The Roe vs Wade overturn, and the people effected by it!

In 1962, Malcolm X said “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.” Who knew that we’d continue on a path that make actions that would continue to disproportionately negatively impact Black women and other women of color.

Since the highest court in the United States of America, the Supreme Court, made the highly consequential decision to strike down the women’s right to an abortion, waves of this impact have already reached many women personally. Some states have gone so far as to banning abortion completely with no exceptions for cases such as risk to the welfare of the mother, rape, incest etc. We’ve seen the marches with plenty of white faces fighting against this but what I hope is not loss on you is that Black and brown women carry the brunt of hardship when it comes to access to abortions. Easily googled statistics by creditable sources will unambiguously tell you that abortion restrictions, in some states, directly impact Black, brown, indigenous people and those trying to make ends meet. You see, overturning Roe v. Wade isn’t only sexist but racist.

This is exacerbating an already horrific reality around maternal health disparities that disproportionately affect Black women. Black women are 3x more likely to die from pregnancy-related cause than white women and experience discrimination, negligence, lack of access to care, support, and adequate wages to mitigate these threats on their livelihood.

Jessica Virgille

It would be remiss if sentiments of opposing parties weren’t mentioned. Some argue that this is the United States’ way of ensuring that we continue to make babies to replenish the working population for the future. Economists have studied trends of declining child birth rates and how that will impact a society’s ability to stay a dominate force and stay competitive with economic growth, productivity, as well as the fiscal sustainability of current social insurance programs.

Then there is the argument that God would want the life of a baby preserved even in its unborn state and at any time in gestation. Arguing that if a woman or even a child is pregnant it would be a sin to “kill” the baby. Yet, I posit that God is “Pro-Choice.” If you subscribe to Christianity, Islam, Judaism and more you know of God giving man the power of free will. The gift of choice. Whether you agree with abortion or not you simply must accept that God gave us choice and the courts/the government should not and cannot tell a woman what to do with her body- that is her choice. The decision lies between the w{omb}man, her personal faith and her doctor. No man, nor governing body should have any power over her choice.

Moreover, there’s those that argue that people of color having abortions is all part of the white supremacy plan to obliterate other races. That having an abortion is “helping” nationalist and supremacist wipe out Black and brown life.

What we do know is that the fight for women’s reproductive rights is happening now. Voting throughout the nation will impact which states will protect the right to an abortion and which will place bans or restrictions. Men and Women need to come together to uphold the woman’s right to choose what is in the best interest of her wellness, maternal health and anything that pertains to her. This is the time for men to join the fight in support of women’s rights. This is the time for women to stand in solidarity for having the autonomy to decide what is in her best interest.

Jessica Virgille, MPH Certified Public Health Educator, United States Army Veteran