Dear John,

I’m exhausted. You’re exhausted. We’re all exhausted. One thing though: people will ALWAYS need abortion care. We may have lost our constitutional right to abortion, but we will keep fighting for abortion access. It’s hard to have hope in these times, but hope keeps me going and our movement going. As the fictional character Jyn Erso from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story said, “Rebellions are built on hope.” Have I been watching a lot of Star Wars lately? Yes. Yes, I have. Don’t judge me.

Without further ado, grab a snack, a beverage, and read on.

Abortion Abortion Abortion

Destigmatizing Abortion

Like I said, abortions will always be necessary but even for pro-abortion baddies, stigma around abortion can run DEEP. Even as someone in this movement, I've had a lot to learn about the negative effects that things like coat hanger imagery, or saying pro-choice rather than pro-abortion, have on people’s perceptions of abortion. Let’s remember that there are a million reasons to have an abortion, and all of them are valid. Abortions are safe. Abortions don’t need to be rare. And they should be legal, and available. So, say ABORTION! It ain’t a bad word. Hop on over to our destigmatizing abortion blog series to learn how to talk about abortion in a stigma-free way.

Tell Congress to Protect Abortion

Congress is voting on two federal bills TODAY. In the coming months, we’ll see more bans on abortions and we need Congress to act now. Take action now on the following bills:

• Women’s Health Protection Act, which would establish a new federal right to abortion.
• Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, which explicitly protects the right to travel across state lines for abortion care.

The Devastating Effects of the Dobbs Decision

Our very own President & CEO Fatima Goss Graves testified this week on how the Dobbs decision will harm so many people, particularly low-income people and women of color, and how we should trust people to make important decisions about their lives, bodies, and futures. Check out her testimony here and here.

She Deserves Dignity and Joy

We are teaming up with LinkUp DC for a day of celebration! If you’re in the D.C. area, join us at Anacostia Park State Pavilion for free food, activities, live performance, and roller skating. It’ll be a day of celebration while also learning about how we can remove the harmful school discipline, school dress code policies, and school policing that push girls and femmes of color out of school and into our criminal legal system.

Must-reads:

• Doctors in Anti-Abortion States Now Have No Idea When They’re Allowed to Save a Pregnant Person’s Life
• As abortion crisis engulfs red states, advocates press White House for a bolder plan.
• Mississippi’s New Equal Pay Act Is Not Equal at All

My Moment of Joy

After a string of canceled vacations due to the flooding in Yellowstone and catching COVID, along with the general state of the world and democracy, it’s been a bummer for me lately. But one point of joy? This year’s Emmy nominations! We got our girl Zendaya from Euphoria nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress. We’ve got the amazing Quinta Brunson of Abbott Elementary and Issa Rae of Insecure nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress. We’ve got the hilarious Sheryl Lee Ralph of Abbott Elementary nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. We’re so excited to see it!

To end another newsletter, Mike the cat is trying to trick me into giving him more than his allotted daily serving of cat food as I take care of him while my roommate is on vacation. His fiending will never end, but a cat’s gotta do what a cat’s gotta do. His advice for you? Shoot your shot. You never know what will happen.

Justice and joy,