No Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right

This event takes place in person at Charis and on zoom. This event is free, but registration is required for virtual attendance. Click here to register to attend virtually. Please read the in-person event guidelines at the bottom of this page to be sure you can participate in the event. The event will be ASL Interpreted live and will feature live CART transcription services.

Charis welcomes Becca Andrews in conversation with Jalessah Jackson, Interim Director of Access Reproductive Care-Southeast, and Kwajelyn Jackson, Executive Director of the Feminist Women's Health Center for a discussion of No Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right. No Choice is an in-depth look at the legacy of Roe v. Wade and on-the-ground reporting from the front lines of the battle to protect the right to choose. This event is co-sponsored by Edelweiss. Edelweiss is the book industry's platform to market, sell, discover, and order new titles. Through Ascend, Edelweiss promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion in the publishing and technology industries. This is done by investing in organizations that are already doing this work well, providing access through internships and scholarships, and amplifying under-supported voices. This event is also co-hosted by Access Reproductive Care-Southeast and the Feminist Women's Health Center. ARC-Southeast is a reproductive justice organization based in Atlanta, Georgia that funds abortion and builds power in the region. Feminist Women's Health Center is a reproductive health, rights, and justice organization. They provide direct services including abortion care, and they provide education, advocacy, and leadership development opportunities.

The pieces started to fall In 2019 when a wave of anti-abortion laws went into effect. Georgia, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana and Kentucky banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, while Missouri banned the procedure at eight weeks. Alabama banned all abortions. The die was cast. And on June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and, abortion immediately became illegal in 22 states.
 
No Choice begins by shining a light on the eerie ways in which life before Roe will be mirrored in life after. The wealthy and privileged will still have access, low-income people will suffer disproportionately, and pregnancy will be heavily policed. Then, Andrews takes us to the states and communities that have been hardest-hit by the erosion of abortion rights in this country, and tells the stories of those who are most at risk from this devastating reversal of settled law. There is a glimmer of faint hope, though.

As the battle moves to state legislatures around the country, the book profiles the people who are doing groundbreaking, inspiring work to ensure safe, legal access to this fundamental part of health care.

Kwajelyn Jackson currently serves as Executive Director at Feminist Women's Health Center (FWHC) in Atlanta, GA. She has the optimistic vision and pragmatism needed to lead an independent, non-profit, Feminist, multi-generational, multi-racial reproductive health, rights, and justice organization, providing compassionate abortion care in the South. Since 2013, she has led the expansion of FWHC’s statewide and national impact and deepened its community partnerships, leading the organization’s civic engagement, advocacy, education, and outreach teams, before becoming the organization’s first Black woman Executive Director in 2018. She sits on the board of directors for All-Options, Abortion Care Network, the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, and the Lola. Kwajelyn has been named as one of the 500 Most Powerful Leaders in Atlanta by Atlanta Magazine in 2020, 2021, and 2022.