SisterSong Director Talks Black ‘in(Fertility) Awareness Week’ And $60K Give Away

SisterSong’s Director of Maternal Health and Birth Equity Initiatives, Leah Jones, talked about the fight for equity in fertility sphere.

Fertility justice nonprofit SisterSong hosted the annual Black (in)Fertility Awareness Week. For a full five days, the organization holds multiple workshops, panels, and interactive virtual and physical events aimed at education. Additionally, the organization is creating awareness about the legislation and barriers surrounding Black access to fertility assistance.

SisterSong’s Director of Maternal Health and Birth Equity Initiatives, Leah Jones, spoke with BLACK ENTERPRISE about the work SisterSong is doing to fight for equity in the fertility sphere. This includes a $60K giveaway to assist families with fertility services. Including a detailed walk-through of the process and how interested parties can donate funds and necessities needed for infants after birth.

What did you hope attendees took away from the Black (in)Fertility Awareness Week?

My biggest hope was that people walked away knowing that this was a space where their stories could exist, their experiences can live and be held and understood. We have some educational conversations and some story sharing and cross learning.

Also, every year we conduct our Assistant Reproductive Technology Giveaway. This year, we gave away $60,000 for fertility care in partnership with Muna Fertility Clinic. Muna clinic is a Black woman-owned fertility clinic in Atlanta. She’s reproductive justice-centered, queer friendly, and she’s a reproductive justice advocate.

A major facet of the event was the Muna fertility walk-through. Can you tell us a little bit about what participants were able to observe through that process?

They were able to see everything from an ultrasound, semen analysis, and diagnosis. They learned how many blood draws you would have in this process. As a person who went through her own fertility journey, I was given 20 minutes to do a rundown. There was so much medical heavy language that I forgot it within 15 minutes.

A lot of times, people can go through this process and still not know what just happened. Black women are very intuitive with their bodies. If you know what the process is supposed to be, if you know what this injection is supposed to do, our bodies can tell us, ‘I don’t think this is the reaction I’m supposed to have to this.’

Can you tell us a little bit more about the National Fertility Justice Now campaign?

The Fertility Justice Now campaign started here in Georgia in partnership with SPARK Reproductive Justice Now. They do reproductive rights work. Also, we’re partnering with Morehouse School of Medicine on the research and storytelling component of the policy campaign. The two bills we are focused on are House Bills 588 and 589 for public and private insurance mandates for coverage for fertility care.

What are the key barriers to equitable fertility care that are most pressing?

Money. That is why we do the giveaway; it’s expensive. People need money, and this is why we are focusing on insurance mandates.

How can people support you throughout the year?

We’re a nonprofit, so donations are always welcome. We also have the Birth Justice Care Fund. The fund supplies the marginalized community. If you’re pregnant and giving birth, we have lactation specialists, doulas, and maternal mental health therapists. We pay stipends and provide a directory to get you connected. Additionally, we supply basic items. You can’t leave a hospital unless you have a car seat, and sometimes you can’t afford a car seat, so we supply that or diapers and wipes through the care fund.

Last year, money ran out in two months. There’s an excessive need coming out of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Kentucky. With these abortion bans, we have seen an uptick in the need for care, and so donations to keep it going.