Friend, “The anti-abortion movement in America is rooted in organized White supremacy, and overturning Roe v. Wade would only perpetuate cycles of poverty and trap our most vulnerable in systems of oppression. None of this is abstract. There is a history of medical apartheid in this country against Black, brown, immigrant, indigenous and disabled folks.” Representative Ayana Pressley’s words strike the core of what Black communities and communities of color have experienced for years in relation to reproductive health.
In some southern states with the most restrictive abortion laws, Black people make up a disproportionate percentage of abortions. The causes are abundant. We have a health care system that is overly expensive, inaccessible, and discriminatory. The federal government has failed to pass social programs that allow struggling parents to receive the adequate resources necessary to care for a child. Additionally, states and localities lack proper sex education. In Mississippi, sex education in public schools must emphasize abstinence, discussions around abortion are prohibited, and students may not learn how to use condoms or other contraception. Black people make up 38% of the state but accounted for 74% of abortions in 2019. Alabama’s stats are similar, as Black people account for about 27% of the state but 62% of abortions.
Overturning Roe V. Wade will kill Black people at disproportionate rates, plunge struggling Black families deeper into poverty, and reinforce the prison industrial complex as a tool to criminalize Black communities. Members of Congress are regularly hearing about the need to codify Roe V. Wade, but we need them to know how their failure to do so will have a lasting impact on Black and brown communities. Keep fighting,
Jayleen Alvarado, Daily Kos.
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