SisterSong Inc., based in Atlanta, advocates for legal and state-supported abortion. ¹ SisterSong is a party in a lawsuit seeking to block Georgia’s ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. ² The organization’s executive director, Monica Simpson, was a guest of Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA) at President Joe Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address. ³ SisterSong’s board of directors include an “openly queer preschool teacher” and a “Black trans womanist.” ⁴

SisterSong was founded in 1997 by a group of 16 left-of-center organizations. ⁵

Agenda

SisterSong advocates that abortion be not only legal but also provided free to the woman. The organization says, “Mainstream movements have focused on keeping abortion legal as an individual choice. That is necessary, but not enough. Even when abortion is legal, many women of color cannot afford it, or cannot travel hundreds of miles to the nearest clinic. There is no choice where there is no access.” ⁶ One of the ways SisterSong wants to achieve this vision is by addressing “intersecting oppressions.” ⁷

SisterSong has argued that “reproductive politics in the US is based on gendered, sexualized, and racialized acts of dominance that occur on a daily basis.” ⁸ In an interview, Monica Simpson, the executive director of SisterSong, said, “Abortion has never for us been a single-issue lens. So, when people are voting for abortion, they’re not just voting for abortion. They’re voting for economic justice, they’re voting for queer and trans liberation, they’re voting for the environment.” ⁹

Along with Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, and several other organizations, SisterSong is a party to a lawsuit against the state of Georgia that seeks to block a ban on abortions performed after six weeks’ fetal gestation passed by the state legislature in 2019. ¹⁰ The ban was enacted in 2019, but it was enjoined by a federal judge. However, after the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the injunction and allowed the ban to take effect. ¹¹ SisterSong and other plaintiffs subsequently filed a lawsuit arguing that the ban was invalid since it was passed before the Dobbs decision. ¹² Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney enjoined the law at the plaintiffs’ request, but his ruling was later overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court, allowing the law to temporarily take effect. ¹³

People

SisterSong has 11 staff listed on its website and a 10-member board of directors. ^{14 15} Members of the board of directors include an “openly queer preschool teacher” and a “Black trans womanist” as well as employees of Planned Parenthood and Everytown for Gun Safety. ¹⁶

Monica Simpson was a guest of  Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA) at the 2023 State of the Union Address. Williams said that she was “grateful for Monica’s leadership in the movement for Reproductive Justice as we continue to work collectively to stop extremist Republican attacks on our freedoms.” ¹⁷ Simpson stated that “Congresswoman Williams is a fierce champion of issues that are central to SisterSong’s guiding tenet of Reproductive Justice—including abortion and bodily autonomy, voting rights, racial justice, and LGBTQI+ equality.” ¹⁸

Finances

In the 2020 fiscal year, SisterSong’s total revenue was $8,432,588, and its total expenses were $2,374,427. ¹⁹ In the 2019 fiscal year, SisterSong had $4,174,386 in total revenue and $2,558,219 in total expenses. ²⁰

SisterSong received $250,000 in grants from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation in 2021 and $200,000 in 2019. ²¹ The organization also received a grant from MacKenzie Scott in March 2022. ²²

1. SisterSong. “Reproductive Justice.” https://www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justice. Accessed February 23, 2023.
2. ACLU. “SisterSong v. State of Georgia.” https://www.aclu.org/cases/sistersong-v-state-georgia. Accessed February 20, 2023.
3. Office of Congresswoman Nikema Williams. “Congresswoman Nikema Williams Hosting SisterSong Executive Director Monica Simpson for State of the Union Address.” February 7, 2023.
4. SisterSong. “Board of Directors.” https://www.sistersong.net/board-of-directors. Accessed February 23, 2023.
5. SisterSong. “Our History.” https://www.sistersong.net/mission. Accessed February 20, 2023.
6. SisterSong. “Reproductive Justice.” https://www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justice. Accessed February 23, 2023.
7. SisterSong. “Reproductive Justice.” https://www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justice. Accessed February 23, 2023.
8. SisterSong. “Reproductive Justice” https://www.sistersong.net/reproductive-justice. Accessed February 16, 2023.
9. Sanchez, Chelsey. “Abortion Rights Won the Midterms, but We’re Still Fighting For Our Lives.” Bazaar. November 12, 2022. https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a41924650/midterm-elections-2022-abortion-rights-monica-simpson-interview/.
10. ACLU. “SisterSong v. State of Georgia.” https://www.aclu.org/cases/sistersong-v-state-georgia. Accessed February 20, 2023.
11. ACLU. “SisterSong v. State of Georgia.” https://www.aclu.org/cases/sistersong-v-state-georgia. Accessed February 20, 2023/.
12. ACLU. “SisterSong v. State of Georgia.” https://www.aclu.org/cases/sistersong-v-state-georgia. Accessed February 20, 2023.
13. ACLU. “Georgia Supreme Court Allows Six-Week Abortion Ban to Again Take Effect.” November 23, 2022. https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/georgia-supreme-court-allows-six-week-abortion-ban-again-take-effect.
14. SisterSong. “Team SisterSong.” https://www.sistersong.net/team-sister-song. Accessed February 23, 2023.
15. SisterSong. “Board of Directors.” https://www.sistersong.net/board-of-directors. Accessed February 23, 2023.
16. SisterSong. “Board of Directors.” https://www.sistersong.net/board-of-directors. Accessed February 23, 2023.
17. Office of Congresswoman Nikema Williams. “Congresswoman Nikema Williams Hosting SisterSong Executive Director Monica Simpson for State of the Union Address.” February 7, 2023. https://nikemawilliams.house.gov/posts/congresswoman-nikema-williams-hosting-sistersong-executive-director-monica-simpson-for-state-of-the-union-address.
18. Office of Congresswoman Nikema Williams. “Congresswoman Nikema Williams Hosting SisterSong Executive Director Monica Simpson for State of the Union Address.” February 7, 2023. https://nikemawilliams.house.gov/posts/congresswoman-nikema-williams-hosting-sistersong-executive-director-monica-simpson-for-state-of-the-union-address.
19. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). SisterSong Inc. 2020. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/510544927
20. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). SisterSong Inc. 2019. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/510544927/202003219349306350/full.
21. David and Lucile Packard Foundation. “SisterSong Inc.” https://www.packard.org/grants-and-investments/grants-database/sister-song-inc-2/. Accessed February 17, 2023.
22. Scott, Mackenzie. “Helping Any of Us Can Help Us All.” Medium. March 23, 2022. https://mackenzie-scott.medium.com/helping-any-of-us-can-help-us-all-f4c7487818d9.