Women are exhausted from the near-constant attack on our rights, freedom, and autonomy. I’m tired. But, the fight is far from over.
Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash
This week, roughly a year after the bill was approved by the Oklahoma Senate, the Oklahoma House overwhelmingly voted to not only ban, but criminalize abortion in the state.
The bill, expected to be signed by the governor, would place a penalty on anyone performing an abortion of 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. With the Supreme Court slated to decide on the Mississippi Case, placing Roe V. Wade hanging in the balance, it is unlikely that this bill will be blocked by the courts. This means it could and very likely will, go into effect in the summer.
This is just one of the many anti-abortion bills that have been passed within the last year. Texas, for example, passed a bill that banned abortion after 6 weeks (when most women likely don’t even know they are pregnant yet) and set up a vigilante-type enforcement strategy in the state.
The Supreme Court's unwillingness to block this law, unfortunately, does not garner hope or optimism that they will be blocking any laws in the future or protecting Roe V. Wade in the Mississippi decision.
So, effectively, Roe V. Wade is all but over.
Since the Texas abortion laws have passed, Oklahoma has become the state that many Texas women go to for abortion health care (and yes, it IS health. care). As this bill is expected to go into effect many women will lose it as a viable option.
Unfortunately, while some women do have the ability to travel out of state, an abundance of women do not. I recently saw a tweet urging women to migrate out of “The Red States” that are likely to continue passing strict anti-abortion laws.
While I am sure that women with the means to do this may follow this advice, it is important to remember that not all women have this ability. These anti-abortion laws disproportionately impact women of color and low-income women.
Women do not all have the ability to travel out of their state. They can’t afford to take off of work. They can’t afford the gas. They may not have child care. The reasons why the option of traveling is out of reach for so many people continue to grow and must not be ignored.
Others recommend that women give children up for adoption. For those who suggest that women should give children up for adoption instead of relying on abortion, I want to offer a few counter-points.
One, some women just don’t want to be pregnant. Period. Abortion isn’t only about the decision to raise a child. It is the decision to partake in a dangerous medical journey with our bodies. It is the decision of going to doctor's appointments (expensive ones), having our bodies change, and risking our lives in delivery.
I, for one, just never want to be pregnant. I don’t want to put my body through that. Other women, share this sentiment.
Second, the foster care system in the United States has a plethora of issues. It is severely overwhelmed at the moment among other things.
I am not suggesting that adoption isn’t a viable option for individual women. It is your choice to decide what to do with your body, your child, and your life. That is the whole point, individual choice and the ability to make that choice.
However, I am suggesting that adoption is not a viable option for all women to curtail the need for abortion access.
As the attack on abortion, and women’s health care in general, continues to grow and expand, I want people to know one thing.
Women’s lives are at risk. Abortions have always, and will always happen. The difference between it being legal or not is safety.
As we gear up to fight for the rights that we thought were already guaranteed 50 years ago we must remember the intersections of the issues. We must understand that not all women have the same opportunities and access to health care. We must listen to how these bans impact women differently.
Abortion is so much more than a single issue problem. It expands to general health care, poverty, racial injustice, gender disparities, women’s safety, etc.
Women are exhausted from the near-constant attack on our rights, freedom, and autonomy. I’m tired. But, the fight is far from over.
** Notes: FOR THE TIME BEING ABORTION IS STILL LEGAL IN OKLAHOMA. IF YOU NEED AN ABORTION IN OKLAHOMA. I REPEAT. IT IS STILL LEGAL
You can also make donations to support women’s access here: https://donate.abortionfunds.org/give/323375/#!/donation/checkout
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