Hi Indivisibles,

When we started Indivisible, one of our deepest fears was that Trump would succeed in delivering a Supreme Court that could overturn Roe v Wade. Ezra and I and our co-founders knew both that we’d fight at every step of the way to try and stop it and that some things had been set in motion by Trump’s election that would be very hard to stop.

Before the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft decision on Monday, we all knew that the ruling was likely to be devastating. But it’s one thing to know it, and another thing to see the hateful words on paper.

Abortion is profoundly personal to all of us. If you’ve had an abortion, or if you know you might need one in the future, this decision is personal. If someone you love has had an abortion, this decision is personal. If you’re watching right-wing extremists unleashing their full radicalism, wondering what next horror they’ll visit on women, on LGBTQ+ people, on people of color, this decision is personal.

The right-wing is trying to impose their narrow, cruel, patriarchal, white nationalist vision of the world on all of us. They want to force us into obeying their rules and living our lives bound by their twisted worldview. 

We deserve the right to make our own healthcare decisions. We deserve full control over our own bodies. We deserve full control over our own lives. 

We won’t go back.

So let’s talk about what comes next.

This is a huge coup for the worst people in our country. But if you’re watching closely, you may have noticed that for a party on the verge of achieving one of its greatest goals, Republican elected officials don’t seem very happy. In fact, they don’t seem to want to talk about this at all. Instead, they’re talking about the circumstances of the leak. They seem to think if they can kick up enough of a fuss about how this came to light, everyone will forget about what the light reveals.

They’ve got good reason to worry. Overturning Roe v. Wade is deeply unpopular -- and the implications reach far beyond what most people realize. If Roe is overturned, there will be immediate consequences for more than thirty states that have bans or trigger laws on the books. And it will open the door for the most radical members of the Republican party to pursue new legislative avenues --  like a federal ban on abortion, travel bans between states, criminalizing miscarriages -- that are somehow even more unpopular. 

A decision that in any way resembles the Alito draft will be a political earthquake, and no one knows exactly what will be standing after the earthquake is over. 

That’s where we come in. 

There’s a short-term imperative: backlash. And a longer-term imperative: transformation.

The first step is to make sure that the outpouring in response to this leaked decision is enormous. This started literally the day after the decision leaked, when huge crowds mobilized at the drop of a hat. It continues May 14th, when we’ll be supporting Planned Parenthood’s protests in the states that will be impacted if Roe is overturned. And more plans are in development for national mobilizations as we learn more about when the decision will come down. 

We all know that protest doesn’t fix things on its own. But popular backlash can weaken the resolve of our adversaries, while the lack of popular backlash can embolden them.

If you’ve never protested before, this is the time to join us. Stand up, be heard -- and also come together with us, with so many people who are hurt and grieving, and take comfort in being in community. I can tell you that at a moment like this there is simply nothing more important for your heart than being with your people and pushing back together.

We also need to get immediate support to the people who will be doing the immediate work to protect people in light of the coming decisions: local abortion funds. If you have not yet, here's a list of funds where you can donate. 

The second step is to take all of the rage and fear and grief and ensure that Republicans who have made this possible feel our power in November. This leaked decision has shown us the world they’re fighting for: a world where we do not have fundamental rights and control over our own bodies. It’s shown us that they’re ready to go after not only Roe but so many other fundamental rights: from marriage equality to contraception to civil rights, and more. 

We need to make sure people understand exactly how radical and dangerous their agenda is, and then we need to make sure that they pay a huge price for this attack on our freedom and rights. Check out our “We Won’t Go Back” pledge to learn how to plug in.

I’m not going to pretend we can fix this in the short term. But I also know that Republican politicians are watching right now to see what we do, how far they can push, and how the public will react. They have tipped their hand and now we show them what it looks like when the full collective power of this movement fights back. 

In solidarity,
Leah