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TBH (To Be Honest) is a monthly newsletter dedicated to learning about our bodies, talking about sex and relationships, and challenging health inequity and injustice.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

Abortion Care Baskets + APAHM + Birth control for men

"I felt all alone during my abortion — until a volunteer held my hand. Now that abortion has been banned in states across the country, I'm giving patients the kind of care that I got from her: I'm making abortion care kits!"

— Ashly from Oregon.

From the blog…

What are the Comstock Laws?: They haven't been enforced in nearly a century, but now anti-abortion groups and judges are using this set of 150-year-old laws to try to ban abortion.

Send Patients Some Love with Abortion Care Baskets: Every person who has an abortion deserves kindness and understanding. Help show patients they're not alone by sending them a cozy aftercare package.

How can I calculate how many weeks pregnant I am?: Whether you decide to continue with the pregnancy or not, a good first step is to calculate how many weeks you've been pregnant, so you know your options.

Read more on the blog >>

What we're watching, reading, listening to, and taking action on:

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM). While we celebrate the achievements of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, it's important to also highlight how attacks on health care in the U.S. are affecting them. This year Planned Parenthood worked with South Asian SOAR to create accessible sexual and reproductive health resources for South Asian communities.

Birth control for cis men? Refinery29 found that cis men are willing to take birth control to offset the burden from their partners, and Fortune laid out the benefits of male contraception in a world without Roe.

It turns out adolescent puberty isn't the only time when you might experience a major hormonal shift. Giddy dubs the hormonal changes occurring later in life a "second puberty" that can affect your physical and mental health.

Requiring a prescription for birth control pills creates a number of barriers, making it difficult for folks who already have a hard time getting health care. On May 9 and 10, the FDA met to review the application for OTC status for a birth control pill called Opill, and voted unanimously to approve Opill — a groundbreaking move that increases access to essential health care.

Ask the Experts:

"Can I be both transgender and nonbinary?"

Someone asked us: I was told by a friend that I cannot be trans and nonbinary at the same time. I thought trans was an umbrella term that also includes nonbinary people. Can't I be both?

You're the only person who gets to decide how you identify, and there's no right or wrong way to be trans and/or nonbinary. Let's explore what these labels mean.

Being transgender means your gender is different from the “male” or “female” designation on your original birth certificate. Transgender boys and men were often assigned female at birth (AFAB) and raised as girls. Transgender girls and women were often assigned male at birth (AMAB) and raised as boys.

Being nonbinary means your gender doesn't fit into the strict male-or-female gender binary. You might identify as nonbinary if your gender falls somewhere between male and female, or if your gender doesn't quite fit into either of those categories. Nonbinary people may also identify differently depending on the day and how they feel — they may identify as a woman one day, a man the next, and nonbinary or genderqueer on others. Some people say they're nonbinary to keep a conversation short and simple — and add their other identities when they want to share more. Nonbinary can also be used as a general term to mean “not cisgender.”

Long story short: It's up to you how you identify (and what you tell people about that identity). If you feel gender euphoria when you tell others you're transgender and nonbinary, say it! You might also want to experiment with which label you want to say first. For example, someone who transitioned and sees their transness as outside the gender binary might feel best saying they're a nonbinary trans woman or nonbinary trans man.

Check out our tips on figuring out your gender identity and what language to use.

— Miriam at Planned Parenthood

*Note: Planned Parenthood is not responsible for nor does it endorse any legal, medical, or other advice or information provided by any of the entities identified or referenced herein or by any other third parties, whether referenced herein or not.

Check out Ask The Experts for more Q&As on a ton of different health topics. Got a question in mind? Ask Roo, our expert chatbot.

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