Don’t Panic: Organizers Weigh In on Defending Reproductive Justice From the GOP
Since President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in early November, many reproductive rights supporters have expressed deep concern about another four years under a Trump administration.
In his first term, Trump nominated three of the six Supreme Court judges who decided Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the case that overturned federal legal protections for abortion in 2022. Trump himself and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance have both used intentionally vague language and mixed messaging to obscure their more hardline positions on abortion access. This has led some voters to believe that the incoming administration would not support (nor sign into law) a national abortion ban, and many other voters to expect that they almost certainly will.
Reproductive rights organizations largely expect Trump, the judicial branch and the next Congress to work in tandem to enact policy changes that increase the already significant barriers to accessing reproductive health care. They point to the possibility of the federal government enacting a national abortion ban by passing a federal limit on abortion after a certain gestational stage, and using the Comstock Act to criminalize both the individuals accessing abortion pills through the mail as well as the networks supporting them.
However, many reproductive justice organizers say some of the most alarmist analyses — frequently spread via social media — lack important nuance and fail to include useful information that is supportive of reproductive autonomy in the current legal climate and going forward.
Don’t React Without Research
Robyn Neen is a reproductive justice organizer, abortion doula and founder of the Abortion Care Tennessee abortion fund. She has noticed a pattern in the posts shared during periods of increased attention to abortion access by people who are supportive of reproductive rights but aren’t closely engaged with the reproductive justice movement. “Despite the ever-changing conditions, the social media panic spiral always unfolds the same,” Neen told Truthout.
Taren Holliman, program manager at the Abortion Fund of Ohio, said she has seen many posts reflecting the fears of “people who are terrified that their bodily autonomy is headed out the door completely.”
“In a country where abortion and contraceptive access is already extremely limited and hostile, it is understandable why people have these fears and feelings, but stigma and fear-based messages spread quickly and can harm folks currently seeking care,” Holliman told Truthout. For example, she said, some viral posts are urging people to take more drastic measures — for example, getting long-term birth control when they otherwise wouldn’t choose that option.
“Knowing the different reproductive options available to you is crucial and always useful in helping make an informed decision about care that is right for you.” Holliman explained. “The harm comes in when the messages are purely based on fear and not accurate information.”
Neen described a tone of fear and anxiety underlying the misinformation spread on social media, noting that online discourse often makes an “immediate jump to fearmongering around contraceptive access,” including viral posts pushing for everyone get an IUD inserted, delete their period tracking app and start stocking up on emergency contraception.
Another reproductive justice organizer, Larada Lee-Wallace, echoed these concerns. “I’ve seen many social media posts encouraging people to stockpile abortion pills (like mifepristone and misoprostol) and emergency contraception (like Plan B) in response to increased restrictions on reproductive health care,” she told Truthout. “While these suggestions may come from good intentions, they can cause harm. Stockpiling can lead to shortages, making it harder for people who urgently need these medications to access them.”
Lee-Wallace also pointed out that these medications have a “limited shelf life, so hoarding it could result in waste, and that is not at all effective.”
La La, a member of NYC for Abortion Rights, who asked to be identified only by her first name in the context of the legal and personal safety risks associated with abortion activism, noted that the uncertainty of the present political situation is contributing to a “feeling of urgency” among abortion rights supporters, but warned that stockpiling medications now “impacts people needing access to abortion pills in this current moment, and the months to come.”
Build and Support Networks of Care Instead
Rather than stockpiling medications, La La suggested a more effective response is to build “communities of mutual aid by sharing information on accessing abortion pills, becoming an abortion doula and supporting a friend through a self-managed abortion, [and] donating to abortion funds,” describing these “networks of care” as the pathway for a political response rooted in reproductive justice.
Neen felt similarly: “Reproductive justice is about our collective liberation and building the world we all deserve.” Neen underscored the importance of “building trust and solidarity within our communities” over an individualistic approach: “So yes, you could be fine, and you might have misoprostol in your cabinet, but does your neighbor know that they can trust you if they get an unwanted positive pregnancy test?”
Reproductive justice organizer and educator Kenyatta Thomas also advocated for growing “community networks of care and knowledge.” They suggested people who are feeling ready to take action get educated on self-managed abortion protocols and help spread that information to others. “If you can, find allies in lawyers and medical providers in your community,” Thomas said. “Find herbalists, doulas, and people who are able to help store emergency contraception and pregnancy tests.”
“Pooling knowledge and resources is good not just for the sake of having a big network, but can also prevent burnout and ensure that people who are supporting others are also supported themselves,” Thomas told Truthout.
Thomas also stressed the value of being publicly pro-abortion in daily life and “fighting back against anti-abortion stigma that is ultimately rooted in the violent systems of white supremacy and the patriarchy.”
“Normalize abortion. Talk about abortion. Say abortion,” Thomas urged pro-abortion individuals. “Let people know that they can trust you if they choose to share their stories or seek assistance with an abortion.”
Mira Michels, another member of NYC for Abortion Rights, likewise advocated for people to serve as community resources: “You can support your community by learning about the different kinds of birth control, pregnancy, and the difference between Plan B and abortion. Research where people can access care in your community and beyond, such as for OB/GYN exams, STI testing or support for sexual violence.”
Michels also noted that serving as a resource and normalizing these conversations can have powerful impacts. “You can also create space for conversations that might otherwise not have happened. When you are supportive and approachable, people may feel comfortable sharing that they are struggling with painful sex, a toxic partner, or an unplanned pregnancy and would love to talk to someone about it,” Michels told Truthout. “Your role is not to have all the answers — it is to listen, offer support and help them connect them to what they need.”
Lee-Wallace explained that abortion funds and practical support networks do real on-the-ground work, like helping people pay for abortions, covering travel costs or finding someone a safe place to stay. “Supporting them ensures that your resources go directly to the people who need them most,” they said. Lee-Wallace also suggested volunteering for these groups, “whether it’s driving someone to a clinic, offering child care, or even becoming an abortion or birth doula to provide hands-on support.”
Similarly, Holliman, who works for an abortion fund, says it is important for people to “get connected with the efforts already in place” to support abortion access. “There’s talk of the need for ‘underground networks’ rather than investing in the work that already exists and has been preparing for this. We encourage folks who feel compelled to act to tap into the networks that already exist,” Holliman said.
Holliman points to groups like Online Abortion Resource Squad (OARS) on Reddit, Plan C Pills and M+A Hotline that “provide accurate (and in the case of abortion support groups), tailored information.” Holliman also noted that familiarity with those working on the ground to support reproductive health access “helps to eliminate the misinformation being spread and it centralizes support for folks seeking it.”
In the wake of widespread misinformation, some experts and organizations took to social media to add nuance to the online discourse. They are sharing useful resources and challenging the idea that people concerned about the criminalization of pregnancy outcomes should delete their period tracking apps or avoid cycle tracking altogether. However, in an essay published shortly after the Dobbs decision, Kendra Albert, an attorney who works at the intersection of technology and civil rights, wrote that tracker data collected in an app is unlikely to be used in a criminal investigation unlike other sources of digital evidence “in the form of texts, emails, and search/web history” that are commonly used to criminalize people for their pregnancy outcomes.
Michels also explained that menstrual cycle tracking is “helpful for early identification of pregnancy” and noted that for people who are reasonably concerned about their data being shared with advertisers, “Euki is a more privacy-conscious option for digital period tracking that does not share or store user data.”
Pursuing Reproductive Justice for All Under Trump — and Beyond
Neen says the framework of reproductive justice asks us to “dismantle all the systems that protect certain bodies above others.” She argues it is critical that we understand our freedom to be dependent on the liberation of everyone, and that “we won’t get free by individually barricading ourselves in singular bubbles of safety.”
Lee-Wallace also pointed out that “reproductive justice reminds us that we’re not going to fix systemic problems with individual actions alone,” but rather by “focusing on collective solutions that address inequities in access.”
“Instead of focusing on personal fixes like stockpiling abortion pills, reproductive justice guides us to support organizations that help those facing the biggest barriers — like low-income folks, BIPOC communities and people in rural areas,” Lee-Wallace said. “It’s about putting resources into local abortion funds and practical support networks that directly serve those who are most affected. It also asks us to challenge the systems creating these inequities in the first place, whether it’s pushing for policy changes or calling out racism and classism in how care is distributed.”
When asked how the election results would influence their approach to abortion support and access work, the reproductive justice organizers Truthout spoke to largely felt there would be minimal impact. Thomas doesn’t expect their work “will change much at all.” They explained their “goal has always been to get people the information and resources they need to control their own bodies and to help the folks in their communities do the same.”
“There are people who won’t be happy to hear it, but that [goal] wasn’t going to change regardless of who ended up in the White House,” Thomas said. “No matter who won the election, it would still be abortion funds, practical support organizations, doulas and advocates getting the people what they need.”
Neen expressed a similar sentiment. “Most of my work will remain the same because abortion has been inaccessible under every administration in my lifetime,” although she also noted that a second Trump administration will be an “entirely different beast than a centrist administration” led by Democrats.
“Most of my organizing spaces have been an embodiment of reproductive justice values since learning election results; while bracing for an inevitably terrifying next four years and beyond, we are deeply caring for each other,” Neen shared. From soup drop-offs, to free babysitting and community care initiatives, “we are bracing for things to get worse, as we always are, and committing to holding each other and embodying our values throughout whatever comes next.”