Tzedek, Ner Shalom’s Social Justice/Action Arm invites you to an informative and rousing discussion on Reproductive Rights/Justice. We will hear from experts, share our questions and explore possible political actions we might take in these times when our freedoms are being curtailed.
Experts in the reproductive rights field will facilitate a discussion through presentations that will be inclusive, informative, and inspiring. The forum will include an opportunity for audience questions and exploration of possible political actions which individuals and groups might take in these times when our freedoms are being curtailed.
This is an issue for all of us. Body autonomy affects us all, whether we are choosing to avoid pregnancy, to carry forth or terminate a pregnancy, to undergo gender transition, or to express our sexual and gender orientation in the manner of our choosing. Our rights are being curtailed by forces of repression and it is incumbent upon us to learn all we can and to work for change.
Dr. Shelley Sella is a doctor of Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB- GYN) who was the first woman to openly provide third trimester abortion care in the United States. She was mentored by, and then practiced with, the late Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kansas. Following his assassination, she and a colleague set up a third trimester practice in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she practiced until her retirement in 2021. Dr. Sella was featured in the highly acclaimed 2013 award-winning documentary After Tiller.
Attorney Karen Thompson joined the Pregnancy Justice Center in January 2024, after serving as senior staff attorney at the ACLU of New Jersey. Before that Ms. Thompson served as senior staff attorney for almost seven years at the Innocence Project. The Pregnancy Justice Center works to ensure that no one loses their rights because of their capacity for pregnancy or pregnancy outcome, focusing on people who are most at risk of state control and criminalization.
Dr. Ashley Weinert, a prominent trilingual obstetrician/gynecologist based in Santa Rosa, is highly regarded in her field and has been practicing for 32 years. Dr. Weinert spent her summers during medical school in Peru and Bolivia working with local healthcare workers in very remote areas of the Andes. She focuses on both high and low-risk obstetrics, infertility, and gynecological surgery. She will just have returned from the national OB-GYN conference and will provide updated information to share with us about the state of reproductive rights in this country.
Dr. Nicole Barnett, DHSc, MBA, RN, served until recently as the Chief Nurse Executive for Kaiser Permanente’s Richmond Medical Center. She joined the Board of Planned Parenthood of Northern California in 2016 and served as the Chairman of the Board until March 2022. Planned Parenthood Northern California serves 20 counties and is dedicated to increasing access to quality health care, information, and reproductive freedom by providing medical services, education, and advocacy.