In this session we talk with atctivist, scholar, and podcaster extraordinaire Camila Ochoa Mendoza, a "culturally confused Venezuelan living in Sweden." Camila created the extremely binge-able podcast "Abortion, With Love," a beautiful podcast that honors the stories of people working in reproductive justice all across the world. We talk about how and why she became involved in abortion activism, what she learned along the way, and why her podcast is a great learning and teaching tool.   Links: https://www.abortionwithlove.com/   ABOUT SYA Shout Your Abortion is normalizing abortion and elevating safe paths to access, regardless of legality. SYA makes resources, campaigns, and media intended to arm existing activists, create new ones, and foster collective participation in abortion access all over the country.

María Torres Wedding, creator and director of Migrantes Unidos, will discuss their vital work with us, including how they design impactful community projects slowly and intentionally and how they create mutually beneficial relationships and use interdisciplinary approaches to build trust, shared learning, and people power. Migrantes Unidos is an amazing group who works to end the surveillance of immigrant communities in the US, and empower those living under surveillance to build networks of support. This is our first Abortion Academy that doesn't have a repro focus, and that is intentional—we are very interested in building across movements, and the administration's attacks on immigrant communities (who are of course, also people who have abortions) demand our attention. SYA feels deeply inspired by and aligned with the organizing principles that guide Migrantes Unidos, who are building joyful and creative communities amidst violent repression. Bio María Torres Wedding is the co-creator of Migrantes Unidos, a group that promotes civic engagement among asylum seekers and aims to end the harmful surveillance of immigrant communities. She is deeply committed to interdisciplinary work that centers impacted community members in program planning, service delivery, and evaluation. She divides her time between working directly with immigrant communities through organizing initiatives, and guiding non-profits and academic institutions in their journey to develop more authentic and responsive relationships with the communities they serve. María was born in Monterrey, Mexico. Links: Migrantes Unidos Trusted abolitionist orgs on surveillance and immigrant detention:  Detention Watch Network Community Justice Exchange Resource to establish local rapid response efforts:  Defend & Recruit   ABOUT SYA Shout Your Abortion is normalizing abortion and elevating safe paths to access, regardless of legality. SYA makes resources, campaigns, and media intended to arm existing activists, create new ones, and foster collective participation in abortion access all over the country.

In this session we spoke with Dr. Maeve O'Brien from Alliance for Choice Derry about the state of abortion access across the island of Ireland and recent developments in England and Wales. Northern Ireland decriminalized abortion in 2019 and since then has enjoyed a gold standard level of abortion healthcare – with free, safe and decriminalized abortion widely available across all trusts. In the Republic of Ireland, abortion access is still difficult with a punitive three-day-waiting-period and difficulties engaging rural providers. We learned more about how stigma operates in an Irish context and plotted ways to support and educate each other in our fight for global abortion access. Sarah Leonard, founder and editor-in-chief at Lux Magazine, joined us as moderator for this session. Bios Alliance for Choice Derry is an active, vibrant, non-hierarchical and proudly grassroots group informed by reproductive justice principles. They fight for abortion in the north and south of Ireland and offer international solidarity. Dr Maeve O'Brien is an activist with Alliance for Choice Derry. Hailing from Co. Tyrone in the north of Ireland, Maeve participated in the fight for the repeal of the 8th Amendment in the Republic of Ireland and for decriminalization of abortion in Northern Ireland. She continues to advocate for enhanced access to abortion particularly for people living in rural areas, as well as the removal of the three-day-waiting period in the Republic.  Links www.allianceforchoiceni.org  maeveobrienwrites.substack.com https://www.abortionrightscampaign.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ARC_Submission.pdf https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/news/northern-ireland-abortion-statistics-publication-202324  https://lux-magazine.com/ ABOUT SYA Shout Your Abortion is normalizing abortion and elevating safe paths to access, regardless of legality. SYA makes resources, campaigns, and media intended to arm existing activists, create new ones, and foster collective participation in abortion access all over the country.  

We talk with a full spectrum doula and herbalist Bonnie McIntosh about herbal support for abortions. We'll dig deeper into the huge topic of herbs and their uses and learn more about how plants can be our allies. We'll also get guidance for supportive herbs in surgical and medication abortions, with a focus on misoprostol-only protocols. Bio Bonnie McIntosh is a clinical herbalist & full spectrum doula. She is a cofounder of the Colorado Doula Project, as well as an organizer for Holistic Abortions. Her work as a doula focuses on abortion, miscarriage, & birth, where she brings nutrition & herbalism together to provide a holistic experience tailored to each client. She believes reclaiming herbalism as a form of medicine is both a birthright and an act of resistance. Links Paper: "A Place for Herbal Abortion" Molly Dutton Kenny workshops Bonnie's website where you can find her zine

In this session we talk with Maltese playwright Davinia Hamilton. Hamilton talks with us about her award-winning play Blanket Ban, which takes its name from the incredibly restrictive abortion policies in Malta. We learn more about the situation in Malta and how this play and her work are a form of activism. We're joined in this session by co-facilitator Anne Rumberger from Lux Magazine and Chicago for Abortion Rights. Davinia Hamilton is a Maltese-born, London-based writer, performer, and activist. She is the co-writer of Blanket Ban, an award-winning play about Malta's abortion ban. Drawing on her lived experience and artistic practice, she works at the intersection of storytelling and reproductive justice. Davinia sits on the Executive Committee of Abortion Rights UK, where she helps shape grassroots strategy. Her creative work centers marginalized voices and challenges colonial, capitalist, and patriarchal systems of control. ABOUT SYA Shout Your Abortion is normalizing abortion and elevating safe paths to access, regardless of legality. SYA makes resources, campaigns, and media intended to arm existing activists, create new ones, and foster collective participation in abortion access all over the country.

The first episode in our "Study Abroad" section of Abortion Academy features artist and activist Mar Lorenzo and activist/researcher/Lara Islinger. Mariana Lorenzo, aka Maremoto, is a textile designer and illustrator. Her art passionately advocates for women's rights, exploring themes of self-esteem, feminism, and LGBTQ advocacy. Lara Islinger is an an activist, researcher, and writer committed to decriminalizing, destigmatizing and demedicalizing abortion. Her work spotlights self-managed abortion and feminist grassroots networks providing alegal abortion care and accompaniment/doula support. Originally from Germany, Lara collaborates with organizations and collectives in Mexico and the US as they adapt to the fragmentized landscape of abortion access after the fall of Roe. We talk with Mar and Lara about their backgrounds, how they became involved in abortion work, how art and artists can affect powerful change, and how they use their unique skills to help further global abortion access. We'll also talk about SYA's poster project with Mar Lorenzo and give you some ideas for using the poster in your own communities. We are excited to be collaborating with Chicago for Abortion Rights, Lux Magazine, and NYC for Abortion Rights on this project. Please stay tuned for more iterations of the Study Abroad series!

JustChoice is a grassroots organization founded by people with a range of experience with abortion, adoption, parenting, and the foster care system. The organization is built around the principle that a pregnant person cannot make an ethical adoption decision without having access to all their pregnancy options, including abortion. JustChoice is contacted by pregnant people who need support—emotional, financial, administrative or otherwise—and staff help them navigate both their pregnancy decisions and the systems surrounding pregnancy that are so notoriously harmful, especially to vulnerable people. The JC staff perform many of the same functions as a social worker might, and the organization is essentially the pro-abortion movement's version of a Crisis Pregnancy Center—if the pregnant person was fully supported in whatever decision they made, and if CPCs actually made good on the offers to support those who decide to parent, as opposed to making fake promises as part of their overall anti-abortion manipulation strategy. The most incredible part of this incredible org is that JustChoice believes that their model can and should be replicated by good, hard working, dedicated folks, no social work license required.  JustChoice preserves and supports pregnant people and families by providing financial and community resources including mutual aid and hosting, crisis intervention, abortion support, adoption support, parenting support, all-options pregnancy counseling, and family healing via restorative justice healing circles. Unlike deceptive "crisis pregnancy centers," they provide honest, evidence-based support to help people make informed decisions about their reproductive health and family-building options. The Guttmacher Institute's findings show that their work providing comprehensive, unbiased counseling, improves decision-making and mental health outcomes. By expanding partnerships, scaling community programs, and advocating for systemic change, they envision a future where all women and families thrive. Learn more at JustChoice.org.

In this session we spoke with Natalia Broniarczyk from Poland's Abortion Dream Team. We talked about self-managed abortion, abortion with and without mifepristone, strategies for international solidarity, abortion in restricted contexts, and much more.  Natalia Broniarczyk is a Polish abortion rights activist. She is a member of the Abortion Dream Team (pl: Aborcyjny Dream Team), created in October 2016 to help people in Poland source and safely take abortion pills in a country where abortion is illegal in nearly all circumstances. As part of the Abortion Dream Team, Broniarczyk provides people with information and support on self-managed abortion and works to creatively combat abortion stigma in Poland, including publicly talking about abortion medication in a televised, widely publicized constitutional tribunal. ABOUT SYA Shout Your Abortion is normalizing abortion and elevating safe paths to access, regardless of legality. SYA makes resources, campaigns, and media intended to arm existing activists, create new ones, and foster collective participation in abortion access all over the country.

SYA Executive Director Amelia Bonow and SYA Organizing Director Jex Blackmore talk about building strong, resilient networks with the people around us in order to to prepare for the difficult times ahead. Amelia and Jex talk about the connection between abortion access and forging strong communities, and offer some concrete suggestions for how to build your own.