Dear John,
Welcome to the second edition of the Reproaction #BadFaithMedicine Breakdown! In it, we chronicle our recent activities to call out anti-abortion fake clinics and the dangerous, #BadFaithMedicine they push.
Latest updates:
If you saw last month’s webinar and want to know more about just how racist these fake clinic chains are, check out Tenaja’s most recent two pieces on the Reproaction blog!
At the Intersection of Anti-Blackness and Patriarchy:
“To break it down, patriarchy acts as an ideology that men are superior, more powerful, and smarter than all other genders. But when we mix that with anti-Blackness, we create a systematic, institutionalized, and deadly fear towards Black people, because now they are powerful and Black which makes them dangerous, harmful, or up to no good.”
Fake Clinic Networks' Misguided Allegations of Racism:
“In fact, I argue that Human Coalition and other anti-abortion advocates aren’t showing genuine concern for Black people at all, just concern for how they can control Black people; placing superior value on fetuses rather than the Black bodies that carry them, and leaving the rest to state sanctioned violence and police brutality. Human Coalition is not here trying to do the work to dismantle systemic racism, they are here trying to use this moment of great change and activism to further their own problematic agenda.”
Fake clinic network of the month:
Despite their name, Care Net doesn’t seem to do a lot of caring, instead lobbing shame and misinformation on people seeking abortion. They’re mentioned in both of the above blog posts, peddling racism disguised as concern for Black women who choose abortion as the best option for their lives and futures. But that’s not all: they also challenge their claim to the ‘pro-life’ name by hosting large super-spreader events during the coronavirus pandemic, with participants in some cases traveling far to attend. Despite press coverage and pressure from us, they went ahead with this event while cases were soaring nationwide and especially in the locations they were visiting. With a ‘pro-life’ movement that’s increasingly opposing common sense public health regulations to curb the spread of a deadly virus, you have to wonder how they can keep pretending to care about “life” at all. Our work exposing them and holding them accountable is more important than ever.
We’ll be back with more info and action in the New Year! Have a great holiday season in the meantime.
Sincerely,
Shireen Shakouri, Reproaction Campaign Manager, based in Washington, D.C.
Tenaja Henson, Reproaction Campaign Coordinator, based in Greensboro, North Carolina
P.S. Want to liven up your family holiday video calls? Why not educate them about #BadFaithMedicine and close out the year with some opportunities for activism? Our campaign page has plenty of information to fuel your presentation parties and video chats alike: Reproaction.org/BadFaithMedicine
