We are a group of people who refuse to allow attacks on the right to reproductive freedom to go unchallenged. Abortions will happen- whether they are safe, legal, and in a clinic or doctors office, or unsafe while at home or in a back-alley, putting women at risk. Hundreds of thousands of women, men, and other allies fought long and hard through the ’60s and ’70s for the right to safe and legal abortion- unfortunately, decades of attack have meant those rights have been steadily chipped away. Since 2010 alone, 338 new restrictions on abortions have been passed across the country, and 87% of US counties lack abortion providers.
We refuse to go back to a time when scared women with few options sought back-alley procedures. We also recognize that abortion procedures will always be available to the wealthy, and that attacks on our rights are also attacks on poor, working women- particularly women of color. If “pro-lifers” really cared about children, they would fight for money for families, a better education system, higher wages, and equality for all people. Their hypocrisy is made clear in that fact that they only appear to care about life when it is in the womb, not after it is delivered.
For too long reproductive justice advocates have taken a “moral high ground” approach. This clearly has not worked. It is time to go on the offensive- to stand up against right-wing bigots trying to roll back our rights, and to push back for OUR side, to demand equal access to healthcare and the right to full decision-making power over our bodies.