Over 20 activists attended our action, and several people walking by also joined in and stopped to take photos with our Stop Prosecuting Abortion signs to show their support. We even had volunteers who brought a maraca and a drum to help drown out the ‘pro-life’ hypocrisy.
But make no mistake: the scourge of dangerous anti-abortion rhetoric has real victims, and they’re trapped behind the gleaming, seemingly benevolent smiles and sympathy-invoking tears of white women willing to sell out each other and women of color in an attempt to be more powerful in a system that will never give them the power of white men.
On average, Black women are 3 to 4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women, regardless of wealth or education; Black babies are twice as likely to die in their first year of life than white babies. Missouri’s average maternal and infant mortality rates are on par with this national average.
As activists, forming healthy relationships and practicing self-care is essential for us to be able continue to grow our movement and fight for justice. Reproaction was proud to stand with local reproductive rights and justice allies on this work.
The stereotypes, stigma, and utter lack of credible information in the “The Forsaken” episode of NBC’s “New Amsterdam” is irresponsible to viewers and all pregnant people.
On March 4, Reproaction organized a discussion called HIV Stigma, Discrimination, and the Law at the University of Missouri - Columbia. The Missouri HIV Justice Coalition and Como for Progress served as cosponsors.
By co-opting and warping the “feminist” label as a tool to oppress people on the basis of assigned sex at birth, TERFs have attempted to straddle the left and the right, posing as supporters of women’s rights in order to push discrimination against trans and non-binary people.
Direct action is a meaningful way to build community, spread information, and challenge abortion opponents. If you want to stand up for abortion access and shine a light on ‘pro-life’ hypocrisy, you should protest outside of your local fake clinic.
On April 4, Reproaction was invited by Lincoln University’s STEM Alliance and Sociology Club to continue our Black Women in Activism series discussion on addressing racial health disparities as part of their Brown Bag Lecture series.