46 Ways to Honor the 46th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

Rallying at the Supreme Court of the United States, 2016.

Tuesday marks the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case that affirms abortion as a constitutional right.

Even though abortion is legal in the United States, anti-abortion extremists have made accessing that legal right to abortion care in some states nearly impossible, especially for low-income people, people of color, and people living in rural areas.

Combining state-by-state erosion of abortion rights with clinic terrorism and harassment, Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation, and the Trump administration’s very existence paints a grim picture of the future of abortion access—but we can take action.

By equipping ourselves with knowledge and following the leadership of radical, grassroots abortion rights and reproductive justice organizations, we can work to advance abortion access in our own communities.

So, without further ado, here’s my list of 46 ways to honor the 46th anniversary of Roe! The list is divided into six sections—Learn, Act, Watch & Listen, Read, Witness, and Celebrate. Pick a couple you’re particularly interested in and let’s celebrate abortion!

Learn

Brush up on the foundations of abortion rights and access with resources on state restrictions, reproductive justice, and more.

  1. Read about the Hyde Amendment, a legislative rider that bans federal funding for abortion care, primarily for people on Medicaid.
  2. Take time to learn about Reproductive Justice, a framework created by Black women that expands beyond mostly white-led, mainstream reproductive health and rights movements. RJ focuses on access, rather than choice, and examines intersecting oppressions that impact “the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.” (SisterSong)
  3. If you haven’t already, adjust the way you talk about abortion rights and access to include trans and non-binary folks. Use terms like “people” instead of “women” and “human rights” or “abortion rights” instead of “women’s rights.” It’s easy to be gender-inclusive…
  4. …and on that note, read these articles from ThinkProgress and HelloFlo about who we erase when we solely focus on abortion as a “woman’s” experience.
  5. Research your state’s abortion legislation so you know what you’re up against on the local level.
  6. Brush up on the facts so you’ll be ready to bust abortion stigma whenever and wherever it pops up. Guttmacher Institute has a treasure trove of great research (but please note, it’s not gender-inclusive). For example, 1 in 4 U.S. women will have an abortion by age 45, and 59% of women who have abortions are already mothers.
  7. Educate yourself about self-managed abortion and read up on two leading organizations helping people obtain medication abortions, Women Help Women and Women On Web.

Act

Volunteer, donate, and take action in your community to combat abortion stigma, state restrictions, and more.

  1. Donate to and/or volunteer with abortion funds, organizations that provide financial assistance to people seeking abortion care. Check out the National Network of Abortion Funds and their list of funds in states across the U.S.
  2. Keep an eye out for Bowl-a-thon, NNAF’s annual fundraiser! I’ve participated for the past three years and it’s SO much fun. Ask me if you have any questions!
  3. Donate to POC-led reproductive justice and abortion access organizations like Forward Together, SisterSong, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, Women With a Vision, and SisterReach. Nonprofits like Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America do good work, but are mainstream and extremely well-funded.
  4. Research how to become a clinic escort at an abortion clinic in your area. Patients often face aggravated protesters when they walk into clinics, and having a friendly face can make a world of difference. (Be sure you’re researching how to help out independent abortion providers, not just Planned Parenthood clinics!)
  5. Keep an eye out for crisis pregnancy center (CPC) advertisements in your community. CPCs are fake abortion clinics that are often religious and sometimes state-funded. Sometimes, CPCs advertise on public transportation and are promoted in local or university health centers. You can encourage the companies that accept their advertisements to remove them. (For more on CPCs, check out the “Watch” section below.)
  6. Donate to and/or volunteer with organizations like Exhale that provide after-abortion support. While statistics show that the overwhelming majority of people do not regret having an abortion, it can still be a difficult decision, and that’s okay. Groups like Exhale exist to validate the range of emotions people can feel after having an abortion.
  7. Look into attending reproductive freedom conferences filled with abortion-positive people, like Civil Liberties and Public Policy, Let’s Talk About Sex, and Take Root (on hiatus for 2019, but back in 2020).
  8. If you’re a student and want to organize on your campus, Advocates for Youth’s 1 in 3 Campaign, URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, and some of NARAL Pro-Choice America’s state affiliates have youth and student organizing programs.
  9. Participate in online tweet chats and speak outs on January 22, the anniversary of Roe. Keep an eye on your favorite reproductive freedom organizations’ Twitter feeds!
  10. Shop with companies that help fund reproductive and sexual health initiatives and abortion access, like Vibrant, a feminist, body-safe sex toy company and the sponsor of this post.

Watch & Listen

Documentaries and TV shows and podcasts galore!

  1. Soak up realistic representations of abortion on TV! So much media we consume stigmatizes abortion, but recently, more and more shows are depicting what abortion is actually like. For suggestions on what to watch, check out articles from Bitch, InStyle, Bustle, and Teen Vogue.
  2. Learn how insidious and dangerous crisis pregnancy centers are with HBO’s documentary 12th & Delaware. This is one of my personal all-time favorites and is a must-watch for anyone wanting a deeper look into anti-abortion rhetoric and harassment.
  3. Watch After Tiller, an excellent documentary that follows the only doctors in the United States since the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in 2009 who openly provide third-trimester abortions.
  4. Learn more about TRAP (Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers) laws and the providers, patients, and clinics they affect in Dawn Porter’s 2016 documentary, Trapped. (The Supreme Court ruled against a Texas TRAP law in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt—and Whole Woman’s Health is featured in the documentary!)
  5. Watch Vessel, a documentary about Rebecca Gomperts, the doctor behind Women on Waves, who provides abortions on a ship in offshore waters so people living in countries where abortion is illegal can still access care.
  6. Watch the Kids Meet video where the kids meet someone (Amelia Bonow, co-founder of Shout Your Abortion) who has had an abortion—and if you’re so inclined, leave a positive comment!
  7. Listen to Jaclyn Friedman and Robin Marty talk about Robin’s new book, Handbook for a Post-Roe America (more on that in the “Read” section below), on Jaclyn’s podcast Unscrewed.
  8. Learn about abortion access pre-Roe with Criminal’s podcast episode The Procedure.

Read

Articles and books to get you thinking.

  1. Read Lenzi Sheible for Rewire on how the pro-choice movement excludes disabled people, and how we can do better.
  2. Check out some roundups of books on abortion from Book Riot and Cosmopolitan.
  3. Pick up Robin Marty’s brand-new book, Handbook for a Post-Roe America.
  4. Read Loretta Ross and Rickie Solinger’s book Reproductive Justice: An Introduction, a primer on reproductive justice and part of UC Press’s Reproductive Justice book series.
  5. Read Natalie Holme for Man Repeller on how abortion can be an emotional, complicated choice sometimes—and that’s okay.
  6. Take some time to let this intriguing, thought-provoking piece by Abby Minor for Bitch sink in: “What if the issue of whether life begins at conception doesn’t really matter?”
  7. Read Sezin Koehler for Wear Your Voice on what people should know about abortion doulas and their work.
  8. Pick up Dr. Willie Parker’s Life’s Work: A Moral Argument for Choice, an account of being a Black abortion provider in the South.

Witness

Read and listen to abortion storytellers share their journeys.

  1. Read abortion stories from National Network of Abortion Funds’ We Testify storytelling project and Advocates for Youth’s 1 in 3 Campaign.
  2. Bust abortion stigma by reading and sharing stories of people who have had multiple abortions. Check about Abobo Bravado and Rewire for more.
  3. Listen to The Abortion Diary podcast, a project created by Dr. Melissa Madera that seeks to create space for people to share their abortion experiences in a safe and supportive environment.

Celebrate

Just for fun!

  1. Search for a Roe v. Wade celebration in your city or community. Research local reproductive freedom organizations to see if there are any events near you!
  2. Decorate your walls with art from Repeal Hyde Art Project and Micah Bazant.
  3. Start asking your friends if they want to get a group together to send postcards to your local abortion clinic on March 10 for National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers. (Just be sure to send a postcard instead of a letter or package. Abortion providers already deal with myriad security concerns. Make it easy for them to know you’re an ally!)
  4. Proudly display your pro-abortion views with merch from the Shout Your Abortion shop. Their site has a ton of fantastic, stigma-busting information about abortion, too.
  5. Start an abortion rights book club in your community—or ask your local bookstore or library if you can add an abortion-related book to their book club list.
  6. Gather your friends for a film night. Watch any of the documentaries listed above or pick your own!
  7. Bake some pro-choice goodies. (Heart-shaped cookies with the word “abortion” spelled in icing inside the heart are always a hit.)
  8. Rock this abortion dress wherever you go.
  9. Go out to brunch with friends or family and have a candid conversation about abortion. Busting stigma often starts with the people closest to us!
  10. Finally, if you’ve had an abortion, and/or if you’re an abortion provider or clinic nurse, worker, volunteer, or escort, take time to celebrate you today. You’re wonderful.

This post was sponsored by Vibrant. As always, all writing and opinions are my own.