So they finally did it. After decades of strategically placing conservative judges and picking apart abortion laws on the state level, Republicans finally got Roe vs. Wade overturned. It will now be up to individual states to set their own abortion laws and we know in many Republican-controlled states, that means the perfectly safe medical procedure will be banned.
For years, so-called pro-life advocates have been screaming about how they’re just trying to save unborn babies from being murdered. They’re all good Christians who just want to save childrens’ lives. If that were actually true, they’d put the same energy into fixing issues like gun reform, social assistance, universal child care, food insecurity and wage equality. Of course, we all know Republicans don’t care about those things, because this was never about saving babies. It has always been about controlling women, especially Black women.
As we all process our emotions about this ruling, it’s crucial that we never lose sight of the fact that women of color and those living in poverty will be the ones most negatively affected by this situation. Obviously, they planned it that way. If we’re busy fighting for basic human rights and dignity, we don’t have time to examine all the other shady shit they’re up to.
These old, mostly white, men want to return to a time when they got to decide what women did with their bodies and lives. Since the minute Roe vs Wade became law in 1973, they have been on a revenge tour against women having agency and independence like it’s a personal slight against their manhood.
And Black women making decisions about their reproductive health without consulting white people is just too much for them to handle. You only need to look at how they handled Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing to see how these men still view Black women as beneath them and not worthy of respect.
If you look at the history of the anti-abortion movement, the more equality and progress women gained, the more intense their fervor became. The truly unconscionable agenda in many of these laws is that they leave no concessions in the case of rape or incest. As if a women being sexually assaulted isn’t enough, these people want to force her to have her attacker’s baby. There is nothing good or Christian about any of this.
The scary question is, what will they want control of next? Do these seem like the kind of people who will just stop with reproductive rights? As far as the current Supreme Court is concerned, women are not fit to make their own medical decisions. That’s essentially what they said today.