Reproductive Justice Task Force

We affirm the Unitarian Universalist Association’s statement on the right to bodily autonomy

Decisions about children, families, and sexuality are some of life’s most profound. Our Unitarian Universalist faith holds central the inherent worth and dignity of all people, which includes a belief in the sacredness of all bodies, and the importance of self-determination and human agency. As part of a liberatory Reproductive Justice movement, we affirm our commitment to building a world in which all people are able to make choices about their bodies, their health, and their families within safe, thriving communities. In practice, this commitment looks like working to ensure that:

• people of all identities and experiences have access to affirming, affordable health care, including reproductive care and abortion;
• people of every age can access comprehensive, sex-positive, fact-based sexuality education;
• people are empowered and supported to choose when, how, and if they will have children;
• our institutions and communities actively work to eradicate sexual violence, abuse, and coercion, and to heal the wounds of such harm;
• that people are supported to make informed, values-aligned decisions about their sexual and reproductive health throughout their lives.

We advocate for the ability of all families and communities to realize a sense of wholeness with regard to their sexual and reproductive lives. We create safe and healthy environments for children in our faith communities and campaign publicly for just and compassionate laws for family planning, reproductive and sexual health, and gender equity

The Reproductive Justice Task Force is committed to providing accurate, timely information about

• Abortion Networks – how to find and safely obtain abortions as well as funds for abortions and travel outside of Ohio.
• Legislation – current laws as well as laws being considered in the Ohio Legislature
• Ways to Support Abortion Networks through donations and volunteering.
• Ways to let your voice be heard through activism, contacting your government representatives as well as working with local organizations.

Abortion networks

The Task Force will work to provide a regularly updated list of Abortion Networks to both support and use.  We encourage you to support existing networks with your time and money versus offering to help people individually and independently.  These networks have been in operation since Roe was won and have a much better handle on the ins and outs of groups and facilities.

We advise folks who have periods to delete period tracker apps from their phones and track their menstrual cycles without the use of electronics.  We also encourage people to be careful when communicating via social media messaging sites and other electronic apps.  There is a recent case of Facebook turning over messages sent between a mother and daughter discussing abortion.

A list of Abortion Networks can be found here.

Legislation

Ohio currently has a ban on all abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy.  This ban came into place after Roe v Wade was overturned and a pending stay against this ban was overturned.

An Ohio Abortion Timeline can be found here.

Ohio House Bill 598 can be found here.  This bill bans all abortions except when the life or health of the mother is in danger.  Ohio House Bill 123 can be found here.  Like Ohio House Bill 598 there are exceptions for the life of the mother.  Neither Bill has an exception for rape or incest.  Both bills hold women immune from criminal charges but do hold the physician performing the abortion criminally liable.  Both bills also offer civil compensation to women who had abortions performed unknowingly.

Task Force Members

• Dawn Bellinger
• Joan Grace
• Kelly Heikkila
• Kelly Pinkas
• Danny Souza

The Task Force meets on the first Sunday of the month after the service.  We may meet more frequently as needed.