I learned about Dobbs, the recent Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey, in a room full of black women in Boston. One interrupted a panel discussion and made the announcement. Fumes, sighs and murmurs followed. I ran outside and cried for a while on the phone while telling the news to loved ones. The state of affairs is deeply unfair. Not only has the court abolished federal protection of abortion and access rights, but Judge Clarence Thomas has also called for a review and overturn of other important court rulings that protect privacy, same-sex marriage and gay marriage. I wish I could say something like, “I never thought I would see the day this happened.” But I’m honestly not sure. I spent a few years in college discussing casually against abortion. At the time, I was unfortunately convinced by social media accounts that Planned Parenthood was a eugenic conspiracy to kill black babies and destroy black families. Although most abortion recipients are white women, black women disproportionately terminate their pregnancies. Since I could easily point out the ways in which the state failed to protect poor, black people and perpetuate violence, I first found the arguments against abortion to protect the lives of blacks convincing. When I was younger, my ideas about justice, religion, and harm were rapid and confused. Then I learned more. I studied and met black women who fought for full reproductive justice: the right to have children, the right not to have children and the right to have parents. I was no longer convinced by the perverse claim I used repeatedly, that “only 1% of rapes end in pregnancy.” This measurement did not largely match my reality anyway. He did not verbally capture “consensual” but unwanted sex. Nor did it reflect my conversations with peers who had assumed that rape could only be an act committed by a stranger, not a lover. Or friends who initially thought of sexual violence as a spectacular attack, not someone who removes a condom without their knowledge or consent. The statistics did not even match the conservative estimates of the data: the National Institutes of Health reported that rape of pregnancy occurred with a “significant frequency” and resulted in about 32,000 pregnancies each year. The moment in that room of black women in Boston reminded me of a short sermon given by a black minister in my church when the Dobbs blueprint leaked weeks ago. He said: “If the real problem was the babies, then all the babies would have health care when they get here. If it were children, then no child would ever be hungry. No child would miss education. No child would miss clothing. “No parent would miss the formula.” The most common reasons women choose to terminate their pregnancies are socioeconomic, including intervention in work, education, and the care of other dependents. Lawmakers could pass legislation that would authorize people to have children and raise children financially, including universal basic income, paid parental leave, universal childcare and free college. Republicans and Democrats could support the total write-off of student debt, so employees would not have to choose between child savings or loan payments. And most importantly, if they cared about the protection of life, they could fight to maintain and extend the right to physical autonomy so that people can make the most important decisions about their bodies and lives. However, the anti-abortion wings of the Supreme Court, Congress and state legislatures are not trying to ensure fair conditions for pregnancy and childbirth, nor for raising children. This group advocates and advocates policies that prohibit tribal justice education. prohibits trans children from sports teams and baths. denies dollars for health care and unemployment; and expands police power. These are all attempts to limit physical autonomy and create hostile living conditions to maintain racial, gender, sexual and economic hierarchies. Dobbs are more than just the rights of states and the “protection of life.” It is about power and control. I fully understand the impulse to blame the logic of the Supreme Court on Christianity or the social hatred of women. Right-wing evangelism is a train that carries homophobia, misogyny, racism, xenophobia and much more around the world. However, in addition to the social consciousness of these interrelated forms of oppression, we must understand that decisions like Dobbs also lead to material losses beyond individual privacy and physical autonomy. Institutions and individuals benefit from the loss of our representation. Individuals use pregnancy and children to control the social and physical life of their partners. I remember praying with my best friend in college before having a miscarriage because if her boyfriend found out she was pregnant, he would not let her leave the relationship. She was not alone. Her ability to decide on her pregnancy enabled her to make the best decision about her safety and removed a control lever from her partner. What are people in Missouri supposed to do like this now that the state has approved a complete ban on abortions? Call the police, who are in charge of criminalizing abortions? Institutionally, businesses benefit from the loss of our physical autonomy. My sister, who wanted a child, was fired from her job when she became pregnant. Hundreds of thousands of women report discrimination in pregnancy each year, including their employer’s refusal to meet health-related needs. Companies will prioritize, grant benefits, and pay people who cannot or will not become pregnant to minimize disruption to company profits. Although technically illegal, no one has the right to call the police to their employer to enforce this law. Cops protect businesses, not employees. Instead, discriminated individuals should be subject to a reporting procedure that may discourage complaints. While we must strive to change working relationships now, we must protect the right to physical autonomy to navigate our current social realities. In both cases – forcing the pregnancy by restricting access to abortions and creating hostile conditions to discourage pregnancy – keeps those who can get pregnant in a precarious position, subject to the whims of others. Or, as black women in my family would say, “damn if you do, damn if you don’t.” What reduces the blow of condemnation is to maximize our ability to choose the best course of action for our lives, while minimizing the oppressive ground we cross. This is exactly why color communities and radical feminists are not just fighting for reproductive rights, but for full reproductive justice. Safe access for abortion is a tile on the floor. Example and practice are committed to a complete set of political, organizational and social changes that increase individual action and institutional support for reproductive physical autonomy. Today, I hope to support the strong immediate responses that give people access to contraception and abortions who want it and need it now. This may include learning more about reproductive justice, donating to fundraisers for abortions at the base, and setting up free and affordable telegram prescribing services. In the long run, we must remove power from non-democratic institutions, such as the Supreme Court, to make immoral decisions that will change the lives of our society and strive for truly progressive communities and institutions to provide the care we all deserve.
