The Femtastic Podcast

A raw, unedited, unproduced reaction episode to the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022. Includes advice for how you can support abortion access and fight back, in both the short and the long term. The episode ends with a moment for reflection, featuring a song called "Animal" by Jean Rohe. In Jean's words, "'Animal' is a song about my own abortion experience, but ultimately much more: the things we can choose (or should be able to choose) in the garden of our lives, and all that lies beyond our control as mortal humans." May this song serve as a moment of un-silence, as together we mourn Roe and grieve for the millions of people who will now suffer as a result of being denied legal access to abortion.

It's no secret that our country's gun laws are riddled with loopholes, but one is killing women specifically. Since the beginning of the pandemic, murders linked to domestic violence have risen dramatically, up 58% in the last decade. Guns are the most common weapon abusers use to kill their partners, and victims are usually women. And many of these perpetrators are not even allowed to have guns in the first place. Under federal law, people convicted of a felony, a domestic violence misdemeanor, or who are subject to family violence protection orders are not allowed to have guns. But these laws usually are not enforced, and intimate partners pay the ultimate price. Federal gun laws and the vast majority of state statutes have a glaring loophole: they don't address how to keep guns away from people who aren't supposed to have them, nor do they create the legal infrastructure to keep victims, their families, and their communities safe from violent offenders. Instead, around most of the country, these gun laws are enforced on an honor system that puts the onus on people who are prohibited from possessing firearms to disarm themselves, with virtually no follow-through to ensure that they've done so. Often prosecutors don't even go after these offenders once they know they're in violation of the law; even more often, law enforcement doesn't realize the perpetrator illegally possessed a firearm until it's too late.  Jennifer Gollan, an award-winning reporter for Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, has spent over a year investigating and reporting on a series called When Abusers Keep Their Guns. From 2017 through 2020, Jennifer identified at least 110 intimate partners who were killed by offenders who were barred from having guns under federal and, in some cases, state law. This is certainly an undercount, as the federal government does not track the number of people prohibited from possessing firearms who go on to kill their intimate partners.  Jennifer is on the podcast to dive into where the gaps are in the enforcement of these gun laws and how we can close them. We discuss both federal and state solutions to enact this common-sense gun reform. LINKS: Transcript of the podcast Read the centerpiece of the investigation, Armed and Abusive: How America's Gun Laws Are Failing Domestic Violence Victims Read the story, which Reveal published in partnership with The Guardian: How America's Gun Laws Are Failing Domestic Violence Victims  Listen to the Reveal podcast: When Abusers Keep Their Guns Watch the documentary, produced in collaboration with Al Jazeera English's “Fault Lines”: Unrelinquished Reveal is staying on the story, and they need your help. Please tell them if you know of someone who was shot by a domestic violence offender who was prohibited from having a gun or if you are an official with information they should know.

Recently, Politico published a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case on the future of Roe v. Wade. Unsurprisingly for many in the reproductive rights community, Alito calls for the overturning of Roe.  We know that overturning Roe will mean that millions of people of reproductive age will be without access to abortion care. But what does it look like when someone who otherwise wanted an abortion is forced to carry a pregnancy to term? We don't have to imagine it, because the landmark Turnaway Study has already studied what happens when, due to gestational age limits, people who sought abortions were denied them and forced to carry their pregnancies to term. On today's episode is Dr. Diana Greene Foster, director of research at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health and author of the Turnaway Study,  which examines the effects of unwanted pregnancy on pregnant people's lives. Dr. Greene Foster describes how the study was conducted and explains its main findings: that receiving an abortion does not harm the health and wellbeing of pregnant people, but in fact, being denied an abortion results in worse financial, health, and family outcomes. She describes the study's evidence that when people are unable to get wanted abortions, there are profound risks to their health and economic security, as well as a shift in the trajectory of their lives with negative effects on their relationships, aspirational plans, and the wellbeing of their children (because two-thirds of people seeking abortions are already parents). As Dr. Greene Foster explains, "People across the country will still need abortion care but this Supreme Court leaked decision means that those who cannot circumvent a ban on abortion by travel or other means will experience long-term harm."  LINKS: - Read a written transcript of the episode here (remember that it's AI-generated, so it's not perfect) - Read more about the Turnaway Study here - Read Dr. Greene Foster's book, The Turnaway Study: The Cost of Denying Women Access to Abortion 

In Part 2 of our 2-part series on the misleading practices of Crisis Pregnancy Centers, we delve into another misleading, yet surprisingly underreported, aspect of Crisis Pregnancy Centers (aka CPCs aka "fake clinics). As we covered in Part 1, CPCs masquerade as if they are real health clinics - but because they are not, they're not subject to privacy laws like HIPPA that protect your personal health information. Of course, by design, their clients do not know this. CPCs then use information given to them by clients seeking their services to violate privacy and confidentiality for many reasons, including to use that info to harrass and surveil the client or abortion providers, to create "profiles" of those most likely to see their services in order to fuel their anti-abortion movement efforts, and - most terrifyingly - to potentially use private information clients have given them against them in lawsuits. This latter scenario is something that's becoming more and more possible as states pass super-restrictive and criminalizing abortion laws.  Here to discuss this on the podcast is Kim Clark, senior attorney at Legal Voice and seasoned legal advocate for reproductive rights, health, and justice. No time to listen? Check out Katie's op-ed on this topic or read the transcript of this episode. LINKS: - Transcript (AI-generated!) - Op-ed written by Katie about Crisis Pregnancy Centers (includes more on how the Trump admin and its Supreme Court propped up CPCs): How Your Tax Dollars Fund Fake Women's Health Centers - Must-watch video: Crisis Pregnancy Centers: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) - Designed to Deceive: A Study of the Crisis Pregnancy Center in 9 states - In February 2022, Gender Justice along with their The Alliance: State Advocates for Women's Rights & Gender Equality partners released an urgent warning about the role the crisis pregnancy center (CPC) industry is poised to play in a post-Roe United States – as a surveillance tool for the anti-abortion movement: The CPC Industry as a Surveillance Tool of the Post-Roe State - Experts Say Crisis Pregnancy Centers Could Spy On And Report Women Seeking An Abortion (Buzzfeed News, January 2022) - More on NIFLA v. Becerra: Supreme Court Sides With California Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers (NPR, June 2018) - Supreme Court Backs Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers in Free Speech Case (New York Times, June 2018) - Thirty-One Attorneys General Challenge New Title X Restrictions on Women's Reproductive Health Care (Press Release from office of Maryland's Attorney General Brian Frosh, 2019) - States Want to Ban Abortions Beyond Their Borders. Here's What Pro-Choice States Can Do. (New York Times, March 2022) - A World Without Roe: The loss of the fundamental right to reproductive freedom will only lead to more state surveillance and criminalization of pregnant people (Inquest, March 2022) - Additional podcast that may be of interest from Reveal: "A Strike At the Heart of Roe." Across the country, conservative foes of abortion rights have pushed “heartbeat bills” that would ban abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy. Journalist Amy Littlefield and a team of law and journalism students from UC Berkeley investigate how this law went from being dismissed as a fringe idea, even by traditional right-to-life groups, to getting enforced in Texas. 

Crisis pregnancy centers, or “CPCs,” are anti-abortion organizations that target pregnant people with predatory, deceptive marketing. They hide in plain sight by operating under the guise of offering comprehensive reproductive healthcare. Instead, they are religiously-affiliated, anti-abortion, and often unlicensed “medical” centers that, as stated by the California legislature, dissuade pregnant people from abortion through “intentionally deceptive advertising and counseling practices that often confuse, misinform and even intimidate” mostly low-income clients from making informed choices. Eighty-three percent are affiliated with evangelical Christianity, and nearly all are tax-exempt. Their deceptive practices are well documented, and range from including words like “choices” in their names and locating themselves next to abortion clinics to trick pregnant people into walking through their doors, to wearing medical scrubs and having untrained personnel give and interpret ultrasounds even when they are not licensed medical facilities (and operate outside of privacy laws like HIPPA), with potentially dangerous consequences. It is also well-known that in addition to providing dubious and sometimes dangerous "medical" advice that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has publicly declared is unsupported by science, they lie to patients about how far along their pregnancies are in an effort to prevent clients from seeking abortions. The American Medical Association has declared that they "violate principles of medical ethics." Oh, and your tax dollars fund them!   In Part 1 of a 2-part Femtastic series on Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs), we are joined by Megan Peterson and Erin Maye Quade of Gender Justice,  a legal and policy advocacy org working to advance gender equity through the law. Gender Justice recently contributed to a national report on CPCs titled "Designed to Deceive: A Study of the Crisis Pregnancy Center in 9 states." The report shows that, rather than offer legitimate healthcare and resources, CPCs target pregnant people of color and pregnant people with lower incomes with deceptive marketing; provide few or no real medical services; and systematically mislead clients about services they do provide, potentially resulting in delayed care and unnecessary risks to their clients' health.   Megan and Erin will talk about the intentionally misleading practices CPCs use to market themselves  as real health clinics, and the deceptive "care" they provide in order to dissuade or stop clients from having abortions. We also talk about how your tax dollars fund them and what you can do to stop this.   Look out for Part 2 of this series, where we discuss how CPCs use client data to violate their privacy in very creepy and dangerous ways - and the role that CPCs are poised to play in a post-Roe United States as a surveillance tool for the anti-abortion movement. No time to listen to this episode? Check out Katie's op-ed on this topic or read the transcript of the episode. LINKS: - Transcript (AI-generated!) - Op-ed written by Katie about Crisis Pregnancy Centers (includes more info on their funding): How Your Tax Dollars Fund Fake Women's Health Centers - Must-watch video: Crisis Pregnancy Centers: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) - Mentioned in the episode: In Virginia, University of Mary Washington fellows conducted an undercover investigation into the local fake clinic that targets students on campus, exposing their disinformation and shaming tactics to help protect and educate vulnerable students. - Designed to Deceive: A Study of the Crisis Pregnancy Center in 9 states - Further info on the dubious practice of "abortion pill reversal" and how the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says it is "not supported by science" - In the interview, we talk about an investigation in California that revealed some of the lies CPCs tell clients in their care (including when a CPC told a person that her IUD was her "baby"): Unmasking Fake Clinics: An Investigation into California's Crisis Pregnancy Centers (NARAL Pro-Choice California Foundation, 2015) - Check out this map of Crisis Pregnancy Centers in the U.S. - Check out the National Network of Abortion Funds; they can tell you whether a clinic is a real clinic. You should also donate to them, as abortion funds will be tasked with providing even more critical access to abortion care as states pass more restrictive anti-abortion laws (or ban abortion altogether should Roe fall this year). - Abortion Care Network: Independent abortion providers care for the majority of people seeking abortion care in the United States. Founded in 2008, Abortion Care Network (ACN) is the national association for independent community-based, abortion care providers and their allies. They work to ensure the rights of all people to experience respectful, dignified abortion care. Donate to them. - And as a teaser to Part 2 of this series on CPCs: In February 2022, Gender Justice along with their The Alliance: State Advocates for Women's Rights & Gender Equality partners released an urgent warning about the role the crisis pregnancy center (CPC) industry is poised to play in a post-Roe United States – as a surveillance tool for the anti-abortion movement: The CPC Industry as a Surveillance Tool of the Post-Roe State - Why Crisis Pregnancy Centers Are Legal but Unethical (American Medical Association Journal of Ethics, 2018) - Crisis Pregnancy Centers Lie: The Insidious Threat to Reproductive Freedom (Report by NARAL Pro-Choice America, 2015) - More on NIFLA v. Becerra: Supreme Court Sides With California Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers (NPR, June 2018) - Supreme Court Backs Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers in Free Speech Case (New York Times, June 2018) - Thirty-One Attorneys General Challenge New Title X Restrictions on Women's Reproductive Health Care (Press Release from office of Maryland's Attorney General Brian Frosh, 2019)

Back in early December 2021, you may have heard some rumblings celebrating that the FDA had changed some of its draconian and scientifically unsupported regulations around medication abortion. Medication abortion, a safe and legal method of first-trimester abortion, accounted for 54% of US abortions in 2020 but has been subject to decades of politically-motivated FDA regulations that placed strict and unnecessary controls on it to limit access. In late 2021, amidst the most hostile environment to abortion since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, some of these limits were lifted. However, the news stories reporting on the updates didn't exactly make it clear which problems the changes would solve and which they wouldn't. As the Supreme Court is poised in June 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade, and states are leveling increasingly hostile attacks towards abortion rights in the meantime, any expansion of access is a good thing, and this FDA update is definitely a good thing - but is not a panacea.  To explain the implications of the update, we are rejoined on the podcast by Elisa Wells, Co-Director of Plan C Pills, a website and organization that provides information about how to access abortion pills in all 50 US states. Elisa explains why this is a win and for whom it's a win for abortion access - but also for whom these changes make no difference at all. As the potential end of Roe nears, it's more important now than ever that we understand - and work to lift - the obstacles to abortion access that millions of Americans of reproductive age face. [Please note that this episode was recorded on January 14, 2022. Additional states have passed incredibly strict abortion bans since then, including Idaho, Florida, Oklahoma, and Kentucky.] LINKS: - Transcript of episode (AI-generated) - Check out all the fun (and often easy!) ways that you can Get Involved with Plan C Pills to take action to support self-managed abortion -  In 2020, medication abortion accounted for 54% of US abortions (Guttmacher Institute, 2022) - States Want to Ban Abortions Beyond Their Borders. Here's What Pro-Choice States Can Do. (New York Times, March 2022) - A World Without Roe: The loss of the fundamental right to reproductive freedom will only lead to more state surveillance and criminalization of pregnant people (Inquest, March 2022) - A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine supports the safety of prescribing the abortion pill without requiring a pelvic exam or ultrasound.  - Additional podcast that may be of interest from Reveal: "A Strike At the Heart of Roe." Across the country, conservative foes of abortion rights have pushed “heartbeat bills” that would ban abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy. Journalist Amy Littlefield and a team of law and journalism students from UC Berkeley investigate how this law went from being dismissed as a fringe idea, even by traditional right-to-life groups, to getting enforced in Texas.    Relevant Femtastic Podcast Episodes: - Lifting Restrictions on Medication Abortion (July 2021) - Podcast featuring Plan C Pills and Elisa Wells (Sept 2021): What's Up with the TX Abortion Ban and How Can People All Over the US Access Abortion Pills Online?  - A Clinic Making Mail-Order Abortion a Reality (Nov 2021)

Today on the podcast is the Baltimore Abortion Fund (BAF), a grassroots nonprofit that provides financial support for people traveling to and living in Maryland who need abortion care, and as the Supreme Court decides in June on a case that threatens legal abortion like never before, they're working to remove the financial barriers for those seeking abortion care.  As of late 2021, 30% of BAF's callers were already from out of state, and the majority of people that BAF supports are 13 weeks or further into their pregnancy. BAF discusses on the podcast the implications of further state restrictions on abortion care - both for people seeking abortions who live in states with severe restrictions, AND those seeking abortions who live in less restrictive states (like Maryland) which increasingly have out-of-state residents coming to them for abortions. BAF's Board Co-President, Brigitte Winter, and Director of Development & Communications, Lynn McCann, join Femtastic to discuss the impact they're already seeing of restrictive laws in the south (like Texas' SB8), the costs and obstacles involved for patients seeking abortions (even in relatively "friendly" states), how that affects abortion care and availability for people both in-state and out-of-state, and how things may get worse after the Supreme Court hands down their decision in Dobbs v. Jackson in June 2022.  BAF also discusses developments in the reproductive justice movement that are aiming to respond to the possible overturning of Roe, including uniting regional abortion funds and, with the FDA's recent loosening of rules related to medication abortion, the possibility of medication abortion as a means to increase capacity of clinics and accessibility to patients. Lastly, BAF discusses the role that abortion funds play in reducing stigma and creating a culture shift in the way abortion is talked about.  This episode was recorded in late December 2021. By the way, you can support abortion funds via the event that is HAPPENING NOW: The National Abortion Access Fund-a-Thon is an annual season of in-person, virtual, and hybrid events where community members (like you!) come together to raise money for abortion funds. View a list of all the Fund-a-Thon events by location and date or search for a specific abortion fund or fundraising team by name.   Links and Resources: - Baltimore Abortion Fund website: www.baltimoreabortionfund.org - BAF's confidential helpline: If you live in Maryland or are coming to the state for your procedure, please call BAF's confidential helpline at (443) 297-9893. - Donate to Baltimore Abortion Fund - Maryland Medicaid and abortion: information on how to use Maryland Medicaid coverage for abortion care - National Network of Abortion Funds: www.abortionfunds.org - Donate to the National Network of Abortion Funds - Transcript of this episode (please note that transcripts are computer-generated and therefore not error-free or 100% accurate) BAF on Social Media: IG: @baltimorefund Twitter: @BaltimoreFund Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BaltimoreAbortionFund/ - States Want to Ban Abortions Beyond Their Borders. Here's What Pro-Choice States Can Do. (New York Times, March 2022) - A World Without Roe: The loss of the fundamental right to reproductive freedom will only lead to more state surveillance and criminalization of pregnant people (Inquest, March 2022) - Additional podcast that may be of interest from Reveal: "A Strike At the Heart of Roe." Across the country, conservative foes of abortion rights have pushed “heartbeat bills” that would ban abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy. Journalist Amy Littlefield and a team of law and journalism students from UC Berkeley investigate how this law went from being dismissed as a fringe idea, even by traditional right-to-life groups, to getting enforced in Texas.  - Relevant Femtastic Podcast episodes: A Clinic Making Mail-Order Abortion a Reality (November 2021) What's Up with the Texas Abortion Ban and How Can People All Over the US Access Abortion Pills Online (September 2021)

You've probably heard of the gender pay gap - the fact that, according to the most recent Census Bureau data from 2018, women of all races earned, on average, just 82 cents for every $1 earned by men of all races. Last week, Equal Pay Day was recognized on March 7 - this is the number of days into 2022 women would need to work to earn the equivalent of men in 2021. Do you know how the gender pay gap may impact your earnings over the course of your career? Do you know that the gap is a LOT bigger for women of color? In fact, the wage gap for women in some racial minority groups is not only wider than the overall gender wage gap, but it is also closing more slowly.  While MUCH needs to change on a cultural level to truly close these gaps, there ARE ways you can increase your negotiating power and confidence to chip away at it for yourself. Today on the podcast is Lora Rosenblum, advisor to and champion of 81cents, a paid service that helps women negotiate higher compensation by convening a group of experts to advise on their compensation and make an action plan for negotiation. Lora discusses the wage gap, what can be helpful when prepping for a compensation discussion, and how 81cents is fighting the racialized wage gap via 81grants - providing its service for free to people of color and other underrepresented minorities who experience wage gaps. LINKS: - Transcript of episode ((AI-generated so she ain't perfect) - 81cents paid service  - 81grants scholarships for people of color - Quick Facts about the Gender Wage Gap (Center for American Progress) - Gender pay gap in U.S. held steady in 2020 (Pew Research) - Women of Color and the Wage Gap (Center for American Progress) - Wage Gaps by Race (Investopedia) - Race and the Pay Gap (AAUW)

You may have heard that Texas enacted a six-week ban on abortion in 2021, and that other states have begun attempting to pass copycat laws. You also may have heard many people remarking that 6 weeks is "before many people even know they are pregnant." But do you know why that is?  Dr. Lauren Ralph, Associate Professor in the Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) program at UCSF, recently published research that found that 1 in 3 people discover pregnancy past six weeks or later, and almost 2 in 3 young people discover pregnancy past six weeks or later. She is on the podcast today to explain WHY many people don't know they are pregnant until after 6 weeks, and which groups of people are most disproportionately harmed by laws that ban abortion early in pregnancy.  She also explains the confusing math that the OB/GYN field uses to count weeks of pregnancy, which means that "6 weeks pregnant" actually means 6 weeks from the first day of your last period - so if your subsequent period is just a week late, you're already technically at 5 weeks pregnant.  Dr. Ralph's breakdown of this funky math will show you how state bans like this act basically as TOTAL bans on abortion, because it would be extremely difficult to be able to schedule and obtain an abortion in a state that passed this type of law before the 6-week mark.  As we approach what may be the end of Roe v. Wade if the Supreme Court decides to overturn it in June 2022, understanding the current impact of 6-week abortion bans gives us a glimpse into the the catastrophic effects that a probable overturning Roe would have on the health and wellbeing of people with uteruses across the country. LINKS: - Transcript of episode (computer-generated, so not perfect but good enough!) - Dr. Ralph's research published in the Journal of Contraception (November 2021): Home pregnancy test use and timing of pregnancy confirmation among people seeking health care

It's Black History Month, and we're also in what may quite possibly the last few months of Roe v. Wade's existence as we know it. So it seems an important time to talk about what exactly Reproductive Justice means, the history of this Black women-led movement, and why it's so very important.  Joining the podcast is Monica Simpson, Executive Director of *the* organization for the Repro Justice (RJ) movement, SisterSong. Monica explains what RJ is; its history and founding by Black women; how we do everyone a disservice if we shy away from talking about sex when we talk about reproductive justice; and why Black people and other historically marginalized groups are disproportionately impacted by restrictions on reproductive health. Further, as we discuss what may be Roe's final moments, we discuss what Roe meant and means to the Black community, how SisterSong preparing for what may be the end of Roe in June 2022, and how YOU can help. LINKS: Transcript (Note that all transcripts are AI-generated and may contain slight errors.) SisterSong website Donate to SisterSong Katie's recommended reading on reproductive justice: "Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty" by Dorothy Roberts  

We know today that the religious right condemns abortion. But did you know just how recently they developed that opinion, and why? Today on the podcast is Reverend Serene Jones, a pro-choice reverend, religious scholar, and the former chair of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Yale University. She is a leader on progressive religious issues, including abortion.   Rev. Jones is an expert on how abortion and reproductive rights became a political rallying cry for the conservative religious right. Unknown to many, until just decades ago, the church was essentially silent on the issue of abortion. The Southern Baptist Church even issued statements that specifically said, as late as 1978, that the government should not be involved in abortion. But over time, sensing an opportunity to gain followers and consolidate political power among white voters, the church launched an all-out crusade against abortion.  On the podcast, Rev. Serene explains this history, and the combination of political convenience and white supremacist thinking that led to the relatively recent creation of abortion as a political issue. She also delves into the reality that there is nothing in the Bible that condemns - nor even mentions - abortion. She explains how, in her interpretation of Christianity, the Bible actually supports the right to choose - both through specific verses, and the consistent message that people have the autonomy and freedom to make decisions that are best for them.   Links: - Transcript of interview (please note that transcriptions are computer-generated and may not be 100% accurate) -Twitter: @SereneJones - Southern Baptist Convention Resolutions on Abortion, 1971 to 2009 - Salon.com (Op-ed written by Serene) - There is nothing godly about outlawing abortion — and Texas' law is particularly un-Christian - Politico Magazine - The Real Origins of the Religious Right - Baptist News - How Southern Baptists became pro-life   - USA Today - Jews, outraged by restrictive abortion laws, are invoking the Hebrew Bible in the debate   - NPR - 'Throughline' Traces Evangelicals' History On The Abortion Issue   - Rev. Serene Jones has been recently featured in TIME, NBC, and the Miami Herald, Politico, and On Being.   Union Theological Seminary on social:  - Twitter: @UnionSeminary  - Instagram: @UnionSeminary - Facebook: @UnionSeminary (https://www.facebook.com/unionseminary/) - LinkedIn: Union Theological Seminary (https://www.linkedin.com/school/union-theological-seminary/)

If you have young people in your life, you may have asked yourself: how do I teach them to be feminists? How do I explain what feminism is and what it has to do with their lives? For young girls of color, how do I help them navigate the dual forces of racism and sexism? Fortunately, there is a new book that can help. Brittney Cooper, Susana M. Morris, and Chanel Craft Tanner are authors, activists, educators, and members of the Crunk Feminist Collective. Their new book Feminist AF: A Guide to Crushing Girlhood is a resource guide for young feminists designed to help them navigate some of the most pressing issues young people face. Especially geared towards young girls of color and their unique experiences, Feminist AF aims to empower everyone to live their feminism out loud.  On the podcast, the authors discuss what Crunk Feminism means to them; how intersectional feminist frameworks can be used to help young feminists grapple with friendships, racism, sexism, dating, pop culture, and more; and what it means to meet girls where they are in their feminist journey. "Taking the position of a fly big sister or cool Auntie," they candidly reflect on their experiences growing up as Black girls as well as conversations they've had with each other and the young people in their lives. They also give advice on how people in any stage in life can develop their own personal sense of feminism. Links: - Transcript of the episode (note: transcriptions are computer-generated and likely not 100% accurate) - Link to the book - Crunk Feminist Collective blog - Crunk Feminists Collective on Instagram

We've heard a lot about the hypothetical harm of Texas' incredibly restrictive abortion bill, SB8, and how it is a glimpse into a post-Roe future. But we wanted to talk to someone on the ground in Texas who is seeing firsthand the impact this bill is having on Texans seeking abortions. We're joined on the podcast today by Zaena Zamora, Executive Director of the Frontera Fund. The Frontera Fund makes abortion accessible to people in the Rio Grande Valley (an area on the US-Mexico border in the southernmost part of Texas) by providing financial and practical support to people seeking abortion.    Zaena talks about the lengths that Texans now have to go to in order to seek abortion, and the skyrocketing cost of providing financial assistance in a time when most of the fund's callers need assistance traveling outside of the state for their abortions. Because Frontera Fund serves a large immigrant population, Zaena also speaks to the additional obstacles that undocumented folks, and especially those along the border, face when they are forced to travel in order to seek abortion. The situation in Texas shows us the sobering reality of what life may be like for millions of people in the south and midwest when the Supreme Court rules on Dobbs v. Jackson in June 2022. It's not an optimistic picture - but you can help. Donate to abortion funds like the Frontera Fund, or your local fund (which you can find on abortionfunds.org). Push your local, state, and Congressional representatives to protect abortion rights. And keep saying the word abortion, as stigma thrives in silence.  Links: - Frontera Fund website - Frontera Fund donation site:  - Donation site for all Texas funds - The National Network of Abortion Funds: find a fund to donate to, including your local funds - TRANSCRIPT of episode! (Note that transcription software isn't flawless, but for the first and what will be the last time in my life I spent WAY too long trying to make the transcription of this episode better. They'll be much worse in the future because I'm not doing that again, so enjoy it while you can!)

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven up unemployment among women, and the situation is even worse for women of color. Between a lack of affordable childcare, women's caregiving roles in the home, and the fact that women disproportionately work in sectors negatively impacted by the pandemic, the short-term and long-term implications of the pandemic's effect on women's employment cannot be understated. The impact that women's drop in workforce participation has on our economy as whole, and for women (and ergo families') lives, careers, and financial health overall, will impact the United States for decades to come. Because what impacts women impacts everyone.  Here to discuss this crisis and the policy solutions that can solve it is President of the National Partnership for Women and Families, Jocelyn Frye. The National Partnership is a national, non-profit, non-partisan org that works to achieve equality for all women by changing culture and policy. They have been fighting for family leave for decades (hint: they helped pass the federal FMLA law in the '90s), and this tirelessness and deep expertise has made them the go-to organization when it comes to understanding why we must push for paid family leave and economic justice for women. Note: This interview was recorded on December 17, 2021. Two days after the interview, Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), whom Democrats needed a key 50th vote from to pass the Build Back Better Act, announced that he would not support the package - leaving its fate undetermined. Read more from the New York Times here.  LINKS: - National Partnership for Women and Families website - Article: How to Have a Productive Phone Call with your Legislator's Office - Build Back Better was supposed to help fix U.S. health care after COVID. What happens if it's dead? (Vox) - Transcript of this episode (please note that transcripts are computer-generated and may not be 100% accurate): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U1jYchPNNGMH-wGLE8olmrsBuxg0RweQ/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=105281143452743222220&rtpof=true&sd=true

As the topic of abortion rights is in the courts and in the press lately, one thing that we often miss is the question of what it actually means to have the choice of whether to obtain an abortion.  Aside from whether abortion is actually legal where you live, what other barriers may exist that may prevent someone from being able to choose abortion in the first place? What obstacles, such as cost, ability to physically get to a clinic, and social stigma, make it so that abortion is not a viable option for someone, even if they may want one? What if the reality is that many people do not have a real choice? Today on the podcast is Dr. Katrina Kimport, an associate professor at University of California, San Francisco's (UCSF) Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH). Her book, No Real Choice, looks at how abortion restrictions, class and racial disparities, cultural pressure, and other issues can make abortion impossible to choose - from the perspective of people who considered, but did not obtain an abortion.  On the podcast, Kimport will discuss the structural and social obstacles to abortion, as well as the cultural influences that try to dissuade people from choosing abortion. She discusses the often-overlooked experiences of people who make abortion-related decisions, and highlights who is denied reproductive choice and how. LINKS: No Real Choice: How Culture and Politics Matter for Reproductive Autonomy

In the midst of nationwide abortion restrictions, one topic receiving a lot of attention is the idea of “mail-order” or telemedicine abortion. Previous Femtastic episodes have covered what medication abortion is and how you can access it in all 50 states through various channels. Today, we are talking to Hey Jane, one company providing telemedicine abortion in a few U.S. states (and hopefully more soon)!Hey Jane's CEO Kiki Freedman joins the podcast to discuss why she started Hey Jane and how it works. Of course, no conversation about abortion access is complete without talking about restrictions, so Kiki discusses the federal and state-level restrictions that impact where and how Hey Jane can operate (hint: they're definitely not based in science or safety). Additionally we chat about how access to telemedicine abortion may be impacted moving forward, particularly by FDA regulations, and how Hey Jane plans to protect and expand access despite what may come. Links: - https://www.heyjane.co/ - Previous Femtastic Podcast episode on what medication abortion is and the restrictions surrounding it: Lifting Restrictions on Medication Abortion  - Previous Femtastic Podcast episode on how people in any US state can access abortion pills online: What's Up with the Texas Abortion Ban and How Can People All Over the US Access Abortion Pills Online 

medical research gap: a disparity that exists because the vast majority of biological literature is based on single sex studies of males of European ancestry. Did you know that it wasn't until 1993 that it was required for women to be included in clinical trials? Or that as of 2018, 78% of people included in key genomic research were of European ancestry? The implications of gender and racial exclusion in medical and scientific research has had huge (negative) implications for the health of us all. It leads to biased data sets that then result in unequal diagnosis and treatment for people of varying backgrounds. Today on the podcast is Elizabeth Ruzzo, Ph.D., founder of Adyn, a company on a mission to make scientific discovery more inclusive. Adyn recognizes that medical gender and race gaps have profound and devastating impacts on available diagnostics, treatment, and care. To close this gap, Adyn is starting out by using genetic and hormonal info, combined with big data, for a birth control test. This test could tell you the best hormonal birth control method to use for YOUR particular genetic and hormonal makeup. It's precision medicine that not only will help the individual accessing it, but will contribute to the (long-overdue!) advancement of healthcare research for biologically female people. Elizabeth discusses what the medical research gender gap is, why it's a problem, and how we can help close it. She also tells us more about why her company is first tackling the problem of "trial and error" birth control selection that has plagued the reproductive years of so many of us, how they're using actual research and data to do this, and where this technology may go next. Lastly, Elizabeth explains why Adyn won't call itself a “women's health company.” LINKS AND RESOURCES: Join Adyn's waitlist for early access to their Birth Control Test Want to make a more immediate impact on health equity? Share any of Adyn's Instagram posts on your Instagram Stories, tag @adynhealth, and they'll donate $1 to The Loveland Foundation's Therapy Fund. NERDY STUFF: Drugs and Medical Devices: Adverse Events and the Impact on Women's Health "Between 1997 and 2000, eight of the ten drugs withdrawn from the market posed a greater health risk for women either due to unanticipated gender-prescribing trends or sex-specific adverse drug reactions." More info about how women weren't included in trials until 1993: Women Were Left Out of Clinical Trials Until the ‘90s—This Is How It's Impacted Our Health (Well + Good) We Don't Have Enough Women in Clinical Trials — Why That's a Problem (Healthline) National Institutes of Health (NIH): History of Women's Participation in Clinical Research For those who love an academic article: from the journal of Pharmacy Practice - Women's involvement in clinical trials: historical perspective and future implications Articles about racist clinical algorithms: Millions of black people affected by racial bias in health-care algorithms (Nature) Racial bias skews algorithms widely used to guide care from heart surgery to birth, study finds (Stat News) Take Racism Out of Medical Algorithms (Scientific American) Why clinical algorithms fall short on race (American Medical Association) Hidden in Plain Sight — Reconsidering the Use of Race Correction in Clinical Algorithms (New England Journal of Medicine)

Enid Zentellis thought she knew everything about her Holocaust-surviving, Olympic swimming-qualifying, nudist Hungarian grandmother.  But when she discovered that she might have also been a spy for the Allies, it not only caused her to reconsider WWII history, it helped lift her out of her personal grief and helped to understand the power of individual resistance. Today on the podcast is award-winning filmmaker and newly-minted podcaster, Enid Zentellis. In her podcast, “How My Grandmother Won WWII” she discovers the truth about her Hungarian Jewish grandmother's covert work for British Special Operations during WWII, and in the process changes her entire conception of who were family was then and is today. On Femtastic Podcast, Enid discusses the extensive research and travel that went into discovering her grandmother's history, and how the process changed her. She talks about what it was like to do this research during a time when fascists and white supremacists were becoming a regular presence in Trump's America, when the parallels between modern-day America and WWII Hungary were becoming more and more glaring. Enid describes how others can begin to research their family history, whether or not that research results in shocking findings or mere glimpses into the contexts in which our forebears lived. 

Today on the podcast is Kacie Willis, creator of the podcast “You Heard Me Write," a Spotify Studios production.  Kacie is an arts advocate who brings together Atlanta-based creatives from different disciplines and backgrounds through art. The series has amassed wide popularity, recently trending on Spotify because of its wildly creative, immersive format. Each episode features emerging writers, musicians, sound designers and dynamic thinkers who collaborate on a multimedia project without knowing the identities of their counterparts. It might sound vague, but it *sounds* (pun intended) awesome when you actually hear it.  The show comes from Spotify's Sound Up program - an incubator program for the next generation of podcasters from underrepresented backgrounds. Sound Up was created specifically to tackle representation disparities in podcasting among women of color, who are vastly underrepresented in the audio space.   Today on Femtastic podcast, Kacie tells us more about the concept of the "You Heard Me Write" podcast and how it was inspired. She sheds light on the unique, organic way that her podcast spotlights the diverse arts community in Atlanta, and what it means that the series showcases the creative work of traditionally disenfranchised communities. Kacie also discusses how creatives from backgrounds that are traditionally underrepresented in the arts are changing the landscape of what art is celebrated and showcased in 2021, what it means to be a “patron of the arts” today, and which art is considered worth supporting. Lastly, we discuss why women of color are underrepresented in podcasting, how we can change this, and why expanding the diversity of podcasters is only going to make the podcast world and its offerings better and better.  “You Heard Me Write" is available exclusively on Spotify.

This year marks the 100 year anniversary of the founding of the American Birth Control League, and while we've come a long way since then, fierce battles for reproductive rights are still being waged today.  Today's interview is with Planned Parenthood's North Central States CEO Sarah Stoesz, a fierce advocate of over 20 years who has been fighting for reproductive health access in a reliably conservative part of the country. We're also joined by award-winning author Ames Sheldon, grand-niece of the founder of the Birth Control League of Massachusetts in the 1910s, and herself one of the founders of the Women's Studies field in the 1970s. On the podcast today, Ames will discuss the challenges to just legalize INFORMATION about family planning 100 years ago, and the history of access to birth control and abortion over the course of the last 100 years. Stoesz will explain how this history ties into the struggles for reproductive health access today, and what battles we are still fighting to ensure people have reproductive autonomy. Stoesz also tells us what we can do to help protect abortion access today in the midst of relentless political attacks and the very real threat that Roe faces in the Supreme Court this year.  NOTE: This interview was recorded in early July 2021, prior to Texas' passing of S.B. 8. LINKS: - Lemons in the Garden of Love by Ames Sheldon - Donate to an abortion fund - Donate to independent abortion providers: Independent providers serve three out of every five patients who have an abortion; yet they receive only a fraction of public support. They also lack the institutional support, visibility, name recognition, and fundraising capacity of national health centers and hospitals, making it especially difficult for the community-based providers to garner the resources they need and provide care in their communities. It's time to protect independent clinics, because they provide care when and where others will not, with a commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind. - Donate to Planned Parenthood - Donate to NARAL Pro-Choice America

After decades of pursuing public health policies to reduce unintended pregnancies in South Carolina, New Morning President & CEO Bonnie Kapp had a bold idea. What if we made birth control available at little to no cost in every community, in every county, for every person with a uterus in South Carolina, regardless of health insurance coverage? What if we did this against a backdrop of relentless political attacks on reproductive rights and a weak healthcare infrastructure, where 30% of counties have no OB/GYN providers, the average distance to a family medicine practitioner is 37 miles, and 29 of 46 counties in the state are 100% medically underserved? Against these odds, Choose Well was established in 2017. Choose Well works across a network of 119 health centers to provide free or low-cost birth control across South Carolina. In just four years, it has become the largest state-based contraceptive access program in the nation. Today on the podcast to talk about the impressive program are New Morning Foundation's President and CEO, Bonnie Kapp, and Chief Operating Officer, Sarah Kelly. Bonnie and Sarah discuss the backdrop of historical and contemporary barriers to reproductive health access in South Carolina, how the Choose Well program works and has managed to serve over 300,000 South Carolinians to date, what challenges they've encountered, and what lessons they've learned that can be applied to other states in the fight for equitable, comprehensive contraceptive access. LINKS AND RESOURCES: New Morning Foundation NoDrama.org (public-facing website about the Choose Well program and how to access its services) BOOK: Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty, Dorothy Roberts 40 Years of Human Experimentation in America: The Tuskegee Study FILM: No Más Bebés, 2015 documentary film:They came to have their babies. They went home sterilized. The story of immigrant mothers who sued county doctors, the state, and the US government after they were pushed into sterilizations while giving birth at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center during the 1960s and 70s. Led by an intrepid, 26-year-old Chicana lawyer and armed with hospital records secretly gathered by a whistle-blowing young doctor, the mothers faced public exposure and stood up to powerful institutions in the name of justice. FILM: Belly of the Beast, 2020 documentary film:When a courageous young woman and a radical lawyer discover a pattern of illegal sterilizations in California's women's prisons, they wage a near-impossible battle against the Department of Corrections. With a growing team of investigators inside prison working with colleagues on the outside, they uncover a series of statewide crimes - from inadequate health care to sexual assault to coercive sterilizations - primarily targeting women of color. This shocking legal drama captured over 7 years features extraordinary access and intimate accounts from currently and formerly incarcerated people, demanding attention to a shameful and ongoing legacy of eugenics and reproductive injustice in the United States.

Did you know that childcare is now more expensive than college in 33 states? While parenthood is beautiful, there's no need to go into it blind. If you're planning to start a family, now is the time to start planning for the financial costs of child-rearing, both from the perspective of short-term, monthly cash-flow and the long-term implications that parenthood-related career choices have on lifetime earnings and savings. Here to talk on the podcast are experts in financial family planning: Siran Cao and Mel Faxon, founders of Mirza, a platform helping empower parents and future parents to take control of their finances and plan for a family.  We discuss the "motherhood penalty," created by lack of access to paid leave, cultural roles that make mothers the default parent, and workplace cultures that penalize mothers - and the impact that this penalty has on long-term earnings and financial health. Siran and Mel also advise future parents on when they should start family financial planning, how to do so, and what to consider (hint: we discuss at length the shockingly high cost of childcare in the United States, which often catches parents off guard).  Lastly, Mel and Siran discuss public policy and workplace solutions to the lack of support for parents: what changes are needed for paid parental leave and affordable childcare, and how we must create a culture that promotes gender equity in parenting at all levels, including in the design of our workplace cultures and policies.    LINKS: - Care.com: This is How Much Child Care Costs in 2021 - CNBC: New Census data reveals no progress has been made on closing the overall gender pay gap (2018-2019 data) - INC: Every Child a Woman Has Cuts Her Salary by 4%. But Fathers Get a 6% Increase - Newsweek: Pandemic Could Cost Typical American Woman Nearly $600,000 in Lifetime Income   - Financial Post: Women are 30% less wealthy in retirement than men - Mirza: The Business Case For Paid Leave; how a paid family & medical leave plan would help employers - Join the movement to gain paid family and medical leave for everyone in the United States: https://paidleave.us/   - Project Matriarchs: College students launch virtual tutoring to help working moms with home schooling   - The Institute for Women's Policy Research Report: Still A Man's Labor Market "Women today earn just 49 cents to the typical men's dollar, much less than the 80 cents usually reported....The penalties of taking time out of the labor force are high—and increasing. For those who took just one year off from work, women's annual earnings were 39 percent lower...a much higher cost than women faced in the time period beginning in 1968, when one year out of work resulted in a 12 percent cut in earnings." - Study on the motherhood penalty:  "Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark" "Using Danish administrative data from 1980-2013 and an event study approach, we show that most of the remaining gender inequality in earnings is due to children. The arrival of children creates a gender gap in earnings of around 20% in the long run, driven in roughly equal proportions by labor force participation, hours of work, and wage rates." - Forbes: Why Being a Woman Can Cost You More than $400,000 "According to a new analysis of the wage gap by the National Women's Law Center, a woman who is starting her career now will earn $430,480 less than her male counterpart over the course of a 40-year career, if the current wage gap persists. For many minorities, the losses are even larger: African American women will earn $877,480 less over those 40 years, Native American women will earn $883,040 less and and Latina women will miss out on a whopping $1,007,080 in lifetime wages." - New York Times: Mounting Evidence of Advantages for Children of Working Mothers "In a new study of 50,000 adults in 25 countries, daughters of working mothers completed more years of education, were more likely to be employed and in supervisory roles and earned higher incomes. Having a working mother didn't influence the careers of sons, which researchers said was unsurprising because men were generally expected to work — but sons of working mothers did spend more time on child care and housework."   - The second shift reflected in the second generation: do parents' gender roles at home predict children's aspirations? Data from 326 children aged 7 to 13 years revealed that mothers' explicit beliefs about domestic gender roles predicted the beliefs held by their children. In addition, when fathers enacted or espoused a more egalitarian distribution of household labor, their daughters in particular expressed a greater interest in working outside the home and having a less stereotypical occupation.... These findings suggest that a more balanced division of household labor between parents might promote greater workforce equality in future generations.

On September 1, Texas enacted S.B. 8, an outrageous abortion ban that not only amounts to an effective total ban on abortions, but creates a bizarre bounty hunter situation where anyone can sue another person for assisting someone who has an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy - and be rewarded with $10,000 plus attorney fees if they succeed. In a country of draconian abortion laws, this is the most wack-a-doodle one yet, and probably the scariest - as the Supreme Court, in a signal of how they plan to treat any challenges to Roe (the next of which happens next month), declined to strike the law down. Things are heating up in Gilead, and it's not good.  Here to talk about what's going on in Texas is Elisa Wells, co-founder of Plan C Pills. Plan C Pills is a website that provides information on how Americans, in any state, can access abortion pills online. Elisa explains what's going on in Texas, how access is similarly limited in other states, and how mail-order abortion pills can help. No matter what state you're in, you can access abortion pills by mail, and Plan C can help you figure out how.  Elisa also discusses tons of resources for legal questions, medical questions, and general support related to seeking or completing a medicine abortion. Lastly and importantly, we discuss how you can help by spreading the word and donating to organizations increasing equitable access to abortion in Texas and all over the United States. Please check out the resources linked in the notes (below) and help us get the word out. Resources (in the order discussed on the podcast): PlanCPills.org  Aid Access “Vessel” documentary about Rebecca Gomperts and Women on Waves Journal article documenting the experience of buying abortion pills from online vendors that do not require a prescription and evaluating the active ingredient content of the pills received If/When/How's Repro Legal Helpline  MAHotline.org: The Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline; provides access to clinical support for people self-managing abortion Plan C Pills on Instagram and TikTok Donate to Plan C or Aid Access  Donate to abortion funds like Lilith Fund (Texas), Texas Equal Access Fund, or other Texas abortion funds. OR, split a donation between all of them at once, here (the TX funds banded together to create an ActBlue donation link for all of them) Check out the National Network of Abortion Funds to donate to them or your local abortion fund Fantastic article on how to help Texans right now: Abortion funds and beyond: Here are the best ways to help Texans Plan C Pills Ambassador of Information Program Interview Elisa did with Ms. Magazine on their Texas Road Trip to educate Texans on how to get abortion pills online (see photos of the mobile billboard and Cadillac Ranch art we discussed on the podcast) 

While women make up half the population, you may have noticed that women's health is treated like a niche category.  Today on the podcast to talk about innovation (or the historical lackthereof) in women's health is Amanda French, co-founder and CEO of Emme, a healthcare technology company that wants to bring birth control out of the 1950s.  Emme recently launched the first Smart Case for birth control (and accompanying app) to help pill users better manage their health and never miss a pill again. Amanda talks about why she decided to create the first Smart Case for birth control, how it works, and the problems it solves. She discusses why there is such a lack of innovation and funding in the women's health category, and how male-centric design perpetuates failures in products for women's reproductive health. She also talks about the historical "women's health information gap" and how FemTech, and investments in women-focused healthcare solutions, can address it. LINKS: Find Emme on all the social platforms, below! Instagram TikTok Facebook Medium LinkedIn Youtube 

While accepting her Academy Award for Best Actress in 2018, Frances McDormand shouted out a word that set the internet aflutter: Inclusion Rider.  In a 2019 Femtastic Oscars Edition podcast, Katie interviewed one of the co-authors of the inclusion rider, law partner in civil rights and employment, Kalpana Kotagal, to introduce us to the concept. An inclusion rider is a clause added onto a contract, and usually an A-lister's contract, that requires diversity both on-screen and off in the hiring for Hollywood productions. Today, Kalpana and fellow co-author Fanshen Cox, head of strategic outreach at Pearl Street Films, join the podcast to give us an update on how the Inclusion Rider has changed Hollywood since 2018. Hint: You've probably watched a film or TV show that was produced using an inclusion rider. ;)  What successes have they had in building the inclusion rider into productions? What challenges and push-back have they encountered, and where do we go next? How can those of us that don't work in Hollywood support the inclusion rider, both via the entertainment we consume AND how we bring the principles of the inclusion rider into our own organizations?  LINKS: - Color of Change's Inclusion Rider Explainer Video - Kalpana and Fanshen's Refinery29 op-ed on the latest version of the Inclusion Rider - Kalpana Kotagal on Twitter: @KalpanaKotagal - Fanshen Cox on Twitter: @Fanshen   - Cohen Milstein on Twitter: @CohenMilstein - Pearl Street Films on Twitter: @pearlstreet

As the cannabis industry is booming and on the precipice of federal legalization, it must figure out how it will traverse and address racial and gender equity in its workforce. While folks who have been incarcerated for non-violent cannabis offenses are overwhelmingly people of color, those getting funding and attention in the legalized cannabis industry have often been white men. STIIIZY is a brand changing that paradigm. A Los Angeles-based cannabis company in 5 states, women of color are at the heart of STIIIZY's continuous, pivotal success. The company breaks the "white bro in weed" mold - the vast majority of its employees are people of color, women are in leadership at all levels, and the brand has critical partnerships to support the #STOPASIANHATE movement and other community-led social justice initiatives.  Today on the podcast are STIIIZY executives Jackie Kim and Charmaine Chua. They discuss what it's like to be women of color in the industry, what they feel a diverse perspective brings to the market, how we can rectify the historic damage done to communities of color in the "war on drugs," why it's so important to them that their company is involved in social justice issues, and what they see as the future of the cannabis industry.  LINKS: STIIIZY products are available to individuals over the age of 21 in California, Nevada, Washington, Michigan, and Arizona.  

Medication abortion, or "the abortion pill," is an incredibly safe method of abortion that can be used up to about the first 11 weeks of pregnancy. Many people prefer this method to an in-clinic abortion due to the lower cost and the ability to manage the pregnancy termination to a large extent at home, on their own terms  - but there's plenty of stigma and confusion around it (like the fact that "the abortion pill" is actually a regimen of two different meds, taken as 5 pills total). Worse, there are medically unnecessary restrictions on the provision of medication abortion, passed by ideologues rather than by doctors. Chief among them is an FDA requirement that has historically dictated that the first pill in the two-part regimen be taken in a doctor's office - even though there is no scientific basis to this requirement. Restrictions like this do nothing to make abortion safer, but go a long way towards making abortion harder to get for many people. Today on the podcast we welcome back previous guest Aisha Chaudhri of Everthrive Illinois to discuss all things "MedAb:" what it is, how it works, why someone might prefer this method, what the restrictions are, how COVID has led to temporary loosening on some of these restrictions, and how we can advocate for the permanent removal of these medically unnecessary restrictions on what is a very safe, routine procedure. Resources: National Women's Health Network has been working to permanently remove the REMS: https://nwhn.org/permanently-lift-restrictions-on-the-abortion-pill/.  Up-to-date info on abortion laws and restrictions in your state: https://www.onlineabortionresources.org/covid-19 As of April 23, Tennessee has reinstated a 48 hour waiting period, necessitating two separate trips to a clinic for an abortion. Recent bans signed in Texas, Oklahoma, Idaho, and Arizona are NOT in effect. Abortion is LEGAL in all 50 states & Washington, DC until at least 20 weeks (calculated from the first day of your last menstrual period). No state-level bans or “heartbeat” bills are in effect at this time. Other online abortion resources: https://www.plancpills.org/ and https://aidaccess.org/

On March 22, 2020, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed an executive order following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that prohibited procedures that were not "medically necessary," claiming that this would preserve personal protective equipment and reduce demands on hospital-based care. Despite the fact that abortion rarely occurs in hospitals, Attorney General Ken Paxton chose to interpret the order to include abortion in defiance of professional medical associations' recommendations that access to abortion during the pandemic should not and need not be delayed or compromised. Researchers at the Texas Policy Evaluation Project and Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health  studied the impacts of the executive order, and their recently published studies reveal just how disruptive the executive order was for Texans seeking abortion care: emotionally, financially, and logistically. Joining the Femtastic Podcast today is Dr. Kari White, Associate Professor of Social Work and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin and lead investigator of the Texas Policy Evaluation Project, to discuss the negative impacts of this policy on patients, and why the disastrous consequences seen in Texas are a preview to what the United States would look like if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned.  Resources: - TxPEP's research brief summarizing patients' experiences getting care during the executive order - TxPEP's article in JAMA  - Facebook: @TxPEP   -Twitter: @TxPEPresearch  - Instagram: @TxPEP_Research

Today on the podcast is Jo Tolley, an advocate for disability, equity, and diversity. As someone who uses a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy, Jo spent most of her life running from the label of “disabled.” In the past few years, she has decided to embrace her disability to become an advocate to change our perceptions around disability from being a dichotomy between “disabled” and “non-disabled” people, to instead thinking of disability as just another facet of diversity. Jo talks on the podcast about what it means for equity to be achieved for the disability community, why terms like “able-bodied” bug her, how intersecting identities (such as her queerness) impact the experience of disability, and what she sees as the benefits of her disability. Jo wants to break down the boundaries of what we label as “disability,” and show that rather than a monolithic community, “If you've met one person with a disability, you've met one person with a disability.” Find more of Jo: Ijot :www.ijot.uk Jo's TedX Talk: “I Want Equity, Not Equality” Instagram: @i.jo.tolley Facebook: ijtolley

On May 17, 2021, the Supreme Court announced that it will hear Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a case out of Mississippi that would that ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Depending on how the court rules on this case (and given the conservative make-up, it's not looking good), Roe v. Wade could either be entirely overturned or the court could give the green-light to states to further restrict abortion access - which is already logistically inaccessible to millions of Americans of reproductive age. All in all, this is the most dangerous and credible threat to Roe since the decision was made in 1973.  To explain the potential ramifications of this case is Carole Joffe. Carole is a Professor in the Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) program in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, and the author of several books on abortion provision, including her most recent, "Obstacle Course: The Everyday Struggle to Get an Abortion in America." Carole describes what's at stake for millions of Americans, what accessing abortion might look like if Roe were to fall or be further restricted, and what YOU can do now to protect abortion access, regardless of the outcome of the case.  Resources: National Network of Abortion Funds: To support abortion access in your area, Find Your Local Abortion Fund. For help accessing abortion care, including financial and logistical support, check out this page. National Abortion Federation Hotline: 1-800-772-9100The NAF Hotline Fund operates the largest national, toll-free, multi-lingual Hotline for abortion referrals and financial assistance in the U.S. and Canada. They provide callers with accurate information, confidential consultation, options counseling, and referrals to providers of quality abortion care. They also provide case management services and limited financial assistance to help people afford the cost of their care and travel-related expenses. The Hotline is free and offers services to everyone, regardless of their individual situation. Read Carole's most recent books: "Obstacle Course: The Everyday Struggle to Get an Abortion in America" "Dispatches from the Abortion Wars: The Costs of Fanaticism to Doctors, Patients, and the Rest of Us" Reproduction and Society: Interdisciplinary Readings (Perspectives on Gender) Doctors of Conscience: The Struggle to Provide Abortion Before and After Roe V. Wade In this Twitter thread from 2018, when the bill was first introduced in Mississippi, Dr. Daniel Grossman, director at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, breaks down why the abortion ban is based in politics rather than science. Book about The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having―or Being Denied―an Abortion:  A groundbreaking and illuminating look at the state of abortion access in America and the first long-term study of the consequences—emotional, physical, financial, professional, personal, and psychological—of receiving versus being denied an abortion on women's lives.

We all know the term "work-life balance," but where do  relationships and intimacy fit in? And what about during a global pandemic when stress - especially for working parents - is at an all-time high? Today on the podcast is Naketa Ren Thigpen, psychotherapist, founder of ThigPro Balance and Relationship Management Institute, and fabulous host of the Balance Boldy Podcast. Regarded as the #1 Balance & Relationship Advisor in the world, Naketa has become the go-to resource for women entrepreneurs and power couples seeking to balance love and success without dimming or apologizing for their ambition. Today on the podcast Naketa discusses how to set boundaries and goals to achieve balance between work, life, and our relationships. As the author of "Selfish: Permission to Pause, Live, Love and Laugh Your Way to Joy," Naketa describes what it means to be intentionally selfish and how that is key to our success and happiness. As a relationship expert and sexologist, she also gives amazing advice for how amplify intimacy in all of our relationships (and especially our romantic relationships) in order to create joy and achieve whole success on our own terms - something many of us need after spending a year cooped up with our partners during the pandemic. 

CONTENT WARNING: Sexual assault, suicide, suicidal ideation, depression, institutional silencing  What happens when the trauma of sexual assault extends beyond the event itself? What happens when an academic institution that is meant to protect its students ends up perpetuating further harm? On today's episode, Katie interviews an anonymous guest who speaks about the experience of sexual assault that took place when she was an undergraduate student at Brown University and the aftermath of those events. While stories in the media of sexual assault are often portrayed as black and white, this particular narrative brings out why that approach often doesn't do justice to these complex, nuanced stories and the imperfect people behind them.  Resources: Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741); free and confidential mental health texting via SMS message. 24 hours a day in US, Canada, UK, and Ireland. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Available 24 hours. Languages: English, Spanish: 800-273-8255 National Sexual Assault Hotline.  Available 24 hours. 1-800-656-4673

What we see in movies and TV impacts our cultural understanding and normalization of topics - and abortion is no different. That's why every year a team of researchers at UCSF's Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) analyzes and reports on film and TV portrayals of abortion. Today on the podcast is Steph Herold, a researcher with the Abortion On-Screen Team here to discuss the 2020 report. Steph tells us how, where, and how accurately abortion was portrayed on-screen in 2020. She details how on-screen portrayals underrepresented people of color, parents, and barriers to abortion seen in real life, while overrepresenting teen patients and in-clinic (versus medication) abortions. Most importantly, she tells us why this all matters.   Show Resources: - To view 2020 and all prior-year reports, go here - To view ANSIRH's running database of on-screen abortion storylines OR to contact them to suggest a storyline not in their database, go here - Email our guest stephanie.herold@ucsf.edu if you have any questions or want to share an episode/film with abortion in it.  - Find Steph on twitter at @Stephherold and her colleague Gretchen at @gesisson

You may have heard that poorer countries across the globe are not going to have access to the COVID-19 vaccine for a loooong time. If you live in a rich country, why should that matter to you? The short answer: because the pandemic can't truly end in one place if it doesn't end in all places. Oh, and also because it's the right thing to do.  Today on the podcast, we welcome back guest Priti Krishtel, co-founder and co-executive director of global medicine access organization, I-MAK. Priti has been working for nearly two decades in the movement to create a more equitable and just medicine system for all, and COVID-19 is the perfect case study for why I-MAK's mission is to fix the broken patent system that keeps affordable drugs out of reach for so many.  Today on the podcast, we discuss the process countries undertake to secure vaccine supplies for their citizens and how that money-driven process advantages richer countries while disadvantaging poorer ones. Priti talks about existing global efforts to create vaccine equity, and how they have fallen short due to the greed of both pharma companies AND countries like the US. We also dive into how our antiquated customs around patents and intellectual property in pharmaceuticals create a huge hindrance to addressing a global pandemic with any useful speed, and why that will hurt ALL of us in the long run. Lastly, Priti discusses the lessons we can learn from other countries' handling of the pandemic, and particularly countries in the Global South, and what's ahead in the fight for global, equitable access to medicines. [NOTE: This interview was recorded on February 16, 2021. Details of the progress of global vaccine deployment may have changed slightly between the recording date and this podcast's release date in late March 2021, but broad themes remain the same.] Resources: - Priti's New York Times Op-Ed: How the Patent and Trademark Office Can Promote Racial Justice  - The Overwhelming Racism Of COVID Coverage by Indi Samarajiva

In Femtastic's first-ever Spotlight Series, we focus this and the previous episode on bringing awareness to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) or Domestic Violence (DV).   The months of COVID-associated isolation, fear, and economic anxiety have exacerbated IPV. In today's episode, we focus on emotional abuse, an equally (and as our guest argues, more) damaging type of abuse that can occur in all types of relationships, from romantic to parent-child, to workplace and beyond.  Today's guest is Beverly Engel, a psychotherapist who specializes in emotional abuse. Beverly details what emotional abuse looks like, how it shows up in all types of relationships (romantic relationships, queer and trans relationships, family relationships, etc.). Focusing mainly on romantic and familial relationships, Beverly discusses the tactics abusers use, the typical "profile" of an abuser, how abusers use shame to control their victims, and the red flags to spot early-on in a relationship that a partner may be emotionally abusive. She also discusses how COVID-19 worsens emotional abuse. Beverly offers resources for those in emotionally abusive relationships and for friends and family who suspect their loved one may be in an emotionally abusive relationship. Beverly is the author of several books about emotional abuse, including her latest book, Escaping Emotional Abuse. Find links to her other books in the resources below. Resources from Beverly: For questions, contact Beverly Engel: beverly@beverlyengel.com Beverly's books on Emotional Abuse: Escaping Emotional Abuse The Emotionally Abused Woman Encouragement for the Emotionally Abused Woman Healing Your Emotional Self Beverly's website: www.beverlyengel.com  (resources, articles, and blogs about emotional abuse, plus how to contact her for counseling services)  HealMyShame.com: Great source of articles, blogs, and other information on emotional abuse and shame Article recommended by Beverly Engel: How to Leave an Abusive Relationship: 18 Expert Tips by Linda Rodgers  Intimate Partner Violence Resources (all hotlines are confidential): National Domestic Violence Hotline (text LOVEIS to 22522 or call 1-800-799-7233) Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741); free and confidential mental health texting via SMS message. 24 hours a day in US, Canada, UK, and Ireland. The Network/La Red (IPV support for LGBQ/T folks as well as folks in SM/kink and polyamorous communities) 617-742-4911  Assistance with Finding a Domestic Violence Shelter: Call Safe Horizon at 1-800-621-HOPE (4673)  Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-422-4453); 24-hour, confidential hotline with resources to aid in every child abuse situation. Voice, text, and online messaging available. Gay Men's Domestic Violence Project; 800-832-1901 (24-hour emergency hotline) Trans Lifeline US: 77-565-8860; Canada: 877-330-6366; Trans Lifeline's Hotline is an anonymous peer support phone service run by trans people for our trans and questioning peers. Call us if you need someone trans to talk to, even if you're not in crisis or if you're not sure you're trans. Se habla español. Family & Friends Line provides peer support for friends, partners, family members and professionals supporting trans loved ones and community members. To access this service, call our main hotline and ask for our Family & Friends Line.  How to Identify Abuse (from the National Domestic Violence Hotline) How to Support Others (from the National Domestic Violence Hotline) Hotlines for LGBTQ+ folks (crisis intervention, suicide, IPV, youth and runaway info, HIV/AIDS)

[TW: domestic violence, sexual assault, physical violence, emotional abuse] A sad but true fact: more than 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the US will experience intimate partner violence (IPV). Half of all female homicides are from a current or past male intimate partner. And these are just the estimates we have among cisgender people and those who report their abuse. But with the compounded stress and isolation of COVID-19, IPV has reached a tragic, all-time high.  In Femtastic's first ever Spotlight Series, we focus the next two episodes on bringing awareness to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) or Domestic Violence (DV).   The months of COVID-associated isolation, fear, and economic anxiety have ignited IPV to new and often deadly ends; specifically, domestic violence homicides have increased dramatically. Today, we focus on the type of abuse more commonly associated with IPV: physical violence. In the next episode, we focus on emotional abuse, an equally damaging type of IPV. To discuss physical IPV today, Femtastic's guest is Kathryn Jacob, President and CEO of SafeHaven of Tarrant County, a DV shelter in Fort Worth, Texas. Kathryn has been working for over 20 years to shine a spotlight on the issue of domestic violence. As an expert in this field, she has a wealth of knowledge and leads the industry to develop early intervention techniques to reduce DV's fatal outcomes.   Today on the podcast, Kathryn discusses why and how IPV occurs, how it shows up in all types of romantic relationships (straight; queer; among trans and non-binary folks, etc.), misconceptions around IPV, how COVID has exacerbated it, and what you can do to help. Resources (all hotlines are confidential): National Domestic Violence Hotline (text LOVEIS to 22522 or call 1-800-799-7233) Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741); free and confidential mental health texting via SMS message. 24 hours a day in US, Canada, UK, and Ireland. The Network/La Red (IPV support for LGBQ/T folks as well as folks in SM/kink and polyamorous communities) 617-742-4911  Assistance with Finding a Domestic Violence Shelter: Call Safe Horizon at 1-800-621-HOPE (4673)  Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-422-4453); 24-hour, confidential hotline with resources to aid in every child abuse situation. Voice, text, and online messaging available. Gay Men's Domestic Violence Project; 800-832-1901 (24-hour emergency hotline) Trans Lifeline US: 77-565-8860; Canada: 877-330-6366; Trans Lifeline's Hotline is an anonymous peer support phone service run by trans people for our trans and questioning peers. Call us if you need someone trans to talk to, even if you're not in crisis or if you're not sure you're trans. Se habla español. Family & Friends Line provides peer support for friends, partners, family members and professionals supporting trans loved ones and community members. To access this service, call our main hotline and ask for our Family & Friends Line.  How to Identify Abuse (from the National Domestic Violence Hotline) How to Support Others (from the National Domestic Violence Hotline) Hotlines for LGBTQ+ folks (crisis intervention, suicide, IPV, youth and runaway info, HIV/AIDS) HealMyShame.com: Great source of articles, blogs, and other information on emotional abuse and shame (recommended by spotlight series guest Beverly Engel, an expert psychotherapist on emotional abuse) Article recommended by Beverly Engel: How to Leave an Abusive Relationship: 18 Expert Tips by Linda Rodgers  How to support SafeHaven of Tarrant County

Although the country has justifiably turned its attention to the COVID-19 crisis, maternal mortality remains a public health crisis.The maternal mortality rate in the United States is higher than any other high-income nation. Approximately 60% of maternal deaths are preventable. Inexcusably, women of color are disproportionately impacted by this crisis. Black women experience mortality as a result of complications of pregnancy at a rate THREE TO FOUR times higher than white women. American Indian and Alaska Native women die at a rate two to three times higher. This must stop.   Today on the podcast is Dr. Tamika Auguste, an OB/GYN at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, and a member of the Board of Directors for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).    Dr. Tamika Auguste discusses the American maternal mortality crisis, and in particular, why there are such stark racial disparities in maternal mortality. As a contributor to ACOG's guidance on optimizing postpartum care, Dr. Auguste also discusses why postpartum care is so important, what often gets overlooked in postpartum care, how we can ensure moving forward that postpartum care is more accessible to everyone - both so that we can reduce maternal mortality and generally increase the health and wellbeing of postpartum people.   Dr. Auguste and Femtastic host Katie Breen discuss both clinical solutions and public policy solutions to this crisis, and what you can do to help.    Lastly, Dr. Auguste tells us about ACOG's new book, available on January 26, 2021, called Your Pregnancy and Childbirth: Month to Month. Parents who are in the pre-conception, pregnancy, or postpartum period can learn more about pregnancy from the top medical experts on the topic. Offering real clinical guidance without the clinical jargon, this straightforward book breaks down each step of pregnancy, month-by-month, in ways that every person can understand and relate to during each phase of the pregnancy experience. It answers parents' most pressing questions, including what bodily changes to expect each month; changes in fetal development; how to manage self-care; how to think about pain relief during labor and delivery; how to handle travel, work, and exercise; COVID-19 considerations; and a new chapter where new parents and parents-to-be can find quick answers to frequently asked questions.  Resources: - Buy ACOG's new book from independent booksellers - Learn more about the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), including their helpful guidance for handling COVID-19 precautions and vaccinations in pregnancy, delivery, postpartum, and breastfeeding    

Have you wondered what sorts of legal protections you have in the face of life's new COVID complexities? COVID-19 has impacted all facets of life where some legal know-how would be useful: in housing and leasing, student loans, travel and weddings, workplace accommodations, and more. Renowned celebrity attorney, comedian, host of the podcast "Girl Is that Legal?", and star on the new dating reality show “Ready to Love,” on OWN, Symone Redwine is here to help. On the podcast today, she offers legal advice that certainly comes in handy during COVID, but much of which is applicable regardless of a pandemic - and worth knowing! What rights do you have if you can't pay your rent? Your student loans? What legal obligations does your employer have if you fear COVID infection at work (or have other reasons, like pregnancy or an injury, that necessitate some sort of workplace accommodations)? If you are in a physically abusive relationship with a cohabitating partner, how can you break your portion of the lease? How can you get your money back due to canceled events like travel or weddings? And can employers require that employees and customers get the COVID-19 vaccine (or any vaccine, for that matter)? Learn all this and more, and walk away with some legal knowledge your parents would be proud of. Links and Resources: CDC Eviction Moratorium Declaration Form (this is the form you'll need to protect yourself from eviction if you can't pay your rent due to COVID-19) Watch Symone on the OWN Network's Ready to Love Season 3 Have you seen the video of Hannah Viverette, whose video went viral after a man tried to break into her home while she was taping herself dancing on TikTok? It turns out the man who broke into her home was a neighbor and maintenance man in her building. Hannah, who is a single mom, wanted to immediately move out but her landlord would not let her to break the lease, especially during a pandemic.  Symone is now representing Hannah and wants to help more people know what their rights are during this time.

Lord knows people have LOTS of questions about the COVID-19 vaccine. So it's time to get them answered!  On the podcast today is Stanford MD/PhD candidate Maria Filsinger Interrante, an expert in vaccine research and development! Femtastic host Katie Breen (who herself has a Master of Public Health from Harvard) asks Maria all of the most frequently asked questions and concerns about the vaccine. Is it safe? Was it "rushed?" Does it cause infertility? Can it change your DNA? Will it still work on the new variants of COVID-19?  Listen in to get all of these questions and more answered, and hopefully walk away feeling a little bit of...dare we say...hope? Have additional questions about the vaccine? DM @Femtastic_Podcast on Instagram or Facebook, or shoot Katie an email at katie@femtasticpodcast.com or via the contact form on FemtasticPodcast.com to have them answered! And remember: there's no such thing as a stupid question!  Resources from Maria (in her own words): (1) My very talented classmates Vongai Mlambo and Ryan Brewster worked with me to make this vaccine infographic, which folks are welcome to share if they find it useful. (2) I've gotten a lot of my COVID vaccine know-how from a wonderful, nerdy podcast called This Week In Virology (TWiV). I'd highly recommend that for folks who want a deeper dive into the science behind the pandemic and the vaccines.  (3) I would love for more people to know about Maurice Hilleman, who helped to invent and deploy a shocking number of vaccines during his life, including many of the vaccines that we all get as children. He is credited with saving, though his work on vaccines, about 6-8 million lives per year, and I think his example illustrates how powerfully science can be used to save lives. There's a wonderful book about his life and career called Vaccinated, by Paul Offit, that I'd encourage budding scientists or those interested in a very inspiring story to read. [Editor's Note: Katie would also HIGHLY recommend the RadioLab podcast episode called The Great Vaccinator about Maurice Hilleman!]  

Ever feel like you have no idea what to make of the media's coverage of China? How do we separate truth from xenophobia?  What does it mean to be "tough on China?" And how do we look beyond news reports and politics to see the nuance inherent in a nation of 1.4 billion?  This episode of Femtastic features Dori Jones Yang, an expert who has spent her entire career helping Americans better understand China. Dori helps us separate fact from fiction and see China for what it is: not a monolith, but a complicated, imperfect, impressive, and wildly resilient nation.  She explains China's place in the geopolitical environment; what they got wrong and got right about coronavirus; the good and the bad of China's powerful central government; American diplomatic policy towards China (past, present, and should-be-future); and what to make of China's rise.  Jones Yang's new book, When the Red Gates Opened: A Memoir of China's Reawakening, tells of her experiences as a young foreign correspondent in China during the 1980s, a time marked by the both the euphoria of a post-isolationist China and the despair of Tiananmen. Learn more and find her memoir wherever books are sold.

After the execution of George Floyd earlier this year, Black entrepreneur, mother, and activist Lydia Elle found herself answering lots of questions from the white women in her social circles. They wanted to know how to teach their kids about racism, how to understand the world of parenting through the eyes of a Black mother, how to raise anti-racist kids, and how to talk about racism to their friends and family. Eventually, these conversations inspired Lydia to launch courses like "A Black Mother's Answers to White Women's Questions," and merchandise store Supplies for Allies so that these conversations were accessible to everyone.    In this interview, Lydia discusses what led her to this work, the kinds of questions she answers in her courses, and the most common mistakes she sees well-intentioned people making when trying to be allies. She talks about how she navigates the emotional toll of her work, offers guidance for white people who may want to ask questions of their Black friends about racism, and provides a frame for thinking about the tokenization of Black people in white anti-racism work and spaces. Lastly, she offers advice for how white people can start on their journeys towards becoming anti-racists and how that work can be sustained (hint: check out her free Anti-Racist Advent Calendar this month)!   Resources: Course: "A Black Mother's Answers to White Women's Questions" This is an in-depth and honest conversation about racism and understanding the world of parenting through the eyes of a Black mother. There are many lessons that will help you handle  how to have the conversation of racism with your child.  Course: "We Need to Talk: Racism and Parenting" In this course you will learn learn how Lydia handles the racism talk with her child to help as you have "the conversation." This will not be comfortable, but it will be effective as we work to be agents of change to create a better world for their future.   Course: "We Need To Talk - Racism and The Friends and Family Discount" It's time to talk about racism and the friends and family in our circle. The "discounts" and allowances of racist behavior has resulted in fatalities. Yes, I know this may be hard, but it is necessary because lives depend on it. So let's talk.   Supplies for Allies store The Allyship Holiday Calendar (free!)

Imagine if you could easily get your birth control over-the-counter, just as you do with other safe, effective medicines like Tylenol and cough drops. Today's guest is Aisha Chaudhri, a reproductive justice advocate and leader of the Contraceptive Justice Project at EverThrive Illinois, who is working to increase access to comprehensive contraceptive care - including by making oral contraceptives available without a prescription. In this episode, Aisha discusses why more methods of contraception should be made available over-the-counter (OTC) and the reasons why the United States is one of the few countries in the world where they are not already (hint: it's not for any scientific reason). Aisha explains how increasing the availability of OTC methods of contraception creates greater equity in healthcare by increasing financial and physical access to these medications, and allowing people to care for themselves outside of a clinical setting and regardless of insurance status. Aisha tells listeners what they can do to help make OTC oral contraceptives a reality in the US.    Episode Resources: What can we do to help? Free the Pill campaign is a public-facing education & awareness campaign created by the OCs OTC working group with highly shareable and informative resources! For people working in healthcare settings or sexual & reproductive health nonprofits, you can sign on to the statement of purpose from the Oral Contraceptives Over-The-Counter (OCs OTC) working group (convened by Ibis Reproductive Health, an international research institution) The majority of countries across the world already offer oral contraceptives (OCs) OTC. Here is a world map showing where the pill is OTC and a more detailed world map showing the different types of OTC status for the pill. Currently there is not an OC available OTC, but there are many states that already have coverage for OTC contraceptives both in Medicaid and insurance: Medicaid Coverage of OTC Contraceptives by State (26 states plus DC) Insurance Coverage of OTC Contraceptives by State (12 states plus DC)   The Oral Contraceptives (OCs) Over-the-Counter (OTC) Working Group and its supporters: doctors, nurses, reproductive health experts, and social + reproductive justice groups are all part of the working group and many more have signed onto the statement of purpose Legal and policy resources: Hill Memo – OTC Coverage Overview for Federal Policies NWLC Webinar – An Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill Is Coming: Building the Legal & Policy Framework for Insurance Coverage Accessibility              

Robyn Gigl is a transgender attorney and activist focused on protecting and expanding the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. In this interview with Katie Breen, Robyn describes the impact the Trump administration and recent Supreme Court rulings had on LGBTQ+ rights and discrimination protections, and what she sees as the legal (and political) challenges and opportunities ahead as we head into the Biden administration. Robyn describes her own experience of transitioning as a transgender woman in 2008, when she was in her 50s and a managing partner in a law firm she had worked at for 30 years. Lastly, she offers thoughtful advice on how heterosexual and cisgender people can be better allies to the LGBTQ+ community.  Visit Robyn's website to learn more about her and to preorder her upcoming novel, By Way of Sorrow, available on March 30, 2021.

In the wake of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death and Trump's nomination of judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the resulting vacancy...we have a lot to discuss. Lawyer Kimya Forouzan revisits Femtastic to talk to host Katie Breen about the significance of Amy Coney Barrett's nomination. What are her potential paths to appointment? Is there anything we can do about it? Why is her role on the court so concerning? Is Roe v. Wade doomed? Find out all this and more.    Resources from the show: My Beloved World, memoir by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor Alliance for Justice profile on Amy Coney Barrett How to call your Senator: (202) 224-3121 Planned Parenthood Action Fund  NARAL Pro-Choice America National Network of Abortion Funds If/When/How's Repro Legal Helpline:  a free, confidential helpline where you can get information about your legal rights regarding self-managed abortion National Advocates for Pregnant Women: legal advocacy and organizing around criminalization of pregnancy outcomes and self-managed abortion  

How do we change not only the stereotypes of who is a scientist, but the systems themselves that have created and perpetuated these stereotypes? Katie discusses with the hosts of the Webby-nominated Dope Labs podcast, Drs. Titi Shodiya and Zakiya Whatley.  Dope Labs isn't your typical science podcast because Titi and Zakiya are not your "typical" scientists. In fact, these two black women scientists are on a mission to break the mold of what we think of as a "typical" scientist. The Duke University-trained PhDs created Dope Labs to empower those who are most often left out of scientific fields: women and people of color. The hosts bring their whole selves to exploring scientific questions, bringing a Black lens and a penchant for pop culture to make science relatable and fun. This is reflected in their broad range of topics, such as astronomy, "cuffing season," why the concept of biological race is a lie, and vibranium (the fictional metal from "Black Panther").  On today's Femtastic Podcast, Titi and Zakiya explain why it's so important to speak about science in a way that anybody can understand and how they want to empower people of color to bring their whole selves to scientific careers. They also talk about how we must strive beyond the goal of mere "representation" of people of color in science and instead think about how we create systems and cultures that allow marginalized people to have the power, freedom of expression, and respect that majority groups get by default.  "For us, it's just about having folks feel like they can show up as their for-real selves to their slice of the scientific community, and not have to change themselves or hide parts of themselves because they feel like it will be something that holds them back in their career."

The Supreme Court of the United States just released long-awaited decisions on two highly consequential reproductive rights cases. In June Medical Services v. Russo, the court weighed in on whether states can enact a specific type of sham law to limit access to abortion care (TLDR; they said not *that* type of law but others might be cool). In Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, the court decided whether your (yes, your) private employer or university can deny coverage of birth control based on their religious or moral beliefs (spoiler: yes, even if you don't work for a religiously-affiliated organization). Suffice it to say that these two decisions have HUGE implications for reproductive rights in the United States. On the podcast to break it all down is attorney Kimya Forouzan, a legal fellow of reproductive rights law organization If/When/How who is currently working within the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF). Kimya explains what happened in these cases and what it all means for our reproductive rights moving forward.    RESOURCE MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE: For anyone with questions or concerns about their birth control coverage, particularly in light of the decision in Little Sisters of the Poor, the National Women's Law Center (who worked on the amicus brief for the case) runs a free hotline called CoverHer to help triage any birth control insurance coverage questions.

Amidst all of the COVID-19 news, one thing you may have missed: anti-choice lawmakers have been seizing upon the opportunity to use coronavirus as an excuse to enact abortion restrictions. Femtastic host Katie Breen speaks with Ravina Daphtary of abortion rights organization All* Above All about the methods lawmakers have been using to use COVID-19 policies to restrict abortion access. They also discuss how the issues of racial injustice, COVID, and reproductive rights are all tied together - and how those intersections are playing out in current events. SHOW NOTES: Want to learn more about the Hyde Amendment? Listen to Femtastic episode #21: "How the Hyde Amendment Harms Women" from November 2017, featuring Morgan Hopkins of All* Above All.

In the wake of #MeToo and several high-profile sexual harassment cases in the news, many of us are left wondering...what can we do if we think we're the victim of sexual harassment or gender discrimination at work? What options do we have? How do we protect ourselves AND our careers? Attorney Vince White joins Femtastic Podcast to help guide us through these questions. White is a partner at a NYC law firm specializing in sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace. In an interview with Femtastic host Katie Breen, White details what sexual harassment and gender discrimination may look like, what options victims have for both non-legal and legal recourse, and what they may expect from the process. White also talks about how #MeToo and Trump's election have changed the makeup of the clients that seek his help, and how his field of law still has a long way to go in terms of the gender makeup of its attorneys and adequate representation of transgender clients. 

Sometimes, your kids get on your nerves. But how parents respond in those situations is incredibly important to their children's development and their own mental health as parents. Hunter Clarke-Fields is a mindfulness mentor, host of the Mindful Mama podcast, and author of the new book "Raising Good Humans." In an interview with Femtastic host Katie Breen, Hunter shares how parents can teach themselves practical mindfulness skills so that when their kids inevitably press their buttons, they can respond in a less reactive and more loving way. While this is obviously great for kids, Hunter also explains how in a world with ever-increasing pressure on parents to be "perfect," getting out of the reactivity-guilt cycle is a lifeline for parents too. Hunter likes to ask, "Can we love ourselves into being better parents?" The answer is yes.

Caitlin Blunnie started publishing her art as @liberaljane on Instagram in 2016. She has since gained a huge following by creating art that serves as (literally) colorful social commentary on issues of bodily autonomy such as abortion rights, queer liberation, and justice for survivors of sexual trauma. Katie Breen interviews Caitlin on Femtastic to discuss how she got involved in "art as activism," what inspires her, how to support other artist-activists, and how to get involved in activism of your own making (artistic or otherwise). 

Katie Breen interviews Farah Melendes, the first-ever Political Director for the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA). As the head of campaign services for the organization in 2018, Farah supported DAGA's success flipping four AG seats blue, keeping eight open seats blue, and reelecting six incumbents. On the podcast, she discusses how DAGA succeeded in electing the most diverse group of Democratic AGs in history, their recent 1881 Initiative to elect more women AGs, how DAGA became the first Democratic campaign committee to require candidates be pro-choice in order to be eligible for endorsement, and why it's so important that AGs reflect the diversity of the populations they serve. Farah also offers her advice for women interested in becoming involved in politics.   ‍