Like most other writers I know, I have a shelf full of books I’ve yet to read and a tall stack of checkouts from the library. I long for the independent work expected of us, the enlightening resources to which we are pointed and asked to read or review. Where can I focus my energy, funnel my rage in this meantime? The more I think about the Texas ban, and each of its plausible implications, the further the end of our month-long break creeps into the distance. Still, seeing the Supreme Court uphold a six-week ban less than a year after the newest Justice has been appointed-a Justice who took the Constitutional Oath only eight days before a Presidential election-comes as an unpleasant surprise.ĭuring the break I crave the types of discussions that take place at Patients to Advocates’ weekly meetings. Some experts even say they expect Roe to be overturned in late 2022. Anyone working in or near the sphere of reproductive healthcare can tell you that the rights granted by Roe are more vulnerable now than they’ve ever been. I have been looking forward to the break for some time, but find myself adrift.

September 2021 is a break month from my fellowship. The threats facing Roe that Ginsberg’s death seemed to portend were forgotten for a little while, but not forgotten entirely. He realizes that eighty percent of Americans do not want to see Roe v. Though President Biden likens himself to a moderate, he joins the fifty-five percent of Americans who believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases. I wrote, and I slept (not well) until I completed a moldable essay draft. One year before, after the death of Justice Ginsburg, I’d spent days writing. In the email that the other fellows and I receive from Jennifer, she reminds us to take care of ourselves, pointing us toward the organization’s Employee Assistance Program. Phase two will cover Policy Education and Engagement, Statehouse Testimonies, Calling Legislators, Media Engagement, and Social Media Safety, among other things. In phase one, we studied stigma busting and other foundational topics relating to reproductive justice. Patients to Advocates is exactly what it sounds like-an organization which trains folks who have had abortions to advocate for increased access to abortion. The email is from Jennifer, Program Coordinator at a fellowship program I participate in called Patients to Advocates.

On Thursday, September 2, 2021, the day after the Supreme Court decides to uphold Texas’s near-total abortion ban, an email with the subject line “Just Checking-in with You All” lands in my inbox.

Red clocks book