We Need Your Voice!

It has been a long election season. We know you’re exhausted, you’ve been telling us as much. A recent poll by the American Psychological Association found that 7 out of 10 American adults report that the future of the country is a top stressor for them. You aren’t alone. We are close to the end, and we must keep going because the top issues this cycle are ones that will affect families the most significantly: paid family medical leave, childcare costs, maternal health, and reproductive rights.

Our team is right here with you. We are all deeply affected by the constant news coverage of intensely personal issues and painful political posturing. Our life’s work and passion is supporting women and families, and we’ve witnessed repeatedly how the erosion of reproductive rights and the political posturing around the issue are incredibly harming those very people. These issues are impactful to us professionally, and as women, they are also profoundly personal. 

It’s been surprisingly gutting to hear painful, private, and traumatic stories weaponized as political ammunition for an absurd debate about the reach of government in our reproductive lives. Our most sacred and private place that should be reserved only for us, our caregivers and our loved ones.
  
On stages, podcasts, and other forums, families are compelled to trot out their deepest wounds to an audience so that others can understand how complex and heart-wrenching this is. They shouldn’t have to do this, but we are grateful to them for heroically sharing their stories and putting a human face to these issues. 

We know these types of stories well. We stand with women in the devastating aftermath of reproductive tragedies. We have collectively heard thousands of them over the years. We have supported our patients through the darkest days of their lives, and it’s the cornerstone of our Center’s work. 

Time and again, we see that when people face impossible medical situations, they want the support and advice of their doctors, spiritual leaders, friends, or family. But they are not asking politicians for guidance or for additional hurdles and delays in accessing the care their medical team advises.

The threat to timely care is a variable that takes things from heartbreaking and traumatic to a terrifying nightmare that threatens permanent harm to patients or even death. This is what’s happening to women and families in states around the country. Where women are facing the threat of sepsis and death, legal teams are being called in instead. If you think it can’t get any worse, you are wrong – it is a heaving and fractured system that will not hold under much more assault and erosion. 
  
So, this, friend, is where we are today before the election. We are begging voters and the government to care about our health, our reproductive rights, and our lives. We are asking to be acknowledged as competent human beings deserving of autonomy. If a woman can't control her reproductive health, she cannot control her life. 
  
The work we have the privilege to do at Maternal Wellness Center is to help women and partners to know their own minds, their needs, and find their voices. We are asking you to please think of all the women in this country when you cast your ballot. Talk to your family, friends, and neighbors to encourage them to do the same. Please take the time to VOTE, we very much need your voice, especially in Pennsylvania.
  
"In Iroquois society, leaders are encouraged to remember seven generations in the past and consider seven generations in the future when making decisions that affect the people."

- Wilma Mankiller, the first female Chief of the Cherokee Nation.

On November 5th, 2024 your voice is your vote!  We can do this together!