“There was no way I was going to miss out on an opportunity to be surrounded by people who all feel the same,” said Ioane. “The Black maternal mortality rate is already dismal in America, and forcing Black women to have babies that are not going to be taken care of-it’s unimaginable.” Yvanna Ioane (she/her), 32, San Leandro Yvanna Ioane at a protest for abortion rights in Oakland Credit: Kathryn Styer Martínez “It’s going to affect Black women, first and foremost, and trans people, because it always affects our communities first and it always hits us the hardest,” they said. They’re also worried about the future of their existing child, who is trans and has a uterus. “I’m worried about the life of my future child if they’re a girl,” they said. Shanelle Jones (they/them), 28, Uptown Oakland Shanelle Jones at the gathering for reproductive rights.
