Hey Leaguers, it’s Ashley again!
We are finally back in the Big Apple and feeling all the feelings. Our trip was such a whirlwind that the weight of it all didn’t quite hit us until we were back in the van a few hours outside the Northeast. This was an especially emotional trip for me. I cried so much, you’d think I was on my period. But it was hearing the stories of these people, who sometimes feel so isolated and ignored, that kept reducing me to a blubbering human tear-puddle.
None of us expected that saying goodbye would be so difficult. The profound connections we made with the fearless activists, who are fighting day in and day out to defend abortion access in Mississippi and Alabama, are simply awe-inspiring. We learned about their struggles, their dreams, what motivates them and what they need from the rest of us in order to keep going. Be on the lookout for lots of videos coming soon, you will definitely want to hear their moving words!
Defending the RHS clinic in Montgomery with Pink House Defenders, Michelle Colon and Derenda Hancock, from Mississippi was an honor!
One thing that really hit me as we crossed back over the Mason-Dixon Line was the realization that, when we get back to our routine in the LPJ League clubhouse, when we’re sitting around the writers’ table pitching ideas and talking about legislation and Supreme Court cases that are coming down the pike… now we know who they affect. Now it’s personal.
When we hear about another threat against an abortion provider or an act of vandalism on a clinic, we may know that provider or have defended that clinic. These brave people are now our sisters and brothers; our family, and this trip has up-ticked the urgency and determination in our fight against abortion stigma and those trying to keep women from having access to safe and legal abortion services.
We aren’t going anywhere!
