My name is Dorian Block (formerly Salome Block) and I was born into a longstanding and influential Democratic family in New Mexico. Many of my relatives held a public or elected office in the state and I was campaigning for politicians before I could speak.
But my activism didn't start until I came out as a lesbian in high school. I experienced homophobia at the hands of multiple religious and educational institutions, the most harmful of which was my undergraduate university, a Methodist school in the Bible Belt of Texas. I was stripped of my music major for speaking up about homophobic discrimination within the music department. I organized the entire vocal studio to speak up with me to the dean of the department and the dean of students. After this initial meeting we all received retaliation in some form from the university administration, many not so thinly veiled threats against scholarships and the like left me without any of those colleagues who had spoken up with me. As the leader of this group of students I was outcast from the vocal studio entirely and, therefore, the music department losing any chance of achieving a degree in that program. This injustice occurred at the undergraduate alma mater I share with Sara Weddington, the lawyer who argued Roe vs. Wade, so I always felt a deep connection through my strife to the struggles of individuals championing reproductive healthcare.
I ended up graduating from the English department at this university that accepted me with open arms. This led me down a path I would never have considered using my writing abilities to inform public policy that could prevent discrimination like that which I’d experienced. My position paper proposing solutions to addressing international LGBTQI+ human rights violations won an award at the National Model United Nations conference in Rome, Italy (2014). Because of these experiences I still identify as a lesbian even though that identity has evolved into my coming out as trans-masculine. This transformation occurred at the same time that I was diagnosed with endometriosis, both identities of which have exposed me to multiple other discriminatory experiences. Coming from this perspective I continued advocating against discrimination in all its forms, proudly marching among the crowds at every women’s march since the election.
2017 2018 2019
I was scrolling through my Facebook a couple weeks ago and came across Planned Parenthood’s post about the 2019 Power Summit and was immediately registering to attend. I wanted to learn how to more effectively organize community to stand up for individuals like me who require access to healthcare options such as hormone replacement therapy and birth control. I know the opposition to this access is strong because my log cabin republican brother is at the forefront as part of the media team in our capital using his talents for Americans United For Life to spread uninformed and biased messaging about reproductive healthcare. I want to prevent as much harm as possible coming from members of my family and to avoid putting individuals in scarring situations like the ones I’d experienced.
This summit was everything I had hoped for and more. It started out with a lobby day on Thursday at the New Mexico legislature where I had the opportunity to share with the legislators from my district in the house and senate why House Bill 51 and House Bill 89 were vital to me as a constituent. I had been able to sit in on the committee hearing for House Bill 51 earlier in January so I had a good understanding of what the bill encompassed as well as the false scare tactics the opposition was using. This bill would protect abortion access as it stands in the state of New Mexico decriminalizing it so that health care providers could not be penalized for performing this vital medical procedure even if such protections should change at the federal level. House Bill 89 would provide access to different forms of reproductive health care including allowing pharmacists to provide 6 month subscriptions of birth control to individuals living in rural areas that do not have direct access to a pharmacy. I was proud to stand on the steps of the capital and in my legislators offices lobbying for this necessary protection and access.
The Summit started off on Friday evening in a room full of reproductive healthcare champions from many organizations around New Mexico including the ACLU, Equality New Mexico, Women United, and Respect New Mexico Women.
Saturday was full of informative trainings given by leaders in the field which began by redefining the word 'power,' which has a negative connotation to many people, myself included. By redefining it, Planned Parenthood views 'power' as a neutral term which can be used for good or bad. By combining people, resources and a trusted brand they view power as a force which can effect change for the better.
Sunday started with Reproductive Justice 101, taking us through a history of injustices that have led to archaic laws which are still on the books. We broke out into communications groups to learn how to more effectively share our message. Then we learned how to strategize for different causes answering questions like "Where does your pain come from and why does it drive you to take action through this work?" Through these exercises throughout the weekend I feel that I effectively defined for myself why I am Pro-Choice as well as helped better articulate my journey which brought me to this accepting stance.
@ppnewmex (Planned Parenthood NM). Twitter, 18 Feb. 2019, https://twitter.com/ppnewmex/status/1097548889442283520
The conference ended with a lobby day on Monday where I got to join a different group to speak with even more legislators from our state about reproductive healthcare and access. I felt so empowered to have these informed conversations after the weekend that I checked out of the hotel ready to apply for some jobs at Planned Parenthood and, at the very least, be a vocal champion for reproductive healthcare.
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