People often ask me, what does banning abortion mean for your patients? It means that people will die - point blank. Studies show that banning abortion would lead to 21% increase in pregnancy related deaths, and 33% among Black women.
The supreme court recently followed through on their plan to undermine a 50 year legal precedent of reproductive choice for birthing people in this country -- stripping protections to obtain safe, and legal abortion a fundamental aspect of healthcare.
This decision disproportionately affects Black and poor women, particularly in the southern states where access is already severely restricted. But make no mistake, this is an act of political violence against us all, regardless of our gender. It represents a turning tide in our country - one that shuns health equity, individual bodily autonomy, racial and gender justice.
It is hard not to see the connection between the forced pregnancy of today, and that of our ancestors who were stolen, and enslaved to breed for wealth and power. And although the right to reproductive choice was based on the constitutional premise of liberty, and privacy, we know that similar legal protections based on this same premise are in jeopardy: the right to marriage equality, the right to contraceptive choice, protection against gender based discrimination, the right to equal protection under the law.
We need to demand reproductive justice, which means MORE that just safeguarding abortion protections. We need protections to ensure safe birth, and safe terminations of pregnancy if we choose to do so. We need protections against state sanctioned violence in poor, communities of color, that threaten the health, the lives, and the environments in which we raise our children.
Although the gangrenous core of our democracy has threatened the healthcare of millions, we must continue the fight against tyranny.
WE MUST:
Support reproductive justice organizations - Sister Song, Black Women for Wellness, National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda, Black Mamas Matter Alliance
Support local abortion funds - The National Network of Abortion Funds
Donate and support directly to your local abortion center
Support your local representatives fighting to codify abortion protections into law in your state- and VOTE because elections have consequences (obviously).