What to DO about Losing Roe? Actually, there's PLENTY! (an update) [View all]

[calimary]

This developed from a DU thread originally posted on Sunday, June 26th: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216852583

I enlarged it for an "ask" for my Indivisible group's weekly Call to Action email. We produce a new one every weekend and this one just went to the publisher, so my part's done!

What to DO about Losing Roe? Actually, there’s PLENTY!
Think it’s all over regarding a woman’s right to choose? NOPE! And the sooner we embrace this, the sooner we can restore and protect the right of every woman to have the last word over her own body.
Here’s how to fight back:
- First: DON’T get discouraged. Don’t just hand the other side an easy win. Realize that their fondest wish is for us to feel paralyzed and hopeless. DON’T give them that satisfaction!
- DON’T give up.
Remain Resolute.
- VOTE in EVERY election, large and small, national and local. Without fail. (This WILL be one of the next rights the other side is already planning to take away from us.)
- Make sure everyone you know can and WILL vote in EVERY election, large and small, national and local.
Be CLEAR-EYED that this will take time, creative thinking, and effort.
- Support your local Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and National Organization of Women with your energy, volunteerism, and if possible, donations. Even small ones add up.
- Keep track of the list of states climbing onto the NO-CHOICE bandwagon. DON’T support the economies of those states!
- Cancel vacations to those states. DON’T give them your money, whether it’s by travel, dining, filling your car’s tank, rentals, hotels, ALL OF IT. Blue states offer just as many vacation options if not more. And blue states tend to have nice beaches.
- Don’t order from stores, suppliers, and manufacturers in red states. DO NOT support their economies. BUY SMART! DON’T BUY NO-CHOICE! DON’T help the other side!
- When you’re grocery shopping: Buy SMART. Spend STRATEGICALLY. START READING THE LABELS to see where the product was produced, and buy alternatives from blue-state sources whenever possible. California oranges will taste a LOT more satisfying than anything from the Florida “sunshine tree.”
- DON’T consider colleges in red states if you have a kid planning ahead.
- NAG your legislators! It’s P-C-O-E: Pro-Choice Or Else.
- Ask your reps point-blank, either by phone or email: “Where are you on a woman’s right to choose? And what are you doing about it?” And share that info.
- Donate ONLY to pro-choice candidates including state-level attorney general candidates,
and let them know why. This may mean you become a one-issue voter (although it’s fair to assume if they’re pro-choice, they probably align with other progressive issues you care about). And yes, that’s asking a lot. But conditions now dictate a much higher level of resolve. Think: WWRD: What Would Republicans Do? (Answer: LEGIONS of GOP voters are one-issue voters, and have been for years - on THIS issue. How’d that work out?)
- If you have a broker or financial manager, advise them on what you want for your portfolio. Make sure they know you’re against investing YOUR money in no-choice states.
- MAKE NOISE! Write letters to the editor.
- MAKE NOISE! Post online - on Facebook, Twitter, and wherever else on the net makes sense.
- MAKE NOISE! Call in to talk radio stations and push pro-choice messaging. Even if you don’t get on the air, they still make note of what you called about.
- MAKE NOISE! Join rallies now that it’s summer. There’ll be more of them. Bring a friend while you’re at it! And keep a mask handy, in case you’re uneasy about being in a large group.
- Seek out support groups wherever you can find them, like your local Democrats club or progressive women’s group. You’ll meet new people of like mind, and discover eager allies you never knew you had! You will add to the group’s muscle, and your own resolve.
- If you have like-minded family or friends in no-choice states, stand with them and resolve to help them restore this stolen right. Share good ideas and strategies! It’ll help them to know they’re not alone in this fight.
- Support the Oregon branch of the League of Women Voters. They’re urging a state Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing reproductive rights.
- Support the Women's Health Protection Act, which would provide federal protections to reproductive health services.
- Know if a “crisis pregnancy center” has popped up in your area. It may be a front for an anti-choice group. If there is, share that info.
And one more thing:
- BE the “news outlet” or monitor that finds whatever options there are, who’s behind them, and who wants to make them happen by running for office in your area. Lots of folks don’t have the time to dig for this information and you’ll be doing them a BIG favor.
REMEMBER: The Republicans never gave up on this, for at least four decades. And look where they are now. We’re going to have to be just as relentless and determined!

(Use one or more of the bullet points below to compose your message)

Wyden/Merkley/Schrader/Blumenauer Talking Points: Hi. My name is _______ and I live in __________(include ZIP Code). I’m calling to ask…
- WHAT are you doing to protect and restore a woman’s right to choose?
- This is CRITICALLY important. Especially for women’s lives.
- Women have rights. Women are not property. Women’s bodies are NOT property of the state.
- Since 2006, it’s been legal for anyone over age 18 to buy Plan B, the “morning-after pill,” over-the-counter at local pharmacies in all 50 states. You MUST protect this!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/27/what-post-roe-america-looks-like/ - Washington Post - What a post-Roe America looks like
https://www.salon.com/2022/06/24/how-to-access-abortion-in-a-post-roe-world/ - Salon.com - How to access abortion in a post-Roe world
https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/emergency-contraception-state-laws.aspx - National Conference of State Legislatures - Emergency Contraception State Laws

- Youtube - Sister District State Watch
https://theappeal.org/heres-how-to-help-people-seeking-abortion-after-roe/ - theappeal.org - Here’s how you can help people after Roe
https://www.lwvor.org/post/scotus-strips-americans-of-constitutional-right-to-abortion - League of Women Voters of Oregon - Supreme Court strips Americans of abortion rights, state constitutional amendment needed
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/findyourlegislator/leg-districts.html - Oregonlegislature.gov - Find your elected representatives in Oregon
https://map.wewontgoback.com/?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=218355845&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-89ihyTOj3IKAt0gF96rAr2EGSmt4SJvRdTOuQo2gKmvlNaqVWQBOyTFilsxYIgbeUJivHkal3ODpGWuldKD-STZ-5xVQ&utm_content=218355845&utm_source=hs_email - map.wewontgoback - Find pro-choice rallies
https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/why-crisis-pregnancy-centers-are-legal-unethical/2018-03 - AMA Journal of Ethics - Why crisis pregnancy centers are legal but unethical
https://www.prochoiceamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cpc-report-2015.pdf - prochoiceamerica.org - Crisis Pregnancy Centers Lie: The Insidious Threat to Reproductive Freedom

Email your elected officials directly using this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Pju5L7b6miY-tXQd2nck5v7vho6LE2KpWyM2oUAX4Go/edit

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So thar y'are! It just went on to be published, having been blessed by this week's editor, who wasn't a bit bothered by the length - even suggested a couple of additional links, herself, on the "crisis pregnancy centers" issue. Usually these are single paragraphs of about four-five sentences (all though it's almost always more than that!). Our ongoing dilemma is "...but there's just so much more to it!"

Hope it serves!