Abortion as Abolition
The goal of this event is to bring light to activists and scholars dealing with the increased criminalization of abortion care and pregnancy outcomes, and how the police state and criminal legal system works in conflict with the principles of reproductive justice. Importantly, we want to frame self-managed abortion as an abolitionist praxis. We also hope to expand on the history and need for a community-care-driven model of reproductive access. Rafa Kidvai, founder of the Repro Legal Defense Fund, and representatives from other local reproductive justice organizations, such as New York City for Abortion Rights, will be speaking on this panel.
This event will take place on Friday, February 17 from 5-7 p.m. It is free and open to all. Space is limited and RSVP is preferred.
About the Presenters
Hennessy Garcia (she/they) is a queer Afro-Latinx student studying environmental science at CUNY Medgar Evers College. They are also studying data analytics in an online degree program at Southern New Hampshire University. Hennessy is also an organizer, activist, abolitionist, and intersectional feminist. They work in community with NYC For Abortion Rights and the Reproductive Justice Collective. They additionally work in community with NY Renews and Public Power NY.”
Niharika (Nix) Rao (they/she) is an abortion doula and organizer with NYC for Abortion Rights, the Reproductive Justice Collective, and Advocates for Youth. Their work focuses on confronting the connections between the criminal legal system and reproductive access through legislative advocacy, clinic defense, and self-managed abortion awareness. @reprojusticenix
Rafa Kidvai, J.D. is the Legal Defense Fund Director at If/When/How. Prior to joining If/When/How, Rafa was a public defender at the Legal Aid Society’s Brooklyn Criminal Defense Practice, Legal Fellow at Court Watch NYC, and Director of Immigrant Justice/ Paul Rappaport Equal Justice Works Fellow at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. Rafa’s work and activism has focused on queer and trans liberation, supporting survivors of intimate partner violence, economic justice, family defense, immigrant justice, and prison abolition. Rafa attended CUNY School of Law and Hampshire College.