By Political Research Associates
We can and must read the Dobbs ruling as symptomatic of an accelerated push toward authoritarian rule
For much longer than 50 years, individuals who should be free have been made to endure the cruelty of courts. On June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that for now, bodily autonomy is not a protected freedom, instead giving states greater authority to deny life-saving healthcare and regulate reproduction. That we knew it was coming did not soften the blow to our humanity—not when the effect is so sweeping and will harm so many. We are faced with an urgent call to action. We can and must read the Dobbs ruling as symptomatic of an accelerated push toward authoritarian rule, moving the U.S. even closer into the company of other backsliding nominal democracies.
The overturning of Roe and Casey by the instruments of the Federalist Society is yet more evidence that Christian nationalism is an existential threat. Righteous pursuers of a more perfect justice will ultimately remake our laws and institutions, but in the meanwhile pregnant people and their healthcare providers will needlessly suffer the consequences of a decades-long, unchecked campaign to build the political power of the antidemocratic religious and political Right.
By the end of this summer, more than half of the states will recklessly curtail access to abortion. The unraveling has been efficient. Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Utah began enforcing bans on abortion within hours of the Court’s announcement. More states have forbidden abortion than child marriage. Even before Roe, groups like Americans United for Life were established to provide the legal and legislative blueprint to eliminate reproductive choice. More than 400 model bills later, they are claiming victory. Only 16 states and the District of Columbia have laws that protect the right to abortion.
To our partners in the struggle for reproductive justice, we will fight to see this decision reversed in our lifetime, and we will each have a role to play in the dawning of that day.
First, we must make clear to those who need to terminate a pregnancy now or in the future—abortions are possible. Established networks of doctors, nurses, and supporters are trained to deliver health care, medication, and immediate aid for costs, travel, and other logistics. Abortion funds can only become more unyielding in the face of higher barriers and growing need, so we must continue to answer their calls to volunteer and provide direct contributions.
On Thursday, June 30, deepen your knowledge about the compassionate ecosystems of access and care created through Black- and Brown-led abortion funds by joining the next National Network of Abortion Funds webinar: nnaf.org/BuildPowerWebinar. By reinforcing and resourcing our community-based networks, we are growing our resistance movements to withstand this set of attacks and the next.
Effectively organizing against the opposition requires constant education on what animates their efforts. The anti-abortion movement is the best organized faction of the Right, and one of the most durable pillars of the culture war designed to be fought over state-by-state. However, their leading institutions like Alliance Defending Freedom and the Heritage Foundation are not solely focused on restricting abortion. They are also fully committed to advancing...
