Letter from the Editor Dear readers,
ED. 9 VOL 2
SPRING 2022
ROLLINS COLLEGE STUDENT MEDIA ATTEN: THE INDEPENDENT 1000 HOLT AVENUE, WINTER PARK, FL 32789
THEINDEPENDENT@ROLLINS.EDU
STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF TAYLOR INGRASSIA CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER FRANCISCO WANG YU CO-FOUNDERS MARY CATHERINE PFLUG SCOTT NOVAK DESIGNERS/ARTISTS GHINA FAWAZ BIANCA FLORES DASSIKA GILKEY JAIANNE GILKEY FRANCESCA MORGAN-TOMASCIK HALEY VAN DOREN PERRY ZAVETZ SENIOR EDITORS JULIE BENNIE AQSA HASAN CARLIE HENNING ALEKHYA REDDY COPY EDITORS TAYLOR HAHN MARY RUST CONTRIBUTORS SARAH BENNEFIELD JULIE BENNIE SARAH FOSDICK DASSIKA GILKEY MICKAYLA GRASSE-STOCKMAN SAVANNAH HORRELL CHASE HUBBARD LIAM KING DIVYA UPDAL
As I reflect on my past four years at The Indie, I cannot be more proud of our team and the rest of the Rollins community for their contributions to this publication. I remember joining the team as a designer during my first year, and from there, I became the Senior Designer and now Chief Creative Officer. The memories I have shared with The Independent will always stay close to my heart, and I feel so fortunate to have been part of such a fantastic organization. I had big shoes to fill when I stepped into the CCO role. In fact, some of the pieces I submitted in my design application were made in Microsoft Word, so I was surprised that I was even accepted. However, being involved in the Indie has challenged me in so many different facets, and I could not be more thankful for the opportunity to be involved with the magazine. It has been an honor to collaborate with some of the most talented designers and illustrators I have ever worked with, and nothing makes me happier than to see our growth throughout the years. Every year, I am surprised by the artistry, passion, and talent that everybody brings to create our magazine. As I bid farewell, I hope to see our community continue using this platform to engage in meaningful and timely conversations. Since its founding, The Indie has always been a safe space for dialogue and intellectual curiosity. Thus, I have always made it my mission to uplift our diverse contributors’ voices through art and design. My hope is that the next CCO carries on these values with them, pushing The Indie into even better creative directions. Sincerely, Francisco Wang Chief Creative Officer Hello everyone, I am honored to present the Spring 2022 edition of The Independent! While I served as Co-Editor-in-Chief last fall, this is my first semester as the solo EIC, and I was thrilled to work closely with our new set of editors and contributors. Everyone who assisted with this edition is incredibly talented — I hope you will join me in recognizing and celebrating their hard work and dedication. I would especially love to congratulate our Chief Creative Officer, Francisco Wang Yu, on this production. The Indie would not be in your hands today without him. Fran has been an unstoppable creative force on campus during his tenure as CCO, as well as an incredible person with whom to work. I’m sure whoever fills his role in the future will do remarkably, especially under his training. However, I am deeply saddened to see him go. I hope that as you read this edition, in addition to admiring the creative works of your peers, you will keep in mind Francisco’s monumental contribution and wish him all the best in his future endeavors. Taylor Ingrassia Editor-in-Chief
Cover featuring photography by Samantha Maris Please send all letters to the editor submissions and articles to theindependent@rollins.edu Fonts in use: Air Condensed, Antonio, Bebas Neue, Big John PRO, Breathing, Burnaby, Centennial LT Std, Coyote, Directors Gothic, JohnDoe, Krungthep, Lato, Magneta, Minion Pro, MISTRAL, Oswald, Traveling Typewriter, Webdings Logo design by Mary Catherine Pflug The opinions stated in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of The Independent, its staff, advertisers, or Rollins College.
Send some letters to the editors, we would love to hear from you!
The Independent is published twice a year by Rollins College with issues released in April and December. Principal office: Kathleen W. Rollins Hall, Rollins College, Winter Park, FL. 400 copies distributed per issue on campus and in the Winter Park area, available at Bush Science Center, Campus Center, Cornell Social Sciences building, Olin Library, and Alfond Inn. See our previous issues on issuu.com/theindependentmag.
Photography by Jaianne Gilkey
HUMANITY 3
Bathwater Liam King
4
Rocketman Julie Bennie
6
Heritage Divya Updal
SOCIETY 16
SPIRITUALITY 7
Hersteria Dassika Gilkey
11
I Bear Six White Eggs Mickayla Grasse-Stockman
12
Resurrection Sarah Fosdick
14
Delphi’s Aristonike Sarah Bennefield
The Rotting Truth of the Funeral Industry Chase Hubbard
18
Flood the Streets with Abortion Pills Savannah Horrell
bathwater
Written by Liam King Designed by Perry Zavetz
for the sister who bathed me. from fertile bathwater spring no flowers— and true, no river from bathwater derives. yet with bathwater my life begins for that’s where your thread joined mine my sapling elder, of sister root, it was in your shadow my branches grew. bath time a precise act, the care with which you shampooed me to keep soap from my eyes; the warm water slowly cooling, crawling from hot to cold. from our two threads a twine was spun, frayed at both ends, yet still a golden bond. i alone wish for the warmth of bathwater— until we’re again together, then i take the moment tender, and for bathwater i wish no longer g
HUMANITY | 3
feedback: theindependent@rollins.edu
Rocketman Written by Julie Bennie Illustrated by Ghina Fawaz Designed by Jaianne Gilkey
This piece is a tribute to a wonderful human being who was taken by COVID-19. Its words express the humane loss and display the brutal reality of the pandemic — a severity that so many choose to ignore.
Retrospect washed over me today in cold waves. It swelled and crashed in hues of beauty and blue, drenching the feeble fabric of my black dress. Shivering, I waited outside the chapel and gazed at the gray moon of the winter sky. My wavering worries burst above me in an instantaneous series of silver and star-speckled balloons. None of it mattered anymore. Only him. His arched eyebrows, warm eyes, kind smile. Dear Paulie, Your name was spoken so much today. I heard it in between conversations, stories and poems. I found it in the whispers of sniffled sobs and harmonies of bittersweet laughter. Softly, intently. It was articulated by the gentle tone of the father, the young voice of your son, the never-ending wonder of your holy spirit. In the vulnerable hour of oak and stained glass, we held hands through our aching memories: simultaneously collected and connected by and through our love for you. Your name was there. It was everywhere. But you weren’t. Your gold and generous heart pulsated warmth with every hug. It revitalized you as you chased your squealing boy by day and held your wife close by night. You were our family’s superhero — who soared in space, smiled by the sea, danced around the kitchen to music as nostalgic as the stories you told. Our very own Rocketman. Your home used to be filled with music, though now I can only see flowers. Iridescent
HUMANITY | 4
Oxygen filled his tiny lungs when he arrived from the stars, when his mother brought him into her beautiful world. She carefully curated a loving milieu for her only son, who was fiercely protected by his father and sisters.
bouquets — sunflowers, roses, lilacs, and lilies — crowd the dining room table. It reminds me of how we used to sit at family dinners, forever captivated by you and your stories: thoughtful recollections of French bars and Seychellean sunsets, hysterical imitations of Darth Vader (“Jeff Vader, that is”) and Happy Gilmore. I regret not memorizing these moments: beautiful collisions of space and time. I had always thought you would be there, sitting at the end of that dining room table. Making us laugh. To say that you could make someone laugh. Well, that is an understatement. About Paulie, Oxygen filled his tiny lungs when he arrived from the stars, when his mother brought him into her beautiful world. She carefully curated a loving milieu for her only son, who was fiercely protected by his father and sisters. His breath only grew bolder as he powered his next judo move, sighed when he studied, proposed to his girlfriend, brought his own son from the stars and welcomed him into the world. Through breath he cheered, cried, danced, fell. He lost himself in darkness and found himself in light. Paulie loved to share, loved to dream. He planned to live near the ocean and spend every morning surfing in its waves. He was kind,
light-hearted, and giving. The most valuable gift that Paulie ever gave me was his time. The time he took to drive me to my matric dance in a lilac beach buggy. The time he spent consoling me over my teenage heartbreak. He taught me how to defend myself from such boys using quick judo moves. Paulie never failed to remind me how beautiful I was. He was like a father to me when mine lived so far away. I remember the time he made lime margaritas at my 20th birthday party, proceeding to get my entire family smashed. He is the reason that I love older music — I will always think of him when AC/DC’s heavy rock songs play. He could brew a stellar cup of coffee and braai an incredible lunch. He showed me what it means to love your family and taught me how to make the most of everything life offers. Paulie will forever guide me and inspire me. His heart and his life were so special. His heart ebbed and flowed as he navigated through steeper mountains, crashing underneath heavy tides. Even in his final days of ventilator and virus, he never forgot to look upwards: at a sky illuminated by silver constellations. The last time I had dinner at my uncle’s house, we sat on their patio outside. I remember laughing, for I had seen a shooting star, which vanished above the moonlit garden at that exact moment in time g
HUMANITY | 5
feedback: theindependent@rollins.edu
heritage Written by Divya Uppal Illustrated by Bianca Flores
will i ever know the complexities of all those who came before me? some roots go so deep that to pull them free is to cleave the earth in two to tear you away would be to rip out my own heart and i know it would be your blood that flowed forth is there anything that won’t be forgotten? is there anything you can teach me to remember? stories change hands, and i know they’ve changed mine hot oil and hidden gold flowing into me like so many rivers you are trying to teach me who we are and i am trying to know who i am neither of us has the answers you hold more pieces of me than i will ever know. and i can’t help but forgive you, if only because i know you the way the ocean knows the river the way the river knows the rain the way the rain knows the sky but how do i catch a secondhand shadow? how do i seal in the parts of me that slipped away before i was even born? and if i went back to the home i’ve never known would the halls still be lined with gold? the past will never be real again but i’m still reaching through the fogged glass of another’s memory trying to untangle all those roots even after they’ve been swallowed by time teach me to remember a life i never lived— does the ocean ever come to know the sky? i don’t know you. i never will. i love you g
HUMANITY | 6
feedback: theindependent@rollins.edu
Hersteria Art by Dassika Gilkey
I’ve created a series of portraits exploring identity and how women’s dreams merge with reality. Something I’ve always known about myself but finally looked into more is how I’m always active in my head, almost more than I’m present in life. I’m constantly thinking about things, as everyone does, but sometimes if I daydream deep enough, it feels as if I’m somewhere else. This instance occurs at least once a day, but it’s more than just daydreaming — it goes by the name of maladaptive daydreaming. Some of the symptoms of this disorder include extremely vivid daydreams with their own characters, settings, plots, and other detailed, story-like features; performing repetitive movements; and becoming so invested that facial expressions are made or even an inner dialogue is expressed verbally. It’s done for lengthy periods (many minutes to hours). This can cause me to put off daily tasks or even sleep as I begin to have an overwhelming desire to “finish” the scene in my head before moving on with my day. In this photo series, I captured images that express illusions of fantasies occuring in real life, since the two can be difficult to differentiate when I’m daydreaming. When framing my images, I took the approach of centering the woman figures, to put all of the focus on what’s going on in their heads. When considering this concept, I elicited a connection with the craze of female hysteria in the 19th century, as women used to be seen as crazy when they’d have any symptoms of a disorder. To emphasize this idea, I included a red hue in each of my images to represent the color of madness. In some, I quick-selected an area and changed the hue and saturation to stand out from the originally low-saturated image. In others, I decreased the light exposures and increased the red selective color in the white of the lights that surround them. All of my images have low saturations and exposures to appear unsettling and unreal, as the only accents are red and a hint of blue for color balancing purposes — it was unsettling to many, especially men, that women could be capable of such a mindset. Through this series I play on the power of these fantasies, forging dreams within reality. g
HUMANITY | 7
HUMANITY | 8
In this photo series, I captured images that express illusions of fantasies occuring in real life, since the two can be difficult to differentiate when I’m daydreaming.
HUMANITY | 9
HUMANITY | 10
feedback: theindependent@rollins.edu
I Bear Six White Eggs Written by Mickayla Stockman
Illustrated by Francesca Morgan-Tomascik Designed by Dassika Gilkey
I Bear Six White Eggs Parthen, Oh Genesis! I am one of seventy A type tigress whiptails Love, that limb loosener Bittersweet and inescapable Crawling thing I mount it My Erinna The edge of our bed A slab of obsidian I reach for her sweetness Thin flames spark my skin Blood booms my ears Silence explodes Cloacal kiss split And fill the niches with our Virgin creations Like Banana bees Fish snakes Domesticated turkey shark I bear six white eggs g
SPIRITUALITY | 11
feedback: theindependent@rollins.edu
Resurrection Written by Sarah Fosdick
Illustrated by Francisco Wang Yu
“I will disperse myself into 10 billion pieces And save 10 million pieces just for you, My precious one, my snow child, my lamb,” I heard It say. But my wish was to see It say They would fall weightlessly through the dark air One by one until they merged together once again, Snow Itself inanimate in my backyard, Revealed in the morning light. I would miss It every winter night. My brother and I would not waste a minute Building snowmen or snow angels. We would make monstrous, amorphous, Lifeless balls Bigger than ourselves.
SPIRITUALITY | 12
We would triumphantly sit atop our invention, Grab chunks of our thrones and devour it Until our creation crumbled back to the snow blanket Like dry shortbread— The dessert of the last supper. This is not what God does when he Holds the whole world in His hands Or what Atlas does, condemned To hoist the globe up For all eternity. Once, my beaming father, big and strong, Padded in armor of boots and mittens, Met us outside to instigate a snowball fight, Drunk with combat— A love I inherited. Those frozen balls forever suspended In the air hit my skin and turned to sin. I was merely a red and raw hide When I offered myself to the fight And shed my layers. The fight raged on forever until dark, when I was left alone outside and made myself A bed of snow beneath me, ontop me, and inside me, Like dirt slipped into a coffin. And then I asked, “why?” I looked to the brutal stars and waited for an answer All dramatic, like I was suffering a mortal wound. I don’t know why I expected words, because then I saw It say It started snowing, And I was healed g
SPIRITUALITY | 13
feedback: theindependent@rollins.edu
Delphi’s Aristonike Written by Sarah Bennefield Illustrated by Haley Van Doren Designed by Dassika Gilkey
Inspired by the Oracle of Delphi two eagles set from the fingertips of their father flutter from one end to the other converging in the center of civilization where Apollo dances from dusk till dawn and man leaps at the sound of futuristic harp strings playing fate, love, loss, and hope Pythia imagined in a fume-induced high singing lullabies of metaphors and similies only to be passed down to Aristonike where she, Mother of the Oracle, told men of far-off lands
SPIRITUALITY | 14
and now where i, coming from the shores of the land of the free to Mount Parnassus, seek you, Aristonike, and your sulfuric gasses enclosed in temples of marble and columns of limestone to know myself while living in excess with nothing just barely out of reach i beg, Aristonike, in this abandoned city of Delphi, to channel the feminine divinity for one last prophecy of fate, love, loss, and hope g
SPIRITUALITY | 15
feedback: theindependent@rollins.edu
The Rotting Truth of The Funeral Industry and Why We Should Compost Bodies Written by Chase Hubbard Illustrated by Ghina Fawaz Designed by Jaianne Gilkey
Water levels are rising, the earth is getting hotter every day, and people want to stop the impending doom. While most environmental work is active, with people being hands-on in reducing their carbon footprint, there is a way to make a difference beyond the grave, too. According to The Order of the Good Death, a death education organization, casket manufacturing requires 20 million board feet of hardwood — or the equivalent of 1,587 average-sized homes — and 64,500 tons of steel every year. These resources could be used to construct homes, commercial buildings, and other infrastructure that benefits the living. Instead, these materials are going into the ground indefinitely. Additionally, graveyards take up acres of space and require several hundred gallons of water for landscaping. Many believe cremation takes up less space and requires fewer resources. While this is true, The Order of the Good Death notes that cremations consume “as much energy as a 500-mile car trip and emit pollutants like mercury, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide into our air.” These burial methods waste vital resources and use up vast amounts of energy. So, what is the solution? Body composting. Recompose, a full-service composting funeral home, uses a process known as “natural organic reduction” (NOR) for composting. The process begins by laying the body on a bed of organic materials, such as woodchips, straw, and alfalfa. The body is then put inside of an enclosed vessel, which warm air is pumped into. The body remains in the vessel for at least 30 days to ensure microbes can break the body down into nutrient-dense soil. One body
produces approximately one cubic yard of soil. This soil is distributed back to the family in full or in a portion. Any remaining soil is used for environmental goals like forest restoration (Recompose). In the U.S. alone, 2.7 million people die each year, with most deaths relying on traditional cemetery or cremation burials. By composting bodies, we can save up to 87.5% of the energy used in traditional burials. Additionally, according to natural burial ground Milton Fields, up to 800,000 gallons of formaldehyde are exposed to the ground from traditional burials each year. Composting body parts nourishes the soil rather than destroying it (Milton Fields Georgia). One environmental restoration project, known as Remember Land, seeks to use the soil Recompose donates to restore land destroyed by deforestation on Bells Mountain. Remember Land is on a mission to restore plant life along the banks of the Ogunquit river with human compost (Remember Land). While this is one example of an active restoration project using human compost, we can hope to see plenty more in the future. Though it is new to the US, human composting is not a new method worldwide. However, despite the overwhelming positives of human composting, as of 2022 only three states — Oregon, Washington, and Colorado — have legalized the process. California failed to pass the process in 2020 due to Governor Gavin Newsome refusing to take on legislation that could cost him a re-election (CalMatters). So, who is opposed to human composting?
SOCIETY | 16
One of the parties at fault for the slow move toward the legalization of this process is the Catholic Church. Steve Pehanich, a Catholic spokesperson, claims, “We believe that the transformation of the remains would create an emotional distance rather than a reverence for them” (Molina). While America proudly supports religious freedom, America also operates under separation of church and state — meaning religious beliefs should not be imposed on everyone. Additionally, many Catholics, of which there are more than 70 million in the U.S., believe composting does not show the deceased body respect (Center for
Applied Research in the Apostolate). However, allowing the body to nourish the environment and help wildlife for years to come is far more admirable than using resources for indefinite pollution. Composting bodies ensures resources are being allocated back to the earth. Without mass legalization, society will suffer the consequences of the rotting truth of the funeral industry. Calling local representatives and advocating for green burials will further the progress of the movement. To find your local representative, use your zip code at the United States House of Representatives website g
SOCIETY | 17
feedback: theindependent@rollins.edu
Flood the Streets With Abortion Pills Written by Savannah Horrell
A
Illustrated by Francesca Morgan-Tomascik
bortion is becoming harder and harder to access in the United States of America. Bans limiting access after 15 gestational weeks have passed or are close to passing in Mississippi, Arizona, Florida, and Louisiana (Luthra). Texas made headlines last year with a law that prohibits abortions before 6 weeks, which still stands today (Klibanoff). In its first months, the group most affected by the law were teens and preteens, with the hardest hit category being girls 11 and under (Stevenson). Other states are teeing up restrictions on telemedicine abortion, abortion for fetal anomalies, and even abortion if the putative father objects (Mercer; Fritze; Rinkunas). I’m not here to argue with you about whether this sequence of events is good or bad. Instead, I’m here to make a radical suggestion: we need to fill America with illegal abortion medicine. I want the abortion pill to be more accessible than vodka on a dry college campus — I want it beneath every pillow and on every closet shelf. I want drug dealers selling mifepristone alongside
weed. I want every teenage girl to have a guy who knows a guy who can get it and I want every stifflipped suburban mom to keep a secret stash in their medicine cabinet “just in case.” I want to flood the market. I want it to be functionally impossible to make abortion illegal. Most people, even staunch abortion advocates, will have some objections to this plan. This is, I’ll admit, nobody’s perfect public health solution. But if state legislatures continue to place unconscionable regulations on medical care that are unimpeded by the Supreme Court, we may not have another choice. To mitigate some concerns, including those surrounding safety, it’s important to consider what the “abortion pill” is and what it does. The abortion pill prescribed in the United States is mifepristone. This is usually followed by misoprostol, which is taken 48 hours later. In trials, both pills show efficacy when taken alone, especially in the first trimester. However, the FDA-approved regimen uses both to ensure the highest success rate (Raymond et al.). Rumored “abortion reversals,” which claim to negate the effects
SOCIETY | 18
of mifepristone using progesterone, rely on the fact that a percentage of people could remain pregnant if just the first pill is taken (Grossman et al.). Methotrexate is another medication used to induce abortion — usually in cases of ectopic pregnancies, since the drug has a harsher mechanism of action and more side effects. It too can be followed by misoprostol. Methotrexate is often administered intramuscularly, but pill forms are also available (Hausknecht). Methotrexate has a long history as a chemotherapy drug and as a treatment for certain autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis (Entringer). It’s probably the most dangerous of the abortion pills, with major side-effects when used regularly and teratogenic effects should a person become or stay pregnant while taking it. However, as an abortion treatment it remains efficient. Misoprostol is regularly used to treat stomach ulcers and is safe enough that it’s sold over the counter in some countries, including Mexico (Tan). It’s also a commonly used medication for dogs and can be purchased online with a veterinarian prescription (“Misoprostol”). Only mifepristone, the baby of the bunch, has limited non-abortion uses, though it has been prescribed to patients with Cushing’s Syndrome (Autry). On the whole, medication abortion is safe and well-researched. The major unintended side effects are excessive bleeding and retention of tissue, both of which occur at such a low rate that the medications are referred to as “safer than Tylenol” (Koons). In fact, the largest risk of mifepristone and misoprostol is that someone who wants to remain pregnant will — through accident or coercion — take the drugs and lose the pregnancy. This is not a small risk. Bodily autonomy also applies to people who want to be pregnant and they have every right to be protected as well. But a scan of news stories will tell you that this sort of non-consensual drugging already occurs, with tragic results (Business Standard).
SOCIETY | 19
Despite intentionally being made inaccessible, abortion pills are still misused. The black market for abortion medication already exists in the US. However, the individuals likely to commit these acts (such as controlling partners or family members) are overwhelmingly people confident that their actions will not have consequences. They often have a degree of wealth to reinforce their control and are more likely to already have access to the drugs. As a result, there’s little evidence that expanding accessibility to more vulnerable populations (minors, adults without preexisting access to illicit goods, those living below the poverty line, etc.) would lead to a significant rise in coercive administration of these medications (Murphy). Victims of abuse are still important to remember in any push to increase underground abortion access. It is important to explore methods of protecting them, like focusing on patient consent and supervising administration, rather than just handing over medicine. Their cases also don’t change the many demonstrated benefits of medical abortion. Of course a safe and accessible way to access abortion is first on the anti-choice right wing’s list of targets. Despite having been discovered in the 1980s, mifepristone wasn’t approved in the US until 2000 because of heavy lobbying (Reproductive Health Access Project). There are many restrictions on prescription and delivery of the pills; until last year, patients had to pick up the medication in person from their doctor’s office, instead of getting them from a pharmacy or through the mail (NPR). Many states mandate that doctors inform patients about the possibility of “abortion reversal” before they receive the medicine, despite shoddy evidence for the existence of such a thing (Nasa). In areas where abortion is illegal or access is limited, these medications have become hot black market commodities, which can lead to government crackdown. In Brazil, for example, misoprostol has become a controlled substance. Its use is strictly
regulated, despite its value as a treatment for misoprostol is produced. stomach ulcers (Assis, and Erdman). Similar to the There is also room for sweet little sites like Hey United States, the rules failed to diminish demand. Jane, which provides properly prescribed pills to As in-person pharmacies stopped prescribing the people living in certain select states and avoids legal medication, abortion-seekers turned to shadier entanglement with states like Texas by not serving online retailers (James). Aware of this threat, Texas patients located there (“Hey Jane”). But to serve all recently passed a law threatening jail time for Americans, including those living in places where people who prescribe abortion pills online and mail telemedicine abortion is unjustly limited, we need them into the state (Lopez). to be prepared to embrace the trouble. Elsewhere, lack of awareness among dealers When HIV medicine was made inaccessible selling abortion pills leads to less drug effectiveness through patent laws, patient advocacy groups or incorrect dosing. In Nigeria, people selling worked to subvert the law and import drugs from abortion pills will reportedly pop them out of other countries (Elks). Though this was indisputably their pharmaceutical illegal, few people were packaging, greatly willing to argue that it was decreasing their lifespan immoral. Similar drugIt’s actually impossible to gauge how and potentially their importation models have efficacy (Oguntola). been used to circumvent Despite all these gouging of insulin large the share of underground abortions price factors, the abortion and other necessary black market in the US medications, while is thriving. It’s actually experimental treatments is; these procedures are functionally impossible to gauge have historically been how large the share of accessed under the underground abortions table by patients who undetectable and almost entirely is; these procedures are are willing to counter functionally undetectable medical regulations hidden. But on the streets of Louisiana (Girion). Only the stigma and almost entirely hidden. But on the attached to reproductive streets of Louisiana and health makes people and in flea markets in Texas, whether in flea markets in Texas, leery of similar paralegal whether it be online on solutions to our growing crisp, clean websites or problem. it be online on crisp, clean websites through dodgy forums, Several years ago, people are already buying I hoped I might be able and selling abortion pills to be a doctor. That path or through dodgy forums, people are (Hellerstein; Miller, and is closed to me — my Sanger-Katz). body couldn’t support already buying and selling abortion pills. the rigeur of the pre-med Even if we can’t see the procedures, we life — but a certain ethos can see a fraction of the has remained. When commerce. The range of this trade suggests that the medicine is made illegal, we shouldn’t limit medical United States is well on its way to abortion anarchy. care to fit the law. Instead, medicine should be All I suggest we do is push things a little. Expand the prepared to go underground. The standard of care range of a clearly extant trade, increase the supply, should never be compromised. increase the amount of information in the hands Abortion can be restricted, but it cannot be of the people. I’m not saying Planned Parenthood eliminated. In this time of medication abortion, should be the ones to hand out information on how what we will see in the aftermath of a crackdown is to commit criminal acts. However, someone should a wave of undectable abortions by pill, unpolicable distribute leaflets with instructions on how to buy mail-order abortions, abortions being by facilitated abortion pills and safely store them (don’t pop by friends with PO Boxes and little old ladies who them out of the blister packs); make TikToks about drive to Mexico every winter. Both pro-choice sourcing meds from your local veterinarian (you activists and reproductive rights organizations can buy about 25 doses for $80); rank black market must ask themselves if they’re prepared to join sources of mifepristone by purity; and figure out this movement; it might be our only way past an how to buy in bulk from South Asia, where most otherwise existential threat to abortion access g
SOCIETY | 20
feedback: theindependent@rollins.edu
Bibliography - The Rotting Truth of The Funeral Industry and Why We Should Compost Bodies [p.16] CalMatters. “Democrats Aid Gov. Newsom by Killing Controversial Bills as Recall Vote Nears.” Times of San Diego, 29 Aug. 2021. “Everything You Need to Get Started: The Order of the Good Death.” The Order of the Good Death. “Frequently Requested Church Statistics.” Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. Milton Fields Georgia. “Why Conventional Burial Harms the Environment.” Milton Fields, 31 Dec. 2019. Molina, Alejandra. “In California, Residents May Be Able to Compost Their Bodies after Death.” Religion News Service, 9 Mar. 2020. Recompose. “Our Model.” Recompose, 1 Mar. 2022. “The Project.” Remember Land, 6 Nov. 2021. Bibliography - Flood the Streets With Abortion Pills [p. 18] “Hey Jane”. Heyjane.Co, 2022. “Misoprostol”. Heartlandvetsupply.Com, 2022. Assis, Mariana Prandini, and Joanna N Erdman. “In The Name Of Public Health: Misoprostol And The New Criminalization Of Abortion In Brazil”. Journal Of Law And The Biosciences, vol 8, no. 1, 2021. Oxford University Press (OUP). Autry, Blake M, and Roopma Wadhwas. Statpearls [Internet]. Statpearls Publishing, 2022. Business Standard. “Norway Man Jailed For Slipping Abortion Pill In Ex’s Drink”. 2015. Elks, Sonia. “Drug Buyers’ Clubs Aim To Tackle HIV Prevention ‘Crisis’”. Thomas Reuters Foundation News, 2022. Entringer, Sophia. “Methotrexate”. Drugs.Com, 2022. Fritze, John. “Arizona Asks Supreme Court To Allow Abortion Ban For Genetic Abnormalities To Take Effect”. USA TODAY, 2021. Girion, Lisa. “Seized Drugs Being Released”. Los Angeles Times, 2006. Grossman, Daniel et al. “Continuing Pregnancy After Mifepristone And “Reversal” Of First-Trimester Medical Abortion: A Systematic Review”. Contraception, vol 92, no. 3, 2015, pp. 206-211. Elsevier BV. Hausknecht, Richard U. “Methotrexate And Misoprostol To Terminate Early Pregnancy”. New England Journal Of Medicine, vol 333, no. 9, 1995, pp. 537-540. Massachusetts Medical Society. Hellerstein, Erica. “The Rise Of The DIY Abortion In Texas”. The Atlantic, 2014. James, Susan Donaldson. “More Texas Women Could Seek ‘Star Pills’ For Abortion.” Abcnews, 2013. Klibanoff, Eleanor. “Six Months In, ‘No End In Sight’ For Texas’ New Abortion Law.” The Texas Tribune, 2022. Koons, Cynthia. “The Abortion Pill Is Safer Than Tylenol And Almost Impossible To Get”. Bloomberg, 2022. Lopez, Ashley. “Prescribing Abortion Pills Online Or Mailing Them In Texas Can Now Land You In Jail”. Healthshots, 2021. Luthra, Shefali. “The 19Th Explains: 15-Week Abortion Bans May Become Law In Three States. What Does That Mean?”. The 19Th*, 2022. Mercer, Bob. “House Panel: Restrict Telemedicine Abortion”. Keloland Media Group, 2022. Miller, Claire Caine, and Margot Sanger-Katz. “Why America’S Abortion Rate Might Be Higher Than It Appears”. The New York Times, 2019. Murphy, Kevin. “Abortion-Drug Dealer Pleads Guilty, Linked To Grand Rapids Man Accused Of Poisoning Pregnant Woman’s Drink”. Wisconsin Rapids Tribune, 2020. Nasa, Rahima. “As “Abortion Reversal” Laws Spread, Doctors And Scientists Are Pushing Back”. PBS Frontline, 2019. NPR. “FDA Relaxes Restrictions On Abortion Pill”. All Things Considered, 2021. Oguntola, Sade. “How Safe Is Medical Abortion Procured From Patent Medicine Vendors, Pharmacists?”. Nigerian Tribune, 2021. Raymond, Elizabeth G. et al. “Efficacy Of Misoprostol Alone For First-Trimester Medical Abortion”. Obstetrics & Gynecology, vol 133, no. 1, 2019, pp. 137-147. Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). Reproductive Health Access Project. “The History Of Mifepristone - Reproductive Health Access Project”. Reproductive Health Access Project, 2020. Rinkunas, Susan. “This Bill Would Give Men Veto Power Over Abortions”. Jezebel, 2022. Stevenson, Amanda [@ajeanstevenson]. “Young people often take the biggest hits when abortion restrictions go into effect. You can see it in the new statistics released about the first month in which Texas’ SB8 was in effect (September 2021).” Twitter, 15 February 2022. Tan, Thanh. “In South Texas, Looking To Mexico For Alternative To Abortion Clinics”. The Texas Tribune, 2012.
THE INDEPENDENT IS A MAGAZINE THAT SHOWCASES THE VOICES OF WRITERS, ARTISTS, AND INTELLECTUALS AT ROLLINS COLLEGE. THIS MAGAZINE SERVES AS A FORUM FOR STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND MEMBERS OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITY TO SHARE THEIR RESEARCH, ARTWORK, TRAVEL EXPERIENCES, POLITICAL OPINIONS, AND MUCH MORE. WE STRIVE TO PUBLISH ARTICULATE, AUDACIOUS JOURNALISTIC PIECES THAT WILL BOTH EDUCATE OUR READERS AND MOTIVATE THEM TO FORM THEIR OWN INDEPENDENT WORLD VIEWS.