Mobilize For Abortion Rights
TAKE ACTION WORKBOOK
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Fight for Abortion Rights
I'm sad to report that Roe v Wade is officially dead.
Trump's conservative Supreme Court justices overturned it only days ago, declaring that women do not have a Constitutional right to abortion after 50 years of lived experience that said the complete opposite.
But there is no time to lament what has been lost right now.
There are much more important and useful things you should be focusing your energies on.
I've deep searched the biggest pro choice organizations in the USA to get a sense of what they are suggesting for immediate actions that we can all take.
Not all actions to fight for abortion rights are created equally; some of them are more about personal liberation and empowerment than producing tangible results.
So I've decided to start with those things first, and we will work our way up the list to the most crucial actions you can (and absolutely should) take right away.
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Go on a Sex Strike
Need to do!
This won’t be an action for everyone, but considering the success women have had using sex strikes, I decided to include it as extra credit.
“You can never leave footprints that last if you are always walking on tiptoe.”
― Leymah Gbowee
First, I highly recommend you watch a documentary called Pray The Devil Back to Hell.
You can watch it for free on Tubi using that link.
It tells the story of a Liberian woman named Leymah Gbowee who formed a powerful coalition of women across several different races, ethnicities and religions to stage a large-scale sex strike.
Their goal?
End the civil war in Liberia that had raged for years and was tearing apart families and destroying lives with violence, rape and murder.
While you cannot simplify history or attribute the ending of a complicated conflict to any single action or effort, you can definitely say her sex strike was very effective in generating media attention to her cause.
Following the end of the war, she helped facilitate the first democratic election in Liberia.
She went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize, among many other accolades.
Just to be clear, choosing to participate in a sex strike (at least with any level of seriousness) is essentially taking a vow of celibacy.
It entails refusing to have sex at all, with anyone, until abortion rights and reproductive freedom is restored.
Obviously not an action for everyone.
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Sign Petitions & Pledges
Done!
Most of the sites in this guide have pledges or petitions you can sign online, which may not carry as much weight as other activities, but it only takes a few minutes to enter your details and submit the forms.
It can't hurt, right?
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Petitions & Pledges
* This is a full-scale assault on abortion access.
* Take the pledge: Commit to being a defender of abortion rights | PeoplePower.org
* Pledge to Support Abortion Access
* Tell Congress: Protect Our Fundamental Right to Abortion
* The Manifesto | She Decides
* We Have Had Abortions
* Pledge to Support Access to Abortion in 2022
* Protect Your Access to Reproductive Health Care
* Positive Women's Network USA
* National Women's Law Center
* Take the Pledge: Abortion is Healthcare
* Act | #VOTEPROCHOICE
* Your Body, Your Ballot
* Protect Roe. Don't Deny Families Abortion Access! - Action Network
* Sign the petition: #DefendRoe
* Petition · Defend Roe: Pass Legislation to Protect Abortion Access · Change.org
* Impeach Justice Clarence Thomas | MoveOn
* Sign Up for Feminist Majority Foundation Emails
* AbortioSign Up for Feminist Majority Foundation Emailsn Access - USOW
* Does Your Favorite Beauty Brand Support Abortion Rights? | Allure
* TELL BIDEN: WE NEED REAL EXECUTIVE ACTION NOW!
* Tell Corporate America: Stop Funding Abortion Bans
* Take Action: Tell Google to protect abortion seekers!
* Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights
Share Your Abortion Story
Need to do!
We all know the power of a solid narrative.
Effective storytelling is the key to so many areas of life that seem inaccessible to most people.
It can change lives if it reaches the right people.
So take an hour or two out of your day to sit at your desk with a blank page in front of you, and write a short story about your experience with abortion, then submit it to the websites in this guide.
Don't let the task intimidate you.
It doesn't have to be a novel.
The one I wrote was only 229 words, so keep it short and sweet!
After you work through all the actions in this guide, come back to your personal story and take some time to research other places that are asking for similar stories.
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Read Abortion Stories
Need to do!
* Shout Your Abortion
* MAML: My Abortion, My Life
* Voices of Courage – Physicians for Reproductive Health
* Origin Story — WE TESTIFY
* Stories – Reclaim Project
* The Abortion Diary
* 'I Needed Those Years To Grow.' 5 People On How Abortion Changed Their Lives
* Men and Abortion: How Reproductive Access Affects All of Our Lives | Teen Vogue
* Abortion Is Healthcare: 14 Women Share Their Powerful Stories
* No Choice – PUBLIC SQUARE
* After-Abortion Stories Archives - Exhale
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Share Your Abortion Story
Need to do!
* Submit a Story | My Abortion, My Life
* PRH | Voices of Courage
* Share Your Story - National Abortion Federation
* Share Your Abortion Story | American Civil Liberties Union
* Mabel's Voices Story Collection
* Kveller Wants You to Share Your Abortion Story
* Origin Story — WE TESTIFY
* Abortion Storytelling – Reclaim Project
* Share your story @ Women on Web
* Share Your Abortion Story
* For Reproductive Equity » Share Your Abortion Story
* Share your Story | We Are Planned Parenthood
* Add Your Voice - Exhale
* Abortion Stories 2022
* 'I Had One Too': The online platform for women to share abortion stories - triple j
* My abortion story | MSI Reproductive Choices
* Do You Have An Abortion Story? We Want to Hear From You. | FiveThirtyEight
* Abortion Storyteller Intake Form
* Stories Women Tell
* Stories for Choice - TMI Project
* Share Your Story: What Have You Learned About Your Body from a Women's Health Nurse-Practitioner Or Other OB-GYN Clinician?
* Share Your Story | Take Action | Trust Women Foundation
* Have you or someone you love needed abortion services?
* Share Your Abortion Stories — Population Balance
* Share Your Abortion Story | Whole Woman's Health
* Roe v. Wade is gone. Pittsburgh, share your abortion story?
* Share Your Story - Our Bodies Ourselves Today
* Write Your Story
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Attend a Protest
Done!
Did You Know That American Suffragists Protested In Shifts Outside The White House For 2 ½ Years Before Finally Getting The Right To Vote?!
You've probably heard of the Women's Suffrage Movement before.
Well, let's hope so at least!
For whatever reason, the female heroes who fought for women's rights were masterful at organizing into groups, throwing huge parades for their cause, and when it came to protesting?
They weren't messing around.
They called them the Silent Sentinels.
But it was a rough road getting there.
Many of them were harassed by onlookers, beaten and ultimately arrested multiple times for manufactured petty crimes like obstructing traffic (LOL)
Even when they were imprisoned in a workhouse, they used their collective
power to do whatever they could to stand up to those with power of authority over them.
They staged hunger strikes and the prison workers eventually strapped them to chairs, stuck tubes up their noses and force fed them.
Many decades later, the Civil Rights Movement would borrow many of the tactics employed by the Suffragists to protest for African Americans.
It always bothers me so much to think that MLK is the well-known and celebrated figure that he is (we have a national holiday for him, FFS) and yet most of us barely know the names of any of the women who endured all those things.
There are several links and resources in this guide that will help you find an upcoming reproductive rights protest near you.
Check out what you find in each tool listed here, then add a couple to your calendar when you can set the time aside.
I went to a rally in Portland, OR a couple years ago and it was a very positive experience.
I had never been to a protest before and didn't have anyone to go with me, but it had a very welcoming vibe and I was encouraged to check out more similar gatherings afterwards.
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Protests, Rallies & Live Events
* Bans Off Our Bodies | Rightfully Ours
* How to Organize an Abortion Protest
* SAFETY DURING PROTEST
* Know Your Rights as a Protester
* Attending a Protest | Surveillance Self-Defense
* Reproductive Freedom Conversation Guide
* .Organizing a Protest, Walkout or Boycott - NYRA
* Get Involved Locally - National Network of Abortion Funds
* Get Involved Locally | Planned Parenthood
* Events Map
* #MyRightMyDecision
* Events | Center for Reproductive Rights
* Volunteer Opportunities | Reproductive Freedom for All
* Yes, Protests Do Work—Even When It Seems Like the Battle's Already Been Lost
* Women's March
* Reproductive Rights Events & Rallies · Mobilize
* Local Events Calendar
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Talk About Abortion
Need to do!
Looking for pre-written content you can quickly copy and paste on sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and others?
Or maybe some attention-grabbing images with important information that others will want to retweet and share with their friends?
I've got you covered.
I have scoured the web for these messaging resources and infographics from the amazing pro-choice organizations included in this document.
I've compiled them all into a giant list, which you can find here.
However, do NOT