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ISSUE 51: December 2022

Editors’ Note

Check out our new look! Thanks to Newcomb Institute's dynamic communications duo, Becky Gipson and Lauren Gaines, for giving us a rebrand! After 50 issues, we were ready for a change and we hope you like it.

November 20 was Trans Day of Remembrance/Resilience. Take a look at Forward Together's beautiful TDOR art. Also, the National LGBTQ Task Force has created a great set of resources on Queering Reproductive Justice. And the National Women's Law Center created this helpful resource on bodily autonomy for trans and intersex people.

Read through Kelsey's spotlight article below about data privacy in a Post-Roe era and find tons of other resources for getting involved in reproductive rights, health, and justice work below!

Sincerely,

Kelsey Lain, School of Liberal Arts, '23
Clare Daniel, PhD, Newcomb Institute, Tulane Unversity
Aliyah Daniels, ReproNews co-founder and editor emeritus, Class of 2018
SPOTLIGHT ARTICLE

Digital Privacy in Post-Roe America

Kelsey Lain, School of Liberal Arts '23

Six months after Dobbs v. Jackson, Americans are still adjusting to a post-Roe country. The reactions to the Supreme Court decision were swift and immediate. Legal experts found flaws in the majority opinion, which stated that “procuring an abortion is not a fundamental constitutional right because such a right has no basis in the Constitution’s text or in our Nation’s history.”  By undermining unenumerated rights not explicitly stated in the Constitution, the Supreme Court has the potential to reverse interracial marriage, same-sex marriage, and contraception – which are also based on the Due Process Clause in the 14th Amendment. 

Outside of the legal sphere, pro-life activists were supportive of the overturn. Meanwhile, pro-choice activists contested the verdict, as the majority of Americans believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Both sides clashed in counter-protests and protests. The passage of time has not cooled the tension. If anything, this schism has only grown larger. Although the struggle between the two has been ongoing for over 49 years, the six months post-Roe have been the most pivotal point in this ongoing conflict because of a new addition to the debate: technology. 

While other fields have already had to reckon with digital footprints, data privacy was not a widespread concern for the reproductive rights movement. However, the threat of online surveillance took center stage when seeking an abortion became a crime in 13 states and counting. For providers, activists, and even college students alike, many questions arose. What online data is covered by HIPPA? What digital information needs a subpoena and what digital information can be freely given to the authorities? How can I protect myself from digital insecurity?  

Soon, it became evident that the societal ramifications of the Roe decision were more than just bodily autonomy. Now, tech corporations were pulled into the mix. Millions of users rushed to delete their period tracking apps. Flo, the largest menstrual tracker app with 200 million registered accounts, has come under fire for sharing user information with other corporations like Facebook. Facebook itself has been critiqued for giving chat log data to police that showed a mother telling her daughter how to obtain abortion pills. Google was criticized for failing to fulfill its promise to delete any search data involving abortion. Large data brokers are under scrutiny for selling location data surrounding abortion clinics data to police and pro-life organizations with little governmental oversight.  

In Congress, Democrats are currently tackling this issue. President Biden issued an Executive Order on Protecting Access to Reproductive Healthcare Services. Senator Murray has called on the Health Department to strengthen HIPPA for those seeking reproductive healthcare. However, legislation often moves much slower than technological advancement.  

While it can be daunting for an individual to navigate both data confidentiality and personal and private healthcare, there are resources available below for exploring this uncharted territory.  

 

 
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND RESOURCES

Call for Proposals!

"The second Black Feminist Health (BFH) Collaboratory will focus on the theme of Radical Health Futures. Our aim for the collaboratory is to work together to intervene in the present state of Black people’s health by moving away from scarcity and survival toward a holistic, community-built and love-centered definition of health and wellness for people of African descent. This year's collaboratory asks:
  • How do we redress the systemic health inequalities Black people bear through Black feminist practices, methodologies, and theories and find ways to stop settling for survival?
  • What steps can we take collectively today to bring to fruition a sense of wellbeing for Black people rooted in abundance and pleasure, and inspiring us to thrive as we put an end to the oppressive forces of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and imperialism?
  • How can we use speculation as a critical Black feminist therapeutic methodology to heal the harms created by anti-Blackness in our everyday lives?
  • And how can critical Black feminist methodologies show us the path to reclaiming another trajectory for what Black people’s health can be?
Please submit a 250-word abstract, 100-word bio, and a 250-word statement on how you and your work engages with Black feminist theory or praxis [at the above link]. The submission deadline for abstracts is January 9, 2023 at 11:59pm PST."

No Real Choice: How Culture and Politics Matter For Reproductive Autonomy by Katrina Kimport

"Based on candid, in-depth interviews with women who considered but did not obtain an abortion, No Real Choice punctures the myth that American women have full autonomy over their reproductive choices. Focusing on the experiences of a predominantly Black and low-income group of women, sociologist Katrina Kimport finds that structural, cultural, and experiential factors can make choosing abortion impossible–especially for those who experience racism and class discrimination. From these conversations, we see the obstacles to “choice” these women face, such as bans on public insurance coverage of abortion and rampant antiabortion claims that abortion is harmful. Kimport's interviews reveal that even as activists fight to preserve Roe v. Wade, class and racial disparities have already curtailed many women’s freedom of choice. 
 
No Real Choice analyzes both the structural obstacles to abortion and the cultural ideologies that try to persuade women not to choose abortion. Told with care and sensitivity, No Real Choice gives voice to women whose experiences are often overlooked in debates on abortion, illustrating how real reproductive choice is denied, for whom, and at what cost. "

Tech2Empower USA South: Activism for Reproductive Justice

"Mobilized by the dismantling of bodily autonomy in this post-Dobbs era, WAKE invites nonprofit organizations based in and/or serving communities in the South to apply to Tech2Empower USA South: Activism for Reproductive Justice. Coming to New Orleans June 2023, this program will engage allies from the tech industry and beyond to support and amplify the work of frontline reproductive justice organizations through collaboration, volunteerism, and technology. Participating nonprofits propose impact projects on which they would like support to accelerate their work in sexual health and reproductive justice. Projects can be centered around tech, communications, marketing, administrative systems, organizational planning, and more.

If your organization is selected to participate, WAKE will connect a team from your nonprofit with Advisors from top tech companies to consult on your project of choice. The hybrid program will begin in New Orleans with 2 days in-person project work on Thursday June 15 and Friday 16, followed by 4 weeks of virtual collaboration, from June 19 to July 21, 2023 (time commitment approximately 3 hours/week; includes 1 week program break due to 4th of July holiday week)."

Abortion Everyday (Podcast)

""Leaked audio of a strategy session between Tennessee lawmakers and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America reveals the anti-abortion group telling politicians to wait a year or two before going after IVF and contraception."

Call for Papers!

"We welcome abstract submissions from scholars across different disciplines, who apply feminist and decolonial lenses to their research. We especially encourage PhD students and early career researchers to submit their work. We also welcome submissions from activists and practitioners working directly with abortion-related issues in the field. Further, we are particularly interested in papers that seek to bridge the gap between transnational activism across regions (for instance between Latin America and Europe). Panellists will have the opportunity to disseminate abridged versions of their papers on Feminist Perspectives. We will also aim to work towards putting together a special issue journal edition from the conference submissions."

Call for Paper Submissions!

"Calling all scholars, sociologists, maternal psychologists, philosophers, anthropologists, women’s, sexuality, and gender professors, masculinity studies experts, birth-workers, doctors, motherhood and fatherhood researchers, artists, students, and performers: This conference call is for papers, performances, conversations, and art, focused on new gender identities and discourse. Included in this call is an invitation to explore political policy positions relative to Roe
vs. Wade, psychological manifestations of maternal neonaticide, infanticide, and filicide, as well as the naming and rewriting of works, art, and scholarship around mothers, mothering, and motherhood. How do we approach this? Who gets
to say what? How do we make visible these topics in mainstream articulations? How are those with (dis)abilities and other marginalized positionalities heard and made visible? In what ways does inclusivity threaten the status quo? How can we
complicate binary viewpoints and assertions situated in a fear-based cultural reality? We rely on previous scholarship, now framed within the context of changing times. What now will we make of ourselves together and separately? We are, after all, the future!"
 
FEATURED NEW RESEARCH
Comparison of Early Pregnancy Loss Management Between States With Restrictive and Supportive Abortion Policies, Women's Health Issues, November 12, 2022

Economic Outcomes of Women and Children in Illinois Compared to States that Have Banned or Are Likely to Ban Abortion, Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) and Project for Middle Class Renewal (PMCR) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, November 4, 2022

The Challenge of Emergency Abortion Care Following the Dobbs Ruling, Health Care Access and Reproductive Rights, November 1, 2022

Does paid family leave save infant lives? Evidence from California's paid family leave program, Contemporary Economic Policy, October 5, 2022

Memorable messages about fat bodies before, during, and after pregnancy. Health Communication, October 5, 2022
NEWS ITEMS

Campus/Local


Long before abortion ban, Louisiana hospitals relied on clinics for 'futile' pregnancies, nola.com, November 25, 2022

After winning its biggest victory, here’s what comes next for Louisiana's anti-abortion group, WWNO, November 18, 2022

Louisiana's DCFS Head Resigns After Child Dies From Fentanyl, US News, November 10, 2022

Doctors say Louisiana's abortion exceptions list has created 'an atmosphere of terror,' The Advocate, October 25, 2022


National and International

How ‘Religious Liberty’ Threatens HIV Prevention and Reproductive Justice, Rewire, November 30, 2022

After Abortion Protections Fell, Their Lives Were Upended, The Washington Post, November 30, 2022

She Wasn’t Ready for Children. A Judge Wouldn’t Let Her Have an Abortion., New York Times, November 29, 2022

A Woman Wanted an Abortion to Save One of Her Twins. She Had to Travel 1,000 Miles., VICE, November 28, 2022

'Necessary to Disobey Harmful Laws': These 'Abortion Pirates' Want Equal Access to Abortion Pills Worldwide, Politico, November 26, 2022

Doctors who want to defy abortion laws say it's too risky, NPR, November 23, 2022

Judge overturns Georgia's ban on abortion around 6 weeks, NPR, November 15, 2022

Setting the Record Straight on Abortion and Maternal Health, Inside Higher Ed, November 14, 2022

Abortion on the Ballot, New York Times, November 10, 2022

Paid Parental Leave Could Save Nearly 1,000 Babies’ Lives, Study Says, The Bump, November 10, 2022

For decades, welfare laws kept Native American families together. Will the supreme court end them?, The Guardian, November 7, 2022

Gabrielle Blair Would Like a Word With Men, New York Times, November 4, 2022

Louisiana health department declines to answer doctors’ questions on abortion law, Louisiana Illuminator, November 1, 2022
EVENTS

Campus/Local

Express Yourself Breastfeeding Event

Louisiana Children's Museum & Express Yourself
11:30 AM CST, December 11, 2022
15 Henry Thomas Drive New Orleans, LA 70124
"Come join Express Yourself and the NOLA Milk Truck for an educational event to increase awareness about breast pump use and provision of breast milk for NICU infants. Enjoy a free day at the Louisiana Children's Museum with your family and take home some giveaways!"

Women, Wine and Wisdom

Louisiana Progress Action
7:00pm CST, December 13, 2022
"10,000 Women Louisiana holds policy discussions on issues that matter to women and families every second Tuesday of each month."

Upcoming National/Regional

Birth Justice 101

Forward Together
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM PST, December 8th, 2022 
"Our Birth Justice Committee has come so far since we formed at the beginning of 2021. Join us as we continue to honor the work we have accomplished through building community with one another as Black and Indigenous Birth Advocates. We will be sharing some of our inspiration coming into this advocacy and making space for our stories and yours. As we move into 2023, we hope that you join us in our fight for justice and equity. We do best as we move forward together."

One Nation Under God?

Rewire News Group
2:00PM - 3:00PM ET, December 9, 2022
"IThe Supreme Court’s decision to upend legal abortion represented a major push forward in Christian nationalists’ project to reimagine the boundaries of our civil society, and, in particular, who gets to fully participate and under what conditions. Since the decision, the Court’s conservatives have accelerated this project in radically dangerous ways.

Join Rewire News Group in a panel discussion of the Court’s biggest cases so far this term and how they advance a white Christian agenda that is directly against the will of the people—and what to do about it. Space is limited.

EnRICH Webinar - Partnering with Community Doulas in Research: Agenda Setting and Program Evaluations

Maternal and Child Health Bureau Office of Epidemiology & Research Division of Research
1:00PM - 2:00PM ET, December 14, 2022
"In light of inequities in maternal and infant health, it is essential to explore inclusive systems of care such as doula care through pilot programs and Medicaid coverage of doula services. As researchers develop, test, and evaluate the impact of these efforts, it is vital to include the voices of community doulas, doula clients, and communities of color, who are often excluded from decision-making related to how research is conducted."

Justice and Joy

National Birth Equity Collaborative
4:30PM - 7:00PM CST, December 15, 2022
"This event will focus on celebrating Black mamas, birthing people, fathers, and families that are pregnant or recently postpartum, up to 18 months. NBEC and Friends will spread "Justice and Joy" through information, education, and raffle prizes for participants. All birthing experiences will be acknowledged and uplifted in the event."
See all events on the Tulane Reproductive Justice Calendar. This calendar is maintained by Kelsey Lain (Tulane School of Liberal Arts ‘23), so please email her your event information at klain@tulane.edu. 
JOBS AND INTERNSHIPS
*We have recently changed the Repronews Job Board. Click here to give anonymous feedback on the new format.
JOIN YOUR SCHOOL’S STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
Students United for Reproductive Justice, Newcomb Institute, Tulane University undergraduates
Big Easy EC, 24/7 Birth Control Delivery Service, Newcomb Institute
Students for Sexual Health Equity, Tulane University School of Public Health
Social Workers United for Reproductive Freedom, Tulane University School of Social Work
Medical Students for Choice, Tulane University Medical School
If/When/How, Tulane University Law School
Please click here to view Newcomb Institute's Post-Roe Resource Document.
Newcomb’s reproductive rights/health/justice-related activities are supported by the Donna and Richard Esteves Fund for Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health, the Bonnie and William Chapman Fund for Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health, and the M.B. and Edna Zale Foundation. Read about what our Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health Interns are up to!






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