The Daily Beans: Operation Save Abortion at Netroots Nation 2025 (with Abortion Access Front)

Date: August 17, 2025
Podcast: The Daily Beans (MSW Media)
Episode Focus: Turning Outrage Into Action—Supporting Abortion Providers & Patients Through Direct Activism

Episode Overview

This special crossover episode, recorded live at Netroots Nation 2025 in New Orleans, features the Abortion Access Front (AAF) team transforming their podcast recording into an interactive “Operation Save Abortion” training session. Hosts and activists discuss the escalating challenges faced by abortion providers and patients in the wake of increasingly hostile legislation and direct action from anti-choice groups. The team offers real examples of harm mitigation, creative activism, and clear steps for listeners eager to move past helplessness into meaningful, joyful support.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Current Climate for Abortion Providers and Patients

• Emotional Toll & Burnout

  • Providers and clinic staff face overwhelming negativity, “a lack of community support,” and chronic underfunding (02:22, Cherelle Dingle).
  • Even basic services—like repairs or landscaping—are hard to secure because workers risk being targeted for aiding clinics (03:09).

• Escalating Violence & Isolation

  • “Nearly every abortion patient that walks into a clinic is going to have to walk a gauntlet of anti abortion protesters.” (05:33, Kristen Haitie)
  • Increased blockades, invasions, vandalism, and harassment. Recent incidents include smashed windows and invasions where protestors try to shut clinics down for the day (06:00).
  • Past federal prosecution of anti-abortion extremists, followed by presidential pardons, has sent a “do whatever the hell you want” message to protestors (07:48).

• Personal Threats and Fear

  • Providers feel forced into isolation by stigma and legal risk: “They are worried about walking off of the plane in a state that they don’t feel safe and not making it back home.” (04:24, Kristen Haitie)
  • Memorable Quote: “If they try to kill me, I want to make sure they get me and not my kids.” (08:09, recounted by host, about a provider’s decision not to hang curtains for personal safety.)

2. Meeting Practical and Emotional Needs

• Providers “deserve more than survival mode”—AAF works to bring care and comfort beyond just fighting legal battles (09:32).
• Support ranges from practical maintenance tasks to creative emotional boosts to counter relentless stress.

Examples of Impactful Actions

• Landscaping as Protest Mitigation:
  – AAF volunteers planted tall bushes outside clinics in Huntsville to “block out the protesters,” circumventing restrictive city laws (10:49).
  – “We planted these massively tall bushes...when those assholes had to come back the next day, their shit was blocked.” – Host, 10:49

• Wellness with Puppies:
  – Inspired by staff experiences at conferences, AAF brought puppies to clinics for a “puppy party”—a moment for staff to relax and recharge (10:56, Cherelle Dingle).
  – “The puppies...cuddled with the staff and they were loving on them. And it was just a moment...to get away their mind from what they are focusing on now.”

• Directional Art for Patient Safety:
  – To counter deceptive “fake clinics,” AAF painted a yellow-brick road leading directly to the legitimate clinic, giving patients clear, supportive guidance (12:20).
  – “When you come in just follow, follow the yellow brick road.” (13:12)

3. Abortion Doulas & Patient Autonomy

• Role of Abortion Doulas
  – Provide “nonjudgmental support, practical support, emotional support, or physical support...before, during, or after abortion” (13:45, Cherelle Dingle). – “Kindness goes a long way...sometimes we are the first moment of compassion [patients] come in contact with throughout the whole abortion process.” (14:47, Cherelle Dingle)

• Emphasis on Dignity and Autonomy
  – While housing patients may seem generous, it can add unspoken pressure and reduce autonomy. Supporting travel and privacy preserves dignity (16:48-17:49).

4. Barriers to Access & the Power of Mutual Aid

• Logistical and Financial Obstacles – “Abortion itself is often out of reach monetarily...because of the incredible demand, we have 14 states who now do not have legal abortion access, and those patients all have to go somewhere.” (15:07, Kristen Haitie) – Navigating fragmented support systems is stressful—even asking for help repeatedly can be demoralizing.

5. Direct Action & Joyful Activism

• Creative, Arresting Visuals

  • AAF uses “big, giant signs,” magazine covers, and bold advocacy displays to confront anti-choice protestors head-on and claim space (19:01, Alyssa Al Dukey).
  • “If you know what they're bringing to the battle, bring the weapons that can...bring the bigger one.” (19:59, Host)

• Abortion Pill Costumes

  • Volunteers don inflatable, “Disneyfied” pill costumes to demystify medication abortion at public events, from the DNC to Halloween parades (20:56-23:33).
  • “When we show up in these giant inflatable costumes...it's the first time people are seeing an abortion pill ever. And so we get to own that conversation then. We are gorgeous, we are friendly, we’re sweet. You want to hug us, you want to take a picture with us.” – Dukes, 20:56

• Volunteer Opportunities

  • Listeners are encouraged to “be a pill,” download signs, join at Supreme Court protests, or bring similar tactics to their communities (23:44).

• Miffy and the Miso Tones

  • AAF teases a joyful advocacy campaign: a parody music video called “I’m Just a Pill,” aiming to educate through humor and pop culture (25:37).

6. Empowering Listeners—Action Steps

• How To Get Involved

  • Download the Operation Save Abortion toolkit at operationsaveabortion.com
  • Join workshops at Abortion Access Front’s YouTube channel for “step by step instructions for each activity” (27:07)
  • Reach out with questions to programs@aafront.org.

• Closing Call to Action

  • “Waiting till the next election is not the answer. Helping those who need it now empowers you to be the face of humanity we all need to see right now.” (27:07, Host)
  • “You are the change. Start making it.” (27:28)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “Ten years is a long time. What I've been hearing is a lack of community support...they don’t feel that support and love.”
  – Cherelle Dingle, 02:22

• “Nearly every abortion patient that walks into a clinic is going to have to walk a gauntlet of anti abortion protesters.”
  – Kristen Haitie, 05:33

• “If they try to kill me, I want to make sure they get me and not my kids.”
  – Provider (recounted by host), 08:09

• “Providers deserve more than survival, right?...We all deserve to thrive. Not just survive.”
  – Sherelle Dingle & host, 09:32

• “We really need to beautify our property. But...Huntsville passed a law that the clinic couldn’t erect a fence...what they didn’t have a law about was planting really tall bushes.”
  – Host, 10:49

• “Sometimes things seem so small, but they mean so much...that’s the kind of gumption and ideas that like regular folks...can help do.”
  – Host, 12:20

• “Kindness goes a long way. Sometimes we are the first moment of compassion they come in contact with throughout the whole abortion process.”
  – Cherelle Dingle, 14:47

• “There should always be education. And that is why these actions are so perfect. A giant inflatable pill starts conversations.”
  – Kristen Haitie, 24:27

• “There is plenty of work to be done...But we also have to let people know that this is normal. You can have fun and you can have joy in this process as well."
  – Dukes, 25:15

Important Segments & Timestamps

| Time | Topic/Segment | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:44 | Introduction to live session at Netroots Nation | | 02:10 | Emotional toll on providers and clinic staff | | 05:33 | Discussion of violence and harassment escalation | | 08:09 | Providers’ daily safety risks (memorable quote) | | 09:43 | Practical and emotional support examples | | 13:44 | Role of abortion doulas; compassion in care | | 15:07 | Logistical and financial barriers to access | | 18:16 | Transition to direct action and creative protest | | 19:01 | Use of big visuals and costumes in activism | | 23:44 | Volunteer opportunities: “be a pill,” join actions | | 25:37 | Teaser for advocacy music video “I’m Just a Pill” | | 27:07 | Action steps: toolkit/workshop, final calls to join the movement |

Tone & Style

Throughout the episode, the tone is urgent, resilient, and infused with determined humor and practical hope. The hosts and guests combine frank accounts of hardship and danger with resourceful, often irreverent responses—encouraging listeners to turn outrage into action that is both joyful and effective. Their language is direct, often snarky (“bring the bigger one,” “sneaky, we love sneaky”), and emphatic about the value of community solidarity.

Conclusion

This episode offers an unvarnished look at the realities facing abortion providers and patients—but also powerfully models tangible, immediate ways that anyone can pitch in. Listeners are left not only with deeper insight but with clear tools to help, and a sense that activism can be creative, fulfilling, and even fun. The rallying cry is simple: “You are the change. Start making it.”