Session 32 | Follow Your Heart with Sahar Pirzada

Session 32 | Follow Your Heart with Sahar Pirzada

In this session we talk with Sahar Pirzada from HEART to Grow [https://hearttogrow.org/]. HEART works to promote sexual health, uproot gendered violence, and advance reproductive justice by establishing choice and access for the most impacted Muslims. Muslims seeking abortion access do so while combatting the ways their Muslim bodies are already politicized and surveilled by the state. We discuss all things HEART and their work to decolonize, de-stigmatize, and secure abortion access for Muslims. Bio Sahar Pirzada is a Pakistani American Muslim woman who grew up in the Bay Area of California and currently lives on Tongva land in Los Angeles with her family. She is the Director of Movement Building for HEART where she explores the intersections of gendered islamophobia, reproductive justice, and abolition. Sahar is the co-author of the HEART Reproductive Justice Framework and RAHIM campaign. Sahar's work with HEART has been featured in Truthout, Teen Vogue, Now This, NPR, and at the People's Choice Awards 2022. Shout Your Abortion is normalizing abortion and elevating safe paths to access. SYA makes resources, campaigns, and media intended to arm existing activists, create new ones, and foster collective participation in abortion access all over the country. ShoutYourAbortion.com [https://shoutyourabortion.com/]

Session 31 | Learning from Restricted States with Florida Access Network

In this session of Abortion Academy we speak with Laura, Ciné, and Lana'e from the Florida Access Network [https://www.flaccessnetwork.org/] (FAN). Florida has extremely restrictive abortion laws including a six-week limit, a parental consent law, and penalty fines for doctors providing abortions over the legal limit. It's a challenging environment to provide abortion support, but that doesn't stop people in Florida from needing abortions. That's where the beautiful people at FAN come in - providing funding, practical support, peer support, mutual aid, and more to abortion seekers. FAN's work is built around principles of reproductive justice and sexual liberation, and they practice what they preach. This trio talks to us about the creative ways they support abortion access, including the second edition of an analog newspaper coming out this spring, the challenges of living and working in a restricted state, how we can work with each other across state lines, and more. Bio Florida Access Network builds pathways for abortion access by advocating for reproductive justice, funding abortion care, and providing logistical support to make abortion access a reality. Shout Your Abortion is normalizing abortion and elevating safe paths to access. SYA makes resources, campaigns, and media intended to arm existing activists, create new ones, and foster collective participation in abortion access all over the country. Links Florida Access Network [http://flaccessnetwork.org]FAN's blog [http://flaccessnetwork.org/in-the-streets]Newspaper Issue 1 [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hy6g1BMrHOA5ey6YmTu3txm2MQT8-xl2/view?usp=drive_link]Newspaper Issue 2 [https://drive.google.com/file/d/134GqSxStc-N32hwLJ3nVtMf6aXEtbmpO/view?usp=sharing]FAN's newsletter [https://secure.everyaction.com/36q7TjviCk6JeuVPJ4fJpA2]Luca Molnar [https://www.lucamolnarart.com/] (local FL artist who partnered with FAN) Lizzie Suarez [https://lizziesuarez.org/] (local FL artist who partnered with FAN) Fuel Your Fund [http://fund.nnaf.org/fuelyourfund]Fuel Your Fund interest form [http://bit.ly/FANcrowdfuel]FAN's Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/flaccessnetwork/] ShoutYourAbortion.com [https://shoutyourabortion.com/]

Session 30 | Learning from Acompañantes with Suzanne Veldhuis

In this session of Abortion Academy we speak with activist and doctor Suzanne Veldhuis about her groundbreaking research and work with acompañantes and pro-choice physicians in Mexico. Velduis has been working closely with acompañantes – groups of activists who accompany pregnant people through their abortions outside of a clinical setting, creating a safe, holistic, and destigmatizing method of care. We talk with Veldhuis about how acompañantes networks work and why it is vital to center their work in the rapid expansion of self-managed abortion (SMA); how acompañantes, activists, and doctors can potentially work together to build a better system of care, and more. SMA is a revolution in abortion access and will be a major part of the future, no matter what politicians do – come learn more about how the acompañantes model can be adapted to other contexts, including your own. BioSuzanne Veldhuis is feminist activist, physician, and researcher, originally from the Netherlands, who has lived in Chiapas, Mexico, since 2013. With over a decade of experience, Suzanne has worked extensively on projects related to sexual and reproductive health and access to safe abortion, both in Mexico and internationally. She currently serves as Advocacy and Research Coordinator and physician at Women on Web and is the co-founder of the Network of Pro-Choice Physicians Mexico. She specializes in self-managed abortion models and their articulation with the medical sector. LinksAbortion Accompaniment Practices in Northern Mexico [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13691058.2026.2623628] "Becoming the woman she wishes you to be": A qualitative study exploring the experiences of medication abortion acompañantes in three regions in Mexico [https://www.contraceptionjournal.org/article/S0010-7824(21)00443-1/fulltext] Línea Aborto Chiapas documentary [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXHwoBcrjmM] Hegemonic Medicine and Self-Managed Abortion [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26410397.2025.2576263] - full article Hegemonic Medicine and Self-Managed Abortion [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26410397.2025.2576263] - commentary Acompañantes' perspectives on health system partnerships for medication abortion care in three Mexican states [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949856225001060?via%3Dihub] Workshop methodology [https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64fe16c56aadb27883eb3a28/t/66a9413498b4ae11b5ed785a/1722368375228/Manual-facilitacion-taller-sinergias-personal-medico-y-acompa%C3%B1antes.pdf] (Spanish) Workshop methodology [https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64fe16c56aadb27883eb3a28/t/66a941f7660e2f66e5e2a75b/1722368579135/Facilitation-manual-workshop-synergies-between-pro-choice-physicians-and-acompa%C3%B1antes.pdf] (English) PhD dissertation [https://biblioteca.ecosur.mx/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=65100&query_desc=kw%2Cwrdl%3A%20veldhuis%20sinergias] (Spanish only)

Session 29 | Finding Your Niche with The Sweet Feminist

We are thrilled to host author, baker, and activist Becca-Rea Tucker, aka The Sweet Feminist. Becca found her activism lane with her IG creation The Sweet Feminist. A love for baking and sharing pro-abortion stories and support turned into a powerful and influential Instagram account, a cookbook, and a brand-new book The Abortion Companion – a beautiful guide written to help others through their abortion journeys. Becca will speak with us about her new book, her book tour, how she found her personal niche in activism. Join us to find out and figure out how your passion can align with your activism. Links: The Sweet Feminist [https://www.thesweetfeminist.com/] The Abortion Companion [https://www.thesweetfeminist.com/the-abortion-companion]

Session 28 | Young People and Abortion with If/When/How and Advocates for Youth

In this session we discuss the barriers and state of access for young people in the US when it comes to abortion. We talk with Youth Access Counsel Katie Baylie (If/When/How) and the general state of access for young people post-Dobbs, including recent developments including the push to ban abortion support and the weaponization of "parental rights;" and will delve deeper into the specific barriers that youth are facing in the Southeast with Deb Coffey (Advocates for Youth), including threats to judicial bypass in Florida, proliferation of abortion bans in the region, and the recent shutdown of Planned Parenthood clinics. Links: Advocates for Youth [https://www.advocatesforyouth.org/] If/When/How [https://ifwhenhow.org/]