By Abigail Rangel | Outreach Coordinator
Young women in leadership were invited to one of the best conferences on Reproductive Justice this past August. The conference, Let's Talk About Sex!, was held in Dallas, Texas, a state that remains a battleground for women, BIPOC, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ people. It seems fitting that the conference was held in a state where so many people are fighting for justice, particularly access to abortion and bodily autonomy. The overturning of Roe v Wade shadowed the conference; it emphasized the importance of standing united to achieve a reproductive justice future for all.
The LTAS conference was a huge learning opportunity and allowed us to connect with reproductive justice-oriented individuals, learn and grow from their stories, and discuss our shared experiences. Attending this conference allowed these young women to hear firsthand how people are being affected by Texas' ban on abortion and what is being done to help those needing an abortion get access to the care they need. Although the reproductive rights landscape in Texas is a bit different, we saw similarities in our own communities and shared more tools to help each other.
During this conference, we were given the amazing opportunity to host a workshop! The workshop we created was rooted in the clinic's founding principles of self-help and demystifying one's own body. This workshop seemed evermore important, arming people with the tools to discover and decolonize themselves through self-exam. It was a tool of resistance and needed to be shared, especially with the communities most impacted by abortion bans.
Gloria and lsa organized the setup of the Self Help Workshop; it was their first time hosting, but they have experienced the powerful message of self-exam and were excited to share it with more people! 250 self-help kits were distributed. They met with individuals from Funds and Reproductive representatives and made an on-the-spot decision to remain open (not just during our workshop hours) for participants to receive a kit with instructions verbal and written on how to use it. We also shared our website, videos, and personal stories of self-exam and reclaiming their power.
The team felt very welcomed in the supportive atmosphere at the conference. Everyone in attendance was so unapologetically themselves. We enjoyed being in such an intersectional feminist space where Black, Indigenous, all people of color, and LGBTQ+ voices were centered and celebrated. Attending the conference was a very empowering experience.
Thank you for you ongoing support towards absolute liberation.
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
