MARKING DODDS VS. JACKSON WOMEN’S HEALTH ORGANIZATION
June 25, 2024, is the anniversary of the Dodds vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision by the United Supreme Court.
How many of you remember how you felt that day? We knew it was coming but I suspect none of us would have guessed it would be this bad.
They lied to us. Texas guaranteed that abortion would be available to protect the life of the mother and they lied to us. A woman close to death from problems following a miscarriage and a woman who had sepsis because one of her twins in utero was dying are just two examples of those who were denied medical care because of fear that providers would be prosecuted. But rather than caring for mothers’ lives, our leaders shrug their shoulders and claim they are protecting innocent “babies.”
Texas leaders lied to us. They have told us they care about the well-being of children, but they lied to us. They tell a mother her child will be ok if she surrenders her for adoption. Yet the state of Texas has the worse foster care system in the country. With case backloads of thousands, yet none of these so-called leaders seem to want to do anything except talk. They refuse federal money to provide deserving families with summer food money to substitute for the loss of school lunches. But they shrug and say we believe in personal responsibility, so families deserve to fend for themselves.
They lied to us. They claim to want to protect individual liberties, but they subpoenaed medical records of Texas women who had abortions in neighboring states where abortion is legal. Rumors abound that women should quit using apps that measure their menstrual periods because the state could subpoena them so prosecutors could charge them with getting an abortion. And in some states, they want to charge those women with murder. Why aren’t all Texans outraged that counties make it illegal to drive on their roads to help someone get healthcare in another state?
They know they are on shaky ground enforcing these laws, so they pit neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, family against family by offering bounties on people who help someone they know get an abortion. In reality, they enabled a vindictive partner who wanted to punish an ex, not because cared he if she got an abortion, but because it is a way to get even.
They want to punish us for our desperation of being pregnant in an abusive relationship. Desperation knowing that one more mouth to feed will lower a family into poverty. That we fear a pregnancy that would derail a promising career. They want to punish us for wanting to live free and equal in a society that claims that we are but are not. They punish us for wanting to make our own decisions about when or if to have a family. They want to force pregnancies upon us like breeders in the Handmaid’s Tale.
We need to name those who are responsible for our oppression so we can hold them accountable at the ballot box, in the media and in our communities. In Texas, Mark Lee Dickson from the Sanctuary City for the Unborn movement struts around with his hat on backward, looking like an aging incel calling those who want to protect women’s health murderers and abortion traffickers. Jonathan Mitchell is responsible for writing the oppressive Texas abortion law, arguing against our rights before the Supreme Court. We need to call them out, call them out of their names as the oppressors of Texas women.
They hate women, which is clear. And their claim to protect children is a sham. We won this battle before in 1972, we can do it again. Be a Nemesis to those who want to put us in chains.
And vote for those who protect our rights. But we have to do more than that. Do all we can to get every Texan to the polls. This too shall pass if we are strong and stick together. And do the work.
The Fierce Crone