Well, folks, it happened. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

We’re thinking about the millions of women who now face deeply uncertain futures. Whose right to make their own decisions about their health, education, careers, families, and futures, have been waved away with the stroke of a pen. Like they never mattered at all.

We’re thinking about the folks living in states where Roe is not enshrined in law, like it is in Illinois.

We’re furious.

Nearly half a century of precedent, overturned by a court with two procedurally stolen seats and three justices appointed by a far-right extremist President who lost the popular vote.

How did we get here? A broken Senate, a broken Republican Party, a broken electoral system, a broken campaign finance system, and Mitch McConnell's subversion of democracy.

And this was their goal all along.

Let’s be clear: they want us to give up hope. They want us to believe that it’s futile, and that we’re helpless against the destruction of civil rights in this country.

They think we’ll get discouraged, and move on to the next issue.

They’re sorely mistaken. We will never stop fighting for federally-guaranteed reproductive rights.

The obvious course of action is for the Senate to do what the House did months ago and pass the Women’s Health Protection Act.

But unless ten Republican Senators find their backbones and vote for the legislation, we’re going to need to end the Senate filibuster.

To clear up any confusion: if they think it's more important to protect the filibuster than to protect a person's right to bodily autonomy, they ain't pro-choice.

But the odds are low that Senators Manchin and Sinema will do their jobs and vote to overturn the filibuster. So we’re left with two courses of action:

1. VOTE

It is absolutely essential that we vote for pro-choice candidates across the nation, at every level of government.

Decisions about abortion access have been handed to the states, so we need elect pro-choice officials in every State House, Senate, and Governor’s office.

And, above all, to enshrine reproductive rights into federal law, we need to hold our Democratic House Majority and expand our majority in the Senate in November.

2. DONATE TO ABORTION FUNDS

Abortion funds know which resources their communities need and know how to help folks access safe abortions.

The Chicago Abortion Fund provides financial, logistical, and emotional support to people seeking abortion care in Chicago, Illinois, and the Midwest.

Because Illinois is a safe haven for abortions, we can expect a huge influx of people seeking out abortion care in our state. Donating to the Chicago Abortion Fund will help ensure those folks get the care they need.

The fight is far from over, folks. Sean and our whole team promise to stay wholeheartedly in this fight with you. We have no time to waste.

– All of us at Casten for Congress