We heard from mothers begging for a new Alabama for their children, devoted faith leaders who prayed the law into existence, angry citizens who did not feel represented in the mostly male-dominated legislature and just about every opinion in between. We think you should read them all – it shows that women in Alabama are as rich and nuanced as is the diverse landscape of our state – but here’s 18 to get you started. The stories featured in this newsletter are just a small sample of the amazing responses we received. If you’d like to read more, you can do that here. Hevan Lunsford: I can’t just be a mother grieving the loss of her son Hevan Lunsford, of Prattville, shares her experience with a late-term abortion after her son Sebastian was diagnosed with a fetal abnormality at 20 weeks. “My grief is complicated so deeply by the unnecessary stigma and regulation of abortion. I can’t just be a mother grieving the loss of her son. I have to be an advocate for my son. I have to be an abortion educator. I have to be a political activist. It’s exhausting. Everyday in Alabama women like me are called murderers and harassed by Christians and pro-life extremists,” Lunsford said. Dejuana Thompson: I choose civil disobedience Dejuana Thompson, founder of Woke Vote, called out college republicans of Birmingham Southern College, who equated the bombing of 16th Street Baptist church that killed four African-American girls to the sentencing of doctors who would perform abortions. “I’m pro-choice. I choose civil disobedience in the face of this kind of social violence. For that, Alabama and this nation should rejoice,” Thompson said. Rachel Blackmon Bryars: Is Alabama really a bad place for women? Rachel Blackmon Bryars, a senior fellow at the Alabama Policy Institute in Huntsville, explains her disdain for the casual slogans the reproductive rights movement has grown accustom to. “Abortion has also become such an accepted wall-hanging that we are desensitized to what it actually is,” Bryars said. Tabitha Isner: If they really believed every life is precious Tabitha Isner, 2018 Democratic Nominee for Congress in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, calls out Gov. Kay Ivey for the hypocrisy of championing life in the womb, but no where else. “The notion that every life is precious is so important. It’s at the heart of the Christian gospel and it’s a simple but life-altering rule to live by. The only trouble is, Gov. Ivey doesn’t mean it. And neither do the people who support this bill,” Isner said. Maria Oswalt: Every elective abortion kills a human being Maria Oswalt, a Muscle Shoals native now living in Pittsburgh and working for Rehumanize International, discusses the importance of all life being free from violence. “There’s a phrase often quoted in the pro-life movement that our goal is to make sure all children are “protected in law and loved in life.” While we still have a long way to go, abortion rates are persistently falling, and legislation like this gives me hope that we are on the right path for a more nonviolent future,” Oswalt said. Isabel Hope: a teen girl’s take on growing up in Alabama Isabel Hope, a student in Tuscaloosa and founder of the Meddling Kids Movement, talks about growing up in the state of Alabama and not feeling represented by her state legislature. “I turn 18 next year and I will be voting for a person who cares about my life more than my ability to provide one,” Hope said. Idrissa Snider: The meaning of pro-life Dr. Idrissa N. Snider, of Trussville, examines being pro-life through an intersectional lens. “I am pro-life, yet I still find it problematic to legally force my personal views upon others, particularly when I know economic disenfranchisement and systemic racism await too many black children once they are born. These issues plague the quality of life for black children every day in our state.” Tera Wages, a letter to daughters of Alabama Tera Wages, a mother and entrepreneur in Florence, pens a letter to her daughter about the importance of recognizing privilege and standing up for what she believes in. “But my girl, we live in a country that can value white over black, straight over gay, politics over education and men over women. And Alabama continues to be a magnifying glass for it. Our home, however will not be an example of this thinking,” Wages said. Yashica Robinson, my patients are complex, unique, thoughtful Dr. Yashica Robinson, the Medical Director at the Alabama Women’s Center for Reproductive Alternatives, speaks for her patients despite knowing her job could be in jeopardy when the abortion ban law goes into effect. “Alabamians deserve better. I envision a world in which insurance covers the full cost of comprehensive reproductive health care, including abortion, and in which all people have access to the high-quality health care they need to create the families they dream of. I hope that the women of Alabama will one day be seen as the whole, deserving people that they are,” Robinson said. Amy Edge: We are pro-abundant life Amy Edge, director of a pregnancy resource center in Dothan, defends the notion that Christians are only pro-birth and shares her experience working with mothers with unplanned pregnancies. “One of the many pro-choice arguments is that the pro-life side cares only about bringing the baby into the world but is unwilling to help after delivery. This is simply untrue. The philosophy of our parent organization, CareNet, is that we are pro-abundant life. We want the best life for both the mother and the child,” Edge said. Pamela Casey: I will champion the cause of infertility Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey spoke about the struggles of infertility and how it relates to the abortion ban. “I have never found myself pregnant with a child that I did not want. And, because I have never been in either position, I can only understand one: How it feels to be pregnant with a baby that is wanted. My baby’s life began at conception through in vitro fertilization, and he was and is wanted. So, today, I am going to celebrate the gift of life and our beautiful son who is currently sleeping next to me. I’m going to champion the cause of infertility that so many women suffer from in this state,” Casey said. Lacey Cencula: ‘Stop giving me the sports I.Q. test’ Lacey Cenula, a recent MBA graduate at The University of Alabama and prolific UA sports Twitter presence, talks about the constant barrage of condescending the male-dominated SEC football Twitter. “Instead of giving women the inquisition treatment about sports, enjoy having another person to discuss your interests with, no matter the gender,” Cenula said. Cynthia Mosteller: The true meaning of ‘pro-life' Cythia Mosteller, director of the Marietta Johnson Museum in Fairhope, describes her experience with a problematic pregnancy and the death of her newborn son. “It strikes me as sad and moreover a crime against humanity that our State and our Country which purports to be God-fearing would not cherish the lives of all people and not just those in-utero. It seems hypocritical to me but as I said I am not shy and I am not afraid to call it the way I see it,” Mosteller said. Brittany Howard: Women’s bodies do not belong to you Brittany Howard, yes the Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes and Athens native, said she is ashamed the men who voted for the abortion ban represent her home. “These women’s bodies do not belong to you. Practice your religion in your life. Feel however you want to feel and believe what you must but leave these women out of it. Do not pretend you care about human life,” Howard said. Laura Núñez: Brown women are sexualized in Alabama Laura Núñez, program assistant at the Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network, moved to Alabama from California two years ago. She speaks about the rampant sexualization of latinx women in Alabama. “I spend a lot of time processing what it means to be a brown woman in Alabama. Brown women are constantly reduced to being the object of someone’s sexual fantasy. We are “exotic” but still adjacent enough to whiteness that we are palatable to white folks,” Núñez said. Robyn Hammontree: keep fighting for Alabama women Robyn Hammontree, an educator in Tuscaloosa, talks about moving to Alabama and her desire to stay and fight for the women of Alabama. “When you love a place -- really love it -- you can’t abandon it. So I am here. I am staying. I am surviving this and fighting today, tomorrow, and as many days after that as it takes. I hope that when you think of Alabama, you think of me and the thousands of women like me who are trying to change this state and make it a place all of us can breathe free,” Hammontree said. Savannah Crabtree: We will stay. We will fight. Savannah Crabtree, 23, talks about the fear she felt when Gov. Kay Ivey signed the abortion ban into law less than 24 hours after the bill passed in the Senate. “The Alabama women I know would have – and did – do everything in their power to make sure that our state, the state we know and love despite her consistently being bashed in national media as “redneck” or “Trump Nation,” treated every person with or without a uterus with compassion and dignity,” Crabtree said. Tasha Coryell: A better Alabama than this Tasha Coryell, an author based in Tuscaloosa talks about how her struggle with fertility has coincided with the legislation of female bodies. “Although I’m sad each month when I learn I’m not pregnant, I also feel a sense of relief because it means that I don’t yet have to worry about what will happen if I have a miscarriage or pregnancy complications or about Alabama’s high rate of infant mortality,” Coryell said. |
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