The Right Thing

CommentaryActivismAbortion RightsRoe v. WadeRacismIntersectionality

4 Jul

Originally written July 4th, 2022.

A week ago, the US Supreme Court overturned the historically significant ruling of Roe v. Wade. Abortion, as a constitutional (and human) right, is now illegal in the United States, with up to currently writing this, 10 US states have banned abortion with immediate effect since the ruling on June 24th.[i]

In Louisiana for instance, doctors providing abortion for patients can be sentenced to a maximum of 15 years imprisonment.[ii] Over half of U.S states have indicated full intention to ban abortions, after the U.S Supreme Court issue judgement in less than 30 days, a calendar month.

The overruling of Roe v. Wade screams a harrowing cry, in grief of bodily autonomy, constitutional and institutional protection, and fear at the consequences it teases, only a week after its ruling. Why?

In what has already been hailed as a “victory for white life”[iii], the politicisation of women’s bodies reduces women as insignificant. Even so, for women who aren’t White. Women, (who are supposedly burdened with the functionality to either procreate or ‘contaminate’[iv] bloodlines), without consideration for their being, and well-being. I call upon Republican Utah Stateswoman Karianne Lisonbee, to answer this question - how can a woman trust herself to tell a man where to ejaculate, if she has been raped?[v] I would like her to look in the eye of the ten-year-old girl in Ohio (who was refused an abortion), who fell pregnant as a result of rape[vi]. How should this young girl trust herself to now unpack her trauma, Karianne?

When the preservation of White life and supremacy are sought after, I ask more questions:

Ø Is this the same white life that enshrines the counterargument to racial equity, ‘All Lives Matter’?

Ø Why do we (our society, media, our institutions), use whiteness as an indicator of empathy?

Ø And finally, what rights are now at grave risk, after the overturning of Roe v. Wade?

In my line of questioning, it has become increasingly clear – to me – that the right thing to do in the face of oppression, (as per our right to freedom of expression)[vii], is intrinsic to the total preservation of our human rights. Meaning, without our full autonomy (you’re going to see me use the word autonomy a lot), access, and (fair) legal jurisdiction to express ones thoughts, feelings, viewpoints, likes, dislikes, et al, human rights as dictated by other historical rulings such as Griswold (the right to contraception), will consequently become obsolete. Obsolete, I know – a bit much?? I think not.

Moreover, human rights should not be influenced or affected by White Supremacist ideology and Heteropatriarchy, because in doing so, our livelihoods suffer. But, our human rights are directly fused by White Supremacy, and Heteropatriarchy. I say this because the overturning of Roe v. Wade is a tangible example of white supremacy as a vehicle of power, legitimised through institutional inequity[viii].

Albeit a week after the reversal of Roe v. Wade, my observations showed me how white life - as a supremacist decree of ‘right’ to “conquest, [colonise], and inculcate the universal legitimacy of European—and racialized white— power”[ix], is politicised. Furthermore, the already flawed socio-political ecosystem that we currently live in.

Whether independently or institutionally, as Stuart Hall references, “[white supremacy] does not work alone; it is the modality”[x]. Roe v. Wade’s reversal uncovered more pattern-like behaviour, and further repeated disenfranchisement, infecting the functionality of human rights. Namely, the right to just live.

Roe v. Wade as a historical legislation was originally ruled on January 22nd, 1973, after Norma McCovey (Roe), sought legal action against Dallas county Texas District Attorney Henry Wade (Wade) to challenge Texas’ state law that abortions could only be performed in the event a mother’s life was at risk. Roe argued to the Supreme Court, that the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S Constitution were impeached as a result of Texas’ state law.

The Ninth Amendment argues the ‘unenumerated rights’ (natural rights – like the right to freedom of thought) of an individual cannot be denied, retained, or disparaged, by another[xi]. The Fourteenth Amendment argues that the state does not have the legal jurisdiction to “enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States” [xii]. Considering recent events, I found the fourteenth amendment interesting.

The ruling also included that abortion rights could not be ruled as an absolute human right, with the opinion that with in the event of compelling state interest, the state was justified to waive the right to privacy. Including this, the ruling declared that the state could also determine the health of pregnant women, once a foetus had reached 24 weeks of pregnancy, as that duration was characterised as “meaningful life outside of the mother’s womb”[xiii]. This compromise was actioned to ‘balance’ the state’s ‘interest’ in regulating abortion.

The state’s interest in regulating abortion? – rooted both in the integration of religion and the state, white supremacy, and heteropatriarchy. This is seen in the dysfunctional control of contraception, rape culture, toxic masculinity (as a tool to negate the feminist movement), and the hypersexualised control of women’s bodies. This ‘veiled concern’ for the state in regards to the right to life.

If female life, reproductive rights, and autonomy are suppressed for the use of another life, both in pro-life sentiment, and to fulfil the archetypal structure of ‘the family’. Then (again), no value is attributed to women, transgendered and non-binary people (another life) themselves. The (nuclear) family – see endnote for definition[xiv], through a capitalist model represent the functionality of modern society. The family in a capitalist society is the environment where we learn our values, morals, contribute to society – an example of this could be the difference between a rich child, and their view of and proximity to wealth and resources, and a poor child in their own environment, proximity to wealth and resource[xv]. This then creates class disparities, which can be already seen in the cost of living crisis in conjunction to stagnant wages – I’m looking at you, Boris[xvi]. Finally, the role of women in a capitalist model serves to preserve traditional gender roles. This model reinforces that patriarchy, inequity and hierarchy are imperative to societal function. – Do you catch my drift?

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Justice Clarence Thomas, a member of the majority who overturned Roe v. Wade wrote the following: “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell,”[xvii]. Griswold (the right to contraception), Lawrence (right to same-sex intimacy), and Obergefell (right to same-sex marriage). The suggestion of these rights being additionally revoked, as a result of Roe v. Wade, threaten an authoritarian dystopia beyond the compelling ‘interest’ of the state.

Furthermore, the stigma placed on female autonomy and the right to an abortion, in light of current events are further exacerbated. Women will be labelled ‘murderers’ for exercising their right to healthcare, whereas as Men are offered legislative (white supremacist) protection. Protection which legitimises the harm which can be perpetrated by men.

As a Black Woman, there are ways in which the censorship of female autonomy, the right to life, autonomy, and access to resource will affect me differently to my White peer. What this looks like, is dealing with the statistical reality that Black women are more likely to have complications in pregnancy[xviii], other health conditions like sickle cell[xix], and medical racism which dictate the quality of care I could receive in the event of needing healthcare. For those who are transgender and non-binary individuals who can also fall pregnant, Roe v. Wade’s overruling prove grave. Censorship and autonomy are also impactful. With their right to being, and expression in mind, this mean that discriminatory healthcare practice – (such as anti-trans bills which criminalises access to gender-affirming healthcare (SB 1311) takes place.[xx] This only exacerbates the stigma placed on access to healthcare, and repression of the individual. Meaning that where an average of 40% of transgendered adults avoid pregnancy screenings[xxi] with the fear of discrimination, this number in light of Roe v. Wade will tragically grow.

Further disenfranchisement of marginalised communities as seen in this case, will affect how we are able to hold institutions and governments accountable for misappropriation of legislative jurisdiction. In the case of the U.K, I could refer to Partygate, the Policing Bill, for instance, of course…

An active example of using whiteness or white life as a signpost to colour code the boundaries of empathy[xxii], can be seen in the media representation of African Refugees, in comparison to the description given to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. African migrants who sought for asylum in neighbouring European countries, at the height of the invasion of Ukraine and Russia, were refused entry European nations due to the colour of their skin[xxiii]. Migrants were forced to rely on the kindness of others, social media, and minimal institutional intervention, to seek asylum in other nations. Intervention which should have preserved the right to life, and to seek asylum.

Meanwhile, as African Migrants sought asylum, mainstream media in some depictions of the war, reinforced White Supremacy with statements like:“these are not refugees from Syria, these are refugees from Ukraine... They're Christian, they're white, they're very similar"[xxiv]. Similar to what? The legitimacy of European power? The power in privilege which affords those fleeing for safety help because of the colour of their White skin? In this case, it proved actively harmful to the safety of Africans fleeing war.

In light of these factors, my heart hurts for the women who will be harmed as a result of Roe v. Wade being overturned. The children who will be forcefully born to live in institutional cycles of abuse, perpetrated by the state. Children who will be forced to rely on a healthcare system, already designed to disenfranchise poor, Black, disabled, Minority Ethnic, LGBTQ+ people.

My heart hurts for the children in foster care, or who are up for adoption (that pro-lifers seemingly have forgotten). The children who will be born in abusive homes. The freedom to openly criticise and hold our governments accountable for the continuous miscarry of justice against its citizens, in removing the right to protest, the right to abortion, et. al. How to protect the civil liberties of the individual. Reproductive rights in the U.K, in light of the proposed removal of the Human Rights Act. The apathy afforded to those who are not-white.

I’m out of words to reflect my feelings towards the overruling of Roe v. Wade. The removal, or threat of removal (in the case of the U.K’s Human Rights Act of 1998), of any human right is devastating. The consequences of the removal of human rights will come at the expense of the most vulnerable. Action must be taken in exercising our right to freedom of life, and expression. This looks like a consciousness of how white supremacist heteropatriarchy has dictated the functionality of our rights, community, financial support to those who will experience disparity, as the cost of living increases, and resistance to white supremacist structure of institutional power.

The right thing to do, as per my right to my being, well-being, sexuality, expression, and natural rights, in the face of oppressive rule, is to continue to exist. If my autonomy and reproductive rights threaten the corridors of power, then so be it.

Sources:

[i] https://edition.cnn.com/2022/06/24/politics/abortion-ban-states-move-quickly/index.html

[ii] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-24/is-abortion-illegal-overturning-roe-v-wade-means-penalties-for-some

[iii] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/26/illinois-mary-miller-roe-wade-abortion-verdict-victory-for-white-life-trump

[iv] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/26/illinois-mary-miller-roe-wade-abortion-verdict-victory-for-white-life-trump

[v] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/karianne-lisonbee-utah-abortion-semen-apology-b2109417.html

[vi] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ohio-abortion-kristi-noem-roe-b2114839.html

[vii] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/schedule/1

[viii] Chantal Senya, Abuse of Power- https://chantalsenya.squarespace.com/blog/ls4cqxlxxxqe2clh2h0cibovjn6e3z

[ix] Trouillot, Michel-Rolph. 1991. “Anthropology and the Savage Slot: The Poetics and Politics of Otherness.” In Recapturing Anthropology: Working in the Present, edited by Richard G. Fox, 17–44. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press

[x]

Hall, Stuart. 1980. “Race, Articulation, and Societies Structured in Dominance.” In Sociological Theories: Race and Colonialism, edited by UNESCO, 16–60. Paris: UNESCO. &

https://escholarship.org/content/qt1xc5r5j6/qt1xc5r5j6_noSplash_144c61ab6b34b323e54c9434a7ff0b41.pdf

[xi] https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/ninth_amendment

[xii] https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv

[xiii] https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/410/113.html#t58 Justice Harry A. Blackmun delivers the majority opinion of the Supreme Court.

[xiv] https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/nuclear-family

[xv] https://revisesociology.com/2014/02/10/marxist-perspective-family/

[xvi] https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/business/uk-and-abroad/4265960/your-money-shocking-new-figures-highlight-scale-and-disparities-of-britains-cost-of-living-crisis/#:~:text=NEF%20found%20that%2C%20overall%2C%2023.5,felt%20equally%20across%20all%20households.

[xvii] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf

[xviii] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59248345

[xix] https://www.self.com/story/black-women-health-conditions

[xx] https://rewirenewsgroup.com/ablc/2021/04/15/hey-texas-its-not-child-abuse-to-respect-your-trans-kids-gender-identity/

[xxi] https://rewirenewsgroup.com/article/2022/06/22/how-overturning-roe-impacts-trans-and-nonbinary-communities/