For the health of all womxn

It has been a weird couple of weeks for women's health. Also, a weird couple of decades centuries but, well, let's focus on current events, shall we? Texas took a giant leap back into the Dark Ages with the outrageous abortion law that bans abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy (before most womxn even know they're pregnant) and, worse still, allows private citizens – aka random people whom one may or may not know – to sue abortion providers and anyone that helps a woman get an abortion in any way. That's just the high level horror of the matter. This article on NPR does a good job of breaking it down and elaborating on what we can expect to come.

It's heartbreaking and terrifying and maddening. And…it's exactly what we were afraid of when RGB died (may her memory be a blessing in these scary times and always). Still, knowing that the possibility of women's rights to a safe abortion were at stake and watching millions of women be stripped of reproductive freedom are two entirely different matters. 

While we continue to fight for the womxn of Texas (more on how you can help below) and ensure that other states don't follow this tired path of (white) male entitlement and power, we still have other work to do to keep femtech moving forward. And that can feel overwhelming and even downright impossible as we trudge through the still ongoing pandemic (wear your mask + get vaxxed!) and now this antiquated and abusive law that ensures not that womxn don't get abortions but that they don't have access to safe abortions. Not to mention what's going on in the rest of the world. It's exhausting just to think about.

Creating content, sending pitch emails, managing a team, doing the daily work of being a femtech founder/women's health leader…it may feel tedious and even futile but know that it is without a doubt more important than ever that we continue to show up, do the work, and make noise about women's healthcare. It is hard, yes, but it is also critical. That content you keep putting off because the world feels like it might be low-key ending anyway? That's education for womxn who may not get it otherwise. That product development progress you've been trying to nail down for months? That is the solution for hundreds, thousands, even millions of womxn who don't currently have access to the care they need.

We keep going, we keep fighting, we keep pushing forward because this matters to the health of all womxn. 

It's important to note, however, that rest is also resistance. That your mental health is your number one priority and responsibility. That your physical well-being deserves attention and energy, too. You are more than your job, more than your company's mission, and it's so so so important that you bring yourself back to this truth every day, every hour, every moment.

→ Because the patriarchy benefits when womxn are too worn out to fight back. → Because while tragedy is ongoing, your life is still worth living and loving.

→ Because you exist, you deserve rest and pleasure and joy and it is ok - and not at all selfish - to still pursue what makes you a human being.

Your physical and mental well-being and your outrage at the injustice in the world can exist at the same time within you. And the more you care for yourself, the more you can turn around and care for others.

The last thing I'll say to this (for now), is that those of with privilege of any kind - whether because of our gender, race, income, whatever - have a responsibility to create platforms for those with less privilege to amplify their voices and lived experiences and stories and also to create safe spaces for those with less privilege to rest, recover, and recharge when they need to. Both can look so many different ways, and I know that if you look around at the resources available to you, you'll know how you can do this for the people in your community who need a microphone, a place to rest their head, or both.

These times are hard but as Glennon Doyle says, we can do hard things.