Blog Post

Hatred Fuels Abortion Bans – Our Hope Will Drive Them Out

From Mississippi to Alabama to Georgia to Missouri to Indiana to Louisiana and beyond, abortion bans are popping up everywhere these days. Some days it literally feels like some kind of great fictional battle, like the rebellion vs. the empire, or Harry vs. Voldemort – except it is very, very real and very, very scary.

But we’d like to think there’s still a lesson to take away from these stories. Evil uses cruelty to launch  attack after attack, aiming to drive out hope and fill us with despair, but good will always triumph because they have something evil doesn’t: Compassion. And when it comes to fighting these abortion bans, that’s exactly what we have and more. Our collective compassion, empathy, and love for our community is what keeps our resistance going – and it’s what will eventually drive out hateful laws like the abortion bans we keep seeing.

Abortion bans are sweeping the country – but this isn’t new

There’s been a lot of focus on the extreme abortion bans passing in states with increasing speed. But let’s be clear – this has been years in the making on the part of anti-abortion extremists and the politicians they have in their pockets. They have been pushing a range of restrictions to shut down clinics and dissuade people from seeking abortion.  Earlier this week, the Supreme Court let an Indiana law go into effect – a law designed to shut abortion clinics down by imposing medically unnecessary requirements on them. Missouri could become the first state in the country with no abortion clinic because officials refuse to renew its license. Because of the range of abortion restrictions that already exist, for decades, abortion has been a right only in theory for many people of color, young people, people struggling to make ends meet, and LGBTQ+ folks who have been struggling to access care. These laws are designed to work together to push abortion care further and further out of reach – with the final goal of eliminating abortion in this country – for everyone.

We won’t go backwards

It’s difficult to not feel down about the state of abortion and the world these days – but there’s hope. Our movement is strong, it’s resilient, and we are working for what’s right. There are dedicated advocates on the ground fighting these abortion bans. There are lawyers suing to overturn restrictions in places like Minnesota. There are state lawmakers who are fighting to proactively protect abortion. Public support for abortion is even growing in the face of these horrible laws. And across the world, places that have had abortion bans on the books for decades are starting to repeal them, like South Korea and Ireland.

We believe that we will win

These cruel attacks upon our communities are rooted in trying to take away our most basic right: the right to control our own destiny. But those of us who choose to fight on the side of compassion and love, who choose to fight for not only our own bodily autonomy, but the bodily autonomy of every person in our city, state, country, and world – we are the ones who will prevail.