Elaina Ramsey

December 10, 2018

Action Alerts

Don't Let Up — #StopTheBans

Elaina Ramsey

December 10, 2018

Action Alerts

It’s a new week, but with new abortion bans making its way through the Ohio legislature. We must stop these bans by the end of the year before they become law!

Check out the recap below to find out how we helped delay — and all but stopped — the six-week abortion ban (House Bill 258) last week. But now a new threat to reproductive freedom has developed.

Tomorrow, the Ohio House will hold a committee vote on Senate Bill 145, the "Abortion Method Ban." This bill is just as dangerous, immoral, and unconstitutional as the six-week abortion ban. Neither bill provides exceptions for rape and incest, and both proposed laws would criminalize doctors and make it more difficult for people to access abortion care.

TAKE ACTION: Call or email Ohio Speaker Ryan Smith and tell him to #StopTheBans!

Faith Voices Against the Six-Week Abortion Ban

Last Tuesday, we gathered with hundreds of activists at the Statehouse for a “We Won’t Go Back” rally. Patients, medical professionals, and faith leaders gathered to voice their opposition to House Bill 258, the six-week abortion ban.

Watch this video to hear from Ohio RCRC and Catholics for Choice.

The next day, our executive director joined 30 other witnesses to testify against the six-week abortion ban. We were profoundly honored to stand with rape and trafficking survivors, physicians, advocates, parents, and so many others who value the moral agency of women to decide what is best for their reproductive lives and families.

Watch all the testimonies here.

The following day, we held a faith leader press conference to firmly and faithfully oppose the six-week abortion ban and all restrictions on reproductive freedom.

Thanks to supporters like you and our relentless movement partners, we were able to delay a vote on this bill, which will make it all but impossible for legislators to sign it into law by the end of the year!

Watch our press conference here.

Donate to #StopTheBans

With the fight heating up on the Abortion Method Ban this week, we need your support now more than ever.

Make a donation today to support our ongoing work. Help ensure all Ohioans can make their own reproductive decisions according to their individual faith and conscience — all without political interference.

Double your impact during our holiday giving match. Give today!

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Celebrating R-Soul: 100 Podcast Episodes and Counting

R-Soul was one of the first projects that I started here at Faith Choice Ohio in June 2020, and it is truly one of the favorite things that I do in this work. R-Soul is where we talk about things going on in the world, connect with partners about the work we collectively need to do, and where we can talk openly about the struggles we have as advocates committed to reproductive justice for the long haul.

So as a celebration of our 100th episode, I want to share a few of the podcast episodes that I particularly enjoy or feel drawn to as the R-Soul podcast editor and co-host.

Breaking Free: Challenging the 24-Hour Waiting Period on Abortions

The waiting period, which has no basis in medical need or scientific best practices, is a tool of stigma imposed by legislators on abortion procedures solely to slow down access to care that certain lawmakers simply don’t like. The law requires an abortion patient to see their abortion provider once, and then come back a second time after 24 hours in order to receive care.

For patients, this waiting period often means overnight stays far from home, an additional day of lost wages, and increased associated costs for things like travel, childcare, and food.

Watching & Waiting: The Mifepristone Abortion Pill Case

On March 26th, the Supreme Court heard arguments in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine — a case that could decide whether mifepristone should have been approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). This case not only has the potential to block access to abortions via mifepristone in the future, but it could also cast doubt on any other medication regulated by the FDA.

Mifepristone (mife) is one of two drugs, along with misoprostol (miso), that are commonly used in medication abortions throughout the world. These medicines are so essential that last year 63% of all abortions were self-managed or conducted with abortion pills in the U.S.

Radical Inclusion & Reproductive Freedom

From Youngstown and Cincinnati to New Orleans, our team is always on the move advocating for reproductive freedom and practicing radical inclusion! Learn more about our faith-rooted work in this newsletter.

Fertile Ground: What Today’s IVF Debate Means for the Future of Reproductive Freedom

At its heart, though, the politics of IVF tell us something important: Even the politicians who have benefitted from selling voters on the personhood assumption don’t actually believe the idea themselves.

Anti-abortion politicians know that they have used disingenuous means to reach their desired end of securing political power for themselves. They know that embryos sitting in cryogenic freezers in Alabama aren’t equivalent — morally or biologically — to full human persons who can walk and talk and eventually vote.

Envisioning the New Year with Grace

January is already over and with it, many people are already tired of 2024 and setting goals for the new year and honestly, I can’t blame them. With the last few years being full of surprises and obstacles for abortion access, voting rights, and our everyday lives, it can be hard to even think about the path forward, let alone making goals and resolutions.

But even so, I personally find it really helpful to envision the year ahead, but without the pressure and the stakes of a New Year’s resolution. Instead, I try to set New Year intentions.

Ohio’s Bigger Lie: Misrepresentation as Both Disease & Delusion

Fighting the “Bigger Lie” takes courage and community — two things that the gerrymanderers simply can’t summon.

As advocates for abortion justice and reproductive freedom, the faith communities that make up Faith Choice Ohio know a thing or two about courage and community. Our constant support of abortion seekers and their right to access the care they choose rests at the heart of what community care is all about.

A New Year of Religion & Repro Offerings

I hope 2024 is off to a great start for you & yours!

As one of two faith organizers on the team, I’m committed to equipping & empowering others to advocate for religious & reproductive freedom in every season. To help kick off the year, I’ve highlighted several of our programmatic offerings in this newsletter. I invite you to get involved in our work for the very first time and/or in new ways.

5 Ways to Build the Faith-Rooted Movement for Abortion Access

We remain deeply grateful for all the time, effort, and energy you and many others put in to make sure Issue 1 passed to boldly protect abortion rights and reproductive health care in Ohio. THANK YOU for being part of the movement that made this historic victory possible.

As we move into 2024 and begin to welcome more abortion seekers from surrounding states and even patients from farther away, your support makes a huge difference. Here are just five ways to invest in this faith-rooted work for the long run.

Never Give Up: Ohio's Prophetic Task

Even now, as our faith communities express joy at the outcomes of this last year, we know that our hope — that final task of the prophetic community — is rooted in something deeper than winning elections or succeeding at our strategic objectives.

Our movement is fueled by an indomitable sense of collective perseverance — of showing up for each other time and time again, making real the truth of our solidarity that no illusion can obscure or deny.

What's Next? Abortion Care Packages

In this season of gratitude and in celebration of the recent win for abortion access & reproductive rights in Ohio, I’m thrilled to announce the launch of our newest program to support abortion seekers across the state!

We are proud to offer our new Abortion Care Package program to expand our work via The Jubilee Fund as we continue to engage the power of groups and faith communities like yours to help support abortion seekers. And it’s a great way for your community to keep the momentum going for abortion access and reproductive freedom after our HUGE collective victory!

Ohio Has Faith in Abortion Seekers!

THANK YOU to every person who called, canvassed, sent text messages, talked with neighbors, and took time to learn new ways to speak from your values.

For every person who worked for this historic day, thank you and congratulations. This victory belongs to us all.
Here at Faith Choice Ohio, we know our work is far from over.

I'm Voting for Issue 1 Because of My Faith — Not in Spite of It

As I wrote in a recently published op-ed, “Issue 1 will ensure that Ohio protects the fundamental rights of our citizens to control their own bodies — by the government, or by someone else’s faith convictions — to give birth in a free and prosperous Ohio.”

I am voting YES on Issue 1 because of my faith — not in spite of it: “Issue 1 is about putting Ohioans back in charge of their families’ personal medical decisions – and that’s exactly where my Christian faith tells me they belong.”

Faithfully Vote YES on Issue 1

We’re only one week away from the election! If you haven’t already, be sure to vote YES on Issue 1 by November 7th to protect access to contraception, fertility treatments, abortions, miscarriage care, and pregnancy rights.

The Truth About Issue 1

As Nicole and I have met with, engaged, and taught faithfully pro-choice folks across every region of the state, we’ve also been doing a lot of listening — and many people are asking some of the same questions around the ballot initiative.

Here are a few of the most frequently asked questions we’ve heard while out on the tour trail. Feel free to share these with everyone you know — we believe everybody deserves access to accurate & reliable information!

Join our Faith & Repro Freedom Tour

We're pulling out all the stops to spread the word about faithful support for abortion access & reproductive rights this election season.

That’s why we're launching a Faith & Repro Freedom Tour to build faith-rooted, nonpartisan support for Issue 1 in November!

Relearning Self-Care

This year, as we have continued to adjust to a world post-Roe (a world where we have to fight even harder against a state that seems dead set on lying to us and convincing us to work against our own self-interest), I have been reflecting back on what self-care is to me.

I talk a lot about self-care: about taking breaks, about finding joy, about finding rest. But as I have reflected this year, I have found myself coming back to Pleasure Activism and relearning the idea of the intention behind self-care.

Political, Not Partisan: Religious Organizations, Elections, and Abortion Justice

A religious organization can advocate for or against legislation related to issues appearing on the ballot. They can organize educational events, distribute information, and encourage their members to vote based on their religious values. They can also engage in nonpartisan voter registration drives, urging their congregants and others to participate in the electoral process without endorsing specific candidates.

So what can you do in opposition to Issue 1 in August and in support of the November abortion ballot initiative? The answer is, plenty!

Abortion Gratitude Round Up

Thanks to YOU — your signatures, your circulated petitions, your faithful witness — reproductive freedom advocates have put abortion on the November ballot in Ohio this year!

After many months of hard work collecting hundreds of thousands of required signatures, this citizen-led amendment to codify abortion & reproductive rights in the Ohio Constitution will finally be on the ballot during the November 7th General Election.

Why Self-Care Matters – Even as the World Burns

Given how stressful working for social justice is, at our Community Meeting earlier this month, we talked about how we care for ourselves in the midst of what feels like the end of the world. So often I feel like when we talk about self-care, it becomes something that has to be luxurious or extravagant, but actually self-care really comes down to what you need. As Audre Lorde said best: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”