Abortion Access Front

Last updated

Abortion Access Front (formerly Lady Parts Justice League), [1] is a reproductive rights non-profit organization and production company founded by Lizz Winstead in 2015. [2]

Contents

Background

Abortion Access Front founder Lizz Winstead, co-creator and former head writer of The Daily Show , sought to leverage her experience in comedy and broadcasting in order to help destigmatize abortion, while calling out politicians and rallying voters to oppose legal restrictions on abortion rights. [3]

Abortion Access Front educates people about abortion laws through video content, programs (such as Operation Save Abortion and #ExposeFakeClinics), and its weekly podcast “Feminist Buzzkills Live.” [4] [5] [6] [7]   The organization also works on the ground, growing support and raising awareness for independent abortion providers, and was described as “a nonprofit that uses unexpected tools — like humor and men — to advocate for abortion as health care and as a fundamental human right.” [8]

They describe their work as “part Habitat For Humanity, part USO Tour for Independent abortion providers.” [9]

The organization's name was changed from Lady Parts Justice League to Abortion Access Front on May 30, 2019, in order to be more inclusive to transgender people served by the organization. [10]

Documentary

No One Asked You is a feature documentary in post-production by filmmaker Ruth Leitman following Lizz Winstead and the Abortion Access Front team. The film follows reproductive rights organization Abortion Access Front over five years at the frontlines of the escalating war over Roe Vs. Wade. [11] The film premiered at the 2023 DOC NYC film festival, where it was a runner up for the Audience Award. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States abortion-rights movement</span> Support for womens right to elective abortion

The United States abortion-rights movement is a sociopolitical movement in the United States supporting the view that a woman should have the legal right to an elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy, and is part of a broader global abortion-rights movement. The movement consists of a variety of organizations, with no single centralized decision-making body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lizz Winstead</span> American comedian

Lizz Winstead is an American comedian, radio and television personality, abortion rights activist, and podcast host. A native of Minnesota, Winstead is the co-creator of The Daily Show along with Madeleine Smithberg, and served as head writer and one of the original correspondents. Winstead is the founder and chief creative officer of Abortion Access Front, a nonprofit made up of “activists, writers and producers and comedians that uses humor to destigmatize abortion” and fight against anti-abortion forces nationwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women on Waves</span> Dutch pro-choice non-profit organization

Women on Waves (WoW) is a Dutch nongovernmental organization (NGO) created in 1999 by Dutch physician Rebecca Gomperts, in order to bring reproductive health services, particularly non-surgical abortion services and education, to women in countries with restrictive abortion laws. Other services offered by WoW include contraception, individual reproductive counseling, workshops, and education about unwanted pregnancy. Workshops are conducted for lawyers, doctors, artists, writers, public health care activists, as well as for women and men to learn about contraceptive practices and non-surgical, self-induced abortion using RU-486. Services are provided on a commissioned ship that contains a specially constructed mobile clinic, the A-Portable. When WoW visits a country, women make appointments, and are taken on board the ship. The ship then sails out approximately 20 km, to international waters, where Dutch laws are in effect on board ships registered in the Netherlands. Once in international waters, the ship's medical personnel provide a range of reproductive health services that includes medical abortion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feminists for Life</span> Non-governmental organization

Feminists for Life of America (FFL) is a non-profit, anti-abortion feminist, non-governmental organization (NGO). Established in 1972, and now based in Alexandria, Virginia, the organization publishes a biannual magazine, The American Feminist, and aims to reach young women, college students in particular.

An abortion clinic or abortion provider is a medical facility that provides abortions. Such clinics may be public medical centers, private medical practices or nonprofit organizations such as Planned Parenthood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crisis pregnancy center</span> Organization that persuades pregnant women against having abortions

A crisis pregnancy center (CPC), sometimes called a pregnancy resource center (PRC) or a pro-life pregnancy center, is a type of nonprofit organization established by anti-abortion groups primarily to persuade pregnant women not to have an abortion. In the United States, CPCs that qualify as medical clinics may also provide pregnancy testing, sonograms, and other services, while many others operate without medical licensing under varying degrees of regulation.

Governments sometimes take measures designed to afford legal protection of access to abortion. Such legislation often seeks to guard facilities which provide induced abortion against obstruction, vandalism, picketing, and other actions, or to protect patients and employees of such facilities from threats and harassment.

Reproductive justice is a critical feminist framework that was invented as a response to United States reproductive politics. The three core values of reproductive justice are the right to have a child, the right to not have a child, and the right to parent a child or children in safe and healthy environments. The framework moves women's reproductive rights past a legal and political debate to incorporate the economic, social, and health factors that impact women's reproductive choices and decision-making ability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merle Hoffman</span>

Merle Hoffman is an American journalist and activist.

The Feminist Women's Health Center of Atlanta is a feminist health center that provides comprehensive gynecological health care, engages in community outreach, and advocates for reproductive justice. Kwajelyn Jackson has been the executive director since 2018.

The Feminist Abortion Network (FAN) is a national consortium of independent, feminist, not-for-profit abortion care providers. Although more than fifty such health care providers once existed, today fourteen clinics remain in operation. FAN was formed in 2006 to promote information-sharing, cross-organizational strategizing and improve the overall efficacy and reach of the member clinics.

Pamela Merritt is an American writer and reproductive justice activist who advocates for women's rights and against white supremacy. Merritt is the executive director at Medical Students for Choice (MSFC), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a network of over 10,000 medical students and residents around the world.

Abortion in Alabama is illegal. Under section 26-23H-4 of the Code of Alabama in the U.S. state of Alabama, it is unlawful for an abortion to be performed unless it is deemed absolutely necessary in order to prevent a serious health risk to the pregnant woman. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.

Abortion in Illinois is legal. Laws about abortion dated to the early 1800s in Illinois; the first criminal penalties related to abortion were imposed in 1827, and abortion itself became illegal in 1867. As hospitals set up barriers in the 1950s, the number of therapeutic abortions declined. Following Roe v. Wade in 1973, Illinois passed a number of restrictions on abortion, many of which have subsequently been repealed. Illinois updated its existing abortion laws in June 2019. The state has seen a decline in the number of abortion clinics over the years, going from 58 in 1982 to 47 in 1992 to 24 in 2014.

Abortion in New York is legal at all stages of pregnancy, although abortions after the point of viability require a physician's approval. Abortion was legalized up to the 24th week of pregnancy in New York (NY) in 1970, three years before it was decriminalized for the entire United States with the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973. Roe v. Wade was later overturned in 2022 by the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The Reproductive Health Act, passed in 2019 in New York, further allows abortions past the 24th week of pregnancy if a woman's life or health is at risk or if the fetus is not viable. However, since these exceptions are not defined by the law, and the law carries no criminal penalties, abortion is effectively legal throughout pregnancy.

Abortion in Rhode Island is legal. On June 19, 2019, the legal right to abortion was codified into Rhode Island law by passage of the Reproductive Privacy Act.

Abortion in California is legal up to the point of fetal viability. An abortion ban was in place by 1900, and by 1950, it was a criminal offense for a woman to have an abortion. In 1962, the American Law Institute published their model penal code as it applied to abortions, with three circumstances where they believed a physician could justifiably perform an abortion, and California adopted a version of this code. In 2002, California passed a law guaranteeing women the right to have an abortion "prior to viability of the fetus, or when the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman." In 2022, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 1, which amended the Constitution of California to explicitly protect the right to abortion and contraception by a margin of 33.76%.

Abortion in Maryland is legal up to the point of fetal viability and later when necessary to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person. The first laws regulating abortion in the state were passed in 1867 and 1868, banning abortion except by a physician to "secure the safety of the mother." Abortion providers continued to operate both within and outside of the law. Legal enforcement became more strict from the 1940s through 60s, with numerous police raids on abortion providers. In 1968, Maryland passed a liberalized abortion law that clarified the wording of the previous law, allowing abortion in hospital settings in cases of rape, severe fetal deformity, or when life and health were endangered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noise For Now</span>

Noise For Now is a non-profit organization based in Santa Fe, New Mexico focused on health care, reproductive justice and women's rights advocacy. The organization, co-founded in 2017 by Amelia Bauer and Samantha Kirby Yoh, works with prominent entertainers to raise awareness and financial support for these causes, and for specific health care providers, funds and education programs.

Jane's Revenge is a militant, extremist abortion rights group that encourages and claims responsibility for acts of firebombing, vandalism, and arson in the United States. The group's actions have targeted crisis pregnancy centers, a church, and a congressional office. The claimed attacks began in May 2022 following the leak of a draft of the Supreme Court's anticipated decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization; the draft indicated that the Court would soon overturn its 1973 abortion rights decision in Roe v. Wade, and the Court, in fact, did reverse Roe the following month when its final decision in Dobbs was released.

References

  1. ↑ Blogger, LPJL (2019-05-30). "We Changed Our Name... We're Abortion Access Front Now! • Abortion Access Front". Abortion Access Front. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  2. ↑ Sean. "About Us • Abortion Access Front". Abortion Access Front. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  3. ↑ "Lizz Winstead Is As Serious As She Is Funny" . Retrieved 2019-03-27.
  4. ↑ Sean. "Videos • Abortion Access Front". Abortion Access Front. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  5. ↑ Sean. "Operation Save Abortion • Abortion Access Front". Abortion Access Front. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  6. ↑ "Expose Fake Clinics". Expose Fake Clinics. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  7. ↑ Blogger, A. A. F. "Feminist Buzzkills Live! • Abortion Access Front". Abortion Access Front. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  8. ↑ Ryzik, Melena (2022-07-15). "Using Comedy to Push for Abortion Rights". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  9. ↑ Sean. "What We Do • Abortion Access Front". Abortion Access Front. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  10. ↑ Blogger, A. A. F. (2019-05-30). "We Changed Our Name... We're Abortion Access Front Now! • Abortion Access Front". Abortion Access Front. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  11. ↑ "Home". No One Asked You. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  12. ↑ "2023 Audience Award Winner". DOC NYC. 2023-11-20. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.