Elmesky, Rowhea M, Yeakey, Carol Camp, Marcucci, Olivia C. The Power of Resistance: Culture, Ideology and Social Reproduction in Global Contexts. Print 2017.

Fabiola Jean

This book explains the importance of how Social media portrays the Black Lives Matter movement and how it helps many protests in different states. The authors explained that social media plays a big role in helping the movement and bringing attention to the government. Sharing information, films, and images of racial injustice and police brutality on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram has increased public awareness of the issue and strengthened the cause. With the support of trending hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter, #SayHerName, and #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd, the movement’s message has been amplified and made more apparent.

  1. “As social media became central to activists’ strategy (Anderson & Hitlin, 2016, p. 16), mainstream media eventually covered the events surrounding Michael Brown’s death as well but this coverage often emphasized the actions of police officers and besmirched Brown’s character. Pushback on social media called for what Candice Norwood (2016) refers to as “authentic representation”. ( Elmesky 101)
  2. “Analysis of the content created by mainstream media outlets is important to the broader sociopolitical context of contemporary American life, a context that is as we will further explore throughout the chapter characterized by anti-Blackness and White supremacy”. (Elmesky 101)

Buchanan, Larry, Bui, Quoctrung, Patel, Jugal K. “Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History”. July 3, 2020.

Fabiola Jean

This Newspaper talks about how The Black Lives Matter movement is expanding around the world and is making a difference.  100,000 people protested to show support for the issue of brutality against African Americans. It has become more widespread, with demonstrations and actions occurring in numerous nations. The movement had its start in the US in 2013 in reaction to George Zimmerman’s acquittal on all charges related to the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager.

  1. “On June 6, for example, at least 50,000 people turned out in Philadelphia, 20,000 in Chicago’s Union Park, and up to 10,000 on the Golden Gate Bridge, according to estimates by Edwin Chow, an associate professor at Texas State University, and researchers at the Crowd Counting Consortium”. (Buchanan)
  2. “The protests may also be benefitting from a country that is more conditioned to protesting. The adversarial stance that the Trump administration has taken on issues like guns, climate change, and immigration has led to more protests than under any other presidency since the Cold War”. (Buchanan)

Roe v Wade Overturned: What It Means, What’s Next By Patty Housman

Amanee Ahmed

Housman, Patty. “Roe v Wade Overturned: What It Means, What’s Next.” American University, 29 June 2022.

Patty Housman is an Assistant Director of Communications of CAS Marketing & Communication for the American University of Washington DC. In “Roe v Wade Overturned: What It Means, What’s Next” by Patty Housman, she explains the potential consequences of repealing the historic decision of the Supreme Court from 1973 that legalized abortion in the United States. It discusses the current legal climate around abortion rights in the US and gives background information on the Roe v. Wade decision. After that, the author discusses the probable effects of overturning Roe v. Wade, such as the possibility of individual states passing their own abortion regulations and the effect on women’s access to safe and legal abortion services. Also, the paper analyzes the political and social ramifications of such a choice, including the possibility for enhanced activism and mobilization on both sides of the abortion debate. This article is useful because it provides an overview of the potential consequences of overturning Roe v. Wade and how getting rid of abortion rights and laws will be very detrimental towards women. 

  1. “The only alternative to abortion is childbirth, which has a 14 times higher risk of death than that abortion. So, in denying a person access to a wanted abortion, states are forcing people to assume significant medical risk against their will.” (Housman)
  2. “The only alternative to abortion is childbirth, which has a 14 times higher risk of death than that abortion. So, in denying a person access to a wanted abortion, states are forcing people to assume significant medical risk against their will.” (Housman)

Polish Court Convicts Activist for Helping Woman Get Abortion Pills By Betsy Reed

Amanee Ahmed

Reed, Betsy. “Polish Court Convicts Activist for Helping Woman Get Abortion Pills.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 14 Mar. 2023. 

Betsy Reed is an American journalist and editor. In July 2022, she was named the editor-in-chief of Guardian US. In “Polish Court Convicts Activist for Helping Woman Get Abortion Pills” by Betsy Reed reports on the conviction of a Polish women’s rights advocate who assisted a lady in getting abortion drugs. The article explains the case’s history, which encompasses Poland’s severe abortion regulations, as well as the accusations made against the activist. The author explores the legal defenses put forth by either side of the dispute as well as the larger backdrop of reproductive rights in Poland, where abortion is only permitted in situations involving rape, incest, fetal abnormalities, or a threat to the mother’s life. The article also discusses the case’s political ramifications, which have been viewed as a test of Poland’s current conservative government’s tolerance for political opposition. This newspaper is helpful towards pro-abortion because it focuses on the difficulties activists facing in a hostile political and legal context as they struggle for reproductive rights.

  1. “We are strong, and together we are even stronger,” ADT wrote in a public statement. “We will never stop supporting each other and we won’t stop helping with abortions.” (Reed)
  2. “Today’s conviction marks a depressing low in the repression of reproductive rights in Poland, a rollback for which women and girls – and those who defend their rights – are paying a high price.” (Reed)

Women’s March Holds Nationwide Rallies on 50th Anniversary of Roe By Jenna Russell and Ava Sasani  

Amanee Ahmed

Russell, Jenna, and Ava Sasani. “Women’s March Holds Nationwide Rallies on 50th Anniversary of Roe.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 Jan. 2023. 

Jenna Russell joined The New York Times in 2022 as New England bureau chief after more than 20 years at The Boston Globe. A contributor to award-winning projects in both narrative and investigative journalism, she is a co-author of two Globe books. Ava Sasani is a reporter for the National desk, and a part of the New York Times 2022 fellowship class. She has worked at the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe. “Women’s March Holds Nationwide Rallies on 50th Anniversary of Roe.” reports on the Women’s March protests that occurred across America on the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision’s 50th anniversary, which legalized abortion in the country. The article goes into detail on the different speeches made by activists and politicians, musical acts, and marches that took place at the gatherings. The rally messages, which included appeals for reproductive justice, the defense of abortion rights, and an end to gender-based violence and discrimination, were diverse, as were the participants, as highlighted by the writers. The political backdrop for the marches is also covered in the piece, including the recent wave of restrictive abortion legislation that have been implemented in various states and the ongoing court disputes regarding reproductive rights. This newspaper is helpful because it emphasixez the continued importance of Roe v. Wade and the ongoing struggle for reproductive rights and justice.

  1. “They have no idea what happened before — we had no birth control, really,” she said. The court decision “will not stop abortions, it will only kill women,” (Russell, Sasani)
  2. “The other side thinks we should be mourning today,” Ms. Middleton said, drawing boos from the crowd. “They don’t know us. Today we remind them our fight was never just about Roe — our fight is for full reproductive freedom.” (Russell, Sasani)

Abortion and the Public Health: Time for Another Look By Stephen A. McCurdy

Amanee Ahmed

McCurdy, Stephen A. “Abortion and Public Health: Time for Another Look.” The Linacre Quarterly. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Feb. 2016. 

Stephen McCurdy is a professor of medicine at the University of California and affiliated with UC Davis Medical Center. His research is mainly focus on agricultural health. In “Abortion and the Public Health: Time for Another Look,” by Stephen A. McCurdy, the article explores the effects of abortion on public health and contends that the conventional opposition between pro-choice and pro-life does not adequately represent the complexity of the issue. McCurdy contends that legislators and medical experts should pay attention to abortion since it is a matter of public health. He examines the historical background of abortion in the US and assesses how restrictive abortion regulations affect outcomes for the general public’s health. He also talks about how contraception helps to lower the number of unplanned pregnancies and abortions. This academic journal is useful to my topic because it provides a comprehensive analysis of the public health implications of abortion, and it also represents the importance of safe and legal abortion access as a critical component of reproductive health care.

  1. “There is often failure to distinguish between biologic fact—the embryo or fetus as a unique human life—and philosophical construct—the embryo or fetus as a “person” deserving of protections that normally pertain to that status. The very term “human being” is disputed, with one group using it in the factual biologic sense denoting species and the other reserving it for those with advanced cognitive abilities, conveniently excluding the embryo and fetus.” (McCurdy)
  2. “Support for abortion means that the principle of protection for human life above a parental interest in autonomy does not hold for the days, weeks, and months prior to delivery. Thus, calls for reproductive justice and compassion apply only to the woman with an unintended pregnancy and not to the human life she temporarily shelters.” (McCurdy)

 Alfred, Mary V. Race and the politics of exclusion: The socio-historical contexts of Black brutality and the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement. 12 September 2021.

Fabiola Jean

This article talks about how African Americans are facing brutality in our injustice system and it’s been an ongoing fight for racial justice in America. Also explains there was more history before the Black Lives Matter movement Beginning with Plessy V Ferguson or the Jim Crows Laws. Which from the late 19th century to the middle of the 1960s, the Jim Crow laws were a system of state and local legislation in the United States that enforced racial segregation and discrimination against Black people. The laws bear the name of a prominent minstrel show character from the 19th century who personified derogatory stereotypes about Black people.

  1. “The movement gained further prominence on a national and global scale with the police killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Floyd’s death resulted from asphyxiation when a White officer remained kneeling on his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, ignoring his cries that he could not breathe”. (Alfred)
  2. “While the underlying philosophies of the BLM movement represent the lives of other demographic groups who have suffered oppression, dehumanization, and deserve attention, Issar (2020) unapologetically emphasized that the focus of BLM is on the lives of Black people to raise attention and rally the cry for help from allies to stop the criminalization, oppression, and annihilation” (Alfred).

Abortion Law and Policy Around the World: In Search of Decriminalization By Marge Berer

Amanee Ahmed

Berer, Marge. “Abortion Law and Policy around the World: In Search of Decriminalization.” Health and Human Rights. U.S. National Library of Medicine, June 2017. 

Marge Berer is an international coordinator of the International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion, London, UK, and was the editor of Reproductive Health Matters. “Abortion Law and Policy Around the World” by Marge Berer is a journal that emphasizes the need to decriminalize abortion in order to protect the rights and health of women. The journal looks at how abortion laws stand now in various nations, with a focus on those that outlaw the procedure or severely restrict access to it. Criminalizing abortion, according to Berer, does not stop it from occurring; rather, it pushes it underground and makes it riskier, endangering the lives of women. She is a supporter of a human rights-based strategy for abortion that acknowledges women’s autonomy and agency in making choices about their own bodies and lives. This article is helpful towards my topic because the article emphasizes the urgent need for global action to decriminalize abortion and ensure that all women have access to safe and legal abortion services.

  1. “It should be clear that the plethora of convoluted laws and restrictions on abortion do not make any legal or public health sense. What makes abortion safe is simple and irrefutable—when it is available on the woman’s request and universally affordable and accessible.” (Berer)
  2. “Thus, the availability of safe abortion depends not only on permissive legislation but also on a permissive environment, political support, and the ability and willingness of health services and health professionals to make abortion available.” (Berer)

Decoding Abortion Rhetoric: Communicating Social Change By Celeste Michelle Condit 

Amanee Ahmed

Condit, Celeste M. Decoding Abortion Rhetoric: Communicating Social Change. Univ. of Illinois Pr., 1990. 

Celeste Michelle Condit is an associate professor in speech communication in the University of Georgia. She is also known as a co-author of another book known as “Crafting Equality: America’s Anglo- African Word”. The book “Decoding Abortion Rhetoric: Communicating Social Change” examines the terminology and rhetoric used in the abortion issue in the United States. The author looks at how various participants in the discussion, such as politicians, activists, and media sources, utilize language to influence the public’s views and affect public policy. The author also discusses how the rhetoric have a powerful impact on public opinion and policy, and that effective communication strategies are essential to advancing reproductive justice and human rights. This book is useful because it examines the ways in which various stakeholders in the debate use language to shape public opinion and influence policy, the book provides insight into the cultural, political, and ideological factors that contribute to the abortion debate.

  1. “Public disclosure serves as such a bridge because it is both a concrete material practice and the bearer of ideas. It becomes, therefore, vital to any understanding of the evolution of material practices and ethics. Unfortunately, the few studies that have taken serious account of the disclosure of the abortion controversy have lacked methodological sophistication or have taken a static ahistorical perspective.” (Condit)
  2. “Omitting this disclosure seems to reproduce the blanket of silence over these feminisms and to rely on a crude distinction between public, or *out-group, rhetoric and *in-group rhetoric.” (Condit)

Our Bodies! Our Choice! Winning the Fight for Reproductive Rights By Evelyn Sell

Amanee Ahmed

Sell, Evelyn. Our Bodies! Our Choice! Winning the Fight for Reproductive Rights. New York, NY: F.I.T, 1991. 

Evelyn Sell founded and served as a state officer for the Texas Abortion Coalition. She is currently a part of the NOW chapter in Los Angeles. Sell, a United Teachers Los Angeles member, and contributed to the formation of the union’s Human Rights Committee. She is a contributing editor of the Fourth Internationalist Tendency’s monthly newspaper, Bulletin in Defense of Marxism. Evelyn Sell explains the background and ongoing fight for abortion rights in the US in “Our Bodies! Our Choice!”. The book makes the case that reproductive rights are a crucial component of women’s autonomy and self-determination and emphasizes how abortion restrictions disproportionately harm marginalized communities, especially low-income women, and women of color. The book concludes by arguing that the fight for abortion rights should continue to be a crucial part of the larger campaign for reproductive justice. This book is useful towards my topic because it talks about the importance of women having control over their own bodies, and that they should have the choice whether they want an abortion or not. 

  1. “Every aspect of a woman’s existence is affected by reproductive choices: her role in society, educational pursuits, job opportunities, physical and mental health, patterns of daily life, and personal relationships.” (Sell)
  2. “The Supreme Court stopped short of actually reversing the 1973 decision on Roe v. Wade but the justices have continued to chop away women’s reproductive rights — with especially disastrous results for poor women, low-paid female workers, youths, and women of color.” (Sell)