#mamasforchoice

[sarahsophief]

Last night, the Senate passed a dangerous budget reconciliation bill that would decimate key pillars of the Affordable Care Act and defund Planned Parenthood for a year. It’s the latest example the GOP relentlessly undermining women’s health and economic security. Needless to say #istandwithpp. For more info, we posted a HUGE syllabus of articles & resources on AT ONCE (link in bio). #feministparenting #votingmatters #stayhuman #mamasforchoice

[sarahsophief]

Today’s Post on AT ONCE is a love letter to Mother’s For Choice! In the wake of many domestic terrorist attacks on Planned Parenthood, the relentless stripping away of women’s right to abortion, dwindling access to birth control and reproductive health care and the endless anti-woman rhetoric, we dedicate to this post to Planned Parenthood, education and the right to self determination! When I’m asked to square my reproductive rights activism with being a mother of 3…which happens often, I make the point that beyond abortion and birth control, when, how and if we have children are all part of the reproductive justice framework. The decision to have, or not have, a child is the single most important financial decision a woman will make in her entire life!!! Our ability to raise our children without the threat of poverty, violence, hunger or intolerance are part of the reproductive justice framework. Our ability to raise our kids and support our families, earning equal pay for equal work, is part of the reproductive rights framework. The GOP’s fixation with controlling women’s bodies and sexuality is a way to maintain the status quo and perpetuate inequality. In fact, the closer we look at most issues of inequality, the more we see how they are all connected. When we recognize this undeniable connection that we all have to each other, we also can’t help but recognize that our rights are inexorably linked to one another’s. And the simple truth emerges, again and again, our struggles are linked, and we aren’t free if others aren’t. We must all fight for each other. Because 6 in 10 American women having an abortion already have a child, and more than 3 in 10 already have two or more children, this is as much a mother’s issue as it is a women’s issue. “Motherhood is analyzed and talked about to death. Is there a better way to keep 50% of the population on edge than the constant suggestion that we are failing to follow through on our so-called maternal instincts?” - Renee Martin We posted a HUGE syllabus. Get inspired & read away! I'm pro-choice & I VOTE! #istandwithpp #reproductivejustice #mamasforchoice #votingmatters

[sarahsophief]

I'm WILDLY Excited To Share My New Piece "9 Women Sound Off On Feminism & Reproductive Rights" Up At @id_magazine. Including @gravesmeredith #jemimakirke @dstfelix @margaret_cho @realleadelaria @harinef @sallykohn @tamikadmallory!!!!! What do you want to instill in your kids about reproductive rights and equality? For my daughter, I worry that she will internalize the messages being sent to her, that she doesn't have control over her body, that her body is a battleground and that she has no right to dream of a self-determined future. I worry that she will absorb the message that she, and her work, and her ideas are worth less than her male counterparts. I worry that she will take it all to mean that her sexuality is dirty and that her main function is to bear children. For my sons, I worry that this climate enforces not only their privilege, but also steals their right to be vulnerable, that they have the right to control women's bodies, that equal parenting is uncool. I worry that my efforts to raise feminist boys is being thwarted left and right. #istandwithpp #votingmatters #reproductivejustice #mamasforchoice

[sarahsophief]

This Is One Of My Favorite Photos Of Jem. This Is One Of Many Favorite Parts Of Our Interview For @bust_magazine (full interview on Newstands now!): On the topic of feminism, you recently did a video for the Center For reproductive rights where you talked about the abortion you had in college. Why did you decide to do that? When they asked me to make that video, I wasn’t at all hesitant. I was just like, “Yeah, let’s do this.” I’ve always been that way with my abortion. And with a lot of things, I’ve wanted to diffuse them by making them casual, saying them casually. I’m trying to normalize an experience that’s been demonized—to take away the stigma. I wasn’t trying to do a good deed, necessarily. I was really just trying to make [abortion] unemotional and normal, which is how I feel about it. I don’t regret it, and I wanted to convey that as best I could. I did not want to be a mom at that point. Was I irresponsible? None of your fuckin’ business. Plus, aren’t a large percentage of abortions performed on people who are already mothers? That makes so much sense to me. We love our children. We also fully understand the time, commitment, and money it takes to raise one. When people say, “Think if you had aborted your kid,” I’m like, “If I’d aborted it, I would have had another one who’s just as great.” #jemimakirke #mamasforchoice @reprorights

[sarahsophief]

BREAKING: Moments ago, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will hear a case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole, that threatens to shutter almost every abortion clinic in Texas. The timing of the decision, likely next June, is expected to drive voter turnout, galvanizing those on both sides of the abortion debate to turn out for a presidential candidate who shares their views on one of the nation's most polarizing social issues. "This will be the most important abortion rights case before the Supreme Court in almost 25 years," said Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing the clinics. @reprorights @ladypjustice #mamasforchoice #promamaprochoice #vote2016 #votingmatters Via www.politico.com/story/2015/11/supreme-court-will-hear-texas-abortion-case-215836#ixzz3rP3AkKQM

[sarahsophief]

I'm Thrilled To Announce The Launch Of AT ONCE: an online community exploring the intersection of feminism and mothering with @nicolefelizokumu! Link In Profile. Some More About Us: We are Sarah Sophie Flicker and Nicole Okumu. We met at Mills College when we were young women. Discovering our feminism, the intersections of our experience, and our divisions, our voice, our understanding of culture and our place in it. In the midst of the empowerment I remember thinking, “Well, I can’t ever be a mother because my feminism doesn’t square with the role mothers play in our culture”. I remember thinking there was no room in feminism for motherhood. Many years later, here I am with 3 kids, Nicole with 2, and motherhood has made me more of an ardent feminist than ever before. That said, motherhood has confused my feminism at times, feminism has left me with few answers on the many questions of motherhood. Feminism has me firmly believing that motherhood, should be at least, the most uniting experience for women. We are launching this tumblr in a humble attempt to address, in one accessible spot, the many questions at the intersection of feminism and motherhood. We create this space for information, community, support and dialogue. We create this space as an attempt to address our own unsettled questions. We are very open, and eager, for your voices, your concerns, your recommendations. Motherhood, fatherhood and parenthood so often feels isolating and beyond personal. This space begs the question, so well phrased by Maya Singer, “Is it just me or is it systemic”? Power On! Love, Sarah Sophie and Nicole #AtOnceOnline #feministmothering #mamasunite #mamasforchoice

[sarahsophief]

The Supreme Court has ruled time and again that liberty is at the core of a woman’s right to control her destiny and her body, including decisions about whether ending or continuing a pregnancy is the best option for her. Every woman is fully capable of making thoughtful choices about her family, future, and reproductive health on her own, and must be allowed to do so with the advice of the health care professional she trusts and without unwarranted interference from politicians who presume to know better. Lawmakers have no more business playing doctor and dictating medical procedures than they do imposing their judgment on a woman’s private medical decisions. The proliferation of attempts to outlaw abortion at 20 weeks of pregnancy represent ongoing efforts to redefine our constitutional rights and insert politicians into our personal health care decisions. - From Our Friends @reprorights. #mamasforchoice #bodilyautonomy #politiciansmakecrappydoctors

[sarahsophief]

This Isn't A Scary Pumpkin. At least it shouldn't be. My feeling is that we need reframe birth. Take it out if the realm of the scary, the gorey, the gross, the embarrassing. In fact, birth is fucking amazing! Look what our bodies can do! Look at the physical athleticism of the act! It's no mystery that birth has become disempowered, that women's bodies are legislated, politicized, and controlled. We have A LOT of power. And that threatens the status quo (Talkin to you GOP). No matter the method of a birth, it is always a victorious, miraculous, albeit painful and laborious act. Let's work to reframe birth & let women define their births in the best way they see fit. I celebrate this pumpkin (via @empoweredbirthproject). Happy Halloween!! #mamasunite #everywomanwillingeverychildwanted #mamasforchoice

[sarahsophief]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sarah Sophie Flicker (@sarahsophief)

Two Moms Who Are Pro-Choice And Proud! The @reprorights Gala Tonight Made Me So Proud And Inspired. The Stakes Are So High. Keep Fighting The Good Fight & VOTE! #mamasforchoice #vote2016 #crrgala

[sarahsophief]

OMG @sallykohn, I Love You So Much! Read This: The anti-government rhetoric of the American right wing largely confines its concerns to white male bodies and white male wealth. Don’t make “us” wear helmets. Don’t make us participate in a health care system that ensures the common good. Don’t make us go to racially integrated schools. Don’t make us pay women equally. Don’t take our money.  Don’t take our guns. But many of those who oppose government interventions that might apply to them want to use the apparatus of state force to control the bodies and choices of everyone else. - @sallykohn In The Atlantic Today. Image Via @feminismnotes #RoxaneGayYouRock #ItsAllConnected #mamasforchoice #VotingMatters #vote2016

[sarahsophief]

Gun violence is a reproductive justice issue. Quite simply, no one is able to raise children in safe and healthy communities when there is no policy response to school shootings and mass shootings and church shootings, some explicitly targeting communities of color. It's particularly sickening that several members of Congress are focusing on restricting access to reproductive health care and calling it "pro-life" while refusing to take action to end gun violence that is literally killing our children in our schools. I urge you act on behalf of your fellow human beings. - via reproaction & actionnetwork.org (who have a great petition on their site) #ItsAllConnected #guncontrolnow #mamasforchoice #standwithpp #ReproductiveJustice

[sarahsophief]

This Is Perfect. Image Via @thelindywest, Author Unknown. #guncontrolnow #mamasforchoice #standwithpp #ItsAllConnected

[sarahsophief]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sarah Sophie Flicker (@sarahsophief)

Ilyse Hogue Breaking It Down Tonight. Talking Reproductive Rights. Talking How The GOP Believe That Women Are Here For One Thing & One Thing Only: To Bear Children. Our Bodies, Our Choice! It's Time To Throw The Yoke Off! @prochoiceamerica #profamilyprochoice #mamasforchoice #standwithpp #MenForChoice #VotingMatters