
What would it look like to live in a country where all abortion is completely banned and criminalized? Unless we don’t change course and take drastic action here in the United States, we are looking at a grim future, one that we can get a glimpse into by looking at what is already happening across Latin America and the Caribbean.
A new audio and video series called Green Tide Rising, hosted and executive produced by our founder Asha Dahya and co-host and story producer Monica Morales-Garcia (Latino USA, WNYC), showcases Latin America’s Green Wave and what those of us fighting for abortion and reproductive freedom in the U.S. can learn from this iconic, feminist movement.
The episode on El Salvador outlines the surprising (or perhaps, not so surprising…) history of the U.S. involvement in the country’s historical political unrest, and how it helped usher in its current extreme stance on abortion.
Despite the law, there are incredible women, like featured storyteller Teodora Vasquez, who are speaking truth to power in an inspiring way. She was imprisoned for an obstetric emergency for over a decade, a horrific reality where the criminal system punished her despite the lack of evidence of an abortion.
Upon release, Teodora, who came from a humble background in a poor area, founded a grassroots organization called Mujeres Libres, which advocates for other women and pregnant people are being criminalized by the system in the same way she was. Although the law has not changed in El Salvador, the fact that Teodora was able to start a non-profit organization dedicated to reproductive freedom and officially become recognized by the government as a legitimate entity, this is a huge step forward for progress. Teodora is finding a way forward and empowering other women and pregnant people like her to know that the criminal accusations are not the end of their story.
Listen and subscribe to Green Tide Rising wherever you get your podcasts, and be sure to watch the accompanying video series called ‘Entonces’, available on Youtube. Be sure to follow Green Tide Rising on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and X(Twitter), and visit greentiderising.com to learn more about the voices featured in the episodes.