Category: press

A Message from SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW! —Supreme Court Leak of Draft Decision in Dobbs v. Jackson

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May 3, 2022

Last night, Politico leaked a draft of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, a case that challenges Mississippi’s 15 week abortion ban. In the 98 page draft, author Samuel Alito indicates that the court is poised to wholly overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that Constitutionally protects the right to an abortion in the US. The draft would also overturn Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a case that reaffirmed but narrowed the right announced in Roe.

This leaked draft is NOT the official court ruling and will NOT be binding until released as a final opinion. For the time being, abortion is still legal and Constitutionally protected across the country. A leak of this nature is unprecedented, and while it appears to confirm what we feared the Supreme Court would do this summer, it also allows the movement for abortion access time to build support and strengthen our strategy before the official opinion is announced. 

Things will likely get worse before they improve. As written, the leaked draft would make it much more difficult to access abortion and will likely lead to increased surveillance, criminalization and policing of those who choose to end a pregnancy with a disproportionate impact and focus on the most marginalized among us. This draft demonstrates a very extreme view on the liberties granted under the 14th amendment. Most notably, the opinion explicitly states its intended implications for contraception access and marriage rights. In light of these threats, we refuse to back down in our advocacy for a vision of Reproductive Justice where reproductive care, which includes abortion services and care, is accessible to everyone who wants or needs it.  More specifically, we imagine a future where marginalized people have the autonomy to make decisions about their lives, bodies, sexuality, and reproduction free from fear, stigma and shame. We envision a world where our people get to be their and their ancestors’ wildest dreams.

The fight does not end with this leak or with the pending final opinion. As we continue our on-the-ground work, we call on our current political leaders to affirm the protection of our Constitutional right to abortion. In this election year, we also strive to elect decision makers who seek to protect and expand access to equitable comprehensive sexual and reproductive care that includes abortion care. In the midst of this election season, make sure your voter registration status is up to date. You can cast your vote for primary elections in Georgia by May 24, 2022. Make sure you’re registered to vote for the November 8, 2022 general election by October 11, 2022!

We must continue our fight to protect our right to abortion and the full range of reproductive health care. With that, we must also honor our own wellness and community care in this time of action. SPARK will be hosting a Black Sanctuary wellness space on Tuesday, May 10th 6-8PM EST. Use this link to register. 

Resources: 
Repro Legal Helpline https://www.reprolegalhelpline.org/
Information on accessing self managed abortion with pills https://www.plancpills.org/
Donate to Abortion Funds: https://fundathon.nnaf.org

To support SPARK’s ongoing advocacy for Reproductive Justice in Georgia and around the country, visit http://www.sparkrj.org/donate/

In Solidarity,

SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW!, Inc. 

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SPARK was featured, again!

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Activists shifting abortion debate to focus on human rights
USA Today, March 5, 2019

With the future of abortion rights on the verge of changing like no time since before Roe v. Wade, advocates are presenting new arguments to plead their cases.

Both sides have amped up messaging in an effort to intertwine human rights and abortion since the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and the precarious health and potential retirement of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

In addition, abortion proponents and opponents have strongly reacted to President Trump’s changes to Title X, a federal grant program that provides reproductive health care and birth control to low-income Americans. The new rule would block federal grant funding to family planning facilities, such as Planned Parenthood, which provide abortions. [KEEP READING BY CLICKING HERE]

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SPARK was featured!

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How generations born after Roe v. Wade are leading the country’s abortion debate
USA Today, March 5, 2019

 Younger generations of pro and anti-abortion advocates are digging in their heels and preparing for a long, drawn-out legal battle as President Trump alters access to reproductive care and courts across the country continue to rule on abortion.

This past week Trump released proposed changes to Title X, a federal grant program that allocates funding for reproductive health care and contraceptives to low-income populations. The rule change would cut federal funding to family planning clinics such as Planned Parenthood that provide referrals for abortions.  [KEEP READING BY CLICKING HERE]

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SPARK’s Statement on Brett Kavanaugh

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Atlanta, GA; Thursday, October 4, 2018: SPARK Reproductive Justice Now, Inc, is dedicated to uplifting the well being of Black Women, Women of Color and Queer/Trans Young People of Color. Currently, the US Senate is debating on whether to confirm a nominee who has already been proven to be dishonest in his answers to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and who now is being accused of sexual assault by multiple accusers. SPARK believes in fairness and restorative justice; however, we see that this is not what is taking place during this whole process. The White House has made a sham out of this investigation and we are not confident in the report that was released to Senators this morning.

This nominee is problematic even without all of the baggage of multiple sexual assault accusations; Brett Kavanaugh would overturn Roe Vs. Wade, strip voting rights, and vote against environmental protections. Mr. Kavanaugh was overtly political when trying to defend himself against these multiple accusations; he has proven that he is not impartial, and he does not have the temperament to receive a lifetime appointment on the highest court in the land. Kavanaugh voted against an immigrant minor seeking an abortion and he refers to birth control as abortion inducing drugs which is patently false, so this man just doesn’t understand simple science. Please join SPARK in contacting your Senators and other representatives to tell them to vote No on confirming this dangerous nominee.

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Justice Doesn’t Trickle Down

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A class-only approach is not only wrong; it is also wrong-headed. We need a woman-focused economic agenda that is intersectional, broad, and deep. SPARK Executive Director, Dr. Krystal Redman, outlined how to do this in a newly-released paper with Ms. Foundation For Women.

The report was also the subject of a Salon article where Dr. Redman is quoted in reference to the gendered and racialized disparities and inequities that have come to characterize the U.S. health system:

Krystal Redman, whose work with SPARK Reproductive Justice Now is highlighted in the report, agreed. “Accessibility to coverage is important,” Redman explained over the phone, noting that racial and gendered barriers to care don’t “solely go away just because someone has coverage.”

 

“There are many providers who have their own ideas of how a patient should be treated based on how they present,” Dr. Redman said.

 

As an example, Redman argued that a black woman with four children who goes to the gynecologist is more likely to be pushed into a long-acting form of contraception than a similarly situated white woman, who is more likely to have a chance to engage in dialogue with a doctor about whether she wants any more children.

 

Another huge example of the limits of an economics-only framework is the way that law enforcement treats white people differently than black and brown people. Just this week, Redman said, she had personal experience with that. Her husband, “a dark-skinned black man, tall, dreads, everything like that,” was pulled over “because the cop said he was following too closely behind another vehicle,” she claimed.

 

“We can’t overcome those small heart-flashes of, ‘Oh God, am I going to be safe?’” when things like that happen, she said, and that’s why “we need to center race” in the progressive movement.

 

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The Pillars Of Equity

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Participants listen to remarks from a speaker at the International Women’s Day rally in the shadow of Trump Tower, Wednesday March 8, 2017, in New York. Image c/o AP/Bebeto Matthews.

SPARK Board Chair, Heidi Williamson, recently published a research paper with the Center For American Progress on the pillars of reproductive justice:

Reproductive health and rights are inextricably linked with reproductive justice. The five key pillars that should be at the core of an economic agenda to address the needs of women and their families are:

  • Self-determination
  • Access to comprehensive reproductive health services
  • Affordability of care
  • Parenting with respect and dignity
  • Workplace and caregiving supports

Each pillar represents a key component that all women need to thrive and be healthy. These pillars are valuable individually but are also mutually reinforcing to anchor a policy agenda that meets the intersectional needs of working women.

Read the rest of the paper here and tell us what #RJmeans to you on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

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We are not alone!

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Spark Reads

Following a slew of aggressive executive orders that include a global gag rule that restricts abortion funding, we’ve collected some of articles written by our partners, allies and advocates that will help put it all in perspective.

Get informed.

Stay informed.

  • Black women are leading movement through the Trump administration. Read New Voices’ La’Tasha Mayes’ response to the 44th Anniversary of Roe V Wade here.

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