Since the moment I saw the news alert about the leaked draft decision from Justice Alito that would overturn Roe v. Wade, my heart and spirit have ached with rage and devastation.
Like so many others, I am wracked with questions: What fresh dystopia are we living in? How has the backlash against progress—this death by a thousand cuts—led us here? Why must we continue to fight the same fights just to keep all that we’ve won?
As the leader of an LGBTQ+ justice organization, I know well that our fights for justice are anything but separate. Reproductive rights are LGBTQ+ rights. Reproductive justice is LGBTQ+ justice. LGBTQ+ people hold many identities simultaneously and thus our movements for justice are inextricable. Safe and affordable abortions and reproductive healthcare is critical for queer and trans people.
Over the last century, SCOTUS decisions have shaped our lives as LGBTQ+ people, as women, as people of color, as immigrants, and in so many other ways. Many of our rights have come as direct results of the high court’s rulings—and this week has been a reminder of just how easily we could wake up tomorrow without them. That all we have fought for continues to be in jeopardy.
If this decision comes to fruition in its current form, the implications would ripple out across a multitude of issue areas, and would impact our country for generations to come. This assault on our right to bodily autonomy paves the way for further restrictions around self-determination—including sexual freedom and autonomy and marriage. It is no coincidence that it is happening in the midst of attacks on life saving gender-affirming healthcare for trans children. Ultimately, all of these potential outcomes would only serve to expand and perpetuate the systemic injustices already facing BIPOC folks, poor folks, queer and trans folks, disabled folks, and others.
But now let’s turn to hope. Despite it all, I believe in the very core of my being that things can and will be better. Let’s hold onto the truth that our communities have fought for decades to keep one another safe, and together we have come a long way. Let’s be driven by our belief in justice and liberation for everyone in our communities.
At Pride Foundation, we are proud to partner with and support queer and trans led reproductive justice organizations across the region. We are also working to build even stronger cross-movement solidarity every day. Because decades of fighting has shown that we are stronger together.
I know that, once again, we will come together to do everything we can to keep each other safe. If you’d like to get involved and wondering what you can do to help, keep scrolling for ways to take action. Because this week has shown that it will take all of us.
Take action:
- Support reproductive rights organizations across the NW and country with your time and resources, especially queer and trans led groups.
- Learn more about and support abortion funds near you (here are two helpful intro posts from Transgender Law Center and Radha Friedman). Here in the Northwest there is Northwest Abortion Access Fund, and you can visit National Network of Abortion Funds for more local options.
- Vote like your rights depend on it—because they do. A democratic majority in both houses could make abortion a right by law (and if that feels unrealistic to you, remember that Ireland, Mexico, and Argentina all recently made this happen).
Some helpful resources and articles:
- What the Leaked Roe v. Wade Opinion Portends for Queer Americans
- Immediate Impact of Repeal of Roe v. Wade
- Gutting Abortion Rights Would be Devastating for LGBTQ+ People
- “WA State Leaders Pledge to Make WA a Sanctuary for Abortion”
- End of Roe v. Wade Looms Large in Idaho
- Twitter Thread on “Safe Self-Managed Abortion” Options
- “Transgender People Tell Their Abortion Stories in Trans Bodies, Trans Choices”
- “TransLash Guide to ‘Trans Bodies, Trans Choices’ feat. Jack Qu’emi”
- “The New Handbook for a Post-Roe America”
One additional resource: Please join us today to honor and learn more about the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.