.png)
We're all shocked, angry, and appalled at this epic betrayal of our human rights as women.
Let's use this thread to vent, regroup, and strategize for counterstrike.
In a historic and far raching decision, the U.S. Supreme Court officially reversed Roe v. Wade on Friday, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion upheld for nearly a half century, no longer exists.
Writing for the court majority, Justice Samuel Alito said that the 1973 Roe ruling and repeated subsequent high court decisions reaffirming Roe "must be overruled" because they were "egregiously wrong," the arguments "exceptionally weak" and so "damaging" that they amounted to "an abuse of judicial authority."
The decision, most of which was leaked in early May, means that abortion rights will be rolled back in nearly half of the states immediately, with more restrictions likely to follow. For all practical purposes, abortion will not be available in large swaths of the country. The decision may well mean too that the court itself, as well as the abortion question, will become a focal point in the upcoming fall elections and in the fall and thereafter.
Joining the Alito opinion were Justice Clarence Thomas, appointed by the first President Bush, and the three Trump appointees — Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Chief Justice John Roberts, appointed by President George W. Bush, concurred in the judgment only, and would have limited the decision to upholding the Mississippi law at issue in the case, which banned abortions after 15 weeks. Calling the decision "a serious jolt to the legal system," he said that both the majority and dissent displayed "a relentless freedom from doubt on the legal issue that I cannot share."
Dissenting were Justices Stephen Breyer, appointed by President Clinton, and Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, appointed by President Obama. The said that the court decision means that "young women today will come of age with fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers." Indeed, they said the court's opinion means that "from the very moment of fertilization, a woman has no rights to speak of. A state can force her to bring a pregnancy to term even at the steepest personal and familial costs."
"With sorrow — for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection — we dissent," they wrote.
More here: https://www.npr.org/2022/06/24/1102305878/supreme-court-abortion-roe-v-wade-decision-overturn
Time to boycot men. No access to abortions? No sex.
Hookup culture needs to be abolished completely.
Women never benefitted from "friends with benefits" but now it's even riskier than it was before. I live in Texas and there is a three month wait to get into see a doctor. Even the urgent cares not too long ago were all booked full and it took almost three weeks to get in. Hookups are risky not only for stds, but sex can throw you off down there. So you may need to see a doctor and the sooner the better.
Birth control is still largely the female burden. It's on her to make a dr appointment, pay, and get her prescription filled (and renewed) for the pill. It's on her to come up with the money for the IUD and then get it taken out /replaced as needed. Etc. These options don't agree with every woman, some have had side effects where they couldn't stay on it. For me, certain pills made my heavy and painful periods even worse and unpredictable too. But it's also on her to remember to take it every day.
Texas even locks up the condoms and pregnancy tests. An intercom announces to the store that someone needs assistance in family planning. This is certainly a little barrier for the teen that doesn't drive yet and has strict parents who he tagged along with, who just wants to be prepared - and doesn't want to be kicked out of his house.
I personally never wanted to have kids. I have asked my doctor from my home state as well as my current state about getting a hysterectomy. Before anyone has an opinion or comment, they all said "no" and said in a very msyogynisyic way that "you're young, you're pretty, you'll change your mind." No one would further discuss.
Male birth control still doesn't exist outside of condoms. There was supposed to be a male pill, but it's not out yet. My associate's fiancee though (who is the same age as me and also child free) just underwent an elective vasectomy. His doctors did not huff and puff. They both don't want kids and she didn't want to be on the pill or anything and he honored her choice.
Women also bond with men "catching feels" after sex, even for hookups. And many times, she just gets emotionally hurt.
So now as a woman I can't get a hysterectomy, have the burden of birth control options on me whilst knowing the side effects/responsibility/costs, and I can't get into a doctor in a reasonable amount of time? And now if I do get pregnant I can't even get an abortion?
Right now what I can do is stop having sex with low effort LVM, non commital wishy washy "I don't know what I want" scrotes... just full stop.
Raise your standards and be more thoughtful about who you do sleep with, because if anything does happen, we can't even safely take care of the problem anymore.
The time to regroup and counterstrike is now. After the abortion rulin, the supremes will strike down same-sex marriage and make contraception illegal. Justice Thomas already today said so today. 19th Ammendment could be next. And interractial marriage. make no mistake, this is a WAR on women. The GOP and the acticist judges want to turn our country into something like the Taliban. No, I'm not being dramatic,
I'm getting a new IUD in a couple weeks and there's a good chance I won't be having sex with men for a while. What's the point? Seriously? I get exposed to all the risk for them to flail like a fish out of water while I get bored? What the fuck is even the point anymore?
I would love to have a partner. But between most men being trash and no abortion access threatening my life? I'm not even sure there's a point anymore....
One more thought: we should really be pursuing legal routes to ban, or at least severely restrict, p*rn. I guarantee that so much of this desire to destroy women is p*rn fueled (on both sides of the political aisle). If Rs can overturn RvW after 50 years of chipping at the edges of the law, we can get this done. But, we need lawyers willing to take case after case until we find the winner. Never give these companies a moment's peace.
I've read that some women have sued p*rn sites for nonconsensual videos, and maybe that will be enough to slow the tide? But I'm not sure.
I wonder how different things would be if we had a majority women serving in government roles. I will never understand the hatred men have against women. The mothers and grandmothers who loved and raised them, the sisters there to support them throughout childhood and adulthood, amazing girlfriends/wives who commit their everything to be great partners, daughters that bring a joyful dynamic to each family. I just don't understand the rabid hatred these guys have? How a whole population of men were raised to be so entitled that they justify horrific murders against innocent women to make themselves feel better is beyond me. Sure, these guys say they're "pro-life" but they won't even let us live full lives when they are actively trying to take our rights away. This is bullshit
We need to be armed. We need to stick together. All of us need to reach out to the women in our lives and foster community. Stock up on birth control, plan B/C, condoms, pregnancy tests, etc. Pay for these in cash! Lastly! Vote in Midterms this fall! If THAT party gets control of the House and Senate, we’re all toast.
I'm Australian & I am GUTTED! I'm angry and devastated for all my sisters in the US, not just those states immediately effected. TBH I think it will take some time to sort through my emotions. The injustice of allowing women to be so outright and openly hated, to be stripped of bodily autonomy. I'm fearful of the precedent this sets. That out of the way. How do we go about helping our sisters?
A few from me: 1. I’m seeing a few well-meaning (maybe) women on twitter offering their help to women seeking abortions in other states. Don’t do this. For women seeking an out-of-state abortion, you probably know by now that you can’t trust anyone online. The woman offering to drive you across state lines could really be a man seeking to sexually assault you, or report you to the police. For those wanting to offer their help, support your local abortion fund instead (check abortionfunds.org to find a national listing). These services use carefully vetted volunteers to help women access reputable out-of-state providers. They need your help. 2. Delete all period-tracking apps from your phone NOW. All of them. Even the apps that have promised not to sell your data. A company may not willingly give/sell your data to someone else, but all bets are off if that data is subpoenaed. In that case, they will be required to comply with law enforcement (even if the subpoena comes from out-of-state) and hand your data over. 3. Arm yourself and your female relatives to fullest extent of the law. If possible, purchase a gun, and TAKE FIREARM USE AND SAFETY TRAINING (owning a gun is good, but it’s not enough). We want there to be so many armed women and girls that the realization that there’s a one in three chance they’ll be shot will give rapists pause. 4. Goes without saying, but focus on WOMEN. Not transwomen. Not nonbinary nonsense. WOMEN. FEMALES. Vague language and the democratic party’s refusal to identify women as a sex class is what got us in this mess. Don’t reward them for doing a bad job, and Don’t. Give. An. Inch.
I think we need to start preparations for a massive general strike. We need to start working with our local communities and mutual aid networks (MAIDN) to build up and compile resources for people to go on a general strike for at least 10 days. I think if waves of women and allies go on strike, this will send a clear message on our progressive matriarchal demands.
This got me thinking. We know about Brett Kavanaugh because his victims came forward. And despite that he was appointed to one of the most powerful positions possible. Why then would more women ever come forward? Who knows how many of them there are? I wonder how many other supreme court “justices” (funny word, justice, for a rapist holding that position) are rapists? How many rapists have decided to regulate women’s bodily autonomy?
Is it that surprising when they were able to appoint a rapist to the supreme court without issue?
The simple solution (though it maybe not be for women in more complex situations) is to not sleep with men. No matter who. Don't sleep with your boyfriend or husband especially if you live in a red state. What happens if you get pregnant and the pregnancy has a high chance of killing you? Medical abortions are not allowd. You'll eseentially be waiting for your death. That's a lot of risk for no reward. Some women are talking about male violence due to women not fucking them. You mean the same male violence prevalent for the last 1000s of years??? If your access to abortion is limited your access to guns most likely isn't and a gun is really the only protection you will be needing in a time like this. Gotta get strapped ladies.
I am childfree and I am now seeking a surgical procedure so I can’t get pregnant. Has anyone done this? Would you recommend a specific type of surgery? In an ideal world vasectomies would be more common but here we are. Thank you!
On offensive strategies:
Timothy Snyder wrote a short book called On Tyranny back in 2017, and re-released with illustrations in 2021. The book comprises of 20 lessons to stop encroaching authoritarianism (which reversing RvW is). To accompany the re-release, he did 20 videos on YT, one for each lesson, with short explanations. He takes a more general approach, but I think this is very applicable to women's rights.
Lesson 1: Don't obey in advance - most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given and a citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do. Draw a line and say "from this point going forward, I'm not going along."
Lesson 2: Defend Institutions - institutions can only save us if we support them and live the values that institutions have. Choose an institution and support and defend them. Examples: Rape crisis centers, pro-choice leaders/candidates, DV shelters, abortion funds, any org that supports and promotes women's rights and freedoms to live.
I'm going to finish the rest of the 20 lessons today, so I may post more here.
Unpopular take: Reproductive rights should never have been hinged on Roe v. Wade in the first place. By short cutting it with a supreme court decision that superseded the constitution, they made it fragile enough to be over turned by a panel of 9 unelected people. We should be putting our efforts toward a constitutional amendment.
One more thought: one of the goals of Republicans is to remove women from the public sphere, and consign them to the home and child-birth. So, do the opposite. Show up in public spaces. Even better if you are in a group of women doing something that Republicans want to overturn like playing sports.
Any other examples you can think of post here.
Defensive strategies are good to help us protect ourselves, and I think we need to go further with some offensive strategies.
We need to take a cue from Iceland and plan a general strike in solidarity with women in all these Red States!
There are several articles out now that warn against the threat of surveillance - your data is for sale. So if you use a period tracker, that data is out there. While the threat of prosecution for crossing state lines and getting an abortion is low now, it will become an issue.