John,
When the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade, I was taking part in a roundtable at Planned Parenthood St. Louis with Secretary Becerra of the Department of Health and Human Services discussing what health care means for those in St. Louis. This was the same facility where I received my own abortion at 18 years old after surviving a violent sexual assault at 17.
I don't even know if there is a word for how I feel right now when I think about the 49 years that we had this constitutional right to our own bodies. Our own right to be able to take care of our own bodies and do what we needed to do to take care of ourselves.
Let me say this: We won't stop. I need you all to know we will keep fighting.
I have to quote something Secretary Becerra said the day of this ruling: He said care is care. We need to have reproductive care the same way we receive care when we have a toothache, migraine, or heart palpitations.
We must spread the word that this ruling does not mean that you cannot get the care you need. We don't care what a far-right extremist Supreme Court that is in a crisis of legitimacy says. Their racist, sexist, classist, ableist ruling won’t stop us from accessing the care we need.
Abortion care is health care. It's essential and indispensable.
There are folks who are still working, advocates who have dedicated themselves to providing care no matter what the Supreme Court says. It looks different depending on where you are — if you are in a state like Missouri where abortion care is now illegal or not — but there are still ways to get help. So if you are someone that is in need, still reach out to your local providers and they will assist you.
At this moment, we must show up. We must stand up. And we must support those in our community. Make no mistake about it, this impacts each and every single one of us.
It's not over. It's changed, but it's not over.
I love you,
Cori
