If Roe falls, California must be a "safe haven state”

OPINION - By Meghan Macaluso, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte Chief Development Officer

"This is something central to a woman's life, to her dignity. It's a decision that she must make for herself. And when government controls that decision for her, she's being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices." – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte’s Chief Development Officer, Meghan Macaluso stands with the community in the #StandwithPP campaign to rally support against the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Next year, when the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, we may see the end of the federal right to have an abortion in this country. You read it right. This is not a drill. It’s a four-alarm emergency for our right to control our own bodies.

The ruling on the Mississippi case will likely mean that the Supreme Court’s landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision will be overturned or made irrelevant, denying abortion care to millions of people in more than 20 states – especially people who have low incomes, few resources, and little or no health insurance. Meanwhile, a new Gallup poll shows public support for abortion-rights at an all-time high: Eight out of 10 surveyed support the right to safe, legal abortion.

So, how did we get here, who is most affected, and what can we, the Seismic Sisters community, do now to help?

First, the most recent major salvo in the attack on abortion rights can be traced back to October 2020, when the Senate confirmed ultra-conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court, where she joined two other extremely conservative justices that had been nominated by Donald Trump.

But the new “Supreme majority” – which, in fact, reflects a distinct minority of public opinion -- is only the latest twist in a decades-long campaign to curtail the right to abortion. For many women and non-binary people in states throughout more than half of the country, access to safe and legal abortion is already out of reach. In 2021 alone, state legislatures, emboldened by the new makeup of the Supreme Court, have introduced more than 500 abortion restrictions in nearly every state in the country -- 60 of which have already been passed and signed. 

In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott just signed an extreme ban that prohibits abortion at six weeks -- before most people know they’re pregnant. There are no exceptions for rape or incest, and the bill would allow anyone to sue any person. The language is so broad that it would allow an abuser to use the legal system against their victim’s counselor, physician, or family. It’s right out of a dystopian novel.

The challenge of Roe v. Wade at the U.S. Supreme Court poses a threat to women’s health care and to organizations like Planned Parenthood that are at the forefront of providing much needed services. Planned Parenthood’s breadth of services also encompasses gender affirming care, sex education, STD testing, treatment, and vaccines, and general health care for men, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals. Their team is photographed here, hosting a peaceful #StandForEquality rally outside the California State Capitol. 

And, let’s be clear: the avalanche of restrictions on abortion care is one of the most obvious barriers to achieving health care equity across the nation, disproportionately harming communities of color and people with low incomes. 

At Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, the affiliate where I work that covers 42 counties across mid-California and northern Nevada, the good news is that both places are “safe haven states” for abortion rights. As the largest Planned Parenthood in the country, we believe now is the time to expand health care access. We are fortunate that we stand on the shoulders of many who fought hard to enshrine access to abortion into the California state constitution and for laws that protect abortion rights in Nevada. 

We are certain that abortion patients in other states will come to us because they already are. Consider these snapshots of patients that came to our Oakland health center, which PPMM CEO Stacy Cross wrote about in the San Jose Mercury News:

A woman from Missouri had been ecstatic when fertility treatments resulted in her first pregnancy – but she was devastated later to discover there were profound health complications. Heartbroken, she and her husband decided to end the pregnancy, but she had no way to access abortion within hundreds of miles. She flew to California and received care here.

A college student in Atlanta discovered she was pregnant and not ready to have a child. It was easier for her to borrow money for a flight to the Bay Area than to find safe, legal abortion services in Georgia.

A woman from Texas, who was a victim of domestic violence, was terrified when she learned she was pregnant. Determined to end the pregnancy, she was unable to find services. She had just enough money for a flight to the Bay Area if she didn’t stay overnight. She arrived at our health center with her suitcase and a standby reservation to fly back to Texas only hours after her abortion.

The fight for women’s right to health care is a life-long commitment, as seen in one of its staunchest advocates, Meghan Macaluso, Chief Development Officer at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte.

Stories like this are the reason that California and Planned Parenthood must continue to serve as refuge from states that are, or are perilously close to becoming, abortion-access deserts.

And we are ready. Bolstered by deep commitment to our mission and a strong base of supporters that have our back, we are not only addressing the health care challenges in California and Nevada, but are expanding care to meet this perilous moment. We have implemented telehealth services and gender affirming care services at all 35 of our health centers. We have expanded services to include not just sexual and reproductive health care, but primary care and behavioral health services, too.  This means in one exam room a patient can receive a cancer screening, while in the next exam room a patient is receiving a diabetes-check, and in the next room a patient can receive a medication abortion. This not only meets the needs of more people in one safe and trusted environment, it destigmatizes abortion care and shows what it truly is – health care.

If you are interested in helping us in our mission, join us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and consider becoming a volunteer to help us with our campaigns and more. Of course, we always appreciate donations to serve our patients and advocacy work, but your voice – online and in person – is one of the most powerful tools we have to let our legislators and community leaders know what’s at stake for our patients and our communities. It’s never been more important to ensure that California is the strongest safe-haven state it can be for people who may very well have their rights stripped away in the states where they live.

Get loud, be proud, and stand with us now. Together, we can ensure all people are truly cared for, making their lives, their families – and even the world – better and healthier.  

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Meghan Macaluso is Chief Development Officer at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte.
Seismic Sisters thanks Meghan for being a bold advocate for reproductive rights and contributing this opinion as a special Guest Columnist in our June 2021 edition of The Jolt newsletter.

Complex, Endlessly Curious, Broken and Beautiful

Written by Tumay Aslay

Jess Semaan, photo by Tumay Aslay

Jess Semaan is a queer author, activist, performer and a psychotherapist. Since the day she set foot in the United States at the age of 24, she has not stopped stretching the boundaries of her creative mind. It was 2010 when she first arrived in the United States with a big suitcase, average English, and a full scholarship to attend Stanford Business School. Growing up during the Lebanese Civil War, Semaan found comfort in her own imagination. “I never felt safe growing up. It was not the classic safety we refer to, as in not dying. It was more, the safety of feeling loved and seen.” Semaan writes in one of her articles on Medium, “When you grow up in violence, you often rely on your imagination to survive. In return, it develops your creativity.”

Jess Semaan, photo by Tumay Aslay

Semaan’s Arabic background and deep roots in Maronite Catholicism, a small religious minority in Lebanon, plays a major factor in who she is today. After years of trying to absorb herself into the American culture, Jess is exhausted from what feels like a constant act of performance. “I recently started a group for Lebanese immigrants to explore our identity. It has been immensely healing, making me proud of my ancestors, my culture, and my roots. I am more aware of how the collective trauma has shaped me,” says Semaan. “I describe myself as complex, endlessly curious, broken, and beautiful.” she adds. “I now also identify as a queer. I am always questioning the gender expectations and the binary, as they have kept me trapped for so long. To me, being queer is saying no to heteronormativity as being the only way. It is a way to express myself radically as I am in a constant process of liberation.”

Jess Semaan, photo by Tumay Aslay.

Semaan was twelve years old when she first started writing French poetry. “I think I was born a writer. My dad is a writer and my great-grandfather was a poetry professor in Lebanon,” she tells us. It wasn't until she was in her 20s that she revisited writing again. Feeling depressed and burned out by the high demands of her earlier career in tech, she found emotional escape in writing. With the success of her article Fuck Working Hard on Medium, Semaan felt encouraged to invest more into writing. 

Child of the Moon, an illustrated poetry collection, was released in 2019. In her book, Semaan touches on themes such as her journey through fear, shame, and despair, and the unconditional love that helped her begin to heal from childhood trauma.

 “in between being your mother and father

I forgot to be your daughter

and became the child of the moon”

Jess Semaan

The complexity of Semaan’s creativity continues to show up in different phases of her life. Healing is a form of art and an everyday practice for her. After the journey of her own healing through psychedelic-assisted therapy, Semaan recently decided to embark on a career in psychotherapy to help others explore relief from their past traumas. Her own background shapes her to be a sensitive therapist for all cultures and identities, especially with BIPOC, immigrants and LGBTQ patients. “It feels as if it’s my duty to support people who look like me, help them find their voices and power, and contribute to dismantling the toxic system we live in that is literally bringing us and the planet disease.”   

So what’s next for Jess Semaan? “Loving myself, and perfecting my self-care plans. This includes having better internal boundaries, as a start. For example, how do I take care of my younger anxious part, so they do not have to go on Instagram and instead, I invite them to meditate before bed to calm the anxiety? Another challenge that came up in the pandemic, is sitting a lot and not moving enough. In turn, it would get my emotions and my client’s emotions stuck in my body. Getting off my couch and going on a walk has been revolutionary.”

“I am also exploring whether I want to be a mother and how to go about it. Being in my mid 30s and unpartnered has posed its own unique questions and challenges. But the process of navigating my fertility has been a growth experience to come more into my power, own my body, and uncouple motherhood from romantic partnership. Would I have loved to be raised in a community and not in a nuclear family? A million percent. And I am hoping that for my unborn child. Maybe imagining a world where I can have both? Why not.”

Tumay Aslay is a Seismic Sisters writer and photographer.

Mayor London Breed announces The Women and Families First Initiative

By Kim Christensen

On the steps of City Hall, San Francisco Mayor London Breed was beaming as she announced The Women and Families First Initiative in May. It would provide targeted job training for 300 women in industries that are expected to grow during the city’s economic recovery from the COVID crisis. Childcare is also an important part of the recovery strategy, and the initiative would support approximately 800 children with childcare tuition credits.

Mayor Breed is proposing to allocate $6 million in her proposed budget for the next two years to support The Women and Families First Initiative. The Mayor’s budget was introduced on June 1 and if approved in the budget process, the initiative will launch in late summer.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed announces Women and Families First Initiative on May 26, 2021. Photo by Seismic Sisters.

“Women, and particularly women with children, have experienced higher rates of unemployment throughout the course of the pandemic. Even before COVID-19, women were getting paid less than men doing similar work,” said Mayor Breed. “As we move forward on our recovery, we have an opportunity to make San Francisco a more equitable and supportive place for women and their children. With this initiative, we’re working to make sure that women have employment opportunities that can get them on a path to a fulfilling career, and that more families can access high-quality, affordable childcare so their kids are taken care of and parents can return to work.”

The Initiative would be done in partnership with the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women, Human Rights Commission, Office of Economic and Workforce Development and non-profit service providers, offering training programs for 300 women that can lead to career opportunities in the fields of healthcare, technology, construction, hospitality, and emerging industries.