Welcome To The Post Roe World

We’ve spent two months waiting for this shoe to drop and now it has. Hot Girl Summer is officially canceled. Everyone needs to focus on donating to abortion funds, protecting abortion providers and those patients who need them, and organizing ahead of this year’s elections.

Abortion in a post-Roe America…what a gross country this is pic.twitter.com/YNaGcJX2Rx

— Wu-Tang Is For The Children (@WUTangKids) June 24, 2022

I am firmly pro-abortion. It is a medical procedure, and I’m tired of couching my support of it in delicate language. But, if that’s too much for you (or whoever you’re talking to) that’s OK! Justice Thomas also thinks the Supreme Court should reconsider previous decisions that protect contraception and same-sex relationships. So you can use this as a talking point.

In a solo concurring opinion, Thomas says the court should reconsider rulings that protect contraception, same-sex relationships, and same-sex marriage. pic.twitter.com/zcQNko6NVR

— Matt Ford (@fordm) June 24, 2022

Clarence isn’t being subtle about wanting to take a sledgehammer to our rights. The way the Court is stacked right now, chock-a-block full of inexperienced and illegitimately appointed Christian conservatives, he’s going to have an easy time of it, even if they have to stretch all the way back to the 1800s to find the vaguest of reasoning to support their rulings.

From today’s decision, written by Justice Alito:

By the time the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted, three-quarters of the States had made abortion a crime at any stage of pregnancy….Roe’s failure even to note the overwhelming consensus of state laws in effect in 1868 is striking.

You know what else you couldn’t do in 1868? Shop on Sundays. Playing golf on Sundays in New York was illegal. Playing FOOTBALL on Sundays was illegal in Pennsylvania until 1933. Plessy v Ferguson (“separate but equal”) was decided in 1896 and Brown v Board of Education wasn’t decided until 1954. Someone should ask Clarence where he stands on those. Wait, maybe don’t ask that. He’s all about upholding those laws that have roots in the history of our country so it’s impossible to know which, if any, of our 21st-century rights are safe. If it feels like none of them are that’s because the Republicans have been telling us for months years that once Roe falls, they’re coming after the rest of them.

Nothing good will come of this. Not only do we have to organize politically, but socially. This ruling will disproportionately impact women of color and poor families. Because rich, white women will always find a way to get the healthcare we need. Because the government continues to dismantle our social safety nets. Because health insurance is tied to employment. Because inflation is out of control and good, healthy food is expensive. Because child care and family leave are not guaranteed.

All of these are reasons to come together and help each other. Familiarize yourself with the Mutual Aid Societies in your area. You can do that here.

What does “organize” mean? Organizing begins when one person turns to the person next to them and says “This is fucked,” and the person responds, “I agree. We should do something.”

Step 1: Talk to your neighbors. Exchange contact info. Reach out to each other when you need help.

— Talia Jane (@taliaotg) May 8, 2022

The co-founder of Interrupting Criminalization and the founder of Project NIA, Mariame Kaba, has been compiling a list of resources on her Twitter feed.

Here is a list of abortion funds that you can donate to in every state: https://donations4abortion.com/

Sister Song is aimed specifically at reproductive justice for Black and indigenous people: https://www.sistersong.net/

This is an abortion resource map and template for a Personal Abortion Safety Plan based on Robin Marty’s ‘The New Handbook for a Post-Roe America’

I also strongly urge everyone to watch HBO’s documentary, The Janes, about the volunteers behind the clandestine network who helped women obtain safe abortions in 1972. It’s powerful and terrifying but also invigorating as we find ourselves back here at the beginning of things.

In the face of this outrageous decision, New York City will continue to provide access to safe, legal abortions and quality reproductive health care to ANYONE who needs it. This is our pledge to the people of this city, state and country.

— Commissioner Ashwin Vasan, MD, PhD (@NYCHealthCommr) June 24, 2022

There are going to be a lot of protests and marches. They’ve already started. Be safe out there. Look out for yourselves and each other. Delete your period trackers and keep your data private. Help each other. We’re all we have now.