First off, that TSA agent should be reprimanded. Calling a passenger a murderer shouldn't be allowed to just pass. About safety -- I get where you're coming from. My husband and others around me caution me about my blasé attitude about the threats I get. We know that people in our line of work have been killed. We have to be careful but we can't live in fear, either. As always, thank you for all you do. I am in awe of you.
While I can’t say enough good things about the work that you do, I am disappointed that you would use “boomer” as a pejorative. Some of us were working on various social justice causes since before you were born, have continued to do so all our lives, and have raised our children to be social justice warriors as well. We are now watching our grandchildren grow into socially conscious human beings, with encouragement from us and their parents to become activists.
I hope you will consider this in any future mention of “boomers.”
With all due love and respect to the heroic Jessica Valenti, I must agree. I'm one of those Boomers and seeing the term used that way, especially in this context, really did sting.
Thank you for speaking so honestly about how hard this work is. I'm reminded of the adage that this is not a marathon or a sprint, but a relay. The gift of being in community is knowing that there are others who care just as deeply and can pick up the baton while we rest. The only way we'll get through this dark time is together. Please take care of yourself!
Someone to keep an eye on in Texas, Jessica, is State Rep. David Lowe, another “abortion abolitionist.” I’m in process of trying to get these Texas state abortion opponents on the record as to why they believe in first trimester personhood (for a start; another organization I’m involved with is working on pregnancy complications). Lowe is especially notable in that he did respond via email, telling me he thought that ‘reproductive justice’ was the most ‘unchristian’ term he’d ever heard. (Jesus specifically states that justice is as important as faith, and reproduction is just reproduction). He also said he didn’t want any more of our “Satanic” surveys sent to him. So I’m just going to his office periodically until he answers that question.
Why, in the course of a conversation with someone who fiercely wants a total abortion ban, does the other person not ASK WHY he is so strongly opposed? If the answer is that it 'kills babies', the response should be, "Well, are you willing to adopt her unwanted or malformed baby once you force her to carry it to term?" And if they say it is 'against god's will', ask them to cite the biblical passage where it says that.
I think the whole abortion ban is a ruse to keep poor people poor so they can't fight back. So the ultra wealthy can make all our decisions for us. It's all about POWER, not morality.
It really is the definition of Orwellian: let a woman die and be celebrated for your “pro-life” stance, save a woman’s life and be vilified and maybe even imprisoned. Let paid for food and medicine aid rot at a port, and call it preventing waste. Lecture Europeans about free speech while cozying up to Putin & MBS. Call orders stripping women of rights and healthcare “protecting women.”
Thank you, Jessica! I so appreciate your work spreading the truth. Your courage is inspiring. My daughter is expecting in five weeks. I keep reminding her that there are now at least twenty states that she absolutely must not visit -- such an unbelievable state of affairs. There's no risk of this, but thank goodness she lives somewhere she has a pre-Dobbs standard of care. Thank you again for all your work -- it's so vital.
Congratulations on your coming grandchild! I hope all goes well. When my daughter was pregnant in 2023, my son in law made clear to his family that there would be no visits to them in their red state. She traveled to Europe during the pregnancy but didn’t feel safe traveling in her own country.
Thank you, Jessica, for all your hard work. The video you posted reminded me very much of what physicians and nurses, and later vaccine developers, said during the height of the pandemic. They were getting called murderers in public (much as you mentioned), and so on, but kept treating people and trying to save lives because they thought of what they were doing as not just a job but as a calling, as something they were almost morally obligated to do. Getting cussed out and attacked caused what they called "moral injury", the kind of stress you describe, that can't just be waved off or forgotten. I remember thinking at the time that I would not have the mental strength to do work like that, watch people die under my hands, and then get vilified. All of us are so very fortunate that there are some people who have the strength to do work like yours! Sending good California vibes your way.
Jessica- Thank you for all that you do day after day. Between what is going on politically both here and abroad and especially in the world of abortion, I often find it very difficult to hold on to any sense of hope. Yet every day you keep us informed about the good, the bad and the ugly parts of the pro abortion fight. I am amazed at what you have accomplished and I am also angry about any harassment you have had to endure. What you are doing is hard.
Is it possible to sue anyone for practicing medicine without a license? Has this concept been explored? Because any legislator who says thou shalt not in any medical situation is not a licensed medical doctor. As a former nurse, there were so many restrictions on what I could or could not say since I was not a doctor. Sue these assholes for practicing medicine without a license. There must be a way.
Jessica, is the event in Austin open to the public at all? I didn't see anything about it on the Abortion for America site but would love to attend if possible!
First off, that TSA agent should be reprimanded. Calling a passenger a murderer shouldn't be allowed to just pass. About safety -- I get where you're coming from. My husband and others around me caution me about my blasé attitude about the threats I get. We know that people in our line of work have been killed. We have to be careful but we can't live in fear, either. As always, thank you for all you do. I am in awe of you.
While I can’t say enough good things about the work that you do, I am disappointed that you would use “boomer” as a pejorative. Some of us were working on various social justice causes since before you were born, have continued to do so all our lives, and have raised our children to be social justice warriors as well. We are now watching our grandchildren grow into socially conscious human beings, with encouragement from us and their parents to become activists.
I hope you will consider this in any future mention of “boomers.”
With all due love and respect to the heroic Jessica Valenti, I must agree. I'm one of those Boomers and seeing the term used that way, especially in this context, really did sting.
Thank you for speaking so honestly about how hard this work is. I'm reminded of the adage that this is not a marathon or a sprint, but a relay. The gift of being in community is knowing that there are others who care just as deeply and can pick up the baton while we rest. The only way we'll get through this dark time is together. Please take care of yourself!
Someone to keep an eye on in Texas, Jessica, is State Rep. David Lowe, another “abortion abolitionist.” I’m in process of trying to get these Texas state abortion opponents on the record as to why they believe in first trimester personhood (for a start; another organization I’m involved with is working on pregnancy complications). Lowe is especially notable in that he did respond via email, telling me he thought that ‘reproductive justice’ was the most ‘unchristian’ term he’d ever heard. (Jesus specifically states that justice is as important as faith, and reproduction is just reproduction). He also said he didn’t want any more of our “Satanic” surveys sent to him. So I’m just going to his office periodically until he answers that question.
Why, in the course of a conversation with someone who fiercely wants a total abortion ban, does the other person not ASK WHY he is so strongly opposed? If the answer is that it 'kills babies', the response should be, "Well, are you willing to adopt her unwanted or malformed baby once you force her to carry it to term?" And if they say it is 'against god's will', ask them to cite the biblical passage where it says that.
I think the whole abortion ban is a ruse to keep poor people poor so they can't fight back. So the ultra wealthy can make all our decisions for us. It's all about POWER, not morality.
It really is the definition of Orwellian: let a woman die and be celebrated for your “pro-life” stance, save a woman’s life and be vilified and maybe even imprisoned. Let paid for food and medicine aid rot at a port, and call it preventing waste. Lecture Europeans about free speech while cozying up to Putin & MBS. Call orders stripping women of rights and healthcare “protecting women.”
Thank you, Jessica! I so appreciate your work spreading the truth. Your courage is inspiring. My daughter is expecting in five weeks. I keep reminding her that there are now at least twenty states that she absolutely must not visit -- such an unbelievable state of affairs. There's no risk of this, but thank goodness she lives somewhere she has a pre-Dobbs standard of care. Thank you again for all your work -- it's so vital.
Congratulations on your coming grandchild! I hope all goes well. When my daughter was pregnant in 2023, my son in law made clear to his family that there would be no visits to them in their red state. She traveled to Europe during the pregnancy but didn’t feel safe traveling in her own country.
Thank you, Jessica, for all your hard work. The video you posted reminded me very much of what physicians and nurses, and later vaccine developers, said during the height of the pandemic. They were getting called murderers in public (much as you mentioned), and so on, but kept treating people and trying to save lives because they thought of what they were doing as not just a job but as a calling, as something they were almost morally obligated to do. Getting cussed out and attacked caused what they called "moral injury", the kind of stress you describe, that can't just be waved off or forgotten. I remember thinking at the time that I would not have the mental strength to do work like that, watch people die under my hands, and then get vilified. All of us are so very fortunate that there are some people who have the strength to do work like yours! Sending good California vibes your way.
Jessica- Thank you for all that you do day after day. Between what is going on politically both here and abroad and especially in the world of abortion, I often find it very difficult to hold on to any sense of hope. Yet every day you keep us informed about the good, the bad and the ugly parts of the pro abortion fight. I am amazed at what you have accomplished and I am also angry about any harassment you have had to endure. What you are doing is hard.
Is it possible to sue anyone for practicing medicine without a license? Has this concept been explored? Because any legislator who says thou shalt not in any medical situation is not a licensed medical doctor. As a former nurse, there were so many restrictions on what I could or could not say since I was not a doctor. Sue these assholes for practicing medicine without a license. There must be a way.
Jessica, is the event in Austin open to the public at all? I didn't see anything about it on the Abortion for America site but would love to attend if possible!