‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Went Too Easy on Fake Pregnancy Clinics
Maleeha, 27, is an abortion storyteller with We Testify and the community organizer at Texas Equal Access Fund, an abortion fund serving the northern region of Texas. Years ago, when she found out she was pregnant, she knew she needed a medication abortion and wanted to confirm her length of pregnancy in a way that protected her privacy while using her father’s insurance. Her cousin shared a list of low-cost clinics she found through a Google search, and one—unbeknownst to them—was a Dallas-based crisis pregnancy center, White Rose Women’s Center
Why Biden Needs to Go Big on Abortion
And one of the easiest ways Biden could go big on abortion is to talk about it openly and often, said Renee Bracey Sherman, founder and executive director of We Testify, an organization that fights stigma around abortion by sharing the stories of real people who have them. She said that if Biden really considers himself pro-choice, he needs to tell the American people a clear story about abortion and why expanding access to it matters.
Why I Celebrate My Abortion on Mother’s Day
When I made the choice to become a parent, it wasn’t because I had the resources, support, or financial security that I needed to provide for a child. In fact, because of societal pressure toward pregnant people—a stigma that implies if we don’t continue our pregnancies then we are bad or irresponsible—it didn’t feel like a choice I made at all.
Pandemic Parenting Support: From Day Care to Abortion, Where Is It?
Pregnancy is a crash course on strategic thinking and decision-making. I know this because I am a mom who has previously had an abortion. Both were parenting decisions that I, fortunately, got to make for myself.
First I Chose Abortion. Then I Chose Motherhood.
This Mother’s Day is my first, and it’s nothing like I imagined; being a new mother during a global pandemic is beyond challenging. There are the general challenges of being a new mama, such as the sleepless nights, learning new routines, trying to make sure my baby is well-fed, the adjustment to postpartum life and my new mind and body, and the endless laundry.
Teen Parents Need Access and Support, Not Shame and Scorn
HK Gray was 15 when she found out she was pregnant with her first child. At the time, her father was homeless, and her mother was incarcerated. “I was ecstatic at the thought of having a family again,” she said.
Medication and My Abortions Were the Mental Health Care I Needed to Parent
It’s hard living each day and caring for my children among the messages that we hear on social media, in the news, and from politicians telling us to do more—and for me, it’s even harder, as a Black mama who has had abortions and is living with a mental illness.
My Abortions Made Me a Mom
I love Mother’s Day. It is a day dedicated to loving and pampering my mom, a single parent who has made so many sacrifices for me. I enjoy the opportunity to shower her with cards, gifts, and affirmations—from a distance, as she lives back home in Pakistan.
Access to medication abortions via telehealth varies by state and here's why
“Back in March of last year in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, I found out I was pregnant in the state of Ohio,” Larada Lee explained.
Soon after, she made the decision to get an abortion.
The Best Way to Protect Abortion Rights Right Now Is to End a Racist, Classist Federal Budget Amendment
Advocates were outraged. “The fact that they get asked about it on day one, and not only do they not repeat or say the word abortion, but they perpetuate this false equivalency that the Catholic faith is somehow counter to abortion,” says Renee Bracey Sherman, founder and executive director of We Testify, an abortion storytelling nonprofit. “Biden goes to church—cool! So do the Catholics who have abortions.”
Texas House to consider ‘heartbeat bill’ after approval by the Senate
Maleeha Aziz, a community organizer for the Texas Equal Access Fund, used the pill abortion treatment twice — once as a college student who, despite being on birth control, was faced with an unplanned pregnancy and recently when an unplanned pregnancy with her husband. Aziz and her husband have a young daughter, but she faced a difficult pregnancy and worried about potential health complications.
Meet the 21-year-old helping to fund abortions in Texas
Makayla Montoya-Frazier started the Buckle Bunnies Fund with other organizers because they wanted to cement their reputations in Texas as“bad bitches who do the work.” The community sexual health specialist jumped to action when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott temporarily banned abortion in late March. She collaborated with other young queer folks in the state to form the abortion and mutual aid fund that continues to operate across Texas. The mission? To do anything necessary to get people the care they need.
Why Won’t President Biden Utter the Word ‘Abortion’?
Makayla Montoya, a 21-year-old living in Texas who spoke to Playboy from a parent’s home after her apartment lost water, power, and heat during the recent winter-storm crisis in the state, has experienced the ramifications of such a void, and how it can perpetuate stigma, shame, and judgment, and make it easier for barriers to abortion care to remain. Montoya was 19 when she had her first abortion, and, given the limited amount of access to care in her state, she first visited a crisis pregnancy center.
As the Pandemic Raged, Abortion Access Nearly Flickered Out
The door of the Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbus was locked when Larada Lee arrived for the first of two appointments she needed to get an abortion under Ohio state law. About a dozen anti-choice protesters had gathered outside, without masks, calling Lee a baby killer as she approached the door. Lee felt nauseated from her pregnancy, at times unable to keep down even water. Her bones ached. She was missing her classes at Ohio State University. The fatal shootings of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor in recent weeks were weighing her down with a sense of hopelessness. Meanwhile, Ohio officials had sparked confusion by ordering a halt to “nonessential” abortions. “Being Black in the middle of trying to seek an abortion in the middle of a pandemic—it was really difficult to navigate all of those feelings while also trying to focus on ’I hope that they don’t take this away from us,’” Lee said in a recent interview with The Nation, recalling her experience back in March and April.
Opinion: When You Speak Out Against Toxic Horse World Behavior, You're Helping More Than You Know
I’ve been turning to horses when I need to escape since I learned to crawl. Horses offer a consistency and reliability that can help people like me decompress, relax and heal. Unfortunately, with horses come horse people, and they aren’t so reliable or relaxing. Our sport has long been plagued by sexual abuse, bullying, and racism. Since I re-entered the horse world after a several-year hiatus nine months ago, I’ve been watching with keen interest the dialogue and discourse around SafeSport and sexual assault within our sport.
Anti-Abortion Ideology And White Supremacy Have Always Been Entangled
As I watched the footage of white supremacists scaling the Capitol walls on January 6, a sense of familiarity set in. I started receiving texts and photos of prominent anti-abortion leaders, and a convicted clinic bomber, at the scene. I recognized one. Leaders from white supremacist organizations — including the Proud Boys and the Daily Stormer — had doxxed and harassed me before, and there they were roaming the Capitol halls as if on a high school tour.
I felt my heart pulsating outside of my chest. Of course, they were there, I thought. They’re not hiding in plain sight any longer.
AOC Told Her Sexual Assault Story. Then the Backlash Happened.
“People have always used public storytelling as a way to be vulnerable about horrific or challenging experiences they’ve had, particularly those created by unjust systems, racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and more,” said Renee Bracey Sherman, executive director of We Testify, an organization supporting the leadership and representation of people who have abortions.
Rosie's Law: Bill introduced to restore health insurance coverage of abortion in Texas
“We continue to honor the legacy of Rosie Jimenez as we fight to ensure that all Texans have access to the full spectrum of reproductive healthcare services, regardless of ZIP code and income, in order to sustain the freedom to make personal healthcare choices that work best for themselves and their families,” said Nancy Cardenas Peña, a board member with Frontera Fund.
The right-wing Christian movement shouldn't control the abortion narrative
Abortion touches each and every religious community, regardless of whether it is officially sanctioned. One in 4 people who can get pregnant will terminate a pregnancy by the age of 45. And they live in every religious community, in every walk of life, even if it's not always discussed. Renee Bracey Sherman, the founder of We Testify, an organization that focuses on storytelling around abortion, said, "Everyone loves someone who has had an abortion, whether they know it or not.
Anti-Abortion Activists Were All Over the Capitol Riots
“What frustrates me is that if you had been paying attention to the white supremacists and how they were attacking abortion clinics and treating people who spoke out in support of abortion,” said Renee Bracey Sherman, who runs WeTestify, an organization devoted to increasing the representation of people who’ve had abortions, “none of this would be a surprise to you.”