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In response to last week’s SCOTUS ruling, Setser Group wants to reaffirm our support for a person’s right to access comprehensive reproductive healthcare, including abortion. A person’s right to choose and make decisions about their own bodies is universally fundamental. Last week’s ruling reversed 50 years of constitutional support for those rights, and it will disproportionately impact people of color, the poor, and all marginalized groups in our country.
Let’s be clear, abortion is a life-saving procedure. Two percent of all pregnancies are ectopic, which can only be treated by abortion. Abortions are also a form of suicide prevention. We have a hard time seeing the logic of the Pro-Life members of congress. They have consistently voted against any legislation that promotes the welfare of women, expectant mothers, mothers with children, newborns, and children (any minority or marginalized groups), including bills like the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act, where 138 Republicans voted against its reauthorization.
They have also voted against the following measures, all of which we need regardless of ideology.
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Beyond the direct impact on reproductive health, there will be wide-reaching consequences for educators and the children they serve. Businesses and organizations will face similar challenges with their workforce and the clients and customers they serve.
The LGBTQAI+ community and other marginalized groups who have fought to keep the government out of their private lives see the inherent threat in this invasion of privacy. NEA President Becky Pringle said in EdWeek that the decision is “another example of how, over the last few years, we have seen the same faction of politicians working overtime to reverse decades of progress on racial justice, on women’s rights, on worker’s rights, on LGBTQ+ rights, on voting rights, on our right to privacy, and on our students’ freedom to learn in our public schools.”
The news for our school systems is not good. This Court’s decision will put additional strains on school systems that already do a poor job of supporting pregnant teens and teen parents. Furthermore, 76% of k-12 teachers are women, and few have paid parental leave.
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Students are already traumatized by the pandemic, fights over masks and vaccines, routine active shooter drills, school shootings, and poor responses from law enforcement. When students return to school this fall, school leaders will invariably face a situation similar to this: A terrified young girl will confide she is pregnant against her will, is being forced to give birth against her and her parent’s will, and she doesn’t know what to do. Whatever is going on academically in the classroom might not seem real-world enough to hold her interest.
What’s your plan as a school leader or educator? What’s the district’s community of care plan? You may not have anticipated these incredibly complex and personal problems in our role as an educator, but you have them.
Our colleges and universities are in the same situation. State abortion bans are going to impact a college’s marginalized students and employees. Unplanned pregnancies are the leading reason that young people drop out of college. Wealthy students have the option to attend colleges in a state where abortion is legal; however, most students will not have that option. College students are activists. Will you be there for them? This is not just ideology. This is their health.
The workforce is already seeing a brain flight in states that have abortion trigger laws. Bryan Wiliam Jones, neuroscientist and director of The MarcLab for Connectomics in Utah, is already preparing to move his team out of the state due to the state’s trigger law that went to effect immediately following the Court’s decision. “Of the 12 people in my lab, 8 are women. It is incumbent upon us to do what we can to stand up for the safety of the people around us. This legislation makes people less safe.”
School and corporate leaders should be prepared for protests, boycotts, and walkouts. Have a response that includes compassion and support. The young crowd is not playing games. In fact, they’re taking names. While onstage at a massive outdoor festival, Olivia Rodrigo listed all five justices who voted to overturn Roe. They are warriors ready for a fight, and they are legion.
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However, fatigue and cynicism want to paralyze many of us after the intensity of the Roe vs. Wade fight. Many people are saying the system is broken and they can’t do anything to help. There’s pushback on just telling people to vote. Responses range from “Yeah, we’ve done that already” to “Great! When’s the next election for the Supreme Court?”
The system is broken, no doubt. The Justices in their confirmation hearings all said Roe was settled law. Obviously, not true. However, “We can't” is not a winning strategy. There is always something we can do. We are down, not out. Here’s where we can start. First with immediate care.
- Schools k-20 should ensure staff and mental health workers know how to support someone who experiences an unplanned pregnancy.
- Colleges in banned states should ensure their health centers have emergency contraception and other reproductive services easily accessible.
- Colleges can offer in-state tuition to students who live in states where abortion is banned, especially if it’s a border state.
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Get involved locally. Register people to vote. Take back school boards, city councils, county commissions, state judges, and local DAs. The more pro-choice advocates can control locally, the more control people will have over their own bodies. Several DAs in states with abortion bans said they would not prosecute abortion cases. Local control matters.
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Donate locally. Most of the national organizations will use donations to bring lawsuits to block abortion bans, a necessary step, indeed. But people are in need of critical care right now. They need transportation to other states for emergency abortions. Find a local health clinic like the West Alabama Women’s Center. The center is raising money to send their currently booked patients out of state.
- Push your state’s U.S. Senators to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, which codifies Roe. The bill has already passed the House.
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Lastly, don’t abandon the Southern and Red states. Legislatures in those states are not representing the values and will of the majority of their citizens. People in those states need your help to regain their reproductive health and equal rights to self-autonomy.
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Let’s connect our networks to immediate healthcare opportunities, reproductive rights groups, and state legislatures.
Reproductive Rights
This federal site has accurate and up-to-date information on your right to access reproductive health care and abortion.
States Project
The States Project connects the importance of state legislatures to every aspect of one’s life and brings together communities to help build a healthy, sustainable, and prosperous future for all.
State Power Series
The State Power Series is a virtual event series co-hosted by Sister District and Vote Save America to start a conversation around the growing importance of states, provide context about the historical circumstances that have placed progressives at structural and ideological disadvantages in state power-building, and emphasize the urgent need for progressives to reimagine states as radical bastions of progressive power and commit to permanent, sustained state power-building efforts.
Plan C
Plan C provides up-to-date information on how people in the U.S. are accessing at-home abortion pill options online.
Aid Access
This organization consists of a committed team of doctors, activists, and advocates for abortion rights. The purpose of their website and the service is to create social justice and improve the health status and human rights of people who do not have the possibility of accessing local abortion services.
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It’s difficult to find a triumph in the aftermath of last week’s Court decision. It tests the idea that “win or learn” are the only two outcomes. But we truly believe in that aphorism. | |
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This week, we learned how there can still be relief in the state courts. The Utah state court granted a temporary restraining order, blocking Utah's abortion ban from being enforced. "The immediate effects that will occur outweigh any policy issues of the state," the presiding judge Andrew Stone said. He could not reconcile that doctors would face felonies while women had medical needs. The temporary restraining order went into effect immediately. The result? Actual lives will be saved. | | | |
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Duolingo, one of the world’s largest language-learning apps, is prepared to leave Pennsylvania if the state restricts abortions. From Luis von Ahn, CEO & co-founder: “To all Pennsylvania politicians: I love that @duolingo is headquartered in Pittsburgh and that y'all use it as an example that successful tech companies can start here. If PA makes abortion illegal, we won't be able to attract talent and we'll have to grow our offices elsewhere.” | | | |
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We Testify is an organization dedicated to the leadership and representation of people who have abortions. We Testify invests in abortion storytellers to elevate their voices and expertise, particularly those of color, those from rural and conservative communities, those who are queer-identified, those with varying abilities and citizenship statuses, and those who need support when navigating barriers while accessing abortion care. | | | |
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Roe has been overturned. Here’s what you can do to help people get the medical care they need and recover their reproductive rights. Learn more about inspired leadership here: https://www.setsergroup.com/connect
#RightToChose #ReproductiveRights #AbortionRights #HealthCare #FutureOfWork #FutureOfLearning #SetserGroup
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