I needed a minute before sitting down to write about Roe v Wade. I’m not American, but watching the rights of women get rolled back, especially in a place that’s made a significant amount of progress over the last century, is surely upsetting to women around the world.
If you haven’t already heard, Politico released a draft majority opinion from the Supreme Court of the United States which was said by Chief Justice Roberts to be an authentic draft which would see Roe v Wade overruled after nearly 50 years.
It has been noted by many commentators that this does not criminalise abortion – it merely leaves it up to individual states to decide the law and which women have access to this essential medical procedure. However, we already know that a large number of states have plans to restrict access to abortion, or ban it altogether.
This feels like more than a step back in rights women have been fighting for for such a long time. It’s more like a massive leap.
Even as I write about this I’m struggling to find the words. My heart goes out to my American sisters who might some day need this service but will have lost access to it. I stand in solidarity with my American sisters who are protesting the clawing back of a woman’s right to bodily autonomy. I’m with you, I just wish there were more I could do.
I said earlier I would start writing posts about law and women’s rights. This felt like the right moment to start, at a time where a major backtracking has taken place.
But what I do know is that women will not go silently. We will not be quiet while our rights, or the rights of our sisters around the world, are being taken away. We will keep fighting, and we will achieve those two steps forward. We always have, we always will.
Talk soon,
Courtney