I have not felt overly compelled to say much about the overturning of Roe v. Wade. That’s not to say I don’t have an opinion to share, or loads to say, but talking about abortion just seems altogether besides the point.
Abortion has long been a wedge issue used to pit the left and the right against one another, each side on diametrically opposing ends of a philosophical moral spectrum. Or at least that’s what the far right would say. And the far left would say we are on opposing ends of an ethical spectrum.
I can list all of the reasons that an abortion should be allowed, and I can get granular with noncontroversial use cases of when an abortion is appropriate (incest, r*pe, medical conditions, etc., etc.) but, really it’s none of my fucking business. I’m not hanging out in doctor’s offices checking to see if I agree with the decision the doctor and their patient arrived at after considering all of the circumstances of any other procedures and treatments. So, why are we focusing so much on this one?
Well, one idea is that it’s much simpler to say to voters “do you believe x or y? If x, vote for us, if y, vote for those idiots over there who hate you/America/etc”. Sub x for y ad nauseam. Another thought is that controlling reproduction (if, when, how) is vital to upholding the patriarchy.
What I observed this weekend as the collective conscious grappled with this (and a few other) Supreme Court Rulings was essentially two sets of group think reacting in real time, thanks to social media. Two sets of temporary profile pictures erupted across facebook, the same stories were shared over and over. As an amateur anthropologist (emphasis on the amateur) these types of impactful events are powerful to observe. I found myself doom scrolling for far longer than I intended to. But I did find this handy Abortion Resources image floating around, so I thought I would share it.
While I am unlikely to ever need an abortion, I rely on the due process clause on which Roe v Wade was upheld on a daily basis. For a sitting Supreme Court to threaten my marriage so unnecessarily was…sobering. Mentioning Obergefell v Hodges was not required for the Roe v Wade ruling to be overturned. It was the worst kind of “virtue” signaling.
So, what do we do? I don’t know. I’m somewhere between expand the Supreme Court and Abolish the Supreme Court. Both seem equally pointless.
So, for now my practical approach is to contact an estate planning attorney to get the bare minimums covered:
Durable Power of Attorney
Medical Power of Attorney (available for free at most hospitals)
Living Will
Triple checking that my wife is on the title of our home, mortgage, cars, insurance policies, 401ks, and bank accounts
Saving all online account logins into a shared password manager that’s encrypted
Uplift Abortion Funds and workers who have been in the conversation longer than me (yes we will all drive someone “camping” but there is a network that has BEEN set up for YEARS doing this critical work)
And finally, even if it seems frivolous and unimportant, make lots of time for joy.
Life may feel extra, extra hard right now for a lot of folx. And that’s perfectly understandable. Finding joy in between moments of intense worry or anger is a radical act of self care. For me, I take a few swings in my hammock with my ding dong doggos and my cup is replenished enough to send another email to John Cronyn or Ted Cruz for no other reason than to remind them I’m here, and I’m pissed.