Fellow white women, we should have been paying attention all that time when Black women, indigenous women, and other women of color have been denied reproductive freedom and other aspects of self-determination over their own bodies. Abortion rights are part of reproductive freedom, and self-determination over our bodies in general, but are by no means the whole equation. Now here we are. Can’t invent a time machine to go back in time and do better, so what are we going to do NOW to make sure all people with uteruses have reproductive freedom and the right to be the boss of their own bodies?
I’ve heard they are coming next for contraception. And any non-cis-het marriage. Nothing should surprise us.
When government gets more oppressive, grassroots cooperation and caring has to get stronger.
PS. Please can we all quit posting the Handmaid’s Tale memes and “camping” comments.
I would love to live in a society where all babies were loved, wanted, guaranteed access to everything they need to grow up healthy and thrive. Where mothers and motherhood were fully supported; where teen and single mothers were not shamed; where schools had daycare centers and so on. Where rape and incest did not exist. In such a society, abortion might not be needed. But we do not live in such a society.
Recommended reading: Ally Henny has published this post on her Patreon, “A white woman’s guide to not being completely insensitive in the wake of Roe being overturned“. (The post is public; you can also join her Patreon to get access to all her other content as well.)
Suggested org to support: National Network of Abortion Funds https://abortionfunds.org. I am just now finding out about this organization. It is led by Yamani Yansà Hernandez, who self-describes as a Black, queer, intersex doula who has had an abortion, miscarriage, and two kids. The NNAF network is 76 organizations deep, with 500+ other state and local leaders, and 15k volunteers. @AbortionFunds on Twitter @yamyan on Twitter “Our ability to self-determine our bodies, families, and future extends far beyond abortion.” (from NNAF Twitter feed)