Roe on the Brink: Fighting the Dystopian Future Coming to America
Last week, the team at the Movement Advancement Project was talking about announcing a new series on all the ways LGBTQ people are under attack. And we are still going to do that. Then Politico published a draft Supreme Court opinion that shows the Court is poised to strike down Roe — and the world shifted yet again. So in this message, we are focusing solely on that. Because Roe if is on the brink, then so is our country.
If we don’t fight, a dystopian future will be coming to America. What does that mean? It means a Supreme Court majority that is willing to overturn decades of Constitutional precedent to advance an extreme political agenda. It means far-right fundamentalists will finally have another part of what they want: total control over the bodies of women, as well as trans and nonbinary people.
Let’s look at what states and the courts are already doing or could do next:
- Passing abstinence-only laws so we can’t teach teens about pregnancy prevention.
- Letting companies strip birth control out of healthcare plans (the Supreme Court made this legal in the Hobby Lobby decision) and banning IUDs.
- Criminalizing abortion, even in other states; some far-right politicians have declared that they want to throw women in jail if they travel to another state to get the care they need.
- Requiring a woman to get permission from the man responsible for the pregnancy (which can trap women with an abusive partner).
- Stripping out exceptions in abortion bans for rape, incest and danger to a woman’s life and health.
- Preventing hospitals from helping women who are miscarrying (Catholic hospitals are already allowed to refuse such care).
- Making it child abuse for parents to help their teen obtain access to abortion services (similar to how politicians are trying arrest and prosecute parents with child abuse for supporting their trans and nonbinary kids).
- Tax penalties for companies that provide comprehensive birth control (far-right politicians already tried to penalize Disney just for supporting trans kids).
Think that’s alarmist? In Texas, they’re providing $10,000 financial rewards for private citizens who act as bounty hunters and track women down who seek abortion-related care. A Mississippi abortion ban has no exceptions for rape or incest. And a bill that just advanced in Louisiana would charge women with murder for taking the morning after pill.
So whether it’s you or your sister or your coworker or your best friend — millions of people will be living in fear that one broken condom or one missed pill will mean they can no longer decide their future. And that fear will be with us every day because our freedoms will mean nothing if we lose this fight.
So get out and fight. We CAN stop this. We’re joining our colleagues at Family Equality in sharing some action steps you can take.
Use your voice:
- Pledge to rally in your community Saturday, May 14.
- Vote. Primaries are underway right now in states across the country. Click here to check your voter registration status and register if you aren’t already.
- Contact your legislator. Congress must act swiftly to end the filibuster and pass a national law that provides abortion access. Click here to find your legislators. Demand they support abortion access. Demand they look at options to hold the Supreme Court in check — such as expanding the court, creating term limits, and more.
- Give to local abortion clinics. The National Network of Abortion Funds has organized a fundraiser that splits your donation between more than 80 different clinics across state lines. You can customize amounts if you have preferences.
The fight for LGBTQ equality and the fight for abortion rights are inextricably linked. We must fight for the future we want and the freedoms we were granted under the Constitution.
In solidarity,
Ineke Mushovic
MAP Executive Director
