Tag: healthcare

We’re launching a Kansas City resource guide to reproductive health services, crisis care, LGBTQ+ organizations, & other community programs

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By The Catcall Team

In the days since Donald Trump has returned to the Oval Office, we have unequivocally witnessed Elon Musk’s violent inauguration salute, pardons for roughly 1600 insurrectionists from the January 6th, 2021 riot, the immediate freeze on health organizations’ public communications, rollbacks on decades-old policies meant to create equity, and other treacherous fuckery. The never-ending onslaught of dread with each passing day since January 20th feels intentionally harmful to our diverse communities that actually make America great. As our newest administration attempts to control us with fear, we respond with the only logical response: community. 

That’s why Catcall has created a guide for accessible and affordable national and Kansas City-area community resources. Our team has been working on organizing resources for a while, but it felt important now more than ever to get this list up ASAP as we face the next four years. This guide will grow with us as we gain more information about the changing political climate. We also welcome our community of readers to inform us if we are missing any pertinent services in the Kansas City metro and beyond our state lines, any of which can be submitted to our Resource Guide Submission form. By coming together to offer support, information, and resources we can create solidarity through conscious actions and combat the isolation this presidency is attempting to foster. 

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Capitalism is the Abusive Relationship We Can’t Leave

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By Max Sheffield-Baird
Art by Whitney Young

CW: DV, childhood bullying, SA, specifically nonconsensual exposure of genitalia.

It’s no wonder that domestic violence survivors like myself stay so long in relationships that are toxic. The entire culture we are surrounded by and what we have to do to merely survive is both pervasive and normalized. And I’m not talking about patriarchy or white supremacy, though of course, these aspects of our culture fit the bill as well.

I’m talking about capitalism.

The more I process my own history of abusive relationships and walk the path of healing, the less I have allowed anyone to control my life or treat me as subhuman. This shift in my own thinking has made me realize that this mindset is incompatible with being a willing participant in capitalism.

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What is the path forward in a post-Roe world?

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By Katie Harbinson

With the fall of Roe v Wade upon us, we must begin to envision a world without equitable abortion access. In Oklahoma, we have a terrifying view of what is to come; just last month, the state enacted a total abortion ban with very few exceptions. This ban is the strictest in the country and claims that life begins at the moment of conception. While there are exceptions for incest or sexual assault, the survivor must have a police report on file to obtain an abortion. Given how underreported sexual violence is, this requirement effectively nullifies these exceptions. 

Oklahoma has also copied the bounty hunting clause of Texas’ SB-8, allowing citizens to file suit against those believed to be assisting with abortions in any capacity. If a vigilante lawsuit is successful, the plaintiffs are awarded $10,000 and legal fees. Meanwhile, if the defendant wins the lawsuit, they are unable to recoup any fees associated with the suit. The impact of this vigilante clause is heartbreaking—patients are afraid to seek miscarriage management and providers are turning away patients experiencing complications after miscarriages or abortions out of fear. In addition to the lives lost by lack of access to abortion care, these vigilante clauses will only increase the already too stark death toll.  

Across the country, anti-abortion extremists stand poised to enact similar abortion bans in light of the repeal of Roe. These pieces of legislation are known as “trigger bans,” meaning the ban can be triggered into action after the repeal of abortion protections in Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey. While the legislation and process of enacting these laws vary on a state-by-state basis, they will not go into effect immediately after Roe is repealed. While many states have already enacted their trigger bans, abortion access still varies greatly by state. 

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Babe Monthly: August — Olympic highlights; Texas’ near total abortion ban; The Cuomo report; and more

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By Emily Park

At Catcall, we’re all about turning catcalling on its head and calling out the patriarchy with stories that inspire the shes, theys, gays and highlight the work that needs to be done to dismantle systemic inequalities. We’re proud to bring you the July edition of Babe Monthly with the major headlines, stories, and stats in feminist news that have surfaced over the last month. 

STORIES & ACHIEVEMENTS

What US shotputter Raven Saunders’ Olympic podium protest means for her and her message to the world

The 25-year-old has spoken out about her identities as a Black queer woman who has struggled with issues of mental health and views herself as at that intersection personally. In an interview with NBC, the Olympian explained her gesture as representative of “the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet.” Read more here.

These lady motorcyclists rule New Orleans, and are now the faces of Rihanna’s latest Savage X Fenty Collection

The Caramel Curves are an all Black-female motorcycle crew based in New Orleans, Louisiana, and are front and center in this latest campaign. Read more here.

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Uzazi Village is nurturing Black mothers and birthing bodies, and fighting health inequities in Kansas City

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By Kelcie McKenney

Sandra Thornhill came to Uzazi Village in 2018 when she was pregnant with her son Jerren Junior. 

“That’s where I met the co-founder and CEO of Uzazi Village, Mama Hakima,” Thornhill said of Uzazi Executive Director Hakmia Tafunzi Payne. She had stopped by for a labor and delivery class and got to talking to Payne about where she wanted to give birth. At the time, Thornhill wanted to have a home birth, but felt like going to the hospital was easier. 

“But [Payne], being the true, authentic, warrior sister that she is, called me out,” Thornhill recalled. It turned into an hour long conversation about the autonomy of Thornhill’s body and that she had every right to determine how she wanted her birth to take place.

“Two years later, that has taken me on a journey to always question, ‘Am I being the most true and authentic?’” Thornhills said. “So after having my son, who is a boy, I realized that my first child would be a Black male. And looking at the climate of the existence and history of Black men in America—not only in America, because I’ve traveled internationally—and seeing how the Black male was treated, that made me realize I don’t want him to have to wait until he’s 27 or 28 to realize that your voice matters.”

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