SPOTLIGHT ON HEALTH & REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE��

Reproductive Justice & 15 Years of The Affordable Care Act

Written by Becky Martin, Ģ����Ƶ Senior Manager of Reproductive Health Advocacy

Sunday, March 23rd, marked 15 years since President Obama signed into law The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare as many call it. Since its hard-won passage have signed up for coverage through ACA marketplaces – that means now get their health care coverage via the ACA. An have gained coverage through ACA supported Medicaid Expansion in 41 states and DC.��

�ճ󲹳�’s who now have affordable health care coverage here in the United States — thanks to those who knew our nation could do better and
raised their voices for change, and didn’t take no as the answer.��

We still have a way to go to achieve Ģ����Ƶ’s long-time goal of high-quality, affordable, accessible, sustainable, and equitable healthcare for all in our nation, and join the rest of the countries in the industrialized world in providing universal health care ensuring the human right to health care (Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 25).

At Ģ����Ƶ we believe reproductive rights are human rights. With our Reproductive Health Project we explore the connections between reproductive justice and health justice, and work to help students�� lift their voices for reproductive freedom and health care for all. ��We invite you to explore and share the resources below, to celebrate the gains we’ve made, and know that even in the face of the turmoil rising in our country today Ģ����Ƶ’s vision of HEALTH CARE FOR ALL is absolutely achievable & YOU can find YOUR people in Ģ����Ƶ!

– CBPP��

�� – KFF

Medicaid & ACA Medicaid Expansion in YOUR State & Congressional District��

– HealthCare.gov

: Importance & Impact – NWLC

: A Critical Policy That Must Be Protected – Guttmacher Institute

– KFF

Preventive Care Coverage for:

No gender-based premiums:
– KFF

Insurers Cannot Limit Coverage Amounts
– KFF

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SPOTLIGHT ON ABORTION CARE & REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE��

Justice is a Journey; Hope is Each Step We Take in Spite of it All

Written by Jeff Koetje, MD, Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Programming Strategist

“Jeff, that’s white supremacy thinking; justice is never just one-and-done. It’s always on-going and always returning.
Justice is a journey, not a destination.”

That was exactly the truth I didn’t know I needed to hear in the first full week of 2025.

Last week, my first week back to work after a two week end-of-year break, I was in a conversation with , whom I first met a few years ago when she was the Director of Spiritual Care and Activism for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (now the ). Dr. Cari has spoken several times in various programs of the Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project, and even co-facilitated a recent in-person retreat for Ģ����Ƶ staff and national student leaders. Since coming to know Ģ����Ƶ through these engagements, she is a passionate supporter and advocate for the work we do as a student-led organization taking action at the intersection of medical education, health justice, and youth-led movement-building for social transformation.

Dr. Cari and I were talking about how we are approaching 2025, and our feelings about what this year will likely bring under the second Trump administration. I said something to the effect that I can’t believe that here we are again, facing renewed threats to and likely regression of human rights and civil liberties under the incoming administration that has pretty clearly demonstrated its intent to undo as much as possible the social progress gained over the past 75+ years in the post-World War period. And then I said, with an exasperated tone, “Didn’t we already fight this fight?!”

And that’s when she laid down the truth, in loving correction,
“Jeff, that’s white supremacy thinking; justice is never just one-and-done.
It’s always on-going and always returning. Justice is a journey, not a destination.”

As soon as her words reached my ears, they went straight to my heart, and I recognized – in that deep, embodied way – that what she was speaking was the kind of truth that has sacred significance, like spoken scripture. (By the way, this is why I seek to surround myself with deeply spiritual and spiritually “tuned-in” people – as much as I seek to surround myself with deep thinkers and deep feelers!)

And of course, she’s correct, both from a historical perspective as well as from a philosophical one. From the historical perspective, we can easily see the long and unbroken chain that connects today’s freedom fighters to the good ancestors of past resistance, freedom, and liberation movements. As my Repro Project colleague, Becky Martin, frequently says,

“We [who are working to advance freedom and justice today] stand on the shoulders of giants
[those who have worked to advance freedom and justice through every period of human existence].

How reassuring – and how relieving – to know that no effort toward freedom, justice, or liberation starts or ends with me, me alone. Or, with you, you alone. The generous invitation of the human-history-long work of freedom fighting and justice making, is, quite literally, jump in wherever you are, in whatever time period of human experience you find yourself, because there’s always something to be reimagined, remade, or transformed; there’s always something you can do to make a meaningful contribution to the work of transforming the material conditions of human societies to be more just, more fair, more loving so that everyone has what they need to thrive and flourish in their lives. Martin Luther King Jr. talked about manifesting Beloved Community. He was assassinated, for daring to call the nation to a higher conscience, but the interrelated movements for racial justice and economic justice obviously did not end with his death.

But here’s the thing, and here’s the temptation, and here’s the error in my thinking that Dr. Cari gently pointed out to me: movements for justice and collective liberation are never just linear, in the way that a superficial view of history might lead one to believe (“Didn’t we already fight this fight?!”). Movements for justice and collective liberation are always moving in much more complex, non-linear ways. In fact, perhaps a more accurate – or at least, better – way to represent the “progression” of movements for justice and collective liberation is a three-dimensional spiral. What’s interesting about spirals – and a useful analogy for our purposes here – is that they create a trajectory of “non-returning returns”: as you follow the path of a spiral, you will come back around, but you will not come back around to the exact point that you had started from, hence, “non-returning returns”. Another way to understand this is to consider the aphorism:

History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.

Philosophically considering the progression of movements for justice and collective liberation more as a 3-D spiral, always turning even as it always steps forward, we can better hold the hard truth that advances in justice and collective liberation are never one-and-done. There is always more that we need to return to, to take back up, to pick up where others left off, to reassess and reconsider our understanding of human dignity, human rights, and human liberty. And yes, sometimes (many times) in the path of progression of the ever-expanding spiral of the movement for justice and collective liberation, we encounter losses, and setbacks, and regressions, and fights that we have fought already, but now must fight again.

And so, here we are, just a few days from Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which, this year, also happens to coincide with the second inauguration of Donald Trump and the formation of an overtly and aggressively authoritarian administration. But none of this is new: authoritarian and despotic regimes have risen and fallen throughout human history. The good news is that nothing – and I mean nothing – of human invention has yet to outlive the ever-enduring spark in the human spirit – our universal and inalienable dignity – that compels us to keep striving toward justice and collective liberation, toward Beloved Community, in the way that Rev. Dr. King described. Justice is indeed a journey of unending, non-returning returns, and in the company of the good ancestors who kept taking steps, no matter what and in spite of it all, we must do the same. Because, Beloved Community isn’t the destination, it’s what we become, on the journey, if we’re willing to keep at it.

###

*Note: an excerpt of this Spotlight is included in Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project eNews #36:
��Jan. 18, 2025
Find the current and past issues in the Ģ����Ƶ Repro eNews Archive.

Explore the Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project
Find news, tips, tools, opportunities�� & more!

for Ģ����Ƶ Repro Project Updates

The post Justice is a Journey; Hope is Each Step We Take in Spite of it All appeared first on Ģ����Ƶ.

SPOTLIGHT ON ABORTION CARE & REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE��

Stay Connected – to Resources, Community, and Radical Hope for Reproductive Freedom and Justice
– through the Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project!

Written by Jeff Koetje, MD, Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Programming Strategist

Greetings from all of us at the (Ģ����Ƶ RHP)! With the start of the new academic year well under way, we are excited to share with you what we have planned for 2024-2025. But before we get into that, let’s pause to acknowledge that we are just a few days away from Election Day here in the US (Tuesday, Nov 5), and this year, reproductive rights are a central issue in the federal election and abortion rights, specifically, are on the ballot in 10 states. We encourage everyone who can, and everyone who is eligible, to get out and vote if you haven’t already, and we encourage you to invite your friends and family to do the same! We know that regardless of the outcomes of the imminent elections and ballot initiatives, the work of protecting and advancing reproductive health, rights, and justice must continue.��

Who we’re for and what we’re about:��

We also know that future physicians – that’s you! – have important roles to play in the movements for reproductive freedom and justice. And we’re here to support and help you figure out what that can look like for you. The Ģ����Ƶ Repro Project – and Ģ����Ƶ, overall – invites reproductive freedom dreamers and doers, like you, to consider us as one of your home bases for relevant and timely information, resources, connections to a growing network of activated medical and premedical students, and spaces for organizing for collective action. We work to nurture and support the next generation of physician abortion providers and the next generation of physician-advocates for reproductive health, rights, and justice. We are here for you – whether you are a premedical or medical student Ģ����Ƶ member, an Ģ����Ƶ Chapter Officer, or an Ģ����Ƶ National Leader!��

Read on to learn more about the Ģ����Ƶ RHP and how you, your Ģ����Ƶ chapter, or your school can get involved.

First things first – Some introductions! Who we are:

The Ģ����Ƶ RHP team includes Becky Martin, who is, as she says, “one of those old-school community organizers” who brings a unique perspective to our work. She got her start working to expand education and licensing programs for midwives in Florida and then around the U.S. A deep concern and care for pregnant and birthing people has been at the core of Becky’s lifetime of advocacy, activism, and organizing. She has a deep appreciation for history and what we can learn from our past – she knows we all stand on the shoulders of giants. And having worked with Ģ����Ƶ for over 20 years from allied organizations before joining Ģ����Ƶ staff, Becky knows many of Ģ����Ƶ’s giants personally. Becky reminds us medicine is both art and science, and how we grow our healers is vitally important. As Ģ����Ƶ’s Senior Manager for Reproductive Health Advocacy,�� she helps Ģ����Ƶ’s members, Chapter Officers, and National Leaders think and plan strategically for mobilizing future physicians for action on abortion access and reproductive healthcare equity. Dr. Jeffrey Koetje is a medical professional focused on transforming the systems and culture of education and training inside the House of Medicine. Utilizing critical theories such as intersectional feminism, queer theory, and Critical Race Theory, Dr. Koetje works to create transformed and transformative medical education, grounded in an absolute belief that spaces for education can and must be spaces for young people to more closely encounter and get to know their own power, agency, and capacity to be change-makers. The Project also works closely with , who is an OB/GYN abortion provider in the NYC area, and former Ģ����Ƶ Education and Advocacy Fellow, National Graduate Trustee on the Ģ����Ƶ Board of Trustees, and Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Programming Strategist. Two medical students also will be joining the Ģ����Ƶ Repro Project this year: Joy Udoh, M4 at Michigan State College of Osteopathic Medicine, will be the Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project Fellow, and Araam Abboud, M3 at Boonshoft School of Medicine will be the Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project Intern. Joy and Araam will be introducing themselves in the next issue of this newsletter.

What we offer:

As a grant-funded project, we are able to offer an abundance of support to you, your Ģ����Ƶ chapter, your school, and your community in the form of informational resources, connections to subject matter experts and activists for chapter events, interesting and compelling films to view and discuss, clinical skills workshops, advocacy skills workshops, and several programs you can enroll in, including our Abortion Care & Reproductive Justice Institutes back in-person! (Read what a student from this summer wrote about his experience: Recharging Your Medical Passion: The Power of a Retreat . We also offer small chapter grants ($200 – $500) to cover food/beverage costs for Ģ����Ƶ Chapter events planned in coordination with the Ģ����Ƶ RHP! We can even help chapters with new member recruitment by providing Ģ����Ƶ RHP swag for tabling events and a limited number of free memberships for students who participate in RHP-sponsored chapter events!

We’ll highlight many of the RHP offerings here, but be sure to check out all the details posted to the , and keep up with all the updates and opportunities by reading the Ģ����Ƶ Repro Health & Justice eNewsletter.�� to start receiving the newsletter, delivered to your inbox every other Saturday – and catch up on what you’ve missed by reading current and past issues!

New & Expanded Offerings for Ģ����Ƶ Members & Chapters from the Ģ����Ƶ Abortion Care & Reproductive Health Project

Clinical & Research Skills:

• Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA, or “papaya workshop”)
• What Would You Do? Values Exploration & Clarification
• Pelvic Exam Best Practices Workshop
• Trauma Informed Abortion & Reproductive Health Care
• Self-Managed Abortion: A Safe Option for Many (SMA)
• Contraception Counseling & IUD Insertion
• Pregnancy & Abortion Care Options Counseling
• Understanding Mandated Reporting: What Is & Is Not Required
• Designing & Presenting Compelling Research Projects

Advocacy, Organizing, & Networking Skills:

• Effective Communication about Abortion Care: What & How We Talk Matters
• Lifting Your Voice: Writing Compelling LTEs,OpEds & Blog Posts
• Building Relationships with Reproductive Freedom Champions in Your State
• Understanding How Bills Become Laws & Regulations Govern Physician Practice
• Translating Data & Research Findings into Policy Recommendations
• Finding & Sharing Change-maker Stories in Your Community

Issue Education Teach-Ins:

• The History of Abortion: Roots of Stigma, Opportunities for Change
• Abortion as a Moral & Social Good: The Ethical Basis for Conscientious Provision of Abortion Care
• Religious & Spiritual Affirmation of Abortion
• Men & Abortion – Feminist Frameworks for Male/Masc Abortion Rights Allies
• Fetal Personhood & Criminalizing Pregnancy: Fast Tracks to Gilead
• Physicians as Enforcers: Urine Drug Screens, Mandated Reporting & Criminalization of Pregnant People
• Anti-abortion Laws & Maternal Mortality: Turning the Tide
• Birth Justice – A Framework for Improving U.S. Health Outcomes by Uniting Physicians, Midwives & Doulas��
• Reproductive Justice: A Movement & Framework for Equitable Health Care

Expanding Conversations with Film

Films offer unique ways to share information, generate conversations and move people to action, especially around difficult or challenging topics facing our communities. The Ģ����Ƶ RHP shares film access and provides expert speakers for facilitated, interactive conversations with Ģ����Ƶ members and Chapters. This year we are expanding our film offerings and focusing around key topics starting with:��

• How Stories Move People & Foster Change
  Ours to Tell, a short documentary film featuring several abortion stories
• Informed Consent: Vital for Patients, Students & Providers
  At Your Cervix, a documentary film about medical education and unconsented pelvic exams on anesthetized patients
• Forced Sterilization: What is it & How it is Still Happening?
  Belly of the Beast, a documentary film about the forced sterilization of women incarcerated in California’s prison system
• In the Time Before Roe: Lessons from Our Not too Distant Past
  The Janes, a film that tells the story of underground abortion providers in Chicago who cared for over 11,000 women in the years before Roe
• Moral Injury, Burnout & Suicide Among Physicians & Trainees
  Do No Harm, a documentary film that shines light on the crisis of medical student and physician suicide along with the toxic issues and environments far too many are facing today

***Everything listed above can be organized into an Ģ����Ƶ Chapter event!***

Courses and Programs:

• Ģ����Ƶ Abortion Care and Reproductive Justice Institutes
  for first dibs on registration
• Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health & Justice Mentorship Program
  Learn more and sign-up for the Winter 2025 Repro Mentorship Sprint (Jan/Feb 2025)
• Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Scholars Program
  Our next offering will be Fall 2025, for first dibs on registration
• Ģ����Ƶ-UM Elective in Abortion Care, Family Planning, and Reproductive Justice
  Explore the program description here, our next offering is planned for Fall 2025.��

Essay Contests, Poster Presentations & Scholarship Opportunities:

• Repro Poster Presenter Scholarships
  to present your abortion and repro-related poster at the 75th Annual Ģ����Ƶ Convention in Washington DC April 17-19, 2025 – Learn more at
• Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Essay Contests
  Stay tuned for details coming soon!

###

*Note: an excerpt of this Spotlight is included in Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project eNews #31: Say Their Names, Get Connected, Stand for Change, Nov 2, 2024
Find the current and past issues in the Ģ����Ƶ Repro eNews Archive.

Explore the Ģ����Ƶ Reproductive Health Project
Find news, tips, tools, opportunities�� & more!

for Ģ����Ƶ Repro Project Updates

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