Once Upon a Time in the Fight for Reproductive Justice
By Jess Jacobs
I have always believed in the power of storytelling. From adolescence, I was writing short stories, forcing my brothers and my cousins to act out skits I devised, gabbing away in the backseat of the car to my parents regaling them of tales from the playground. But it wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I truly experienced the power a story could unleash.
I had been living in New York, working as an actor and starting to produce, having turned my love of storytelling into a profession. On one particular night, I was back visiting my hometown, out to dinner with my mom at our favorite Japanese restaurant. We were sitting at the sushi bar, talking, joking, teasing, catching up. Amidst all the banter (in the way only a mother and daughter can), I decided to blurt out a secret I’d kept to myself since I was a teenager: “I had an abortion, Mom.” She looked up from her plate, and into my eyes. “When I was nineteen,” I added. And as swiftly as she had engaged, she loosened, and tossed into the air, “I had one too.” This time, it was my turn to stare. My jaw might have even hung agape. She what? As if hearing my thoughts, she said, “Yeah. I had one too. When I was also a teenager.” And suddenly, I was nineteen again, playing out the process of my abortion, but this time I had my mom on the other end of the line, sharing in the experience with me, making sure I felt loved and safe, reassuring me that I was not a failure, that I was just a woman making a choice about her future. But because of societal, generational shame, I wasn’t able to have my mom when I needed her most. In that moment, I realized that the shame that silenced me, had silenced her, and it was probably silencing people around the world. We had to get talking.
Since that night, I have committed myself to the work of destigmatizing abortion, fighting for reproductive health, rights, and justice and using the power of storytelling to break the shame and find our power. I use all the tools in my toolbox, aligning my professional skills, my network and my resources to pursue real, substantive change. I envision a world in which all people can make their own informed choices and exercise bodily autonomy and self-determination, with dignity and freedom from stigma or constraints. To this end, I am now making my own creative work—centering reproductive experiences and supporting a cultural shift to reproductive justice through the provision of catalytic resources in order for people, artists, organizations and companies to identify and implement creative and effective strategies towards liberation.
And while every piece of the reproductive healthcare ecosystem needs attention—including but not limited to contraception access and technology, maternal health and wellness, infertility and comprehensive sex education—I see a huge opportunity in working to change the culture around abortion. Because the reality is policy, research, technology… none of it sticks if culture isn’t ready to accept it. I experienced that first-hand. However, the philanthropic and impact investment sectors struggle with qualitative and anecdotal approaches. They are well-versed in quantitative data, but numbers don’t change hearts and minds. Stories do.
With that knowledge, my mom and I have come full-circle. Together, we are co-funding a project in partnership with Population Services International to further safe abortion culture change and storytelling. We are capturing and aggregating so much of the existing scholarship, research and case studies on the subject in order to have a full picture of the existing landscape and the opportunities for change. I feel so lucky to be able to work with my mom, and with PSI, to be a part of undoing generations of shame.
If you want to make an impactful investment in reproductive health, rights and justice, invest in the power of storytelling. Invest in organizations and movements that are helping to normalize the sharing of stories about reproductive experiences and creating cultures of support rather than stigma. Boldly speak up against oppressive, dehumanizing anti-abortion language and rhetoric. Research whether your state and federal representatives are outspoken on and supportive of reproductive rights—if they are, call them and thank them; if they aren’t, hold them to account or vote them out. Similarly to how I’ve aligned my passion with this work, consider the specific skills you have to offer and put them to work towards choice, bodily autonomy, and liberation. There are so many ways to join me in this fight.
Doing this work is playing a long-game. One project, one study, one film, one piece of legislation won’t change everything on its own. It takes the collective commitment of all of us. So whenever I get tired, or bogged down, or feel the greatness of the barriers, I return to the visions of my nineteen year old self, lying in my college bedroom. In some of the visions, my mom is even there, rubbing my back. Because that is what I’m fighting for: for no pregnant person ever to feel alone because they choose the future they want for themself.
This exclusive essay is part of a series between The Conscious Investor and The Maverick Collective by PSI. To learn more about The Maverick Collective click here.
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Jess Jacobs is a feminist artist, activist and philanthropist. A creative storyteller, Jess is galvanizing the movement for equality through the fight for women’s reproductive rights. Jess is co-founder of women-led, New York based production company, Invisible Pictures, whose mission is to develop, finance, and produce film, television, and digital content with a focus on authentic representation, wherein women and underrepresented individuals are at the center of their own stories. At Invisible Pictures, Jess has most recently produced the company’s first short-form series, Soul City and two feature films: BULL and LONG WEEKEND.
Jess is known for her global philanthropic work, in particular with the Maverick Collective (PSI) where she resourced a behavior change program for girls in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa to ensure greater access to contraception. She has also regularly collaborated with non-profit organizations such as Planned Parenthood, CHANGE, and National Women's Law Center on special projects that advance women’s reproductive rights.
In addition to her role at Invisible Pictures, Jess also serves as the Board Chair of Rooftop Films, a New York based non-profit supporting independent filmmakers and community building around film. A San Diego native, Jess currently resides in Brooklyn. To learn more visit jessjacobs.com.
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