I have been a women’s rights activist for most of my life. I knew from a young age that my rights were a target for some people in our country, just because I am a woman. One thing I have learned during my nearly four decades fighting for equal rights is that we need to band our voices together in order to be heard. Here are some ways that you can support women’s rights in the wake of Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization and band together with others to be heard loud and clear!
WOMEN ARE NO LONGER FREE AND EQUAL CITIZENS
“Whatever the exact scope of the coming laws, one result of today’s decision is certain: the curtailment of women’s rights, and of their status as free and equal citizens,”
~ Dissent, Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization
If you are like me you are probably reeling after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down their decision in Dobbs. Suddenly my country no longer sees me as worthy of the same rights to bodily integrity as men!
With the proverbial stroke of five pens, women in the United States no longer have the same rights over their bodies as men. Women’s rights are not considered to be human rights by these five ultra-conservative, admittedly religious people.
Men can do whatever they want with their bodies. They can have sex with as many women as they want and not worry about if they are going to be forced to carry an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy to term. They need not worry that the government will call them a criminal and incarcerate them if they choose not to use their bodies as a human incubator.
The fact that The State now has the right to say whether they live or die should a pregnancy put their life at risk does not even need to cross their minds!
They need not worry that if they are raped, or the victim of incest-rape, that they will be forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy that may be a result of that rape!
Women who are very much alive now have fewer rights than a few cells… where is the humanity in that??
Aren’t women’s rights human rights? Does our ability to become pregnant somehow render us as unworthy of the same rights of citizenship as men?
Discover COMMUNITIES hosted by our PLW experts and surround yourself with like-minded individuals looking to live a peace infused, healthy life.
NO ONE SHOULD BE CONFIDENT THAT THE MAJORITY IS DONE WITH ITS WORK
“Either the mass of the majority’s opinion is hypocrisy, or additional constitutional rights are under threat. It is one or the other,”
~ Dissent, Dobbs v Women’s Health Organization
According to Associate Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurrence in Dobbs other landmark rulings securing fundamental rights should also be “reconsidered.” He took aim at Griswold v Connecticut the first landmark case guaranteeing a person’s right to bodily autonomy by overturning criminal statutes aimed at the distribution of contraception, Lawrence v Texas The first case guaranteeing a fundamental right for same sex couples to engage in consensual sexual acts, and Obbergefell v Hodges that guarantees a couple may love and marry whomever they wish irrespective of the sex of their spouse.
If Thomas has his way, planning when, or whether, to conceive will no longer be a right for Americans. Nor do citizens of the United States who are not heterosexual males deserve rights. He, and perhaps the others who signed on the Dobbs decision, will plummet our society back to pre-1965 and the narrow-minded, bigoted thinking that ruled our nation.
It is important to notice that Justice Thomas did not mention another landmark case in the series of 14th Amendment cases guaranteeing fundamental rights: Loving v Virginia. Using the Griswold v Connecticut case as precedent, Loving v Virginia further solidified the right to privacy within a family by guaranteeing a right to marry for interracial couples. Clarence Thomas is married to a white woman! He wants to preserve his right to marry whomever he chooses, while erasing the rights of others!
He wants to pick and choose which rights are guaranteed, and which are not, based on what suits his own interests and opinions – NOT THE LAW, THE CONSTITUTION OR LEGAL PRECEDENT!
This is not the time to sit back and watch and wait to see what happens!
This is the time to let your voice be heard!
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE PRO-CHOICE?
Being Pro-Choice does not mean that you are in favor of, “brutally ripping babies apart,” as one white man recently accused me on Instagram. It means that you support not only a woman’s right to choose if and when she has a child should she become pregnant, but also access to comprehensive sex education and contraception, so she does not mistakenly become pregnant.
Being Pro-Choice means supporting access to societal, and yes, often tax-dollar funded, support should a woman choose to have a child even though she does not have the financial resources to raise it.
If you support protecting women from spousal/ partner abuse, or young women from abuse by their parents, by protecting her right to privacy to keep her pregnancy and her choice about whether or not she proceeds with it to herself, you are Pro-Choice.
A Pro-Choice stance also means supporting women’s rights to be free from forced sterilization.
Underlying all of the rights supported by the Pro-Choice stance, is the belief in protecting people’s rights to bodily autonomy from government intrusion!
WAYS TO SUPPORT WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE WAKE OF DOBBS V JACKSON
Because the opinion writers of the Dobbs case are trying to keep their noses clean they wrote this decision in a way that puts the proverbial sword in the hands of the states. Therefore, it is imperative that action be taken at both the national and state level, but particularly at the state level.
Look for organizations that are either national organizations that include state-level influence or state-based organizations.
Another, and equally important, way to support women’s rights is to get involved with your state and local pro-choice candidates.
FIND YOUR WOMEN’S RIGHTS CANDIDATES HERE
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS WITH STATE-LEVEL INFLUENCE
Planned Parenthood is the gold standard not only for women’s reproductive healthcare, but also for both national and state-level political activism on behalf of women’s reproductive rights. Donating time and/ or money to them will assure you that both will be well-spent. You can also donate time and money to your state-level Planned Parenthood organization from the same page as the national organization.
NARAL: THE NATIONAL ABORTION RIGHTS ACTION LEAGUE
Much like Planned Parenthood, NARAL is a gold standard in women’s reproductive health advocacy. Founded in 1969 NARAL has been the leader in the political fight for women’s reproductive rights. They were pivotal in the fight to pass Roe v Wade and have not stopped fighting to keep those rights since. Also like Planned Parenthood they have state-level organizations through which you can participate in local activism in your state.
If you want to join 4 million other Pro-Choice voices to be heard loud and clear NARAL is another excellent organization to which to donate your time and money!
THE NATIONAL BLACK WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE AGENDA:
In Our Own Voice: The National Black Women’s Reproductive Agenda lifts-up the voices of Black women leaders. They work with partner organizations such as Black Women’s Wellness and The Black Women’s Health Imperative (as well as others). They also cover a comprehensive number of issues including, but not limited to, access to contraception and safe abortions, LGBTQ+ rights, access to clean water and racial justice. Your time and money are well spent with the NBWRA.
Remember, just because some of the states are criminalizing women’s rights to their bodies, there are still arguably 24 states that will preserve women’s reproductive rights! The Brigid Alliance books, coordinates and pays for travel, travel expenses and childcare for women to find safe and legal abortion services. This is an excellent organization to support if you want to give your time and money to help women overcome the challenges of traveling to obtain safe and legal abortion!
THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN: Supports reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, racial justice and The ERA. It’s your one-stop-shop to support not only reproductive rights, but the potential threat to LGBTQ+ rights that may be rapidly coming our way.
THE CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS: A global human rights organization that supports reproductive rights as human rights around the world. Because the influence of the Dobbs decision is already being felt in other countries as conservative coalitions look to the decision as fuel for their fires, this is an organization that allows you to donate your time and money in order to have a global impact.
ALLOW YOUR VOICE TO BE HEARD HERE AT PEACEFUL LIVING WELLNESS!
We are actively recruiting bloggers who write/ wish to write on the topics of women’s rights, racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and equality of all kinds!
If you are looking for a platform through which your voice for justice and equality can be heard, we would like to talk to you!
JEN ROBINSON
Jen Robinson is the creative force behind the wellness brand Peaceful Living Wellness which is dedicated to providing a wide-variety of high-quality wellness information. Jen is also the creator of the Peaceful Living Wellness life coaching division, and offers workshops, individual and group coaching as well as retreats where she guides women in using Mindfulness and Mindset to build their inner strength on a foundation of inner peace. Jen also is the co-creator of the business coaching brand CEO Mindset that guides entrepreneurs in building their businesses without burning out.
The latest addition to her repertoire is that she recently signed-on as the Wellness Director for the business development company Wealthy Women Entrepreneurs . She is very excited to be leading this group of dynamic women entrepreneurs into success in their businesses and lives!
The most important part of Jen’s life are her two very active teenagers, AJ & Layna!
Jen’s Mindfulness and Mindset techniques inform her business, her parenting and her life!
FACEBOOK FACEBOOK GROUP INSTAGRAM PINTEREST
