are sometimes to talk about abortion being one of them. I think that is one of those ways that we can shift our culture to one of compassion and dignity so that we can all access health. And you know, I often say that one of the first barriers, if you have the right, you have the access and you have the means to access abortion, perhaps even your own family might shame you out of accessing your right to do that. Um, so I think culture shifting and like I said, it's about to be dinnertime. Let's talk about it at the dinner table. But also I think federally, we, at the Latina Institute, we've been working, um, to advance the HEAL for Immigrant Families Act, that lifts five year ban on newly immigrants access to abortion. So yes, the HEAL for Immigrant Act removes the five year ban on newly-arrived immigrants access to healthcare. Cause obviously five years is too long to wait to access healthcare, it’s a matter of life and death. We've also working here locally in New York, with elected officials on the Reproductive Freedom and Equity Fund. These are policies that would provide funding not only to folks seeking care, but to providers and, uh, safety of providers. Cause we recognize that providers face violence. And, um, so we need to protect our providers so that they can do their work, their lifesaving work, providing access to the community. Listen to rePROs Fight Back, obviously like all of the pods that help you build your talking points is a really good way to have those conversations at the dinner table. Be organized, be connected to an organization that is doing work for reproductive justice, please. Um, research your local abortion fund, here in New York. The New York Abortion Access Fund provides care in New Jersey. There's a New Jersey abortion access fund in Georgia there’s ARC southeast, you know, there's an abortion fund in every state, ready, willing, and to help you pay for your abortion care and also for practical support. Because we talked about how needing abortion care also requires to, you have to leave the kids somewhere. Childcare, transportation, um, all of those are important too to do. So those are action steps that people can immediately do after listening to this podcast.

Jennie: Well, Elizabeth, it was wonderful talking to you today. Thank you so much for being here.

Elizabeth: Thank you so much. It was such a pleasure being with you.

Jennie: Okay, y'all, I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Elizabeth. I had a wonderful time talking to her. We'll see you in two weeks to have that conversation about these new administration actions that are gonna expand access to abortion. We'll dig much deeper into them what happens and what they mean for access.

Jennie: Thanks for listening everyone. And we'll see you on our next episode of RePROS Fight Back. For more information, including show notes from this episode and previous episodes, please visit our website at reprosfightback.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at RePROS Fight Back, or on Instagram at reprosfb. If you like our show, please help others find it by sharing it with your friends and subscribing, rating and reviewing us on iTunes. Thanks for listening.

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