Episode 141: The Complicated Reproductive Choice w/ Katey Zeh
February 28, 2022
The stigma of having an abortion is still rampant, especially among highly conservative people of faith. This led to Katey Zeh’s passion for navigating how to bridge these two worlds. It is important to provide care and compassion to those who decide to go through abortion because, at its core, abortion is still part of the human experience.
Statistically, most people who have abortions are already parents. And oftentimes, it is a parenting decision they need to make to care for their living children. A lot of times, these are people who have caregiving responsibilities. Regardless of whether people should have access to it, it’s just important to recognize that most people who have abortions are parents.
On the other hand, some people choose not to ever have kids. And unless they know that they won’t be stigmatized, harassed, and pressured by society, only then is that choice made out of enthusiastic consent.
In this episode, Katey Zeh talks about her new book, A Complicated Choice. Katey is an author, speaker, and strategist. She is the Chief Executive Officer of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and she talks frequently about the intersection of faith and activism.
Show Highlights:
- How Katey got involved in advocating for abortion
- The role of crisis pregnancy centers
- The disconnect between doctrines and the way we experience human life
- The need to flex our compassion muscles
- Abortion out of a parenting decision
- Making sense of the experience through having that space to process and having access to their needs
- Minimizing the grief that comes from abortion
- Acknowledging abortion as a human experience
Links (affiliates included):
A Complicated Choice: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9781506473499/A-Complicated-Choice
Parenting After Religious Trauma Membership:
https://cindy-brandt.mykajabi.com/partmembership
Help keep the podcast going by joining the Parenting Forward Patreon Team: https://www.patreon.com/cindywangbrandt
Parenting Forward, the Book:
You Are Revolutionary:
https://www.beamingbooks.com/store/product/9781506478302/You-Are-Revolutionary