Knowing Your Rights for Reproductive Justice
Illinois is a state with strong legislative protections for people who are pregnant, including providing legal access to abortion care. The ACLU of Illinois provides information about Illinois laws and protections and knowing your rights to abortion access. Our Unitarian Universalist faith supports Reproductive Justice and affirms that our bodies are sacred, that we are each endowed with the twin gifts of agency and conscience, and that each of us should have the power to decide what does and doesn’t happen to our bodies at every moment of our lives because consent and self-determination are holy.
Here are some of the many ways to live into our UU values and support Reproductive Justice:
VOTE! If you want to get involved with UUtheVote, please contact Shirley Adams through Realm or at admin@ucevanston.org.
Get involved in conversations with your legislators! If you want to work with our Legislative Action Team, please contact Jane Bannor through Realm or at admin@ucevanston.org.
Donate to one of the organizations helping people who are pregnant have abortion access as an option:
- Healthcare providers with abortion access:
- Abortion funds, which remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access:
- Direct service providers (help with travel coordination and costs, lodging, food, medicine, and emotional support):
- Educating medical providers on a wide range of comprehensive reproductive health care topics that improve access:
Volunteer with an organization providing abortion access:
Finally, one of the best ways is to talk with others about your values and your support of self-determination, abortion access, and privacy rights! At UCE, we have formed a Reproductive Justice Ad Hoc Group. If you would like to be engaged with this group, please contact Rev. Susan at sfrances@ucevanston.org. Knowing this is a long-haul issue, we are already partnering with our sister congregations through the Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois, our local interfaith colleagues, and abortion access providers in the Midwest to determine how we, as a congregation, can support Reproductive Justice for all.