Whew! Thank goodness for upholding this basic right! Chief Justice John Roberts was the swing vote in this case and thank goodness he has come around! Four years ago that was not the situation.

The Ramos v. Louisiana court case, a case from Louisiana in which anti-abortion people sought to restrict women’s access to abortion by creating unnecessary obstacles, was brought to the Supreme Court. It was struck down in an historic win for reproductive rights yesterday!

The case was brought to the Court as a means of anti-choice individuals to try to take the first step to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion. Thankfully, the right to an abortion is still is upheld! This is cause for celebration and I cannot tell you how incredibly relieved I am about this news. 

BUT, attacks on this basic right are still happening across the country. A New York Times article alludes to this fact in their title,

“The Supreme Court Stopped Anti-Abortion Momentum. For Now.” 

It is still incredibly difficult and costly to exercise bodily autonomy in many, many states. Anti-abortion/forced-birther people are still fighting. But we pro-choice people will continue to fight to uphold our rights!

Women are not ovens! We are living, breathing people, with the right to exercise control over our bodies.

What we really need is for Congress to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, a federal bill that would make sure that women have access to abortion without undue burden.

As ActforWomen.org states,

“The Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) is a federal bill that would protect the right to access abortion care by creating a safeguard against bans and medically unnecessary restrictions that apply to no similar medical care. These harmful restrictions are threatening to eliminate access to abortion care in large swaths of the country, and prevent people from making personal decisions about their health, their lives, and their futures.”

If you are a gal or a guy and you realize the importance of this bill and want to do your part, tell your representatives to support the Women’s Health Protection Act bill!

It’s quick and easy, and only takes about a minute or two. If you’d like to do so, you can click here https://www.actforwomen.org/take-action/  

Act for Women creates a message for you so all you have to do is type in your information. It helps to add a personalized message though, something I do recommend. You can use mine as a template if you’d like:

I am a Social Studies teacher and woman of reproductive age in Colorado. I urge you to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act. My basic bodily autonomy and health is at stake, and so is other women’s. Please pass the WHPA. 

Together, we can win this fight so that women can make their own choices about whether or not to have a child: So that no woman will be forced by the government to carry and birth a child. 

As Nancy Northup, the president and CEO of the Center of Reproductive Rights said in a statement which was repeated by a Washington Post article,

“We’re relieved that the Louisiana law has been blocked today but we’re concerned about tomorrow. With this win, the clinics in Louisiana can stay open to serve the one million women of reproductive age in the state. But the Court’s decision could embolden states to pass even more restrictive laws when clarity is needed if abortion rights are to be protected.”

Northup concluded her statement by calling on Congress to pass the “Women’s Health Protection Act, a federal bill that would ensure the promise of Roe v. Wade is realized in every state for every person.”