Miami Presents: The Dobbs Decision - Lived Experiences of a Post-Roe Present and Future

A Social Worker, a City Council Representative, and a Sexuality Educator join a webinar to discuss abortion. That’s it – there is no punchline... just practitioners from the Miami and Oxford communities using different lenses to better understand the issues. Join Jacqueline Daugherty, Ph.D., reproductive health educator and researcher, Amber Franklin Ph.D., Oxford City Councilor, and Sharon Custer, Ph.D., LISW-S to discuss the policy realities that shape the lived experiences of a Post-Roe present and future and answer your questions.

Jacqueline Daugherty, Ph.D. is a sociologist who teaches in the Western Program for Individualized Studies at Miami. Her teaching and research areas of interest include class/gender/race equity, reproductive health policy, and environmental justice. These interests were shaped by the first decade of her career in nonprofit social services. During that time, she worked as a clinician in both an abortion clinic and a birth center, as a gender-based violence prevention educator, and as an advocate for survivors of intimate partner violence. She has long thought that the pro-choice/pro-life binary is inadequate in describing most people’s experiences with decision-making around pregnancy and birth, and is more interested in basing policy on the relevant scientific research and lived experiences of those who it impacts most. 

Amber Franklin, Ph.D. CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist whose research and teaching interests include cross-linguistic and child phonology, cultural and linguistic diversity, and counseling strategies in communication sciences and disorders. Born on the island of St. Thomas and raised in Scarborough, Ontario, she learned the value of “growing where you are planted” by serving your community—wherever you are. An Oxford resident since 2011, Dr. Franklin served as a founding member of Oxford’s Police Community Relations and Review Commission for five years. In 2021, she ran for Oxford City Council and was elected with the highest number of votes. She also serves as a member of Oxford’s Housing Advisory Commission and Chair of the Public Arts Commission. In 2022, Councilor Franklin co-sponsored a resolution in support of reproductive freedom. She also partnered with the Oxford Interfaith Center and facilitated a series of Living Room Conversations. This hopeful initiative brings people of different perspectives together in respectful dialogue about challenging topics. The 2022 topics included abortion rights and political stereotypes. She looks forward to facilitating more community conversations in 2023. 

Sharon Custer, Ph.D., LISW-S is a licensed independent social worker with supervisory designation. Prior to coming to Miami, she spent more than 15 years supporting families in the areas of prevention, behavioral health interventions, adoption, and early childhood education. Dr. Custer serves as the Director of Workforce Development for the School-Based Center of Excellence in Prevention and Early Intervention. She is an active member in the social work community and serves on a number of advisory boards in order to deepen Miami’s partnerships across the region. Dr. Custer is also one of the founding faculty members of Miami University’s Institute for Responsible Gaming, Lotteries, and Sport.

The presentation is available to all and free to watch online, but registration is required.  Please reach out to Mollie Young at youngmr@miamioh.edu with questions.