Every dedicated person who powers Planned Parenthood's work brings their own lived experiences and talents to this movement.
Our Story Spotlight series gives you a window into how our community is showing up in the wake of the Supreme Court ending our right to abortion.
Today, we are sharing a story from Melissa, a volunteer with Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and Northern Mississippi.
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"I started volunteering with Planned Parenthood in 2018 when I moved to Nashville from San Francisco. I had always wanted to volunteer with Planned Parenthood, and it seemed like a great way to meet like-minded people.
Over the next few years, I did data entry, phone banking, and activities outside of my comfort zone including door-to-door canvassing, lobbying my state representatives during our day on the hill, and holding signs in support of Planned Parenthood during legislative sessions. In 2021, I was proud to accept the Planned Parenthood: Tennessee & North Mississippi's Volunteer of the Year award for Middle TN.
While volunteering with Planned Parenthood, I met some amazing people and started to recognize the importance of building community in this movement. This inspired me to create a more localized action council called East Nashtivists in early 2022. Action councils are Planned Parenthood advocacy groups that help organize within local communities.
East Nashtivists' mission is to organize, educate, and activate folks in East Nashville and beyond. We started small -- less than 20 people attended our first meeting in March 2022. But as word got out, more folks in our community stepped up, and momentum grew. By June 23, 2022, nearly 100 people were engaged across East Nashtivists' social media and email platforms.
And then came the Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. In Tennessee, abortion rights were already highly restricted. Post-Dobbs, we have one of the strictest abortion bans in the country.
Since the trigger ban took effect, abortion access is now a matter of life and death; all abortions are banned, with no exceptions for rape or incest. Doctors who perform a life-saving abortion will have to justify that decision in court to avoid being convicted of a felony.
The first East Nashtivists' meeting after we lost our federal constitutional right to abortion was packed with a highly motivated group of community members looking to get involved in the fight for reproductive rights. One member joined our group out of fear that her access to birth control would be at risk; one of our team leaders is a prominent figure in the LGBTQ+ community who is afraid of the systematic dismantling of our fundamental human rights; and another is an emergency physician who is concerned not only with being able to give her patients proper care, but fearful of being taken away in handcuffs for doing her job.
In just three short months since the Dobbs decision, East Nashtivists' following grew by 1000%, and now we reach more than 1,500 users across our social media and email channels. It is clear that people are angry and energized to channel that anger into action.
Over the last few months, a strong core leadership team has emerged, and support from the community and an army of volunteers has enabled us to step our efforts into high gear. These efforts include presenting educational sessions during our monthly meetings and developing relationships with local businesses, community members, and leaders. We are even looking at expanding beyond East Nashville to West, North, and South Nashville over the next 12 months.
Despite the dangerous situation in Tennessee, I believe that we are on the cusp of an incredible transformation. The oppressive state laws and legislators stripping us of our right to control our own bodies are frightening, but we believe they provide opportunities for us to fight back and create the change we want to see. Through our collective community activism, we are filled with hope that the future for reproductive justice is bright."
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Volunteers like Melissa, and supporters like you, are the heart and soul of this movement.
Do you have a Planned Parenthood story of your own to share? Whether you've been a patient, activist, volunteer, or all of the above -- your story matters and can help inspire others. Click here to tell your story:
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Thank you for everything you do to defend sexual and reproductive health and rights.
-- Planned Parenthood Federation of America
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