321ACTION: October 14, 2024
Before we get to the topic of today's newsletter, I have an urgent request: The Victims of Crime Act turns 40 tomorrow, but is facing a funding crisis that puts countless survivor support programs at risk. Please urge your members of Congress to cosponsor the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act.
In last week’s 321, we discussed the nuts and bolts of preparing to vote— registering, identifying your poll location, and making a plan. In the next four issues leading up to the election, we will unpack specific policy areas to consider when making your voting choices. You can read more in our Vote Like Our Rights Depend on It voter guide.
This week, let’s talk reproductive rights. While the right to make decisions about our own bodies is a fundamental human right, it is not a legal right everywhere in the United States.
Ready to make a difference?
Here are three ways to get started:
3. Recognize what's at stake
State and local governments are restricting people’s legal rights to make decisions about their own reproduction, limiting or entirely denying access to safe, legal abortions. No person should be forced to carry a pregnancy to term against their will, and people of all ages and genders should have access to the full range of contraception options. And people who want to start a family but are struggling with fertility should have access to a variety of treatment options, including in vitro fertilization.
Elected officials at all levels of government, including federal, state, tribal, and local, can impact access to reproductive care. School board members can determine whether students receive biologically accurate and stigma-free information about human reproduction. City council members can impact zoning decisions for family planning clinics. Elected judges can rule on the lawfulness of abortion bans. State, tribal, and federal lawmakers can vote on bills to legalize or outlaw abortions and can direct funding to or away from family planning initiatives that provide a full range of reproductive health options. And some states have ballot measures to protect abortion access or to curtail it (or, in the case of Nebraska, one of each). Check here to see if there is an abortion ballot measure in your state.
Unfortunately, many candidates who oppose reproductive freedom are unwilling to say so. Instead, they obfuscate and say things like, “I am protecting women,” or, “I support families,” or, “parents should have a say,” or, “I support life.” Or maybe they say they support abortion access, but their voting record shows support for abortion bans after six weeks (before most people know they are pregnant), policies that limit abortion access without technically banning it (ex. requiring abortion providers to have admitting rights to local hospitals), or support for judges who have issued rulings overturning abortion access. Sometimes, you have to dig into specific policy positions to understand where a candidate truly stands.
2. Learn the green flags
Here are a few signs that a candidate truly supports reproductive rights:
• Supports policies protecting access to abortion throughout the duration of a pregnancy
• Supports policies to publicly fund family planning clinics, including those offering abortion services
• Supports access to medication abortion via mail, prescribed by a pharmacist, and via telemedicine
• Opposes abortion bans, waiting periods, mandatory ultrasounds, limits on certain types of abortion, ‘admitting privilege’ requirements for abortion providers, and laws that allow individuals to bring civil suits against people who access or who provide abortions
1. Be aware of red flags
Here are a few signs that a candidate does not support reproductive rights:
• Says things like, “abortion laws should be left up to the states”
• Asserts that parents should decide their teens’ access to contraception
• Supports restrictions on abortions before 20 weeks
• Supports waiting periods, mandatory ultrasounds or counseling, or other tactics designed to dissuade people from accessing abortions
+ In case you missed it...
Our Clergy Task Force to end domestic violence has created an innovative conversation guide for Sukkot that can be used to discuss healthier relationships.
Rethinking Sukkot: A Modern Commentary on Relationships uses the imagery of the Sukkah and the text of Ecclesiastes, Torah, liturgy, coupled with provocative and perceptive insights, questions, and ideas, to help you start interesting conversations about relationships.
You can download the guide here