Roe Was the Floor of Abortion Access, Not the Ceiling: Polyamory, Consent, and the Future of Reproductive Justice w/ Ellie

CW: Discussions surrounding sexual assault 

This week’s episode with Ellie covers a wide breadth of topics, so put on your listening ears and get ready! Brianna and Ellie discuss polyamory and how non-monogamous relationship styles can teach all of us an immense amount about communication, consent, and navigating difficult conversations with the people you love. They also talk about ways that sex education and broader understandings of consent can help prevent sexual assault and the ways that the legal and political landscape around abortion access is shifting after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. You can find resources for sexual assault survivors and education on reproductive justice at the end of the episode description.

Below you can find a glossary of jargon-y terms we might’ve said on the show.  

• Heteronormative: Relating to a world-view that promotes heterosexuality as the assumed normal or the preferred sexual orientation. 
• Monogamy: When two people decide to have sex only with each other and no one else. 
• Patriarchy: A social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men over women and other minoritized genders.  
• Polyamory: Having sexual or romantic relationships with more than one person at a time with the consent of all people involved. 
• Polygamy: Having more than one spouse. 
• Queer:  An umbrella term that is used to describe identities that don't fall under straight and/or cisgender. Many LGBTQ+ people use queer as a label for their sexuality or gender and some people prefer it to express that their label does not cleanly fall into other specific identities under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. Also important to note that in the past it has been used as a slur against LGBTQ+ people. However, many people have worked to reclaim the term, though, it is not universally perceived as a positive term. 
• Reproductive justice: The human right to decide when and whether to have children, as defined by SisterSong, and the right to to raise your family in a safe, healthy environment. 

For more information and resources about the things we talked about in this episode, check out the links below. 

• To find your local or state abortion fund, click this link: https://abortionfunds.org/funds/ 
• If you are a sexual assault survivor or are currently experiencing relationship violence, use the National Domestic Violence Hotline’s website to connect with local resources: https://www.thehotline.org/get-help/domestic-violence-local-resources/  
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233  

Disclaimer:
The experiences and opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the individual speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida. Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida does not guarantee the completeness, nor the accuracy of the content of this podcast and accepts no liability for any direct or indirect damage of any kind arising from, or in any way related to, the podcast’s content. The information provided in this podcast does not constitute medical, mental health, legal, or other professional advice or services.

Thank you’s and credits to the following amazing people:

• Hosts: Brianna Nelson and Kenna Bartlett
• Planned Parenthood Staff: Kathy Dobson, Kelsey Hunt-Dolan, and Nan Morgan
• Audio Editor: Brianna Nelson
• Intro and Outro Music: “Mellow” by Ethan Korvne (Check out his LP “Something Else to Do” on Spotify and Apple Music!)
• Cover Art: Brianna Nelson