Today American Women’s Freedom Died

June 24, 2022. It’s official.

I’ve been getting trolled lately, for saying that it’s not about abortion, it’s about control. I don’t leave troll comments up on my page – and that apparently enrages them. So I’m doing the right thing there, clearly.

They say I’m a man hater, a baby killer, that I have no right to cry when children are murdered in their classrooms because believing a woman’s bodily autonomy is her own and no one else’s is incompatible with caring about children whose bodies were so destroyed they had to be identified by their DNA. One of them even claimed to be a feminist, but called me a “commie” (quaint, isn’t it?) because I didn’t leave the troll blather visible. It doesn’t even matter that they are all wrong. That they are ignorant, egocentric, shortsighted idiots. Oh, and they were ALL men. Every.Single.One.

What matters is that now that the Supreme Court has so hypocritically given them their way, they will only move on to other ways to control women.

If it was about babies, 192 Republican members of the House of Representatives wouldn’t have voted against aid to solve the infant formula crisis a few weeks ago. I mean, why make sure babies have formula? They were born, that’s where society’s responsibility ends, right?

If it was about babies, we would have free universal healthcare, which, by the way, would cost billions of dollars less than our current broken system, so that parental health would be optimal to produce a healthy baby, and the baby’s health would be taken care of as well.

If it was about babies, we would have readily available, free mental health care, so all parents would be capable of taking care of both themselves and the baby.

If it was about babies, we would have universal preschool and quality public school at every level, so the babies AND their parents could be educated, which tends to produce happier, healthier, more productive citizens.

If it was about babies, we would make sure everyone has reasonable housing, so no baby has to grow up homeless.

But it’s not about babies, and it’s not about abortion.

It’s about controlling women, and particularly poor women and women of color, who are the most likely groups to be unable to circumvent state laws against abortion. Abortion rates have been plummeting for decades, as women have been gaining status and power, and that threatens some people. This is a way to put women back in their place.

We all face a reckoning now. Are we going to allow a small, power hungry minority to not only run the country, but dictate our private lives? They will never end abortion, any more than Prohibition ended alcohol consumption. But just like Prohibition, when the government, unsatisfied with just criminalizing alcohol, actually poisoned some alcohol to stop people from drinking (which didn’t work in general, although it certainly stopped the people they killed), the criminalization of abortion will go much further than attempted bans. Miscarriages have already been criminalized in some instances. Women will be under suspicion when they miscarry. Just like “what were you wearing” asked of rape victims, women who miscarry will be grilled on what they did to “cause” the miscarriage, ignoring the fact that somewhere between 40% and 75% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. So women will not get the healthcare they need when they believe they might be pregnant. Women who are loved, who have their whole lives ahead of them, who would have contributed to society in thousands of ways will lose their educations, careers, opportunities, freedom - and sometimes, their lives.

My mom always said a woman walks through the valley of death to bring back a baby, and she was right, especially in the U.S. Women and infants in the U.S., with our grossly unequal and inaccessible medical system, have a higher chance of dying during or soon after pregnancy than in almost any other Western country. No one should ever be forced to give birth, to  go through an unwanted pregnancy, or to live the life of an unwanted child.

If you think this decision doesn’t concern you, whoever you are, you are woefully mistaken. The loss of Roe v. Wade means the entire right to privacy is under attack. Clarence Thomas has made it clear that consensual contraception, gay sexual relations, and gay marriage are next on the chopping block, and there are more rights beyond that under threat.

Everyone knows – and loves – someone who has had an abortion. Everyone knows – and loves – someone who is gay. Everyone knows – and loves – someone who uses contraception. The simple fact is that the right to privacy is the bedrock underpinning much of how we live today. Our freedoms, our choices, our ability to live and work where, how, and with whom we choose are threatened, or simply gone, without it.

Vote, of course. But do more. Speak up. BE LOUD. Make sure your representatives, your friends, your family, everyone you know hears you. Their rights are threatened too, and hearing you speak out might give someone else the courage to speak up, themselves. Our government is supposed to be of the people, for the people, and by the people. Over 80% of us wanted Roe to stand. So we the people need to make sure our governments, state and federal, know unequivocally what we want them to do. And if they don’t do that, we need to VOTE THEM OUT.

The words of Pastor Martin Niemoller regarding society’s complacency and reluctance to speak up for others are still true today - you can substitute in any group whose rights are under threat. We have not been speaking up for our neighbors. We need to, and we need to NOW.  

“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not

a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Pastor Martin Niemoller (1892-1984)

All together now. It’s not about abortion. It’s about CONTROL.