Happy Disability Pride Month!
Summer is in full swing and so is the weather. How are you keeping cool? We’ve been staying inside, visiting the pool, and enjoying the moments of cool with the summer rain. July is Disability Pride Month and this year is the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA)! Disability Pride acknowledges the resilience, experience, and labor of people with disabilities to make things accessible for all.
July is also historically a month where independence is celebrated in many nations around the world, with 25 nations that celebrate gaining autonomy during this month. This reminds us that the foundation of Reproductive Justice is the human right to autonomy. Which means the right to self govern or determine for oneself.
While we have many overlapping reasons for concern, fear, and overwhelm these days, we ground ourselves in what we are doing and the reason we do it. In June, Society of Family Planning released their #WeCount report capturing the national shifts in abortion volume post Dobbs. Here’s a snapshot of their findings:
Abortion volume is higher in 2024 than it was in 2023 or 2022.
The majority of abortions occur in-person.
The number of abortions delivered via telehealth continued to increase.
Implications of these trends are unclear in the context of multiple changes in the service delivery environment:
Shifting price of abortion
Decreases in abortion funds to cover patient costs
Election-related spikes in demand
Ongoing financial pressure on brick-and-mortar clinics
Despite the increasing challenges and obstacles we face, this tells us that the work is working, that the systems our communities are building, the networks we are shoring up, the people we are training, and the community education is working. Know that your support and your commitment to abortion access is impactful. That’s a ray of sunshine we hope you can hold onto. ☀️✨
What’s Happening at Apiary 🐝
🚰 Summer is a slower time for us. Vacations, travel, and refilling our cups.
👋 If you are attending NNAF’s Summit be sure to stop by our booth during one of the Pollination Stations or catch us around and say hi!
🐝 Want to become a practical support volunteer? Our Pollination Station vets and trains new volunteers and places them with local organizations. Participants attend three training sessions that explore trauma-informed response, the fundamentals of reproductive justice, and the history and practicality of practical support.
What’s Happening in the Community 🍯
📃 INeedAnA teamed up with If/When/How to help parents understand how CPS (child protective services) can get involved when someone who already has children seeks an abortion.
💖 Our friends at All Options faced the hard decision of whether to sunset after 20 years of unbiased judgment-free emotional support, spiritual care, abortion funding, diaper support, and pregnancy options counseling training are NOT closing! Read about their recovery and how their valuable work can be sustained.
❤️🩹 We are devastated about the loss of life, land, and communities with the Central Texas flooding. Environmental justice is a core tenet of reproductive justice. Please help share these resources for folks navigating this catastrophe:
Kerr County Southern Oaks Church Support Request Form