Welcome to Repro Fight Back a podcast on all things related to sexual and reproductive health rights and justice.
Hey, re pros. Bet you're expecting, Jenny . This is Tara Demand and I have taken over repos fight back so that we can do an ask me anything with your favorite repos podcast host Jenny wetter . Jenny , thank you for being here on your own podcast with me.
Hey , uh, it's always weird being on this side of the microphone.
I'm really excited. I think a lot of people like myself are really excited to hear from you , to hear from more from you as a guest on your own podcast. So thanks for letting me hostile take over your podcast so we can get into questions. It's
Always fun.
Thank you to all the listeners who sent in questions. Let's just dive in. So one of the questions we got, and it's one of my questions as well, is what actually inspired this podcast? How did you even get started with this idea?
Oh man, this is totally not my idea. Uh, I know. So this goes back to a board meeting and, you know, board as many
Good ideas often do
Right? With the board throwing out a bunch of like, why don't we have a podcast? Mm-Hmm . And like mm . . And so , uh, you know, we take that feedback back and have discussions. Mm-Hmm. . Um, and my boss at the time, Bob Walker , uh, he was , he was really special for a boss and like always saw areas where you could grow and expand and pushed you , um, in the kindest, most loving, sometimes hard way.
Mm-Hmm . , uh, to, to grow and expand in , in , in ways that maybe you hadn't thought of . I , I mean, he always did that to me . Um, and he's like, well, I think I think you should do this. And I'm just like, introvert me . Like , um, this sounds like my literal nightmare of like being on microphone, saying things, people listening to what I have to say .
Like , uh, so I started talking to some friends, Tara was probably one of them , and was like, hi . So this idea like, came up, I dunno how I feel about it. Um, our friend Nina was like, you should absolutely do this. Mm-Hmm . and run with it. And , uh, Jamila Taylor also was like, Mm-Hmm . , do this , do it, do it. And like, just a bunch of people who got very excited , um, by the idea .
And then, so, you know, I always say like, Bob dragged me kicking and screaming into the idea Mm-Hmm . Of like, doing this podcast. And I was then very clear of like, okay , if I'm gonna do this , I'm gonna do it my way . Like , here are, here is the podcast I dream of and this is how I wanna do it. I based it off of like bits and pieces I liked about like , multiple other podcasts . Mm-Hmm .
Like , I , I wanted to do like a deep dive explainer type podcast, but I didn't wanna be the voice of authority because like Mm-Hmm . , I know so many great people that can come and shine and talk about great things and I can just ask them questions. And so I thought that was like a great opportunity to showcase like all of the amazing people I get to work with all the time. Mm-Hmm . .
Um , so he really let run with it and , um, and come up with like, the format. And I was like very clear of like, okay, I work for the populations too , but this is gonna be a sexual reproductive health rights and justice podcast . And like, that's what we're gonna talk about. Mm-Hmm . full stop . Um , and anything that falls into that umbrella and he really let me run with it.
So even if it's things that we don't work on every day , so like, we did one about , um, uh, sex work is a public health issue. Mm-Hmm . and like a lot of trans stuff that we don't work on, but like sign on to , but don't spend a lot of time day to day . Mm-Hmm . in my job working on, and he really gave me room to run with all of that. Mm-Hmm . of like, it falls under that umbrella.
Like, just do your thing and really just lemme figure it out and work it out on my own. And , um, I'm really grateful for that.
I mean, management take note . Right , right . There's a way to think about and grow ideas and skill and dive in. Um, what need did you see this filling ? I mean, I'm interested that obviously this came from an outsider or an internal obvious your board, but like, someone had this idea and you were like, maybe not for me, but this actually does fill a need. What was that need that you saw?
Yes , this was, so we launched in December , uh, 2017 , so it'll be six years ago. Um, . I know . Wow . Really? I know.
Boy, blink of an eye. So
This was like not quite a year into like the Trump administration when this Yeah . When this launched . And I don't know about you, like things were flying fast and furious in those early days of like terrible policies and like trying to keep track of like all
Of the , it was a tsunami. Right.
It was just, you know, we jo joked about like, you know, usually we're like putting out a fire, but like everything was on fire all at once. Yeah . I mean, the fire was
On fire. Yeah.
But like, now that has escalated with the loss of Rose . So like, it's like happier days. No, that's not true at all. But like, it
Poor , it just like coming to come from
Everywhere, right? Yeah . And , and it was hard to keep track. And I'm like, if we're having a hard time Right . Staying on top of this , it just seemed really important to make sure that people were aware of all of the ways Mm-Hmm . that sexual reproductive health and rights were being undermined because things were getting attention, but not all the things. Right. Right .
Like there were attacks at HHS that people maybe weren't just familiar with or , um, some of the global stuff. Right? Mm-Hmm . , like global gag rule might get like big news, like quick, but like, not like a consistent, like what is actually happening.
And so it felt really important to me to make , make sure that some are people had a place to go where they could get more than that, like soundbite or like quick , uh, resource. And I didn't wanna be like , everything was on fire and it just was so depressing and enraging and I didn't want people to , I didn't want it to end there. Right.
Like, that was very important to me when we were starting of like, I don't want people to listen and just get mad.
Right.
So that became quickly my, okay, we need to end every episode with actions . Right? So what can people do to fight back? How can you engage around these issues? And so that really built the format, like right away was like, okay, it's gonna be like an explainer type podcast, done an interview style, and then with a tag at the end of
Advocacy. Yeah. It , it makes me think about like what resistance, you know, to that administration and they're just like drastic anti rights regime could look like, and the format of like, learn what you can, make sure it's connected, that you see the whole , it's connected to all these pieces and then do something about it. And here's what you can do. Right.
Yeah. And I think it's one of the things I've thought has most been most successful about your podcast is it helps deep dive into issues that even those of us who professionally work in this field, you know, you can get so siloed that you seal the pieces together and then there's this place and here's what people can do . Right . Here's , here's how we are moving forward on this . How , how has this changed ?
How has the podcast changed ? I mean , one , you know , we're in a different administration , but the attacks on sexual reproductive health and rights on human rights in general, I mean, they are so, they're , they're just so effort . They're everywhere and they're, it's so diffuse in some ways. You can lose track of it. So have you seen a big change at the podcast?
Or do you think, you know, it's kind of more the same and you're painting that holistic picture, does it feel less urgent? Does it feel more urgent?
I mean , there was like a little bit of that worry. I mean , not worry, that's not fair of like , like , are we gonna be able to keep going in the same way ? Like, it was really like a pushing back against all of the terrible things, but they didn't really stop. Right . I mean, like, the Biden administration definitely took action and made things better.
And we definitely did episodes talking about like, here's the vision of what we wanna see happen. Here's what has changed on this or what has changed on that. And that is just as important as like fighting against the things. Mm-Hmm . things may have gotten better, but there was still always room for improvement. Yeah . I mean , we're advocates, right? We're always gonna push for the best.
And you're never gonna , very rarely are you gonna get that Yeah . In policy. Like, there's always ways to make it more impactful and hit more people. But then like the , the attack on human rights globally has really just escalated , um, the last couple years . And , you know, the attacks on this at the state level were like never really slowed down. Mm-Hmm . . Mm-Hmm. .
Um, and, and also like exploded around trans rights issues. Yeah . So it , I , and in many ways, like nothing changed. Mm-Hmm . . And almost like I said, like it almost became more urgent, especially with the loss of ro Right . Because we were just talking about like this whole other scale, right. Of like trying to get people access to healthcare . Like abortion access was by no means good before the loss of roe.
So like that was a really important conversation, but it became that much worse.
Right. Right, right.
Um, and so it just still was really important to talk about.
I mean , I think one of the really important reminders, right? Is that the, under the Trump administration, it was just so much more obvious. Yeah .
'cause they were saying the quiet parts out loud, but that actually, that that resistance to , and those attacks, you know, they were part of a long legacy of an anti rights and particularly anti-sexual and reproductive health and rights and anti gender agenda that is still there. Right. Even if you have a different administration. And so needing the need to be plugged into that is, is still just as important. Right.
N no matter who Yeah. No matter what administration you have at a state level or at a, at a fed level. Um, well, one last policy question.
Uh, this, this one's from me, I'm chief listeners, your listener myself sent us in, which is, I think one of the things is, you know , the narrative change focus of the podcast, which is one, educating on issues that can be really complicated and breaking them down in conversation, but also like really mainstreaming things that can be thought of as really wonky, like policy.
Obviously, like we sit in DC and like we do a lot of adjusting air glasses , like, well actually , you know, like with policy and like that's, you know, that's our job and that's good. But also things that there's still so much stigma around so many pieces of sexual reproductive health and rights, particularly as policy, but also of course in like everyday living. And obviously abortion stigmas.
I think a lot of people know about that. But, but even stigma around, you know, other, other sexual reproductive health and rights issues. What narrative change do you see this podcast work like trying to do?
I, well , of course Tara comes with the hard question of like , have you thought about this ? Um , I , I wanna make sure I'm leading by example. Mm-Hmm . And like, that has always been really important to me. And like, I had values baked in Mm-Hmm .
from the beginning that were really important to me that I was hoping people would hope maybe notice , but like, were maybe not notice like , uh, outright, but like that it was just really important that it was ingrained in . I really, like justice was one of those things. I , I , when we launched the podcast, we launched with three episodes that day.
And it was , uh, one looking back on like domestic repro one looking at global. And then I really fought to have a reproductive justice one that day. And like it was a little bit of scrambling to make that one happen. And I was worried it wasn't gonna come out that same day, that it might come out a week or a couple weeks later and everyone's like , it , it's whatever . Like it's , nobody's gonna care .
Like it doesn't matter. Right . But it mattered to me . Right . Because that was the story I wanted to center your , and like , I wanted to make sure that I was embedded in and that I was really being thoughtful with guests and like making sure that I wasn't only gonna certain groups or certain people that I was really spreading out , uh, and talking to as many groups . Mm-Hmm . as , as as possible .
Um , and this isn't quite answering your questions . No , it's a of a different one . But like, and then, so like that was part of it, but then also like working on language. Mm-Hmm . . And so that was like one of the early episodes I wanted to do that we ended up not doing until much later .
And so it was like, should we wait to do the episode talking about language and why language matters or should I just make the changes and just do it? Mm-Hmm. . And then when we get around to like finding the right person to like, do this episode Mm-Hmm . , we'll do it then. Um, and I had like a lot of back and forth in my head on like what the right path was to go.
Like people , do people need it like spoon fed to them Right . Of like, do we need to like explain , uh, why we talk about pregnant people? Mm-Hmm . or why we shouldn't talk about heartbeat ban or Mm-Hmm . why language , why language matters . Correct . Yep . And so we just decided to just do it . And I think I might have done like an introduction or like , may have mentioned it at some point . Mm-Hmm .
. But I might have just started doing it . And then we did the episode talking about language don't know , last year or the year. Like not, I mean , uh, well quite a while after we made the change and like, again, it was the like, lead by example of it. Mm-Hmm . of, you know, I always make sure that when I introduce myself, I include my pronouns Mm-Hmm .
and ask my guests to include their pronouns because it's that simple Right? Right . To be inclusive and like showing like Yeah. When you introduce yourself to someone, you can just very easily be Hi, you know, I'm Jenny . She her, like, it's very easy and Mm-Hmm . . Um , and so I wanted to try and do things like that.
And so all that is to say is I wanted to have it built where the messaging was like inclusive and gender as much as possible through the core. Yeah. Sorry, I said gender, I meant justice. my brain. Y'all . I'm actually on vacation while I'm recording this , so I'm gonna use that as my excuse
Vacationing so poorly . Um , but I mean, it shows how like you're thinking about narrative change, not just like out there in the listening universe, but actually internal in our work, how modeling matters as an editing and splicing question. I actually did not introduce myself at all except for to say that I was Tara .
Do you want me to do an intro of like, who I'm , where I come from, or do you , do they care? No , that's
Fine .
Super good . Well, let's move to more interesting questions, uhoh . I mean, actually nothing's more interesting in the policy as you know, but , um, for those who have broader interests, like human interests, what's your favorite part of running the podcast?
I, so I kind of already touched on it , but like , I love getting to talk about things that I don't get to work on because I care about them. Mm-Hmm . . And it's important to me and I , but I get to have those conversations even if I don't , uh, it's not part of my day-to-day work. Yeah. And so I love that. And I even though like interviewing, like this was not a skill I had at all.
I mean, Tara was actually the first person I interviewed. We had a practice interview before I started recording. Wait , really ? We did .
I didn't
Know that . Yes . He , I interviewed you and I interviewed Bob before I did my like actual first recordings . You
Did great . . I wouldn't have known .
And , and I think I've gotten like more comfortable with with it. Yeah . And like have , uh, learned to be a better interviewer. I , I , I mean , I like to think so . I dunno if that's true, but , so maybe don't go back and listen to the early ones . I'm sure it's , uh, not as, yeah .
But anyway , I I I just really love getting to talk to people and it , and yes, I know that's kind weird for an introvert, but it's like the distance and like all the things I think about .
Well , and also it's just so interesting . Yeah .
It's not , we're not doing small talk . Like I have , like , this is the conversation we're gonna have . We're gonna talk about this and we're gonna talk about this, talk about
This , this , we have to phantom at a party and I be like, bye. Yes . This is our agenda. Adios . . I do love that we were talking before we started recording about just feeling so , so much less social than we used to. we're just so tired. Um, what's the hardest part? What's the least favorite part of the podcast or doing the podcast?
It's , it's the, so like the part you hear is like the short part, right? Mm-Hmm . . Mm-Hmm . like sitting down and doing the interview. But like before that is the emailing the person trying to schedule Mm-Hmm . like thinking through the outline for how we have the interview . Right . Like, sometimes that is easy and sometimes that is hard.
The , like, how do we find this path through to have this conversation in a way that makes sense and builds the argument for the audience Mm-Hmm . And make it make sense to someone who is brand new to the issue , who has been , who's been around minutia . Are you free ? Would you like talk this episode? And like, it's just nonstop.
Yeah. Yeah. Um, and, and then there's the like, my favorite, oh, something came up, I can't do it. Which totally fine. Like it happens like this is not , but
You've still got a podcast to get out . Correct .
It . This is not me being upset with anybody who has had to do that because dude, life happens. Yeah . And you have to prioritize yourself. Like full, complete stop. But it also means there are weeks where I'm like , Tara , Tara , are you free ? I need to
Report something by
Friday . You come And she's usually have like my like list of people
I love talking repro , everything. So Absolutely.
I have like my short list of people I know that like, if they're able, they'll swing like a really quick turnaround. Um, and I am always so grateful for , for that group of people because they have saved my butt multiple times. No , it's stress
Inducing.
Um , and like yeah, it's just the, the planning is, is stressful. The rest of it's fun, but like Yeah .
Well other than those ones which I've been on Yeah . Which is your favorite episode if you have to not include those .
Yeah. So like , this is really hard because I love all of them for myriad reasons. Um, so I think I'm gonna go with the one that like maybe means the most to me. Yeah . So like, again, I I , if you ask me my favorite episode, I'm gonna have a different answer every day . And it'll probably still gonna be like 10 episodes, but like tomorrow I'll be 10 different ones. Right.
Because I do just love them all so much. Um, which I guess would be sad. Right? Like if it , if I didn't love them all. So , um, it's my podcast. So , um, but for this one we'll go with what the one that is the most meaningful to me. And that's the one I recorded. I dunno , last year, the year before again, what is time? Time has no meaning anymore .
Yeah . What is time?
Um, I had the wonderful Monica Edwards on Mm-Hmm. . And we talked about intimate partner violence Yeah . As a reproductive justice issue. And it was like the first time I was like, pretty public sharing my story of my experience and I was so nervous and Monica and I just like supported each other through it and like both shared pretty personal stories and like Mm-Hmm .
had that really personal conversation that I hadn't had before. I did a really personal intro to that episode and I was scared, I was scared when I hit publish. Yeah . Like, it was really hard, but I was really felt strongly that like if telling this story and talking about this helps even one person Mm-Hmm . like, it , it's all worth.
I mean , not like going through all the things , but like it's worth sharing my story . Yeah . And , and then , um, I dunno , every once in a while , um, you know , do like the search to see if the podcast got like pulled into things . Yeah. And I saw the, the Wisconsin Coalition to End domestic violence or Wisconsin Nice . To end domestic violence . Or sorry, y'all, I'm so sorry I'm getting your name wrong.
Um, shared it as a resource
That's amazing . And
Like to have a group that works on this in my home state. Yeah. Especially like validating it as something useful. Like it really, it really just meant a lot to me. Yeah . Um , but yeah , it
Was a really powerful episode.
Yeah . And it , it really , I I'm really grateful to Monica for that . Mm-Hmm . because I think, I think it was very collaborative, not in that we planned it to be collaborative or any of those things, but like, I shared something, she felt safe sharing something Mm-Hmm . I share .
So like , it was very, like, it wouldn't have happened any other way to be as personal of an episode if we hadn't just been so supportive and there for each other. Yeah . So I'm really grateful for that.
Yeah. I mean the, one of the things you , you can always plan and think about, have a strategic plan and you actually just don't know at the end of the day, no , what's gonna, what's gonna resonate with the community? What's gonna actually be more useful than something else ?
And there are just some people that like can get that outta you. Mm-Hmm . , uh, the other person that really like triggered that , uh, in a way I didn't expect , uh, was actually , uh, an episode that you coordinated with Jessica .
Oh yeah. Just was amazing . And like ,
Just like Mm-Hmm . , she just has this presence Mm-Hmm. where you're just like, let me tell you all my deepest secrets and like , tell you all the things. And like, it's so , uh, yeah. That was another one of those that just really felt, and like, yes, it was also dealing with like intimate partner violence and violence, but like it , she just had that like aura about her.
Like there are just some people that when you talk to them, invite you to like, share the things.
Yeah. And it's a privilege to be able to work alongside those folks, right? Yeah . Like Jessica's work on ending violence in indigenous communities is, is incredibly powerful . And being able to then help other people hear more about that Yeah. And make those personal connections, right. That you're, that you're saying. Um, yeah. No, that's, that's incredible.
Well, I have, having been on the podcast and thought and sometimes said out loud while holding a microphone, how , sorry I'm to your editor , because so much editing goes on in a podcast. So here's a shout out to all the editors. . Yes. Um , and , and like, who knows, maybe this hits the cutting room floor, right?
But I'm wondering like of your guests , like who's needed the most edited or a polite, well , you know what , say this more directly. Who has sworn the most on your podcast? This is a question sent in to you. Yes.
This is a question sent in by the , uh, culprits
.
Um, actually I, so I have also been very clear about this of like, I don't go back and re-listen Mm-Hmm . For mental health reasons. Like I am very much the terrible person of, like, I, I always joke around that I have Statler and Waldorf live in my head . And so if I like go back and listen to an episode, they'll do their best to just like point out all the things right . That I did wrong.
So I don't go back and listen, but I dunno that we have edited out any, any swearing and swearing and like considering the topics and the things we talk about, there has been, there's not a ban on it. Right. Like, I, I don't do a lot of it because I know my mother listens and she gets real mad at me when I
Swear
Because otherwise I swear a lot, but my mom will be listening so you don't swear on the podcast very often . And I think I , I'm assuming my guests have probably kind of followed that example, but also I can also imagine it's like work.
Yeah, yeah , yeah .
So like , um, but yeah, so that would be , uh, beard is probably the worst culprit or the
Best culprit or
The best culprit. I mean ,
Honestly ,
Honestly , the , the , she swore a lot less than you would expect if you have also talked to her .
Well , given how , and also given how up is Yes . Like , it's amazing any of us don't swear the entire time . Correct .
And , and I think, and I'm sure some of that is me because I don't swear a lot on the podcast again because my mother listens
And I know she we're trying to class it up . Yeah . And
I know she'll comment. Uh, otherwise Yes. I do swear a lot.
So much such such
A world. Yeah.
What's your, I mean, thinking about guest , another question that we got was like, who is your absolute dream guest?
I am really terrible at this of like thinking I'm, I'm always so focused on what's next. Mm . Like Mm-Hmm . . So I have I think a little bit of a, a short term bias of like Sure . Oh my God, I don't have a guest for the episode after this. Yeah . Like , who am I gonna get? So I think I fall into that trap a lot . Right . And so don't like being big.
Um, one area that I really have not gone into yet and I think would love to do at some point. Like we've, we've talked about like legislation and policies, but I haven't had like a person come on and talk about it . Interesting . Um , and that's something I would maybe love to do . Yeah . Like having , you know , someone like Anna Presley come on and talking about Mm-Hmm . some of the great , uh, bills.
She's co-sponsored. Mm-Hmm . or having like Cory Bush come on and talk about , um, the Equal rights legislation Mm-Hmm . that she is leading on. Um, you know , um, Patty Marie come and talk about like Yeah . Um, all the like stuff she's leading in the Senate
In the health . Yeah.
Um, I could go with like my happy, like I always have like a special place in my heart for Tammy Baldwin. She's like literally the very first person I ever voted for.
Oh , that's amazing. Um,
Because she was my representative when I was in college.
Oh .
Um, and before she was in the Senate. Yeah . She was the, the representative for the Madison area. So she was like the first person I voted for. Um, and then, yeah. So I , I have not been great about like the, the dreaming big. Um,
It would be nice partly just to hear from legislators too around like, what is it, you know, we know a lot of on our side how to talk at . Like this is what we want, this is what we want, but hearing what, you know, how is the sausage made and , and what are the real challenges inside. Yeah .
Um, and like the hopes and dreams too of progressive legislatures , legislators who are, you know, supporting sexual reproductive health and rights. What does that look like? And yeah. Yeah. Let's make that happen. Um, well, we're almost done, which is a shame because I would love to just talk to you forever.
And, and that's one of the joys of the podcast is getting able to like, be in that conversation with you, what you're a master of gift sharing . What is your all time favorite gift ?
? Uh,
It's less an audio question though , right ? More visual if you follow the
Pictures . Uh, I, I'm very like, I , I used the one for the moment and so I saw, I saw this question in advance.
Oh , okay.
Excellent. So , so I was able to like look and be like, is there something I use a
Lot? Mm-Hmm . .
And I, my brain is like, not coming up with it now, but it's like thinking through , it's like creek, ones . Um , and I think it was , they're ,
They're so good for DC
Yes. I think it was one dealing with like stress and anxiety. Y'all and I cannot remember , uh, what it's, it's a David one.
There's so many on Schitt's Creek that just the audacity of living in this city in DC and operating in policy and law work is, there's no end to how relevant they are .
Yeah. I totally , um, I , I have that and I also have a Bob's Burgers one I use a lot , um, because one I love that show. It's like a delightful little warm hug and it's like my, I can watch it a bajillion times. Um , especially their episodes delightful . Like , uh, Halloween , um, uh, and uh, there's this one where Louise has like an , like an eye twitch. Yes .
And that again for our work is very mm-Hmm . , um, appropriate all the time. Oh, okay. So the one that you feel I've noticed that I have been using a lot again , same theme is David being like, I'm feeling this like deep aching sense of dread
Because I opened the news .
Yeah . I was like , yes . And like a couple years ago, it was the Groundhog Day one I was using all the time because we were waiting for the Supreme Court to decide if they were picking up June Medical services. It was like having to like sign in every morning. Yeah . And like, wait. And it was just like, here we go again. And like
, I feel like the ones where this , this is not how this works, this is not how any of this works. Like, every time I'm like , this is not government , this is not how this works. .
Oh yeah. I do enjoy. Although I dunno that I've used it or the ones with like the bill on Capitol Hill being
Like , oh , that poor beleaguered bill. Like ,
No ,
No . So , so sad . That gift is so sad of itself. . Oh , so poor guy. Well, thinking past, I mean, six years is bonkers. I know. Thinking past, what makes you the most optimistic about the future of repro rights? Six years into the podcast, lots and lots of guests talking about lots of really tough ways in which just nationally and globally, you know, we failed in so many spaces.
Yeah. Like these rights are not realized. What what makes you the most optimistic?
Yeah. So like thinking big picture and like looking at where we are or like thinking about individual people who are not able to get the services they need. Mm-Hmm . will like break me. Mm-Hmm. . So like, I can't do that. Like, that's not helpful. Uh, but the things that give hope are seeing this stuff that's happening on the ground . Mm-Hmm .
like the abortion funds that are like, doing so much work to ensure that people are still able to get the care they need. Um, watching like Ohio. Yeah. Like it's just the energy that like keeps me going and like I have turned the terrible things that happen . Um , I I turn them into like, okay, this is terrible. Lemme go donate to an abortion fund.
Yeah. Like , uh, it's always my first reaction when things happen and uh , the work they're doing is like life saving and life changing . Mm-Hmm . And that , that gives me hope . Like the ground , the community on the ground Mm-Hmm . That is changing people's lives is , is really , really what keeps me going. Um, and like also knowing big picture like sucks right now.
Like it's , everything is up and like, sorry, like sorry mom . Like sorry mom. Like we started , that's like , like putting the genie back in the bottle. I don't know . Um, but also, is there a better word? I don't think so. Not
For this government
Is everything is so terrible and bleak and I also know Mm-Hmm . that we're gonna win. Mm-Hmm . it , it it's tomorrow. It may not be next year, but I know that we are gonna see reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy, freedom and reproductive justice for all in my lifetime. Mm-Hmm . . I hope . But like, even if it's not , it'll happen.
And so being part of that fight is so important and knowing that we're gonna win even when it doesn't feel like we're gonna win is keeps me going. Yeah . And keeps me in the fight because it's something I'm so passionate about and I care so much about. And there are so many wonderful people doing so much amazing work in this community Mm-Hmm .
that are there for each other and just, just fighting so hard every day. Mm-Hmm. that gives me
Hope. Yeah. The I believe in that future.
Yeah.
Like, and we've heard so many people on your podcast, I mean , one of the gifts of your podcast is hearing so many people working their asses off to make that future real. Right. Right . And everybody has a place in that fight. You don't have to. And , I wouldn't recommend living in DC Right. Like , you don't have to be in policy. You don't have to be Mm-Hmm .
Like, wherever it is, you are, you have a place in that fight. And like, I, I know we will win. Which brings me to my final question as this podcast comes out, it will be the winter holidays will be upon us. Yes . People may be going home, they may already live in that community, they may be back with family. They may not be.
What advice do you have f for folks particularly who are maybe going back to family settings and are just, we all need a break whether or not your family is supportive or not. What can, what can people do? What's something they can take away from this podcast and say, of all the things I get asked to do , I know I can do this one thing. Yes.
Uh , it's so funny, I was actually just thinking today that I dropped the ball on like an episode that I should do. So they're hopefully for the winter holidays, I'm gonna be working on an episode of like how to answer some questions that you may have around the dinner table. Yeah . That's not what we're gonna answer today. Um, I , I do always push people to connect with their abortion fund . Mm-Hmm .
for a , a myriad of reasons, right? Like maybe you cannot donate right now and that's totally fine, but, but maybe they need somebody to help drive Mm-Hmm . or to answer phones or maybe you wanna get like a really sweet t-shirt . I'm wearing my mm-Hmm . little miss Reproductive justice , uh, t-shirt today that supported an abortion funds . Right ?
Like there are like lots of fun and unique ways to get involved and like, I , I had this question, I just came back from the American Public Health Association conference and people were like down about for obvious reasons, like everything being so terrible and, and , and not knowing how to get involved and, and having like those real tangible things that, that you can do and where you can see some of that change, I
think really makes a difference. So, you know, finding out what your community needs . Mm-Hmm . . Um, and abortion funds are a great place to start . Some of them do like mutual aid . Mm-Hmm . . So like, maybe there's like doing like a diaper drive or like thing . There are ways that you can get involved. And so that's always gonna be like my first push. Mm-Hmm . for places for people to go.
Um, because , you know, clinics are hard, right? Like they're so overwhelmed. It's hard to like tell people to reach out to a clinic to see what they need. But your local abortion fund Mm-Hmm . is probably connected with them and can help you find ways that, that you can , um, get involved.
And I also think another great place, and sorry I can't remember all of her great suggestions, but when I had on Hannah Matthews who was an abortion doula Mm-Hmm. , she had like some really great like tangible things that you could do, like putting together care packages and like things like that. Make those
In the show notes.
Yeah . So like, make sure to go check out that episode with Hannah because she had some really great suggestions. Mm-Hmm. and I love that.
Well, when thinking about the holidays and, and everyone celebrates differently and whether they're stressful family time or a good family time or a no family time or a gift giving or not gift giving . Like it's a good end of the year time to think about like, where am I investing? Yeah. Whether it's money, if you have it, obviously donate it. Whether it's time, whether it's heart space , like where am I investing?
And so people will look for those episodes, they'll be listening for the next one. Maybe how to talk about abortion at the table. Yeah.
Maybe it's like a conversation, right? Like maybe you don't have time. Mm-Hmm . or , or resources at the moment , but maybe a conversation comes up and you can work on destigmatizing, right . Abortion and like, again, assess the space you're in.
Like maybe it's not a safe space, don't like push yourself, but, but if there is like a way that you can like kindly push back like Mm-Hmm , that's a great place to start too .
Well whatever y'all do, don't do nothing. Do something . Yes . As we come out . Well thanks for being on your own podcast .
Thanks for being here ,
Listeners ,
For sending in questions and thank you to your future guests who keep us learning and connected and thank you to you and to the repos Fight Back community. Aw , thanks. And y'all, I'll see you next week . Bye. If you have any questions, comments, or topics you would like us to cover, always feel free to shoot me an email. You can reach me at jen jn n [email protected] or you can find us on social media.
We're at Repro Fight back on Facebook and Twitter or re Pros FB on Instagram. If you love our podcast and wanna make sure more people find it, take the time to rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform. Or if you wanna make sure to support the podcast, you can also donate on our website at re pros fight back.com . Thanks all.