ARC-Southeast’s Co-Eds share their reaction to the presidential election and where we should focus our collective energy, power.
With former President Donald Trump set to be the new president, a period of transition and uncertainty begins. While the bombardment of presidential election texts will subside, we know the conversation around reproductive health and abortion will continue. That includes misinformation or confusing messaging on the local and national levels from officials across the political spectrum. If it feels like this year has lasted forever and you’re tired for what’s ahead, you are not alone.
We’re holding both the possibilities and the reality of this moment. In recent months, we have been imagining how ARC-Southeast’s programming can help build a world centered on collective care. We’ve also been bracing for substantial changes and disturbances in our work.
Consider this one of many check-ins we’ll have to stay grounded in the long fight ahead. In this update we’ll share our initial reaction to the presidential election, ways to get involved with ARC-Southeast, ways to put pressure on all elected officials, and ways we’re beefing up care for our people. We plan to keep cutting through the national noise by sharing what really matters, like updates on key legislation around the Comstock Act, The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), and Mifepristone. You can help do this in your own neighborhood by downloading and distributing our free zines on mutual aid and solidarity, emergency contraception and reproductive justice 101.
Before Trump returns to the Oval Office, we must remember that abortion is still legal. ARC-Southeast is prioritizing YOU and ready to provide support to anyone who is confused about their availability to access safe abortion services. As we face uncertainty, we want to share a few reminders:
- – Abortion is still legal. Mifepristone is still available and effective. Medication abortion is still available by mail in all 50 states.
- – Abortion care in Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina is available until 6 weeks.
- – For help funding your abortion and logistics, go to arc-southeast.org.
- – For free and confidential legal services from professionals on your rights around abortion or miscarriage care, visit ReproLegalHelpline.org.
- – For free and confidential medical information from professionals, call the Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline at MAhotline.org.
- – We urge you to reach out to your elected representatives and have your voice be heard. Ask your representatives to endorse the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) introduced by Representative Judy Chu (D-CA) and the Abortion Justice Act (AJA) introduced by Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA). The Abortion Justice Act would establish a federal right to abortion without limits which is important because we know arbitrary legal limits on abortion care add to delays and denials of care. Further, viability limits help the state establish personhood laws and increase the use of violent efforts by the state–policing, surveillance, and criminalization to prosecute parents and separate families.
Campaign promises of any president may never come to fruition, but one truth remains: we aren’t going anywhere. As the largest abortion fund in the South, we remain centered on YOU. We’re steadfast in our belief that you know what’s best for your life. No matter who’s been or who’s currently in office, in D.C. or Georgia, we know how vital it is to reduce harm from the state, so we prioritize autonomy and self-determination to help our communities live without shame, fear, lack of resources, or discrimination. We have been for nearly a decade.
Instead of getting caught up in the presidential circus we’re honoring that abortion rights won in 7 states. We’re also watching how ‘abortion trafficking’ laws across the Southeast are violating constitutional rights to free speech and interstate travel, and are using minors as a litmus test for future restrictions of anyone seeking their human right to medical care, including miscarriage and abortion. You can join us in tracking laws that impact abortion on the state level here.
We also know that abortion stigma, misinformation, and barriers to access persist, even in states that are “pro-choice” and among voters who support the right to “choose.” We know that choice, Roe, and putting RBG on a pedestal was never enough. The solution is not to despair, but to remain optimistic in our will power, our collective people’s power, and in the power of community organizing. Since 2015 our work is and has always been about filling the gaps where the state has deliberately created barriers.
We’re committing to this moment and to strengthening community-based care infrastructure by:
- – Keeping our healthline open and adding new part-time health line staff.
- – Training our entire staff on supporting our callers with Practical Support including providing gas cards, flights, meals and hotels to ensure you access care as comfortably as possible. We’re also training to become abortion doulas through the Colorado Doula Project, org-wide, in order to offer compassionate care to everyone we interact with.
- – Training MonARChs (volunteers) to provide callers with gas cards, rides, and abortion companion support.
With a history that is inextricably linked to slavery, the Southeast is not just the site of the most abortion bans. The Southeast is home to the highest incarceration rates, the most low-wage workers, highest lack of healthcare, the most domestic military bases, highest maternal mortality rates, and the lowest average life expectancy in the U.S..
When we put abortion bans into this full context, we see that anti-abortion bans and stigma are deeply tied to the ongoing legacy of chattel slavery, and forcing the reproduction of the most oppressed workers and residents in the nation. We will continue to shout this from the rooftops. And no matter how new or seasoned you are when it comes to reproductive justice, if you’re sick and tired of the status quo, join us by:
- – Challenging abortion stigma within your communities
- – Educating yourself on the limitations of Roe and the deadly results of abortion bans
- – Sharing this blog with a friend and asking them to sign up for our newsletter to stay informed and involved in what’s happening in the Southeast
- – Applying to be a MonARChs via this form if you’re interested in providing rides to clinics, providing callers with gas cards, and being trained to be an Abortion Doula or Support Person.
- – Donating to ARC-Southeast and other local abortion funds who provide direct abortion support to thousands of Southerners.
In times like these we are comforted by abolitionist Mariame Kaba’s reminder that uprooting oppression is the work of many lifetimes and that “The most important thing you can do to transform the world is to act. Taking action is a practice of hope. Experience and meaning are derived from doing. To transform the conditions of our oppression(s), we can only do what we can do today, where we are, in the best way that we know. We can only survive together.”
Together is the only way forward.
— Angel and Alexia
As our callers continue to face racist, repressive bans, increased travel and logistical barriers we need you more than ever. Donate to ARC-Southeast to remove barriers to care.