Supporting Reproductive Freedom & Choice: Post-Roe Resources for Advocates
On Friday June 24th, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States voted to overturn Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood. This decision destroys the right to abortion in the United States. With this ruling, the Supreme Court is allowing Mississippi to enforce a harmful 15-week ban on abortion and is opening the door for all state legislatures to choose to further restrict or even ban abortion. The decision also leaves open the possibility that other fundamental rights, including the right to birth control, could also be at risk.
This page is intended to support you – sexual and domestic violence survivor advocates and allies – in communicating the very real and immediate threat that this decision poses to survivor freedom and choice, including the ways in which we can mobilize our families, friends, and communities to act to safeguard our basic freedoms and democracy.
Frequently Asked Questions for Survivors and Advocates
- Frequently Asked Questions for Pregnant Survivors: A resource for survivors of violence
- Frequently Asked Questions about Abortion: A resource for advocates working with survivors of violence
Values Messaging & Action Steps for Advocates
Values Messaging: Reproductive Freedom & Choice for Sexual & Domestic Violence Survivors: This document includes a Q & A section explaining how abortion bans harm survivors, Supreme Court case interpretation and messaging, values/harms messaging, and calls to action.
Action Alliance Understanding Reproductive Justice Series
- Part 1: What is Reproductive Justice?
- Part 2: How Does Reproductive Justice Intersect with Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence?
- Part 3: How Can We Build and Foster Reproductive Justice within Sexual and Domestic Violence Agencies?
Action Alliance Policy Position Statements
- Promoting Sexual & Reproductive Health Position Statement
- Promoting Sexual & Reproductive Health Position Infographic
- Emergency Contraception Position Statement
Action Alliance Blog Posts
- Post-Roe America: Why Advancing Reproductive Justice is Essential in Our Work
- Supporting Reproductive Freedom for Survivors During a Global Pandemic
- Building a Culture of Consent in Virginia
- Let’s Talk About Sex(ual) Coercion
Read our Reproductive and Sexual Coercion Toolkit: https://www.communitysolutionsva.org/index.php/resources/item/reproductive-and-sexual-coercion-a-toolkit-for-sexual-domestic-violence-adv
Find an Abortion Provider in Virginia: https://www.abortionfinder.org/abortion-guides-by-state/abortion-in-virginia
Support Safe and Legal Abortion Access in Virginia: https://abortionfunds.org/funds/
Reach out to your representatives and let them know that sexual and domestic violence survivors deserve reproductive freedom!
Use this link to find out who your elected representatives are, including their contact info, if you aren’t sure.
Once you have their contact info, you can use this script to send them a message. Feel free to modify it and make it your own!
“Delegate/Senator (insert name) and team:
As your constituent and as a sexual and domestic violence advocate, I know that survivor access to abortion is absolutely critical to restoring self-determination and healing in the aftermath of trauma. At its core, sexual and domestic violence are acts intended to exert and maintain power and control over someone else by conscripting their body for someone else’s needs. Therefore, coercive laws that restrict access to reproductive healthcare decisions, like when and how to have a child or create a family (forced pregnancy) is a form of violence not unlike sexual and domestic violence.
As your constituent and as a sexual and domestic violence advocate, I want you to know that I so strongly believe choice, freedom, and abortion access should be sacred in Virginia. On behalf of survivors of violence and our community, I urge you to fight for policies that recognize the inherent dignity and worth of every single human in Virginia and to uphold and protect basic freedoms under our Constitution.
Thank you,
(Insert name/title)”