As we all try to survive in a country reeling from the consequences of a failed government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as rampant corruption and hypocrisy within the Trump administration, it may be difficult to conceptualize adding yet another issue to the steaming plate of hot garbage that is our current American democracy. However, the recent tragic passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was not only a loss for our democracy, but a loss of a powerful liberal judge who could have prevented the repeal of laws that are essential to protecting the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, people of color, and womxn. It is essential to note how her passing and subsequent replacement (who will likely be right-wing, pro-life candidate, according to Trump) will directly oppress and marginalize these communities unless we all collectively vote in a way that favors the preservation of our democracy—aka, just vote Trump out of office, for f*ck’s sake.
How terrifying does losing the right to attain free birth control sound to you? Good, I’m glad you’re just as petrified as I am. If a right-wing judge replaces RBG, there is a chance that the Affordable Care Act will be overturned, thus potentially eliminating women’s guaranteed access to free birth control that is covered by insurance (Rovner). Hormonal birth control is used to treat a plethora of health conditions that negatively impact women, therefore increasing their quality of life and their opportunities to have successful careers. According to Planned Parenthood, systemic barriers to accessing birth control disproportionately impact Black women, which decreases their “ability to achieve full reproductive freedom,” and thus decreases the quality of life and restricts their opportunities to earn an income or maintain a career.
A law that has been under constant scrutiny from the Trump administration and the conservative, right-wing judges within the Supreme Court is Roe v. Wade. It is important to note that although the overturn of Roe v. Wade will allow states to enact bans on abortions, abortions in America will not stop. Safe abortions will cease to exist, which will impact all women, but especially women of color, whose access to abortions is already limited based on many socioeconomic factors. According to Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson in her article “Reproductive Laws, Women of Color, and Low-Income Women,” “Financial, geographical, and other barriers to access are likely to have a greater impact on nonwhite women, whose overall abortion rate is more than twice that of whites” (324), which indicates that women of color already struggle against oppressive, systemic barriers to attain abortions despite their higher demand for the procedure. Thus, the overturn of Roe v. Wade would yield disastrous and dangerous consequences for women of color.
Contrary to popular arguments utilized by pro-lifers, the term pro-choice does not indicate that it’s supporters are pro-abortion. Simply put, pro-choice means that there is a need to support a woman’s right to choose what she does with her body. White male lawmakers should not decide what goes in or out of MY vagina. Without a powerful liberal feminist within the Supreme Court, our right to choose may be taken from us as well as our right to attain free, quality birth control.
RBG would want us to oppose the oppressive, patriarchal administration that is trying to regulate contraceptive care for women. She would want us to vote and make our voices heard. You do not have the privilege to sit out of this election. Vote to protect all womxn, the LGBTQ+ community, and communities of color. It is not a matter of differences of opinion anymore, it is a matter of moral differences. Vote for the change that you want to see in America.
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