Archive

Show more
Labels
Posted by

Roe v. Wade, the Aftermath


The decision by the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, established law for close to fifty years, is a catastrophe on the scale of Trump winning the 2016 election, if not bigger.

The most immediate and serious effect of this is now tens of millions of women across the country will no longer have access to vital reproductive health care.

If you are a woman, in practical terms, your ability to access reproductive health care now depends on who you are and where you live. If you are lucky enough to live in a state like California or Illinois, you still have access to reproductive health care. Should you live in Texas or Georgia, your rights have disappeared overnight.

It has just gotten significantly harder, if not impossible, for marginalized women to get reproductive health care in much of the United States.

Overturning Roe v. Wade will not reduce abortion rates. It will only make abortion more dangerous for millions of women. This decision is fundamentally not about preventing abortion; it’s about controlling and punishing women.

Beyond the grave human cost, this will have unforeseen political consequences that make the overall situation much, much worse.

For starters, the worst elements in American society just won a major victory. This will only embolden them further. I think Justice Alito is lying to justify what he has just done, but if he honestly thinks that this will cool things down, he is delusional.

He even said that marriage equality is next on the docket.

This will be a grievous and possibly lethal blow against the legitimacy of the Supreme Court. They just overturned a decision that has the support of 70 percent of Americans and is a significant issue for millions of voters.

If I had anything to say to Justice Alito, it would be this: “Do you realize what you have just done?”

This decision is the political equivalent of a raging wildfire igniting an oil refinery, meaning that this will only make things much, much worse.

Honestly, the fact this was leaked is the least serious problem right now (the leaking itself is unprecedented).


What You Can Do to Protect Women’s Rights

I am going to give some practical advice on how you all can protect women’s rights. It will be urgently needed going forward.

Donate to the following Democratic governors to ensure that they can be a firewall against the worst the GOP has to offer. Spread the word on their reelection campaigns.

All of these governors will be vital for protecting reproductive health care across the country. In addition, make sure to donate to Josh Shapiro’s campaign for governor in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro: Website | Donation | Facebook | Twitter |

Some of you may have noticed that I included what are traditionally safe states for Democratic governors. My rule in this situation is that unless a state is safely blue, reproductive rights are at grave risk. But considering how resources must be carefully managed (remember that one of the biggest mistakes Democrats made in 2020 was spending hundreds of millions of dollars on unwinnable races), anything redder than toss-up I will not promote. In addition, I will promote some candidates for governor in Oregon who seem to have the best chance of winning both the office and keeping the trifecta blue. Same for candidates in Massachusetts and Maryland.

Time is of the essence, so I will only include the two most-promising candidates per state. Decide for yourselves who you think is the best candidate. I will give my own opinion at the end of the list.

Oregon gubernatorial race:
My first impression is that neither are political/policy novices, and both could do the job of running Oregon. That being said, State Treasurer Tobias Read’s bluntness on getting kids vaccinated has left a good impression on me. So I give him a slight edge in my favor, though that could change. Both are committed to protecting reproductive health care. Either way, this race must get wrapped up soon.

Massachusetts gubernatorial race:
Again, neither of them are novices when it comes to how to govern or on policy. My impression is that both women could do the job of running Massachusetts, though I could be wrong. I will defer to Trevor on this one because he has organizing experience in Massachusetts and knows both of them better than I do. Either way, they must win.

Maryland gubernatorial race:

I will add the caveat that this race is quite crowded. So limiting it to two won’t work here. What I will do instead is look at governing experience, policy knowledge, how they are polling, and who seems to have the most backing from Maryland’s Black population. I will select the four most promising. Because of how little I know about Maryland, I am open to correction.
All four candidates look quite competent, though I will leave it up to Marylanders to decide for themselves.

I brought up these races because with so much at stake, nothing can be taken for granted.

Ways to Support Reproductive Health Care Directly

Those providing this care will soon need all the help they can get.

If you are curious on the state of abortion rights in your state, click here. Make sure to spread the word.

For example, abortion will be under severe stress in Minnesota when the Supreme Court’s ruling goes into effect, but it will still be available. By contrast, abortion will be illegal in Wisconsin—yet another illustration of why state government is so important.

Donate to Planned Parenthood. Where they are not shut down, they will be pushed to or past their limits by women who need to get treatment for reproductive health care. A big concern for abortion providers in Minnesota is that they will get pushed past capacity by women seeking their services from surrounding states.

Click here to donate to Planned Parenthood.

Also, click here to donate to NARRAL, one of the leading advocates for reproductive rights in the United States. They will have their hands full all over the country soon.

If you are looking to aid women who need help to find an abortion, the Brigid Alliance and Haven Coalition are good places to look into. To assist women who are really going to need help, look into Access Reproductive Care–Southeast.

For those of you living on the West Coast, in the Northeast, and in the Rocky Mountains region such as Colorado or New Mexico, make sure to enshrine reproductive and LGBT rights while you still can. In addition, advocate for building more housing to help refugees from other American states.

A state is not a sanctuary if you can’t afford to live there.

As for Minnesota . . . well, the situation here is perilous. Right now, when Roe v. Wade is officially overturned, abortion will still be accessible in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. That being said, I foresee two big problems.

The first is that this will empower the worst elements in Minnesota politics. They will push hard for an abortion ban, and they are prepared to burn down the entire state to do so.

The second is that in the meantime, reproductive health-care professionals here will be pushed as hard as health-care workers as a whole during COVID-19. If this is not addressed, women will be facing serious shortages in Minnesota.

The Supreme Court just opened up Pandora’s box. I don’t know exactly what will happen beyond a humanitarian catastrophe.

But it’s going to be a catastrophe on the scale of Trump winning in 2016.
Labels: