I’m So Tired Of Old White Men Telling Me What To Do With My Body

Today, Justice Anthony Kennedy, 81, announced his plans to retire from the Supreme Court in a letter to Trump. His retirement will be effective July 31st.

And women and those who actually care about women around the United States all just yelled a collective, “FUCK!!!!!!!”

https://twitter.com/IsaacFitzgerald/status/1012037137984876544

And for good reason. A conservative justice, Kennedy provided key votes for affirmative action, same-sex marriage, and abortion access. He was the Supreme Court’s “swing vote” and now his impending vacancy means that Trump will be given another opportunity to nominate a justice. His likely pick? A young and conservative jurist, creating a bloc of five staunch conservative justices. This would shift the Supreme Court further to the right, making a conservative majority for generations to come. Trump says his search for a replacement will begin immediately.

Last year, Republicans changed the rules of the Senate in order to push through Justice Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s first nomination to the Supreme Court. Of course, there are many things to worry about with another Trump appointed justice, but one of the biggest issues on everyone’s mind is Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that protects women’s rights to choose to have an abortion.

And Trump does not want to save Roe v. Wade. He wants to get rid of it.

Trump has expressed his anti-choice views and on the campaign trail even stated that women who have abortions should be punished. (A statement he later doubled back on, saying that only the doctor or practitioner should be punished. This was only after criticism, however.)

A court without Kennedy is more likely to overturn Roe v. Wade. This is a fact and one that should scare the hell out of you if you actually give a shit about women’s lives.

Abortion is a medical procedure, one that should be kept safe and legal. History has shown us that limiting access to abortion, or banning it all together, does not stop abortions from happening.

Limiting access to abortion hurts women. It kills women.

What a woman does with her body is her choice and her reason for opting to terminate a pregnancy, whatever her reason may be, has nothing at all to do with anyone else. Period.

***

Roe v. Wade is in danger. It’s not a matter of if it will be overturned, it’s a matter of when. (Please see informational and amazing thread below.)

https://twitter.com/robinmarty/status/1012056716001701888

So let’s get to work.

Educate yourself. Donate to Planned Parenthood and other nonprofits that support women’s reproductive health. Yell. Scream. Don’t be silent. Call your representatives. Register. VOTE.

Support women. Believe women. Advocate for women.

When Roe gets overturned, the power will go back to the states to determine whether abortion is legal in that particular state. Some will not revert to the 1950’s, but some will. Women who live in states that ban or limit access will have to travel to obtain medical care, which, of course, favors those who are able to travel. And not every woman can for a number of reasons, be that financial or otherwise.

And that’s fucking bullshit. 

I’m so, so, SO tired of old, white men telling me and other women what’s moral. I’m tired of their voices being louder than mine and my fellow women when it comes to our reproductive health, our bodies, and our rights.

And I know I’m not alone in this. 

If I were to get pregnant right this second, I know I would not keep it. I am not ready to be a mom. I am not ready to go through a pregnancy. And this is my choice. No one else’s.