March Spring into Action Dinner:
Learning about Sustainable Abortion Ecosystems with Ipas Partners for Reproductive Justice
On March 8th, we gathered for the 9th Spring into Action Dinner, hosted by 50 Years VC. We were honored to feature the team from Ipas to share their insights on the Sustainable Abortion Ecosystem. Rasha Dabash shared an incredible overview of this work and movement which you can read more about below. This article is a summary of the presentation from Rasha.
Learn more about Ipas at www.ipas.org
The Story of Mifepristone
Originally developed as RU 486 in 1980, it came to France in 1987. After anti-abortion protests scared the pharmaceutical companies, they were going to pull it out of registration. Women in France went to the streets and demanded change, leading to legalization and adoption of Mifepristone in 1987. It wasn’t until the year 2000 that the United States adopted the use of Mifepristone to support menstruation management, and Canada only adopted it as of 2017.
While we are facing the prospect of Mifepristone being banned due to the still outstanding case in Amarillo Texas, Misoprostol is far less likely to face a similar fate as it is used for a host of indications and medical procedures. And a key historical element we learned from Paige was the discovery of Misoprostol to restart your period by black women in Brazil. It is thanks to them that we have this medication to support our reproductive health.
“Ultimately, this is not about evidence - it’s about pregnant people having control over their own bodies.” - Rasha Dabash
There is no single law or pill that will guarantee a right to abortion - there are places where there are laws on the books (like Roe v. Wade) but access was still very difficult (thanks to TRAP laws). And there are places where laws are quite strict, but unenforced, and access is quite easy.
Enter the Sustainable Abortion Ecosystem from Ipas:
Different from maternal health or family planning because this ecosystem is needed for that single moment when you need an abortion - which may only happen once. While the health care system can be a partner, it isn’t really where progress is going to happen. Ultimately in the US there is no incentive for the system to support abortion access as we have such a litigious society. We have a revolution in the form of pills - that is also not enough. The sustainable abortion ecosystem is an approach that is ultimately reliant on all of the factors involved being fully support - with time, money, and talent.
Opportunity for the US to Learn from Other Countries
The polarization of abortion and what this means is true the world over. In Bangladesh, pills are used for “menstruation regulation”; for many communities, these pills are used to “bring down your period” - the focus is not on ending something.
There are movements to build on and so many opportunities to learn from leaders, particularly in South America & Mexico. There are global movements about universal health coverage and self-care that can support the US in a broader community of support for change, learning, and resourcing.
When we only focus on legality, it misses the other core components outlined in the Sustainable Abortion Ecosystem Graphic. When any of these factors are off - like strong community stigma or too few providers or mis-information about health impacts - then people are still unable to receive care.
Being Strategically Radical
“This is a chess game with a sick, well-organized, and well-funded opposition. To be effective, we must practice opposition monitoring and mitigation. So much of the language we are using ends up playing right into their hands.” - Rasha Dabash
Yes, there is a medical aspect, but abortion is a continuum. While we have amazing innovations and technology like Mifepristone & Misoprostol - those only impact the earliest stages of pregnancy. Most of the complications come from later stages, and there we see a critical shortage of providers who are trained and able to provide care. By missing this end of the spectrum, women are falling through the cracks and end up with a death certificate.
The language we use is crucial. Let’s talk about safety. For a doctor, that may mean clinical efficacy. But for an individual it may mean not being harassed by the cops or protestors when seeking care. That they are not at risk of a beating when they get home. Grounding our language so that the individual’s experience is centered helps us avoid traps the opposition lays.
One example of this is how the left is talking more and more about good abortions, like in cases of rape, incest, life endangerment. This framing plays right into the hands of the opposition because it gives them grounds to then create legal frameworks that create undue burdens of proof in these cases. Oftentimes, causing further harm and trauma to a person who is already grappling with a deeply challenging experience. All abortions are good. It is not up to anyone else to make that judgement. Our bodies need to belong to ourselves, and this is fundamentally an intersectional issue - as black women in particular come from a very long tradition where their bodies belong to everyone but them. So many of our laws stem from the colonial era and we see the repercussions of this in the disparities of how race impacts access to abortion through the act of delivery and beyond.
Ultimately, this is why we honor and stay rooted in the framework of Reproductive Justice coined in 1994 by the Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice.
So, what can you do?
Provide financial support to grassroots organizations. www.keepourclinics.org is a great resource for finding local clinics in need of support. SisterSong is a leader in the Reproductive Justice Movement that can benefit from your support.
Talk about Abortion! Talk to everyone you can. We must destigmatize it. When approached in-person and person to person we have more common ground than you may realize. https://shoutyourabortion.com/ is a great resource to support destigmatization.
This is not the time to go inward. Think and connect globally - act locally. This cannot be a state by state battle or we will lose. Find ways to engage at the federal level to ensure we all have the right to bodily autonomy.
Use the language of Human Rights. The United Nations Human Rights Commission makes it clear that “Denial of access to abortion has been identified as a form of gender-based violence against women, which can amount to torture and/or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.” - UNHRC