Abortion Academy with SYA

Shout Your Abortion

Welcome to SYA's Abortion Academy series, where each month we'll hear from a different abortion expert. Together we'll take deeper dives into more nuanced topics, help connect the dots between issues many of us are navigating regionally and what's happening at the national and global level, and give you fresh ideas to take back into your community.

  1. 22h ago

    Session 34 | Abortion and Art with Beezus Murphy

    In this session, we talked with writer and former SYA Artist-in-Residence Beezus B. Murphy. Beezus was SYA's youngest artist-in-residence, working with SYA to create the 2021 graphic novel My Mom Had an Abortion. Illustrated by Seattle artist Tatiana Gill, the text is a hilarious and heartwarming coming-of-age story written by a teenaged Beezus. Beezus has since moved on to write Waiting Room, an American College Theatre Festival 2026 National Individual Event Award winner, which centers abortion as a key theme. We talked with Beezus about their new play, her journey as a writer, and how and why she works with the topic of abortion in their artistic practice. Bio Beezus Murphy is a Seattle-based author, playwright, and activist who describes herself as a dyslexic-asexual-lesbian-feminist. She is best known for My Mom Had an Abortion (PM Press/Shout Your Abortion, 2021), an autobiographical graphic novel illustrated by Tatiana Gill that follows her journey from absorbing harmful media narratives about abortion to becoming an outspoken reproductive rights advocate. Murphy recently added playwright to her résumé, winning a playwriting prize at Western Washington University. Beezus is a passionate voice for inclusive, mindful storytelling and proof that teen writers and activists can be incredibly powerful. Beezus is a one-of-a-kind creative visionary, and a force of inclusive, thoughtful pro-abortion storytelling.

    40 min
  2. Mar 30

    Session 31 | Learning from Restricted States with Florida Access Network

    In this session of Abortion Academy we speak with Laura, Ciné, and Lana'e from the Florida Access Network (FAN). Florida has extremely restrictive abortion laws including a six-week limit, a parental consent law, and penalty fines for doctors providing abortions over the legal limit. It's a challenging environment to provide abortion support, but that doesn't stop people in Florida from needing abortions. That's where the beautiful people at FAN come in - providing funding, practical support, peer support, mutual aid, and more to abortion seekers. FAN's work is built around principles of reproductive justice and sexual liberation, and they practice what they preach. This trio talks to us about the creative ways they support abortion access, including the second edition of an analog newspaper coming out this spring, the challenges of living and working in a restricted state, how we can work with each other across state lines, and more. Bio Florida Access Network builds pathways for abortion access by advocating for reproductive justice, funding abortion care, and providing logistical support to make abortion access a reality. Shout Your Abortion is normalizing abortion and elevating safe paths to access. SYA makes resources, campaigns, and media intended to arm existing activists, create new ones, and foster collective participation in abortion access all over the country.  Links Florida Access Network FAN's blog Newspaper Issue 1 Newspaper Issue 2 FAN's newsletter Luca Molnar (local FL artist who partnered with FAN) Lizzie Suarez (local FL artist who partnered with FAN) Fuel Your Fund Fuel Your Fund interest form FAN's Instagram ShoutYourAbortion.com

    1h 3m
  3. Mar 2

    Session 30 | Learning from Acompañantes with Suzanne Veldhuis

    In this session of Abortion Academy we speak with activist and doctor Suzanne Veldhuis about her groundbreaking research and work with acompañantes and pro-choice physicians in Mexico. Velduis has been working closely with acompañantes – groups of activists who accompany pregnant people through their abortions outside of a clinical setting, creating a safe, holistic, and destigmatizing method of care. We talk with Veldhuis about how acompañantes networks work and why it is vital to center their work in the rapid expansion of self-managed abortion (SMA); how acompañantes, activists, and doctors can potentially work together to build a better system of care, and more. SMA is a revolution in abortion access and will be a major part of the future, no matter what politicians do – come learn more about how the acompañantes model can be adapted to other contexts, including your own. Bio Suzanne Veldhuis is feminist activist, physician, and researcher, originally from the Netherlands, who has lived in Chiapas, Mexico, since 2013. With over a decade of experience, Suzanne has worked extensively on projects related to sexual and reproductive health and access to safe abortion, both in Mexico and internationally. She currently serves as Advocacy and Research Coordinator and physician at Women on Web and is the co-founder of the Network of Pro-Choice Physicians Mexico. She specializes in self-managed abortion models and their articulation with the medical sector. Links Abortion Accompaniment Practices in Northern Mexico "Becoming the woman she wishes you to be": A qualitative study exploring the experiences of medication abortion acompañantes in three regions in Mexico Línea Aborto Chiapas documentary Hegemonic Medicine and Self-Managed Abortion - full article Hegemonic Medicine and Self-Managed Abortion - commentary Acompañantes' perspectives on health system partnerships for medication abortion care in three Mexican states Workshop methodology (Spanish) Workshop methodology (English) PhD dissertation (Spanish only)

    1h 43m

About

Welcome to SYA's Abortion Academy series, where each month we'll hear from a different abortion expert. Together we'll take deeper dives into more nuanced topics, help connect the dots between issues many of us are navigating regionally and what's happening at the national and global level, and give you fresh ideas to take back into your community.