This past week was a terrible one for justice in the U.S.; there were a few horrible decisions made by the Supreme Court, but the worst one was the overturning of Roe v Wade, the decision that had made abortion legal in the U.S. a half century ago.
I've been reading a range of reactions to the decision and I want to provide perspective that might help provide some additional context to it all.
1. WOMEN PLAYED A CRUCIAL ROLE IN OVERTURNING ROE V WADE
I've seen many comments made blaming old white men for this decision. Yes, it's true they played a role, but much of the anti-abortion activism in the U.S. has been driven by women. White women were the driving force behind many of the marches and much of the political action. I happened to witness several anti-abortion marches and demonstrations over the years and the vast majority of participants were women.
When I was a student teacher in Spokane years ago, the high school I taught at was across the street from an abortion clinic. Every day when I parked my car on the public street next to the high school, across from the clinic, dozens of women would surround my car, yelling at me, thinking I was going to the abortion clinic, and each day I would have to tell them, I was just teaching at the high school. The leader of the protest was a woman who carried a jar with what she said was a bloody fetus in it. She would shout and scream at me demanding that I too support ending abortion, while I hurried into the high school each morning as fast as I could.
Roe v Wade could never have been overturned without the extremely active efforts of these zealous women who were relentless in their opposition to women's choice, so let us affix much of the responsibility to white people of both genders.
2. THIS MOVEMENT IS PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY CHRISTIAN EVANGELICALS AND CONSERVATIVE CATHOLICS
The vast majority of the anti-choice movement is led and supported by Christian Evangelicals. This demographic group, along with a significant chunk of Catholics, are the ones who provided funds and support and kept this movement going. For the past half century polls have shown that the anti-choice movement is only supported by 35-40% of the U.S. population, but this vocal minority has emphasized this issue above all else, while the 60-65% of Americans who supported choice were concerned with a wide range of issues and did not exert the same amount of unrelenting effort and total commitment to support the right to choice.
3. NEVER CALL THESE PEOPLE PRO-LIFE, BECAUSE FOR MOST "LIFE-ISSUES" THEY ARE NOT.
Every anti-choice person I've ever talked to is a strong proponent of capital punishment and execution of prisoners. Almost every anti-choice person I've ever talked to is a strong supporter of lax gun control laws that cost thousands of lives in the U.S. each year. Almost every anti-choice person I've ever talked to is against universal health care, providing services to young children, and all the social programs that preserve and save children's lives. Almost every anti-choice person I've known has supported every war and military engagement the U.S. has engaged in. These people are many things but they ARE NOT pro-life. Never use this term for these zealots who aren't on the side of life on most issues.
4. IT'S ALSO A CLASS/ECONOMICS ISSUE
Back when abortion was illegal decades ago, rich white women could travel to Mexico and other places to obtain abortions, while poor women, often women of color, could not. Abortion bans disproportionately harm poorer women and women of color and this is another reason why the wealthy aren't particularly perturbed by these new restrictions, because they can easily circumvent them. This new reality will harm the most vulnerable members of society more intensely.
5. ANTI-CHOICE ACTIVISTS ARE ALSO EXTREMELY AFRAID OF SEX
Most white Evangelicals and anti-abortionists I know are violently opposed to sex outside of marriage. They are also opposed to contraception. They demand that the only sexual activity that people may have is inside of marriage only for the purpose of procreation. If these zealots were concerned about life, they would eagerly embrace contraception, which prevents unwanted pregnancies, but they are also trying to eliminate birth control too. This irrational fear and extremist opposition to sex and sex education has also fueled the fight to ban abortions (as they falsely reason that the availability of abortions promotes "free sex" and "irresponsible" sexual behavior). The anti-choice movement is also in great measure about puritanical extremism.
6. LACK OF ACTION ALSO CONTRIBUTED TO THIS DECISION
The election of Donald Trump in 2016 enabled him to stack the Supreme Court with activist judges who overturned Roe v Wade. I can't tell you how many people I know who didn't vote in the 2016 election because they had a small issue with Hilary Clinton. On the other hand, right wing, anti-abortion zealots didn't care about Donald Trump's warts and immorality--they would have made a deal with the devil and voted for him too, if they felt sure that the devil would have overturned abortion. Those people against abortion had a laser-like focus, while too many of those in favor of reproductive rights were foolishly apathetic and inactive. So, if you want to cast blame, I think it would be appropriate to assign some to the supporters of women's rights who didn't match the anti-choice voters' intensity, especially those who didn't vote in 2016 and there were millions who fall into this category.
7. THE EXTREMISTS ARE NOT DONE YET
It is high time that those who support women's freedom and reproductive rights mobilize immediately and with full force. Why? The anti-choice extremists are planning to track and harass women who try to obtain abortions in other states, so their extremism will continue unabated. If the Republicans gain control of Congress this year, then they will make every effort to pass legislation designed to ban abortion across the entire nation. YOU MUST MOBILIZE NOW AND FIGHT TO KEEP DEMOCRATS IN POWER. Vote, no matter what! Don't vote for any Republican, not even for dog catcher, because the entire Republican party is devoted to destroying all reproductive rights. Donate money and time to pro-choice organizations and Democratic candidates. Those who are lazy and inactive like some have been in the past, will be just as guilty of the horrible future that will happen as those who are anti-choice activists.
8. THIS IS NOT THE ONLY ISSUE THAT THE CHRISTIAN EXTREMISTS ARE GOING AFTER
The Christian extremists have made it clear that they are aiming to eliminate all rights that have recently been gained by the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, they want to ban all birth control and contraception. Some right-wing extremists have even suggested returning to legal racial segregation. That is why it is essential that everyone stand up and fight for the rights of those who are vulnerable and oppose the extremist agenda. Because, if you don't, more civil liberties will likely fall.
9. THOSE IN THE U.S. BETTER DO THEIR PART IN FUTURE ELECTIONS AND THEY MUST CONSTANTLY BE ENGAGED IN POLITICAL ACTION
My main message here is work, fight, organize, resist, mobilize. During the election of 2020, I contacted hundreds of voters in several states, by phone and by mail, urging them to vote, supported voter registration drives, donated thousands of dollars to pro-choice candidates, obtained yard signs for friends and neighbors. Almost no one I know, did a fraction of what I did, even those who had ample time and resources at their disposal. The world is truly messed up if I'm the busiest political activist I know. And if you are from outside the U.S., you have a valuable role too. Urge your American friends to get going and to get involved.
For years, I've been sounding alarm bells about the dangers the right-wing extremists in the U.S. present, particularly the 81% of "Christian" Evangelicals who support Trump. Now that the whole house is on fire, I hope everyone joins the fire brigade and works with full intensity to put the fire out.
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