Black women have led the charge for reproductive freedom.
Planned Parenthood
TBH Just the facts. No judgment.
No apologies.
In This Issue:
Black History Month + Will having an abortion affect my future ability to get pregnant? + Fire Scott Lloyd

Amara La Negra
I'm black. Yes, I'm going to have nappy and kinky hair. But that's part of what makes me beautiful. And it took me years to know and realize that."
Amara La Negra, a Dominican Afro-Latina singer and artist from Miami, FL on loving her Afro-Latina identity

I'm Pro-Choice Because I'm Pro-Black
By: Tamika Turner

Before I tell strangers I work at Planned Parenthood, there's always a split second of hesitation. Are they going to judge my job because of the stigma surrounding reproductive health care? Have they heard lies about the work that we do? Do they believe them? But most pressing is my concern that they'll spit out an old and painful falsehood — that abortion, which Planned Parenthood offers, is an attempt to wipe out Black Americans and commit "Black genocide."

Black women who've had abortions or who support ensuring that abortion is legal and accessible have been subject to a mass misinformation campaign meant to shame them for making their own health care decisions and governing their own bodies. I work for Planned Parenthood because Black women want and deserve access to the full range of reproductive health care — but this persistent lie is threatening their ability to obtain it.

The anti-abortion movement is largely White, with a sizable portion being male, and yet they're some of the loudest voices proclaiming that a Black woman choosing to have an abortion is tantamount to genocide. They co-opt our communities' very real history of mistreatment from the medical community and turn that fear into yet another shaming tactic used to block Black women from making their own reproductive health care decisions. But it's clear their interest in Black women's actual lives and health care needs begins and ends with abortion.
Tamika Turner
Tamika Turner is the Constituency Communications Officer at Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

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Get the Details:
+ Abortion foes hijack racial justice: This "black genocide" argument is particularly dangerous
+ Dr. Willie Parker Wants to Take Back the Moral High Ground on Abortion
+ Abortion as Black Genocide — An Old Scare Tactic Re-emerges

Jamilah Lemieux
This is why we need to talk about race in the #MeToo movement
"I think that's our greatest hope: To see this become a truly intersectional movement."
— Jamilah Lemieux
Nearly 30 years ago, civil rights advocate and scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term "intersectionality." While her immediate focus was on the compounding oppression faced by Black women due to racism and sexism, intersectionality is a framework that helps us understand how many types of oppression — including racism, sexism, ableism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, and xenophobia — support and reinforce one another.

Defier of the Month

Clarissa Brooks GA

Clarissa Brooks is a journalist, organizer, and recent graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, GA. She's written extensively about culturally responsive interventions to help prevent sexual assault on historically black college and university (HBCU) campuses and ways to support survivors of sexual assault. Learn more.

"Will having an abortion affect my future ability to get pregnant?"
Lots of patients ask us this question about abortion, and we know there are a lot of myths out there about it. The fact is that a safe, uncomplicated abortion has absolutely no effect on your ability to get pregnant in the future. And abortion is one of the safest medical procedures out there. Complications from having an abortion are rare, and the vast majority of complications can be pretty easily treated with no effect on fertility. Millions of people have abortions and go on to have healthy pregnancies and babies later on.

Considering your next steps? Your local Planned Parenthood health center has caring, respectful professionals who can answer any questions you may have. You can also find answers about abortion on our website.

— Emily at Planned Parenthood

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Undocumented + Seeking Care
Last month we wrote about the numerous barriers to health care that undocumented people face. This month, join us in taking action!

Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Director Scott Lloyd has tried over and over again to block immigrants from accessing abortion care. ORR has refused to provide people in their custody transportation to abortion providers, and they've required them to attend anti-abortion counseling at crisis pregnancy centers. Lloyd even considered forcing a detained immigrant to undergo an "abortion reversal" procedure — a supposed "treatment" that's untested and has been rejected by experts like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Call for his firing today.
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TBH (To Be Honest) is a monthly newsletter dedicated to learning about our bodies, talking about sex and relationships, and challenging health inequity and injustice. Send us your feedback.

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