\n

\u201c<\/em>The inescapable conclusion is that a right to abortion is not deeply
rooted in the nation\u2019s history and traditions.\u201d \u2014\u00a0Justice
Samuel Alito<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

You know what is<\/em> deeply rooted in the nation’s history and traditions? Slavery and the subjugation of women, particularly Black women.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The reckless Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade has triggered chaos, despair, and rage across America. It holds many parallels to the Civil War era:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

States\u2019 rights<\/em><\/strong>. By returning abortion decisions to states, Kavanaugh disingenuously claims \u201cscrupulous neutrality.\u201d But \u201cstates\u2019 rights\u201d was the fig leaf behind which slavery hid. Letting states decide for themselves meant powerful white men could enslave Black people. Right now, “states rights” is the fig leaf behind more than half of U.S. states’ severely restricting abortion or banning it altogether in an obliteration of women\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Lack of bodily autonomy<\/em><\/strong>. Enslaved people were considered property\u2014they could be bought, sold, brutalized, starved, raped, forced into labor. Being forced into the labor of carrying, birthing, and raising or surrendering a child is also enslavement.<\/p>\n

Not even second-class citizens<\/em><\/strong>. Enslaved people were explicitly prohibited from citizenship until the 14^{th<\/sup> amendment was ratified in 1868. Women, even white women, fared just as poorly, with no property, voting, employment rights, or even the ability to get a credit card until well into the 20th <\/sup>century.<\/p>\n}

<\/p>\n

The Fugitive Slave Act<\/strong>. <\/em>Passed in 1850, this act required that enslaved people be returned to their enslavers, even if they were in a free state. Right now, we are witnessing the mind-boggling swiftness and reach of anti-choice states going after women and anyone who helps them even if they travel to states where abortion is legal.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jia Tolentino of The New Yorker<\/em> warns<\/a> of a totalitarian and technological twist to today\u2019s vicious pursuits:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe have entered an era . . . \u00a0of widespread state surveillance and
criminalization\u2014of pregnant women, certainly, but also of doctors and pharmacists and clinic staffers and volunteers and friends and family members, of anyone who comes into meaningful contact with a pregnancy that does not end in a healthy birth.<\/p>\n

In the states where abortion has been or will soon be banned, any pregnancy loss past an early cutoff can now potentially be investigated as a crime. Search histories, browsing histories, text messages, location data, payment data, information from period-tracking apps\u2014prosecutors can examine all of it if they believe that the loss of a pregnancy may have been deliberate. Even if prosecutors fail to prove that an abortion took place, those who are investigated will be punished by the process, liable for whatever might be found.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cLet the people decide.\u201d <\/em><\/strong>Which people? Throughout most of our history, Black people and women couldn\u2019t vote. A minority of powerful white men called the shots. Today, minority rule dominates as well, thanks to the Electoral College, the filibuster, gerrymandering, a breath-taking array of new voter suppression laws, and two stolen Supreme Court seats. The Senate is split 50-50, but the Democratic half represents 41,549,808 more people than the Republican half.\u00a0Huge majorities of Americans favor retaining Roe v Wade, but are helpless to exercise their formerly protected rights in the slave states of Gilead.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The minority dissent in Dobbs<\/em> by Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and
Kagan, is crystal clear: \u201cWhatever the exact scope of the coming laws, one result of today\u2019s decision <\/span>is certain: the curtailment of women\u2019s rights, and of their status as free and <\/span>equal citizens.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe inescapable conclusion is that a right to abortion is not deeplyrooted in the nation\u2019s history and traditions.\u201d \u2014\u00a0JusticeSamuel Alito You know what is deeply rooted in the nation’s history and traditions? Slavery and the subjugation of women, particularly Black … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[515,787],"class_list":["post-2844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-abortion-rights","tag-gilead"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2F8Ch-JS","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2844"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2850,"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2844\/revisions\/2850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shrinkrapped.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}