The first time I answered the question, “Nice to meet you. What do you do?” with the complete, whole truth I found it hard to breathe. I waited to see the faces change, the hand pull away. That was because, until that moment, when I first met people, I never revealed my full job description. To my relief, no one attacked me, judged me, or even looked at me strangely. I didn’t lie, but I definitely had perfected a watered down, vague answer, a safe answer, to that dreaded question. However this time, taking a deep breath, I declared proudly, “I work in women’s reproductive healthcare. I am a business manager for offices that provide reproductive health care and we specialize in abortion care.” Huge sigh of relief.

Why I couldn’t just say this from the beginning was something that I had reflected on constantly since my job had transformed into a career. I was certainly not embarrassed about what I had chosen to do every day for a living. In fact, in direct contrast, I was (and am) proud to put my values in action working in a field about which I care deeply and for a cause I believe in, heart and soul. However, my beliefs regarding women’s healthcare did not form based on the field I work in, but rather from where I grew up.

(more…)

When a friend of mine got married a few years ago, we joked that she and her new husband should take every opportunity available to consummate their new marriage.  Our goal?  For her not to have to be deployed to Iraq.  As a member of the armed forces, we knew that if she got pregnant, she wouldn’t have to go and wouldn’t be placed in harm’s way.  What we didn’t consider was what getting pregnant would have cost her in advancing her military career.

Getting pregnant in the military is a difficult situation for our servicewomen for a multitude of reasons.  First, her pregnancy could get her court-marshaled and possibly discharged, depending on her commander’s policy, as evidenced by Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo’s policy in northern Iraq.  At the very least, she risks her ability to move up the ranks in a military system that is already difficult for women to ascend.  One of the options not currently available to a servicewoman is the ability to safely terminate her pregnancy while she is on a military base, either within the US borders, where abortions are legal, or in other countries, where access to abortion may be restricted by that country’s laws.  Because of restrictions in U.S. law, servicewomen are unable to go to military hospitals and have an abortion performed safely, even if it’s with their own money.  Until recently, these women even had difficulty with getting consistent access to emergency contraception, which had not been previously considered a medication important enough to be carried at all military facilities.  In essence, the very citizens protecting our freedoms against those who oppose the freedoms enjoyed by Americans, are unable to exercise a right they risk their lives to protect.

While there is currently new legislation being proposed that would allow for privately-funded abortions at military facilities, this situation is a reminder that access to abortion is only part of a larger framework of reproductive justice.

(more…)

When I was in high school, I distinctly remember a middle aged woman with a willowy figure, elegant posture, and shoulder length black hair come to our school to talk about Post Abortion Syndrome. My friends and I were sitting in our crowded auditorium, only vaguely listening at first, but as she spoke about the abortion she had in her early 20s, I was touched by her sadness. She said every October, she falls back into depression (that’s when she had the abortion) and year after year, whenever she went shopping, she would think about the daughter she lost when she saw little shoes or dresses for girls.

Today, I think this woman, while I feel concerned for her well-being, may have been mentally unstable and was in no position to come to our public high school to give a lecture. This was a scare tactic and at the time, it worked, because I thought PAS was a legitimate medical concern not usually voiced in the media. (more…)

Having just returned from the 2010 CLPP conference, From Abortion to Rights to Social Justice:  Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom, at Hampshire College this past weekend, my head is buzzing with new ideas, inspiring words, and the sense of being part of something much larger…a movement with an important history and a hopeful future—at least judging by the number of engaged young people attending and leading this major convening of reproductive justice activists.  Workshops, trainings, and plenary panels spread across three days covered a wide range of issues—including economic justice, racial equality, freedom from violence, immigrant rights, climate justice, health care reform, and LGBTQ rights—all of which inform our understandings of what true reproductive justice will look like.

One of the most powerful aspects of the experience for me was connecting with people who do RJ work in many different capacities—as grassroots organizers and educators, as medical professionals and professional activists, as college students and as parents.  Spending much of my time working with law students and lawyers, it’s all too easy to get used to speaking in certain ways and hearing the same kinds of voices in my daily conversations.  (more…)