Have you ever heard something was gonna happen, but instead block it out as if you never heard it in the first place. And then all of a sudden it does happen. That was what happened to me, when learning of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. That seed that had been planted in my brain, the whispers in the media, and on the internet, was all of a sudden very true. I opened my Instagram to a post from Planned Parenthood saying we know many of you are scared and we are too on the overturning of Roe v. Wade and I thought it was some practical joke. Immediately jumping onto my twitter, to find out it wasn't just some practical joke but was real. And I sobbed.
I remember at a young age learning a little bit about the word abortion, simply put I thought it was killing babies. I was raised in the Catholic Church, I was taught about it, I saw people I loved fight to protect life, and for some reason the memory of me leaning over to my mom in church one day to ask what this walk in Washington was for still holds prominence in my memory, my mother telling me it was to rally for pro-life.
From what I recall abortion was truly never a topic in my household and I understood why, but that also didn’t mean I couldnt come with questions about it if I had any. I truly don’t know how I learned about all the facts, maybe my interest piqued because of that time I leaned over to my mom in the church, I truly don’t know. But I do know it was never talked about in sex education in high school. But I did talk about it in social studies and an elective with one of my favorite teachers from high school. Fun fact about me, I love documentaries not usually the ones about crazy shit but one that informs me about a topic. So that weekend after discussing abortion I took to Netflix to learn. I typed in the keywords and up popped up, “ Reversing Roe” .
What I love about the documentary is that it has people from both sides whether I agree with them or not. There's so much history behind this topic that most people don't probably know, and if you want to educate yourself about this topic in any way I highly recommend it.
I know there will be people who read this thinking why are you getting political. I’m not. The thing is this is not a political issue but a human rights issue. It’s taken me a long time to even sit down and talk about how I feel. I’ve been comparing it in my head to the 7 stages of grief. But I immediately jumped over two and went straight to anger. I’m infuriated, still am. I’m infuriated that people don’t realize how many people will die from this whether it be from at home abortions or complications carrying a child. I’m infuriated because rape victims will have less rights then their rapists. I’m infuriated because at the age of 18 my best friend has less rights than her mother did at the age of 18. I’m infuriated that people believe they should be able to tell someone what to do with their body. I'm infuriated that women's bodies are more regulated in America than guns. I’m infuriated that women are being forced to give birth even if they cannot afford it, even if they are sick, even if they have a climate in which no child should be raised. I’m infuriated that women are forced to give birth to children who will one day grow up and be sent to school where they can possibly be killed. The list goes on and on.
I know I am fortunate enough to live in New York where I’m protected, where I have the choice but I am still going to do whatever I can to fight and speak for those who are less fortunate. One of my favorite influencers wrote when she was standing in a bathroom finding out she was pregnant, scared, and not in the best situation, she remembers feeling so lucky to just be able to have the choice. She had her child, and being a mom is her favorite thing in the world but she said in that moment it meant the world to her to be able to have a choice.
I don't take what has happened lightly, in fact it lit a fire under my ass that made me register to vote. I’ve always believed since I was younger that I was a feminist, and that’s why I hold this issue so close to my heart because you know damn well if it was the other way around men would be able to choose what they wanted to do with their bodies at the drop of a hat. I’ve made a promise to myself, to my friends who live in states where they don’t have a choice, to the voiceless, victims, and the future. I leave you with this quote by the one and only RBG, “The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman's life, to her well-being and dignity. … When the government controls that decision for her, she is being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices.”
Comments